Where do you hit a wall with  technology, and how can you work to be better at using it?

I would hit the wall squarely in the middle, with a hammer, in order to leave a lasting mark.

Just kidding.

The “wall” I tend to hit is the lack of cooperation on the part of other humans; I am a bright and capable, computer/tech competent person. When I have a question about tech, it’s because I have not been able to research an answer, and blindly clicking about for hours on end hasn’t yielded results. I find that those who are more capable than I oftentimes fall into two categories: those who really want you to be able to play with the toys, and those who think the toys are their special province, and they only reluctantly share information. We have three really savvy people in my school; two are super and are willing to help anyone learn, and who are patient and kind with those who need guidance in the techno world. The third, well, yeah. Depending on the day and who you are, and if you are considered in the “inner circle,” the Great and Powerful Oz might deign to be of use. But I’m sure we all have people who are like that, and not just in the technology arena. We learn how to work with these types of people, too; it just takes a little more sugar and creative request-framing.

I find that the best way to get better at using tech is to just use it; attend trainings, ask people who are using the things you want to use, and just play with them. We have a class set of flip cameras available in the building; signing them out and playing with them, and then allowing students the freedom to tweak their videos and be a little goofy is fine. Experiential learning is, I have found, the best way to become adept at the various forms of digital media available. The one fear that I got over rather quickly years ago was that I’d click on the wrong thing and break the very expensive whatever it was. I found that, unless I got into files I rather ought not to be messing with, I couldn’t break anything, and that shutting the computer off (or camera, or other device) would generally earn me techno-forgiveness. So now, I click and poke and reset at will.