http://www.flickr.com/photos/input/228103142/Haven’t we all had those events? A crashed computer…lost data…the most wonderful prose ever written just before the power goes out? The one I had several weeks ago I didn’t expect. I have an email account that I use for work, but I work in multiple locations and often travel so I had been leaving my email on their server so I could access it at any location. I was working on a project where I was gathering data from many people and waiting to actually do the work after everything arrived. Unbeknownst to me, my email provider deletes emails over 30 days old (bad Verizon, no donut!) so when I went back to start the work, the emails were gone. First of all I couldn’t believe that I didn’t notice this before now, I’ve used this email account for almost three years. Next I turned white as a sheet as realized I needed to get that material back, some of it sent over a month ago, from over twenty different people. I foolishly thought leaving my data on their server was going to keep it safe. I didn’t read the ‘manual’ to learn how the tool I was using works. I was using it for something it was not intended for, plain and simple.
Someone said to me last week that technology was not their friend. Hmmm I thought, why do we continue to anthropomorphize our computers? Technology is just a tool. We need to learn how it can be used. We need to realize that it is made of matter which will degrade and need to be replaced and plan accordingly. Save and backup, backup and save. And that’s about it. Our machine doesn't respond "fast" enough and we hit enter, over and over and over again and wonder why our screens are frozen. I too once believed that there were gremlins living in the computer and they were ready to pounce at any moment! But eventually I had to admit that they only pounced when I was bringing chaotic energy to them. If I’ve procrastinated on a project, then while procrastinating I’ve created unbelievable stress in my energy field. That stress causes me to use the tool incorrectly – or maybe even possibly it affects the electronic field of the computer. I am energy and I affect other forms of energy around me. The gremlin is I.
From the American Heritage Dictionary this definition of technology is from anthropology: The body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in fashioning implements, practicing manual arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials. For me the important word in this definition is available, because as teachers I believe we have a responsibility to our students in this realm. Seriously, this next thought might be a bit simplistic, but probably some of the earliest cavemen feared fire and wanted nothing to do with it. Ignoring the technology just kept them in the dark and cold a bit longer…
Someone said to me last week that technology was not their friend. Hmmm I thought, why do we continue to anthropomorphize our computers? Technology is just a tool. We need to learn how it can be used. We need to realize that it is made of matter which will degrade and need to be replaced and plan accordingly. Save and backup, backup and save. And that’s about it. Our machine doesn't respond "fast" enough and we hit enter, over and over and over again and wonder why our screens are frozen. I too once believed that there were gremlins living in the computer and they were ready to pounce at any moment! But eventually I had to admit that they only pounced when I was bringing chaotic energy to them. If I’ve procrastinated on a project, then while procrastinating I’ve created unbelievable stress in my energy field. That stress causes me to use the tool incorrectly – or maybe even possibly it affects the electronic field of the computer. I am energy and I affect other forms of energy around me. The gremlin is I.
From the American Heritage Dictionary this definition of technology is from anthropology: The body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in fashioning implements, practicing manual arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials. For me the important word in this definition is available, because as teachers I believe we have a responsibility to our students in this realm. Seriously, this next thought might be a bit simplistic, but probably some of the earliest cavemen feared fire and wanted nothing to do with it. Ignoring the technology just kept them in the dark and cold a bit longer…
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