7 Attitudes of Highly Effective Technology Users

Doug Johnson shared some highlights from his new book The Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide over at the Blue Skunk Blog today.  His 7 qualities/attitudes of a highly effective technology trainers include:

1. The problem is on the desk, not in the chair.
2. No mouse touching.
3. Great analogies.
4. Clear support materials.
5. Knowing what is essential and what is only confusing.
6. If it breaks, we'll fix it.
7. Perspective.

I'd like to follow that up with a list of the 7 qualities/attitues of a  highly effective technology learner:

1. View technology instruction as a hands on process.  Kids make the best technology users for several reasons, one of which is that they can't wait to get their hands on the technology!  Kids don't want things done for them, they want just enough information to be dangerous. :)
2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes - most things can be fixed.  Another reason that kids are awesome technology users is that they're fearless.  They don't often think about the consequences of all their random clicking and exploration, and even if they did, they'd assume that somebody else would fix it for them!
3. Follow step-by-step instructions.  As a former technology instructor, nothing is more annoying than having students who can't or don't follow step-by-step instructions.  I know that learning the steps to effectively save a document isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but you need to know it, and the only way to do it is one step at a time.
4. Take control over your technology education.  When following those step-by-step instructions, or learning about new programs, hardware, etc., actually think about how it applies to your life and what you want to be able to do with technology.  If you're not getting what you need, ask questions!
5. Crowd source instruction.  There is so much information on technology troubleshooting available online.  The first time I was writing my own website in htm, I always had Dreamweaver open on one side of the screen and Firefox open on the other.  There are some work arounds that just aren't in the books, and it's quite cathartic hearing about everyone else's IE problems.
6. Try new things in new ways.  The best technology users and learners know that they can't remain stagnate.  New technology and methods show up everyday, so if you don't want to fall behind you need to continually learn and explore.  Blogs are a great way to keep up, and I always love exploring Top 10 or Top 100 lists for things like apps, websites, tools for education, etc.
7. Remember that technology is a tool.  I love the old adage, "If you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail."  This is true of technology, just like everything else.  Instead of focusing on how cool or exciting a new piece of technology is, make sure it actually fits what you want to achieve.  SMART boards are great, but start your lesson with Common Core Standards and teaching objectives, upgrade your lesson with Multiple Intelligences and Higher Order Thinking Skills (for a wonderful checklist of ways to Upgrade and Amplify your lesson plan, visit the Langwitches Blog here), and then look around for a tool to achieve your goal.  

An with that, I leave you with the world's first help desk call.  Don't be an Ansgarr...