Computer Meltdown

My computer crashed and died and had to go in for repair so I turned to my backup pc but, within minutes, it too gave up the ghost. The same day I went in to the bank for a statement and was told the bank's computers were down so I couldn't get one; someone was definitely out to get me- or so it felt!

It was very frustrating and made me reflect upon how dependant we have become on technology. It's great when it all works.When it malfunctions it is not only inconvenient but can cause huge problems, like for example the recent chaos caused at Heathrow by computer meltdown which left passengers stranded on runways, departure boards not updated and flights minus luggage.

For me being without my computer meant that I had to resort to good old fashioned pen and paper for my business administration which was much more time consuming. A few years ago I wouldn't have missed my computer as I only used it periodically for looking online. Now, however, being it is really problematic as my computer is my virtual office. I do all my business administration on my computer and also rely upon it for finding, downloading and creating and editing music for my pupils to dance to. Without my computer my business can't fully function.

I had to rely solely on my phone for the internet. How did we ever manage without mobile phones? My pupils seem to be permanently attached to phones and tablets in between classes and that isn't just the teenagers. A child of three years of age in my Beginner's Ballet class recently came and showed me with pride her new mini iPad!

This reminded me of a report on ITV news I had seen which was about whether we are too reliant on technology. It stated that two fifths of children under the age of two are already using smart phones and tablets every day. Below is the link to this article:


http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/story/2014-05-06/are-we-too-reliant-on-technology/


I do think that we are too reliant on technology, but, as a self confessed technophobe, I tend to see technology as a necessary evil and things like my computers crashing don't help to change that view.

Being minus my computer also caused problems for my work on BAPP Arts. It meant I couldn't join Adesola's Skype session. A good samaritan leant me a laptop for the occasion and I sat there, in eager anticipation, waiting to connect to the conversation to no avail- there were technical difficulties and I couldn't join the session. Thwarted yet again by technology!

Fortunately Adesola repeated the session the following week and this time, on another borrowed laptop, I succeeded in connecting.

SKYPE SESSION

It was very interesting to hear the thoughts and opinions of others on the course. I found it useful to hear from Chiara on Module 3 as it enabled me to see where the course was leading and talk to someone who had already completed the Module I am currently doing.

 I discovered in this session that the tasks on the course are not compulsory. They are a means of guiding the learning process, but you can omit some if you feel that you would not be learning anything new or helpful to your professional development by doing them. I hadn't realised this, but it makes perfect sense, as this is a personal learning journey, that certain tasks will be more relevant to each of us than others.

Rachel mentioned that she had uploaded lots of videos to Youtube so felt that she would not be benefitting by doing this task. I have also uploaded videos in the past, but, as I have now purchased a new Mac (in the hope that this might prove more reliable than my pcs) and haven't yet used iMovie, I want to use this task to learn more about iMovie as I do it.

The key thing I took away with me from this Skype session is that you don't have to give all the tasks equal weight; you can adapt them to suit your own professional needs and, if you can't find a way of learning something new by doing the task you can omit it altogether and perhaps write about your reasons for doing so, either in a blog or in your reflective journal.