I’m in the middle of a dilemma.
Can someone explain how things which are designed to reduce our workload and save time often come with a 600 page manual?
I often find myself in front of the latest piece of technology Googling “How do I…?”
only to find that 60 minutes later and a couple of games of Angry Birds, (just to clear my head you understand) I’m seriously contemplating the high tech approach offered by the photocopier, laminator and a pair of scissors!
Gone are the days when the most complex part of a machine was the on/off button.
Where the response you would get when the “thing” wouldn’t work was “Is it plugged in…?”
and a grimace or two from the IT department when their finest technician had climbed up several flights of stairs, (the lift being out of order) hoping for a career making challenge, only to find that the lead has come loose at the back – well, why don’t they make all the machines the same so that I know what I’m looking for?
So this week I’m juggling “Tweeting” with “Blogging” and “Paddling” in the hope that I don’t sink under the sea of downloadable “quick start” guides, in danger of never experiencing the freedom from laborious paper-shuffling that the informed use of ICT brings.
Any thoughts anyone…..?
I think it is completely natural to feel like this!!! It's a shame you missed the session last week as we talked a little about this, and about how mcuh time is needed to 'learn' a new technology.
ReplyDeleteWe did a task where everyone had just 7 minutes to find out what the tech did and whether it was useful - and we found that this was enough time to find out if it was worth further exploration!
For some tech it isn't worth reading the 300 page manual and that's ok!!!!