Can Technology be Fun?

Absolutely, but it can also be frustrating as well. From the previous posts, you know how I feel about practice and backups. But it is also important to point out that using technology in the classroom can be fun. And when teaching has an element of fun, students remember.

The year was 1996 and I was working for a young company named NETCOM, an Internet Service Provider. This company was based in San Jose, CA but I worked in a large call center in Dallas, TX. I taught technical support and customer support classes. In the technical support classes students were trained to assist customers as they tried to connect to the Internet with their modems (most were 4800 or 9600 bps). Many of the students had never seen the Internet before they were hired and attended our class. It was intense and if they failed the test at the end of the 2 week class, they were not offered a job. A fun thing we did in class was a "Surfing Scavenger Hunt". Students were given a list of 20 items and told to surf and record the website that they found the item on. One of my favorites was "songs about sea monkeys". Try it yourselves.

Teaching tip #4: If you are sending students on surfing adventures in cyberspace, make sure they are prepared for "questionable" materials. The Internet in 1995 through 1997 was like the Wild West, you never knew what to expect from a web site until you visited it (case in point - does anyone remember www.whitehouse.com? It was most definitely NOT where the President lived. Go to wikipedia for more history on the site). Another trainer working with me sent a group on their scavenger hunt, and found himself in a lawsuit for willingly making a person go to web site that they found offensive. This student who sued us (and lost) was trying to make a quick buck, but how it changed our class was with the introduction of the signed disclaimer form.

Today most students are aware of the content on the Internet, but from a teaching standpoint, it is good for us to be cognizance of the possible content as well. Sun Tzu, in "The Art of War" tells us “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” Be prepared and remember, SEMPER GUMBY.