How to Be Good with Tech - Part 3

This is the third article in my series about how successful people think differently about technology than those who struggle with it.

In the first article, I addressed the myth that technology is difficult to learn and use.

In the second, I offered a tip: Step by step thinking is not a good way to learn new tools. Instead, we should try a “big picture” approach. I didn’t give much advice on how to do that, but it’s coming.

I just need to get one last obstacle out of the way first:

Myth #2: It should be easier than this.

But didn’t you say…

I originally said it’s a myth that tech is hard. Now it might seem like I’m contradicting myself, but that first article was about tech in general. That addressed the people who stay at a distance because it looks difficult. Others apparently make it work with ease, so they figure they just don’t have what it takes.

Now I’m talking about that moment when you try to learn something new and it’s more than you care to deal with.

I am often told it should be easier when I teach someone how to do a specific task. At that time, we’re more or less past Myth #1. They accept that maybe they can do this. But eventually they conclude the process is hard to remember, it has too many steps or something isn’t working exactly as it should.

We’ve all had that feeling. Certainly it should be easier than this, right?

To move past this we have to look at two factors--our expectations and our goals.

Our expectations

This is first a matter of having accurate expectations, and accurate expectations will come with experience. It’s toughest when you’re getting started because inexperience is the very thing making it seem harder than it should be.

Just remember that the required effort is what it is. Like anything in life, there are parts I wish were easier. My body requires sleep and regular trips to the restroom. Age is frustrating. Raising my two teenagers is a chore beyond what I anticipated. Heck, even the limits of time and space can still feel constraining after all these years.

I'm exaggerating, but like anything requiring work, there will be obstacles that we could point to in hopes of avoiding it. But with technology, just look at how many people just do it regularly. It can be done. If we have some ideal in our minds that it should be easier, where did that come from?* Probably not from successful experiences or trustworthy sources.

Don't let wishful thinking hold you back.

Some people are successful with new tools or challenges because they have developed an accurate feel for what to expect. They have a pretty good idea upfront (without even thinking about it) what will be required, whether it will be counted in minutes, hours or days. These accurate expectations give them the edge for success.

If they don’t seem to mind a process that looks too long or hard to remember, be assured they’ve wrestled with far worse. All of us who are good with tech have struggled with it at one time or another. I usually do my struggling alone--me against the computer, for hours--trying to make things work. Most people I train never see those times. New equipment, new programs and updates pose problems for everyone. After working through a few of those tough challenges, we can take the routine obstacles in stride.

On the other hand, when you’re unfamiliar with most programs and processes, every step is something to remember. Every procedure can seem too long and every obstacle looks like a mountain. Experience is the key to accurate expectations and in the early stages you’ll just have to remind yourself of that regularly.

The real goal 

Along with accurate expectations, people do what it takes to use tech because they know the goal is worth it. The harder the task, the more important it is to know the importance of the goal.

This reminds me of teaching math. Whenever the work got hard, I could count on someone to ask the big question: When are we going to need this?

So, with technology, why are we doing this? What is the overall goal? We could be specific if I knew your job and the tasks before you, but let’s start very general. What’s the purpose of technology?

When I ask students that, I am almost always told it is to make things easier. That is partly true. Certainly every technological advance from the wheel to the microwave oven to the mobile phone could be viewed as making some task easier. But it is dangerous to stop there. Easier shouldn’t be the final goal.

I talked to a farmer once and was surprised by how far their tools have advanced. He told me his newest tractor used GPS technology to steer itself in perfect rows across his fields. Just the tractor alone makes it far easier than trying to drive a team of horses to pull a plow, but now he doesn’t even have to steer?! While that part of the job takes far less effort due to advances, I’d be a fool to walk away thinking farming is easy.

This is true in any area of work. Some tasks become easier with new tools, but it doesn’t stop at easy. Overall we still work hard because we’re expected to get more impressive results.

Sure, some people make easier the goal, but in the big picture success comes from using the tools to increase productivity and quality. That’s the real purpose of technology.

It's huge to see this difference in thinking. Because of or in conjuction with this myth of “tech should be easier than this”, too many people spiral down this train of thought:

1. Technology should make a job easier. 
2. For guys like Mike, tech is easy. It probably does make work easier for him.
3. When I try to learn it, it’s sure not easy for me. 
4. To each his own. I don’t mind a little work. 
5. I’d rather do it the old way.

But contrast that conclusion with this fact that some of us live daily:
Every step you take toward using digital tools more effectively will increase the quality and quantity of the work you are meant to do.

