THOUGHTS ON HOW TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY NOT SO OVERWHELMING

I just finished reading and reflecting on an article (What Teachers Need to know about Technology) by a man named Yong Zhao and I took away some very valuable lessons on how not to make the use of technology not seem so overwhelming.

First of all he summarized it quite eloquently when he said that teachers need to “adapt technology instead of adopting it.” We need to be in control of the technology and not let the technology control us. The more depth of understanding we have the better we can use it effectively in our classrooms. The goal is not to learn and memorize the usage of tons of technology but to focus on a few types of technology that are applicable to the teaching you are already doing and that solve a problem for you, not create a new one. Technology should really be absorbed into what you are teaching not be the focus or distract from what you are doing.

Not all problems can be solved by using technology and one of our goals as educators is to identify which problems can be solved by using technology, what technology can be helpful, and how to use the technology in an efficient way to help solve the problem at hand. The more you apply technology into your every day teaching and the more training you receive in different areas that are applicable to the subject areas you teach, the more you will be able to manipulate the technology to meet your needs and not the other way around.

The more I thought about it I began to realize that the goal is not to know every trick in the book when it comes to technology. Let’s face it that would be impossible. But instead to know what tricks are the most helpful to you and your students based on what you teach and how you teach. Knowing a few technology tools inside and out and how they enhance what you are teaching is more valuable than having tons of technology at your fingertips that you don’t use appropriately.

I know that teaching technology in isolation is not always the best use of time. Let’s face it you have so many things to cover in a year that it can make your head spin! But, how many times have you skipped using the word processor with your students during writing because the slow peck, peck, peck on the computer keys really slows them down and actually hinders the flow of the writing process. Have you ever wanted groups to present something in Power Point but found that teaching the technology itself took away from what you wanted your students to focus on?
Whatever happened to typing class or keyboarding skills? I think that there is a time and place for the teaching of technology in isolation. Of course, the question is, where do we find the time? Well, that question is a tricky one. I don’t have all the answers but it did get the brain thinking about some things. It really does make you look at technology a little differently and hopefully not feel so overwhelmed by it!

Keeping Flash Drives Secure

Keeping Flash Drives Secure

My USB flash drives (or thumb drives, flash drives or whatever you may call them!) are really handy, but also really easy to misplace. Is there a way to protect the files if (or when) I lose it?

The good news about USB drives is that you can inexpensively store many gigabytes of files in a small, convenient device; the bad news is you can easily lose that small, convenient device. If you are using your drive for storing any kind of information you don’t want shared all across the world , you need to consider your security options.

If you the files you are keeping on the drive are Microsoft Office files, you can password protect those files so they can only be opened by you or someone else that knows the password. In Office 2007, the Tools button is in the lower left-hand corner of the Save window, and you’ll need to select General Options to enter your desired password.

Now every time the document is opened, it will require entering the password. You need to write down this password – you cannot recover it if you forget it! (I speak from personal experience on this.)

While this works for Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, it is kind of cumbersome if you have a lot of documents, and you may be storing other kinds of files.

If you plan ahead, you can purchase USB drives that have password security built in (or even fingerpint scanners!). If you search online vendors with the term “secure usb drive,” you will find quite a few options that cost only a few dollars more than a standard drive. (Most seem to be for Windows only, so this may not be a solution for Mac users.)