"confidence" (capability) is
-feelings of adequacy derived from previously successful experiences and outcomes and from an understanding of what is being asked for or expected and that they are realistically able to achieve this. I think it is important to determine confidence level with their present levels of mastery and familiarity with digital tools that they have already been using because this clearly determines how they evaluate the new tools and understand the immediate challenges they are facing
Can you recall a time where you had to master something that was technical, but seemingly incomprehensible ?
Yeh today and again during the last 24 hours I can think of more than one instance of this. Last night i had was on another mission to attend an eluminate session at home (which I had done 2 weeks previously and I was unable to because my PC would not recognise the jnlp plugin java software that I downloaded from Otago Polytechnic eluminiate site.
I find that unless I get a pattern and repeat this regularly ... there is an element of beginners luck over mastery using digital info/ technologies.
How did you feel while you did it? I had to get help from my partner and so I can recall feelings of frustration explaining what with my unfamiliarity with online conference software called Eluminate plus the process of downloading plugins involved eliminating some of the other factors like operating systems protocols, working in 2 different browsers, and what to make of all links involved connecting to the network i.e. jnlp etc. Very challenging (personally and professionally)
Because I had two weeks prior to this gone about exactly the very same thing without getting connected. This time I had an air of dogged determination. we did did everything humanly possible to no avail like rebooting the computer after downloading downloading the software from the help page on eluminate. At the conclusion there was no resolution because there is no explanation. By the end of the eluminate session i was experiencing feelings of inadequacy and was fed up and went off to cook a meal.
Have you considered how you will engage others in using digital info / technologies? Explain. How will you recognize / deal with resistance?
How do you think individual / community trust will influence Digital Information
I suggest we pose these questions to Randy Fisher on Wednesday
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3 comments:
some good explanations here susan. doggone Elluminate!
Hi Susane,
Those are very good insights - it's important to really honour your feelings at the outset. This will help you empathize with other people, as they are in different phases of their 'experience' with a given technology, tool or method.
A point about Elluminate (another tool). Over the past year, I've moved much more over to the open source world (in fact, when I started, I didn't know much about it...) In the open spirit of WikiEducator, I decided to prepare my slides in Open Office ~ and much to my surprise, Elluminate was not able to handle the file! Do you think Elluminate is aware of the extent to which they are alienating users of Open Software? Is their technology tied into some proprietary format (i.e., Microsoft) that says they cannot use other formats - I dunno - just thinking here)...
The point is, as you get into this stuff, it's frustrating from many perspectives...but as you get in, you can gently master the nuances, and go onto other challenges - that directly relate to what you're interested in.
Thanks muchly for taking the time to write out these answers, and for reflecting...
As I reflected on last night's presentation, I made a distinction with how much I enjoyed the online format (even with all the glitches) as opposed to traditional, classroom-based learning. I wished that I could have been more proficient with the Elluminate, and then I could have shown some really snazzy stuff to show you more of what WikiEducator is about, and what it can do for you! :-)
Have a great day!
- Randy
Thanks Randy
hey technology is by now a household word - which doesn't account for why their eyes start to glaze over....
In hindsight I think once I got over all the connectivity hurdles and took some calculated risks like publishihg a blog and collaborative editing in a wiki, I was pleasantly surprised. I suppose then my resistence dissolved. In hindsight I feel I crossed an invisible digital literacy line. Navigating this signified much more than a significant level of success. I did this as workbased training in digital media processing.
To be helped is very important. To know what help to ask for, and when to go for assitance and how to communicate this clearly is another aspect of the digital literacy skill set.
I'm interested to reflect on my experiences and hear from others to understand more about things that can make a difference for an individual at the beginning phase of digital connectivity/literacy when an initial support network isn't an option and/or is under resourced. Does anyone else think that this critical phase in the uptake is influencing individual/ community trust of these Digital tools.
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