I am convinced of the truth of that. No matter what you do, the best tools for the job will help you do it better.

In most cases, at least some of those tools will be digital and the skills you need will be tech skills. Helping people increase and achieve their potential in this way is exciting to me. I am grateful for the chance to do it daily.

We aim too low when we approach technology as a source of entertainment, just another thing for the job or a way to make things easier. Instead, think of it as a way to do incredible things you didn’t think were possible.

Dream big!

Here is one of my most popular images I created this past school year. It resonated with a lot of teachers, but the truth goes well beyond just a classroom setting. It's not about the tools or just getting something done. Let’s make amazing the goal!

The bottom line

Technology is changing rapidly. For any of us, it takes time and effort to learn what we need to do our best work. If anyone promises a different formula than time and effort, they’re lying. If anyone is waiting for an easier approach, they’re foolishly letting more opportunities slip by week after week.

Start with the goal of improving the quality or quantity of your most important work. Find the tools that can help you do that and set some realistic goals for learning to use them. That will require a commitment of time, but realistic goals will require only reasonable commitments. I’m not suggesting loads of hours in the weeks ahead.

Putting in the time and effort will do more than just help with the tools at hand. You’ll also quickly develop more accurate expectations. You’ll even find it will help you pick up other new tools faster too. Every step is an investment that pays off later.

Coming up

With a couple myths out of the way, an accurate picture of what success will require and some goals in mind, now we are ready to get practical. My next articles will point out specific ways some of us think about tech tools that give us an edge over those who find them challenging.

*As one who works in education, dealing daily with the process of learning new things, I find this to be a fascinating question. Where do we get this idea of how hard things should be? When do we allow the obstacle to become an excuse so we can stop? Who have we listened to and allowed to shape our ideas of what success requires? Almost anything we would call too difficult, there is someone who does it regularly without complaint. How we view the tasks before us determines how far we go. 

Google Tools for Teachers - Virtual summer PD, because tech waits for no one

Our high school is getting Chromebooks this fall, so I have been doing weekly technology professional development sessions for any teachers that want to get a jump on learning. The Google Apps for Education domain in our district will be new to them, so I made a series of videos, pointed out some existing tutorials and suggested practice that should take about 15 - 30 minutes for each session.

The videos I made have some content related specifically to our domain, but the features will work the same way with any Google account. The only difference is we restrict sharing to only accounts within our domain. If your admin doesn't restrict it or if you just have a standard Google account, you won't have the same limitations that I refer to at some points.

Here are the sessions:

Session 1:  Overview of Drive

Session 2:  Creating, editing and commenting on Google Docs (This session has a document to use for exercises, but it's only shared in our domain. You can use this copy of the document instead when you get to that part.)

Session 3:  Creating and posting assignments (I use Edmodo as the example, but the process will be similar for any classroom management system you use.)

Session 4:  Using Forms for feedback and assessment

Session 5:  Google Slides overview

Session 6:  Google Calendar overview (This one is based exclusively on videos from others sources.)

Session 7:  Making a simple website with Google Sites

Session 8:  Chrome Apps and Extensions for Education

Session 9:  Chromebook basics

Comments and feedback are very welcome so I can improve this series.

How to Be Good with Tech - Part 2

This is the second in a series of articles. If you haven't read the first one yet, it will be best to start there.

Helping teachers and students to use more technology (and working with some who resist) has driven home one point time and time again:

Being “good with tech” is largely a way of thinking.

There’s no magic involved. I'd even argue there aren't hours of training sessions involved. Instead there are mindsets and resulting practices that make it easier for some to pick up the new tools. In other words, these are things anyone can learn and improved tech skills will be the result.

So in this series I will point out a few myths the tech challenged believe that hold them back. I’ll also offer tips and strategies the rest of us use that give us an advantage in keeping up with the never-ending stream of new.

If you read through this article and, at any point, can't accept what I'm saying, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I hope to use any feedback to improve this series.

__________________

This time around I want to expose what I see as the get-rich-quick lie of learning technology. It’s a promise to those struggling the most that the job will be easier than it is. Instead of leading to success, it provides a false security and even hinders real progress..

If you've struggled with computers for years, you've most likely fallen into this misleading approach. You’ll probably think I’m making too much out of nothing. I urge you to keep an open mind as you read this, though, and try to see my point.

Instead of phrasing this as a myth to avoid, I’ll be positive:

Tip #1: When approaching a new tool or task, try to think “big picture”, not step by step.

