Sometime previously I wrote about technology. I love technology. I use it, perhaps, too much. Sometimes I’ll spend more time working with a tool to see if it will benefit me than it would have taken me to do the task by hand. I could take notes on a piece of paper… or I could find a clever checklist application, try to install it on my phone, e-mail my list to myself, and marvel at how clever I am. Both paper & technology can accomplish making a list. When it is just a run to the grocery store perhaps the bits and bites are a bit overkill.
But technology is also very helpful. If there is one thing it is good at it is processing large amounts of information in a repeated and controllable way. As such, I really like it for my large film class. When it works I don’t have to muddle with secret codes for distributing grades because the computer does that for me and the server hosts that information 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It also accounts for all of the new grades being entered by hand and by computer (for online testing). This is great! When it works.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I found myself thinking of reverting to a non-digital version of the course. Paper only (and I really don’t like wasting paper). Why would I do this? I am a technophile. I can’t stand manually processing information better handled by a machine. The answer is so simple: lack of acceptable tech support.
I’m pretty smart… but I know when things aren’t working. If, a week into courses, the digital component doesn’t exist after many a mental breakdown and no one can fix the problem within a reasonable time frame and instead attempts to lay fault with someone else (including the user) there is something very wrong happening. (And it hurts education).
I’m sure I’ll write more about this… but it seriously needs to be addressed (and I’m guessing this happens elsewhere too). IT people: Please don’t automate processes between multiple systems with proprietary software if no one can fix the problems because no one can see anything but the standardized output. This is NOT good for education. More later.