Life is often full of ironies; well, mine is anyway. I am at an age that for most people the technological revolution has left them in the dust. This has never been true for me and often people are amused to know that at one point in my undergraduate schooling I was actually studying computer science and had taken several programming classes. The computer languages that I learned are now all obsolete, but I have a general feel for the machines. It also helped that I have been surrounded by computer geeks all my life, and so I kinda pick up on the stuff. For some of my kids it's a point of pride for them that their mom is technologically savvy. So I can hold my own for most things.
So as it happens, Thursdays seminar for our Research and Inquiry (spelled Enquiry in the UK) was held in one of the computer labs on the Avenue Campus. We have an assignment that is due in a couple of weeks that requires us to transcribe 5 mins of classroom dialogue. This workshop was to help us learn how to transcribe so that we don't fail the assignment. Our tutor for the seminar is a quantitative researcher. She deals with numbers and statistics. Transcribing tends to be used by qualitative researchers. We downloaded a program that helps with the transcription process. The professor told us to play with the program and figure out how it works. Then we would share what we discovered so we can help everyone. Aka she has no idea how to use the program so we get to figure it out and help each other with it.
First I had to help my neighbors download the sound bite so they could upload it into the program to even start working with it. The program is fairly simple and straight forward. After about 10 mins I had figured out all the buttons and controls and meanings of the tools. It is a pretty handy tool. It sets things up so that it will repeat segments how ever many times you want and then move to the next one. You can set how long it waits before it replays and then if you want it to rewind slightly into what you just listened to when starting the next section.
So the teacher asks us to share what we learned about how the program worked. Now I'm old enough to be just about everybody's mother in the group, so I waited for the technology generation to state what they had figured out. Not much. The speed of the recording (chipmunk sound was fun....) and how many times they could set up to repeat. Really? So I raised my hand and explained what I thought was the obvious slider bar. No one else volunteered.... so I raised my hand again and explained how that one related to the one next to it. The professor asked about the other two controls...... no one???? So I raised my hand again and explained those...
Now we were to try to use it. Suddenly I had 3 of my classmates asking me questions. I ended up standing up and explaining again the different tools and how they worked together. Most of them now understood how to work it. Then the tutor said to look at the task bar tools... yep got it..... One guy explained how to save your settings, oh good not me..... wait..... ok I'll explain the rest of the options on the tool bar... By the end of the lab, I had typed two utterances from the sample transcription recording. The tutor made a statement about finding a friend who can help you as you work on transcribing the recordings. Most of the room turned and looked at me... "Vicki!" I was flattered and slightly overwhelmed.
Later that evening on the WhatsApp group page many of my classmates thanked me and praised me for saving the day. Some one told me to stop my MA program and be a seminar tutor.... I guess years of teaching came in handy. They are sweet to be so emphatic about it. I like to help and I thought it was easy, so I shared what I knew. Pretty sure the professor was happy I figured it out, because she really had no idea, and she turned to over to me to help and answer questions.
I'm still confused at how the oldest one there was the technically savvy one. I thought the younger generation was the one that you hand them technology and they figure it out and have it working in 10 mins. I guess age and experience won out over youth and talent this time, ironically in an area that is supposed to be their forte. ;) You're never too old to learn.
Computer generation is good with games, smart phones, and social media. The rest not so much.
ReplyDeleteThere's actually been some fascinating research into the digital generation. It turns out that those who are good with computers tend to be *really* good with computers - helped by the large body of information online; those who are not good at computers tend to be *really* not good, again, helped by all the resources online that can help them be lazy.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the real secret to being good with a new program is being unafraid to click every button and see what it does :) Kids might be a little more prone to this, thanks to the recklessness of youth, but the older generations can certainly learn it, too.
It's true, though, that you are particularity good with computers. And, I am really proud of you.
Keep putting those whippersnappers in their places! :P
There's actually been some fascinating research into the digital generation. It turns out that those who are good with computers tend to be *really* good with computers - helped by the large body of information online; those who are not good at computers tend to be *really* not good, again, helped by all the resources online that can help them be lazy.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the real secret to being good with a new program is being unafraid to click every button and see what it does :) Kids might be a little more prone to this, thanks to the recklessness of youth, but the older generations can certainly learn it, too.
It's true, though, that you are particularity good with computers. And, I am really proud of you.
Keep putting those whippersnappers in their places! :P