There is a temptation to think knowing more steps will lead to success with technology tools. While it might help in the short term, I never see it lead to deeper, effective learning.

This is not just in the domain of technology. I saw it first when I tried to teach math. Struggling students would take pages of notes filled with lists of steps. They’d follow them faithfully to finish homework. Then they’d try without success to remember them all on the tests.

Now when I train teachers, those who are less comfortable with technology often ask for steps in tipsheets. They want training sessions where we go click by click through a new tool. When they realize I don’t usually start that way, they frantically write down notes thinking it will help later. When I do send a tipsheet out for some essential process, they file it away for when they need it. It's as if getting all the steps is the goal.

It’s easy to see why. Following steps can give a sense of accomplishment. The task at hand often does get done. There’s also comfort in knowing the list is nearby when needed.

The problem is I’ve never seen these teachers reach a level of competency with technology in general. Those people are the first to call when a problem arises. Regardless of how many times I explain the solution or how to work things out themselves, it never seems to stick.

When I start teaching and they start writing steps, I know right away I'll be back soon when they are stuck.

On the other hand, the students I work with in class or the teachers doing the most with technology adjust quickly to new tools. They almost never ask for step by step directions.

Preferring the steps is not a learning style. It’s a shortsighted approach that actually keeps the learner from ever seeing the necessary big picture.

Maps are better than lists

I recently had to find a friend at the University of Michigan. I haven’t driven those winding, busy streets in several years and I never really knew the layout of the campus. I don’t use a GPS, but I did grab a screenshot of the directions from my map app. I also took one of the map showing the general area.

When I neared the exit from the expressway I looked over the directions again. As soon as I got on the roads of the campus traffic was bad and I missed a turn within minutes. The name of one of the roads I was on changed at one intersection and I wasn’t sure if I was still on track. When I stopped at lights I quickly looked through the steps and scanned the scene for road signs to determine where I was in the list.

When I finally had a minute to gather my thoughts, I brought up that map instead. With just a quick glance I got my bearings straight. I knew the direction I was heading and the general direction of my destination. I knew immediately that even if I missed the next road I could take other side roads to get to the right building. I was even able to take in more of the surroundings, which will undoubtedly help the next time I have to visit.

I can’t emphasize this enough. When it comes to competency, the big picture perspective is essential to the learning process. Waiting for someone to tell you the steps and relying on lists for procedures will never be sufficient. Obstacles, problems and changes (which steps can never fully account for) will always lead to frustration in the times you most need to get where you’re going.

The best way to see that there is a real, significant difference between these two types of thinking is to ask a question to someone who is competent in any domain. Ask about directions to a location is in an area the person is familiar with. Ask a tech person to tell you the steps for some process. The first thing you’ll notice is they will have to translate from how they think about the task to steps. They never rattle off each turn or each click as if they’ve memorized them.

The thinking that leads to success comes from relationships in our mind between ideas, tools and experiences. They are connected in multiple ways like rooms in a building or locations across a landscape.  The mental organization necessary is too complex to be contained in lists of steps. A map is a better way to imagine what’s going on in the heads of those who successfully navigate from problem to solution.

A couple clarifications

To be clear, I’m not saying steps are useless. I still look up those “click here, then press this key” lists now and then. Those are best for the first time you have to use a tool to get something done. They’re handy for important tasks you only complete once in a while with tools that aren’t used otherwise. There will always be those tools you really don’t have to master and steps are good reminders.

Also, I am not offering any practical advice here on how to see the big picture. There are some things we can do to form those essential mental maps. My goal for now is only to relentlessly call out this important distinction and to point to a better way for success.

Where are we going?

I keep referring to success with tech tools, but let’s get more specific. This goes beyond just doing routine tasks. It also includes:

• Learning new tools quickly
• Applying the tools to new situations
• Communicating effectively to a variety of audiences through the tools
• Finding a solution when something goes wrong
• Using the tools in new ways to create things that didn’t exist before

These skills make up what we call technology literacy. At that level, people are thinking with and through the tools. That level of understanding is required for problem solving and meeting specific needs with the tools at hand. Achieving such a high level of comprehension requires a higher level approach.

If thinking in steps is like getting only where the roads and sidewalks already exist, technology literacy is like finding a new path to a new place no one has visited. Imagine how that’s easier with a rugged mountain bike compared to someone who wants to keep their training wheels on. After a while, wanting the training wheels on is probably what’s making it harder.

True literacy and expression through the tools requires a deeper understanding of what they can do. More than just how, it also grasps the why behind the various tools and elements of a problem or task. Meaning is significant in the process.

