Category: Computer Wisdom

Everyone who has used a computer understands the annoying, time-wasting hourglass. You’re trying to perform magic on a deadline and the computer screen pops up with an hourglass that lazily pours sand … for. Ever. You think it’ll continue until Harvard wins the Super Bowl

The computer moves on when it’s ready, with complete disregard for your frustration.

There’s a lesson here. Life includes predictable, spontaneous hourglassing. Patience is the key. We teach our kids that patience is a virtue, but we don’t embrace it as our own. Anger won’t get rid of the hourglass and stress won’t make it go faster. Sit down, relax, check your email if it takes too long.

“All human wisdom is summed up in two words – wait and hope” (Alexandre Dumas)

Don’t you love keyboard shortcuts? Instead of mouse clicking through all those steps to get something done, a quick Ctrl+I italicizes, or Ctrl+S to save. So much more efficient.

Life is like that. You can do it the long way or the short way. Often that means, learn from someone else’s experience. Don’t always feel you must reinvent the wheel. You’re not capitulating if you take the road more traveled.

• Learn from your mistakes as well as other peoples
• Accept advice from people you trust.
• Don’t feel you have to go it alone. There are lots of friends and family, and sometimes new friends, who will help you get things right.
• Go with your strengths. They have been honed by use. Your weaknesses, well, you never quite know how they’ll work out.

Having said all that, sometimes these shortcuts don’t work. At that point, try something else. One feature I love about Windows is it has multiple solutions to every problem–drop down menu, mousing, shortkeys, usually a few of each. Incorporate that into your life. If one solution doesn’t work for you, try another.

Now, go get ’em!

PS–Here’s a list of my favorite keyboard shortcuts. I can’t do without them.

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Your processing speed is what it is. You can only think through problems and consider issues as fast as you do. No amount of wishing you were eidetic or lusting after those with a photographic memory will change your circumstances. Accept yourself for what you are. Revel in it. Own it. Enjoy your strong points and work around the weak ones.

Here’s something you may not know. No one is perfect and everyone has weaknesses. Successful people re-form arguments and situations to accommodate their strengths and ignore their weaknesses. You can too.

Who cares what your processing speed is if your hard drive is to die for?

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Life is hard, but lessons are all around us. If you pay attention, you’ll do well. The trick is to take your lessons where you can find them. In my case, being a technology teacher, it’s from computers.

Here’s my first tip: Know when your RAM is full. (more…)