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Digitally illiterate

Yep, that is me. In addition to my bullying class, I am also taking a class on digital literacy. I figured if I want to return to the classroom (which I am still not 100 percent sure I want to do), I should be aware of the technology teachers and students are using. Fellow teachers are throwing around words like promethean boards and elmo projectors. Here I thought Elmo was just the furry red monster. Sigh.

I used a Mac for 13 years at my last job. I do not like PCs, but, alas, this is what we have at home. When I put in a disk last week, it took me almost five minutes to figure out where it went. On a Mac, it would have shown up on my desktop. But on PC, I had to go somewhere else (where, I already forget).

I cannot figure out how to close and not quit out of programs (I want command W!). My computer seems to freeze/lock up way more than the Mac ever did. And when it does, I get this irritating message that asks me if I want to "End Now." Except now is more like three or four minutes. Apparently we have different definitions.

Brian asked me yesterday if a speaker was plugged into the computer (no sound was coming out of said speaker at my mom's). I found three cords coming out of the speaker and ending up in a river of cords and cables on the floor, and I gave up. I have no idea how people figure out what goes where. The same is true of our beloved 42" HD flat screen. I have trouble just going back and forth from the DVD player to regular cable TV.

I was delighted to discover recently I could "follow" other blogs and include them (blog name and last post) on my blog page. This meant I could now tell when my favorite blogs were last updated, without having to go to each blog from my favorites list. You would have sworn I discovered the cure for cancer, I was so excited.

Technology is also a little too intrusive. A few months ago, a chat feature appeared in my yahoo email. All of a sudden a message popped up from I guy I went to high school with. I practically jumped. I am also concerned about being "seen" online, another recent (at least to me) feature. I now know which of my yahoo contacts are online at any given minute. I think they can tell I am online only if I am in their address books too, but honestly I am not sure, and that kind of freaks me out too. And don't even get me started about doing a google search. I hate that my name is uncommon and I am so out there.

I know there is no avoiding technological advances, so I better learn to figure them out, beyond the basic features of Microsoft Office, blogging and Facebook. But I am going to do it kicking and screaming, and not without great struggle.
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