Imagine learning to write by simply copying down words void of their meaning. I could probably get a good student who doesn’t speak English to copy all the words of this paragraph. In the end, every time he does it, all he could ever say would be what this paragraph says.

Being literate with tech tools goes beyond forming letters and then words. It’s using those letters and words to write the sentences, essays, poems and more that only you can write. And then it’s saying those things with enough volume and clarity to reach more people more effectively than you ever could have otherwise.

You can see examples of this in projects I’ve written about on this blog. Here are two of my favorites:

• Ecosystem and game design lesson for middle school science 
• Smart Jams music video project at the elementary level

In those we accomplished new things with a personal touch and then presented them to the world within constraints formed by our skills, personal experiences and resources. To accomplish that, we had to approach the work from a big picture perspective.

On the other hand, limiting yourself to memorizing steps is limiting how far you'll go.

Getting personal

I wonder sometimes if those people I train ask for steps because they really think steps will help or if it’s just a way to put off the real work of learning. You will have to decide that for yourself. I only hope my examples and analogies here have made the options clear.

In that way, this article is a call to clarify the level of tech use you want to achieve. Do you want to just finish the routine tasks or do you want to use technology to accomplish far more of what you love to do?

I think it’s valuable for anyone to become more literate with digital tools. In many fields where we help others, we owe it to them to learn more so we can do our best. Still, learning happens best when everyone sets their own goals.

If do you want to develop that essential “big picture” thinking, please check back over the weeks ahead. Upcoming articles will provide practical ways to accomplish it. Also, please send along any comments questions so I can better suit the series to your needs.

How to Be Good with Tech - Part 1

Photo from Kevin Jarrett from Flickr -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/

I’ve been working with computers for over 30 years. I have also worked with teachers and students as an instructional tech coordinator for the past six years. Helping them use more technology (and working with some who resist) has driven home one point time and time again:

Being “good with tech” is largely a way of thinking.

There’s no magic involved. I'd even argue there aren't hours of training sessions involved. Instead there are mindsets and resulting practices that make it easier for some to pick up the new tools. In other words, these are things anyone can learn and improved tech skills will be the result.

So in this series I will point out a few myths the tech challenged believe that hold them back. I’ll also explain some approaches the rest of us use that give us an advantage in keeping up with the never-ending stream of new.

Since I work in education, I’m often thinking of the teachers and students I encounter there, struggling or resisting to use more technology for learning or sharing ideas. Beyond that, though, I’m writing to anyone who finds digital tools to be an obstacle, but knows the tools can help them accomplish more of what they want to.

If you read through this article and, at any point, can't accept what I'm saying, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I hope to use any feedback to improve this series.

And for now, I will start by tackling the biggest myth of all:

Myth #1: Technology is hard to learn.

I start with this myth because:

• For as often as I hear it and the thoughts resulting from it, I don’t believe it for a second.
• Believing it leads directly to some of the other inaccurate thinking I’ll address later in the series.

When a new tool comes along, maybe you fall victim to a very real fear because of this myth. It’s hard to learn and no one wants to look dumb, right?

And of course many have discovered this view of technology makes an easy excuse to avoid the necessary work of learning or using something new. A good share of the population heartily agrees that computers and all those gadgets take more effort to learn than they’re worth. Point out just one instance when time was lost, more problems arose or someone was frustrated by a new tool and nearly everyone in the room agrees: There’s no time for learning that complicated stuff. Back to the old way!

Regardless of why you’ve held to this notion, until you get past the false perception of how hard it is to use technology, you’ll always see yourself in the ungifted group. You’ll keep waiting for some convenient time when you have days to learn and nothing else to do. In other words, you’ll never start.

I hope by the end of this article you'll be open to this simple fact: Learning to use technology effectively is not as hard as you think.

A simple first step

So let’s start with an exercise. Next time you’re amazed when you see a person (maybe even a child) do something impressive with a new tech tool, don’t immediately attribute it to a gift you'll never possess. Instead, be open to the possibility that digital tools are simpler than they used to be.

I feel like I’m giving away a secret here. I like to appear really smart when I help teachers with new programs. I love it when I’m the hero that bailed out the teacher in front of the whole class. (Early elementary students will break into applause for these feats. It feels amazing.)

But I’m just trying to be honest. Instead of new tools confounding me now and then, I am regularly amazed at how much simpler they are.

Yes, I remember how long it took me to hook up a new printer or connect to a new internet service years ago. New software was hard to configure, and that was if I managed to install it correctly.

