Week 3, Thing 7 : Technology Learning Styles

My 83 year old father has been a guest in my home while he recovers from surgery, and we set up his computer downstairs for him. He spends time every day checking email, then working on learning his new 2007 Microsoft Office Suite programs. We are having fun comparing notes on my learning curve with School Library Learning 2.0, and find the process is similar: get the facts, give it a try, figure out what mistakes were made, and try again. His learning style is a little different than mine, in that he prefers to spend quite a bit of time getting the facts (watching a tutorial, for example) before experimenting. Monday I held a workshop for one of the departments at school showing them some specific features of our research databases they could use with their Special Education students. Some of the obstacles to their learning were very simple -- how to find the library web page, how to use the "tabs" feature in windows to go back and forth between applications, or how to back up a URL. Some preferred to tackle one task at a time and others liked to dabble a bit in all of the options I had demonstrated, confident they could refine their skills later. This afternoon I helped a student in the library who did not have the confidence to type in a password unless I was standing right there next to her! I could adapt the format of this online course of "23 Things" to help new students and new teachers at our school learn about and practice using some of the technology available to them. That would allow some to spend the time they need to "get the facts," others to jump in and learn by doing, and anyone to practice and get feedback online. The Technology Committee would have to help with the feedback, of course, but it's certainly "doable."