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Re: Stupid computer illiterate?
Posted By: Howard, on host 65.80.65.43
Date: Monday, November 19, 2001, at 06:58:47
In Reply To: Stupid computer illiterate? posted by MooglyGuy on Saturday, November 17, 2001, at 19:09:59:

Sadly, there are a lot of people like that. They were getting along OK without computers and suddenly.....
When I was teaching, the pricipal was one of those. As far as I know, he still hasn't touched a computer. He also had an airplane phobia, and being an ex-coach, he tended to talk in football anologies. It isn't easy working for someone like that.
Back in the early 80's, the state put an Apple IIe in every school office. The one in our office sat there untouched for a year. Then the state mandated that each school would have a computer class. Imagine the panic in our office!
Another teacher and I (neither with any computer know-how) volunteered to teach the class, on the condition that some training would be provided. I had the advantage of knowing how to type. What I didn't know was that I was going into a computer class where students outnumbered computers about 3 to 1. The state provided a one week crash course, in which half the class crashed before the week was out. I stuck it out to the end and mainly learned that I didn't know enough to teach a computer class.
It was surprising how well it worked out. My classes had two or three students(8th graders) who were far ahead of me in computer know-how, but realized that there was still a lot more to learn. We got in there and figured it all out together. To be honest, it was one of the easiest classes I ever taught. Those newfangled computers were a great motivator.
As for the school principal, he is retired now, and I wonder if he is using a computer. After all, seniors are the fastest growing segment of the population going on line these days. I know he has lost his airplane phobia, because his daughter works for an airline and he gets parent passes.
Anyway, the leap from manual typewriters and dial phones into the computer age was a big step for some of us old coots, but we are adapting.
Howard

> I have a teacher. This teacher is a complete computer illiterate. The teacher will remain nameless in case she or any of her co-workers read this, but here go three stories that have me snickering whenever I think about them:
>
> 1) A friend was taking notes on his Palm Pilot in class. Okay, no big deal, it's not like he was playing games on it. However, she was not to be fooled! Since the Palm Pilot has buttons on it and is generally around the same size as a GameBoy, she instantly assumed he was playing games and told him to put that "game thing" (her words) away.
>
> 2) Unfortunately, at my high school we just upgraded our computers, so a lot of the teachers who have never had computers before are getting the hand-me-down P2-233Mhz machines. Unfortunately, there are many idiots who (wrongly) assume these computers to be about as powerful as a Cray, and therefore go and install all manner of useless trash on the computer. Anyway, I was Ctrl+Alt+Del-ing some of the stuff (half the stuff doesn't have a "quit" option) and the computer was consistently crashing every time. After three tries, the teacher overheard me and said "isn't it the network that's doing that?" Yeah... sure.
>
> 3) This is a short and sweet one: For some odd reason, even with toner cartridge replacements, the class printer that she's stuck with doesn't print very well down the centre of the page. Somehow she has the notion in her head that this is a virus causing it, and any attempts to dissuade her from the idea- including showing her the virus scanner software on the computer- are to no avail. In her mind, it HAS to be a virus!
>
> *sigh*
>
> - R. "MooglyGuy" H.

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