We like to think that our kids are technologically proficient.

They love new things, they love using the latest thing, and so on.

Really?

Not in my experience as a teacher. There’s always a kid or two who really knows and loves technology, who might be labeled a “geek” even. If that label ever applies it means that the rest are not geeks, thereby not technologically proficient. The rest know a few things but are too easily trapped within what they know and don’t learn new things. The reason why “apps” are so meaningful to kids is that they encapsulate many functions that can already be done elsewhere but that users don’t know. With this idea in mind, go through a list of apps and you will be amazed at how redundant so many are, both to each other and to better ways to go about doing the same thing.

Schools have no interest in student efficiency, yet kids are graded on it all the time: is the bibliography formatted correctly? Are the web sources acceptable? Did the student get the teacher’s email? Does the computer have a virus, or is it so slow from unintended program installs that it just doesn’t work right? Was the file saved properly? On and on to the trouble I see in students all the time.

It’s not just a matter of functionality. How much time do you waste working for your computer rather than having it work for you.

Check out this video …

I will only use the keyboard during this video.

See here for a list of Microsoft keyboard shortcuts:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449

Pretty cool, huh?

You can get more done and with less frustration if you learn a few tricks.

– Michael

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