I understand that many adults of a certain age had years of those experiences (or maybe, years of witnessing others going nuts with those experiences). This formed the idea that technology is hard to use. 

Now, relatively speaking, that’s simply not true.

Photo from Brad Flickinger on Flickr -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/

Think about this for a minute. I mean no disrespect to your kids or grand kids, but isn’t it possible that all those young people who quickly learn to work the new gadgets simply don’t hold this myth in their minds? They come at the new stuff thinking it’s meant to be intuitive and work effectively. They act accordingly and success is the result.

Technology is wildly popular and used throughout our society now not because the younger generation is so much smarter. It's largely because the tools are easier to use. Nowadays if a new tool is hard to use, you’ll never see it survive the market long enough to reach the masses.

But what about...

Before you hit me up with recent horror stories of incompatible software destroying your meeting or network failures that brought the office to a standstill, please keep a few things in mind.

First, I’m talking about technology that’s working as intended. Realistically speaking, that happens the vast majority of the time. Organizations dealing in a day with hundreds of times more money than you and I make in a decade trust their fortunes to this fact. It doesn't let them down in any significant way.

I’m also talking about average use. The amazing wizardry we see from people who live in front of their computers, have budgets for the what’s beyond the cutting edge and who work in specialized fields is difficult to replicate. That's why they are paid good money to do it.

But I’m taking about common tools that allow normal people to achieve more than they do without them. And that's an important goal I'm glad to help people move toward.

And if you’re still doubtful, I’m not saying the skills are so simple that no brains or effort is required. My later articles in this series will address what and how much is required to become competent.

Examples of positive change

To get specific, here are a few ways I regularly notice the tools have become easier over the years:

• Language in the apps is far less technical than it used to be. Menus, buttons and even error messages use common words instead of all the specialized terminology we used to see.
• Help features of programs are written better and many are making excellent use of video to explain exactly what you need to know. I’m very impressed with the quality of virtual training involved in much of the new software I encounter.
• Apps only do a few things, so options are limited. It used to be software companies boasted of all the things their programs could do. I guess the goal was to make tools like Word, Publisher or PowerPoint so flexible they could be used to turn out many different types of content. That made software complicated, with features buried in menus requiring many steps. Now apps are specialized. You find out what you need to do, look up the best app for it and it does just that with a few taps.
• There is more consistency across tools. Yes, we still have the PC versus Mac and iOS versus Android divides, but overall similar icons and terms appear across many common programs. Once you realize this, it won’t look so mystical when your teen figures out your new iPad app within seconds of opening it. 
• If common problems and questions weren’t addressed in the Help features of the software, they are only a web search away. Anyone who works regularly with technology will tell you the power of a simple Google search when it comes to using a tricky feature of a new program.
• You can hook up most new hardware by plugging in a cable. Sometimes you have to download a driver first, but do I even have to give examples of how difficult this used to be? I am continually grateful for these improvements.

_________

I’m not expecting now that you'll sit at a computer and churn out an amazingly easy, yet visually stunning video to upload to YouTube. I’m just hoping when the next person bails you out a tech bind you won’t immediately attribute success to his or her mad skills. Instead, think...

Maybe the tools are easier now. Maybe I could learn to do that too.

Try thinking that way for a few days. Once you’re open to that possibility, you’ll be ready to take the steps I’ll address in part 2.

How to make games of any type using my Game Idea Template

As you might imagine, I encounter a lot of students who want to make games. Most of them have ideas for the digital variety, but my experience in game design still leaves us a lot of common ground for discussion.

I have several resources on the blog about game design already, but I added one more today that means a lot to me. It is my Game Idea Template. 

I have written elsewhere about how I develop my game ideas in a notebook over time. This template is just my attempt to organize all the key components that usually end up in the notes. It can serve to remind the designer of essentials, but it also can prompt with questions to help him or her break new ground.

Because of my own interest in tabletop games, this lends itself to those kinds. I'm convinced it still has much to offer for someone (especially newcomers) creating any type of game. It is a working document and I'm continually taking input from other game designers. All comments are welcome.

Game Idea Template by Mike Petty

Some other important resources on this site:

• How to Make Games (Part 1) - It's in this video that I talk about keeping a design notebook and how I use it to develop ideas. It provides a good background for how to use the Game Idea Template.
• How to Make Games (Part 2) - This second video focuses on playtesting and it can help a designer fill out that area of the Game Idea Template.
• 8 Things I Emphasize in Game Design Lessons - This has practical tips and several links to other resources I've written or found helpful.