Tech Story: Kit

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"Why won't it let me do this?" How many times have you said that out loud when their was no one around to hear you? They say it is okay to talk to yourself as long as you don't answer your questions! But good learners have powerful self-talk routines. They do answer their own questions, with problem solving tools, words of encouragement and by searching their memory banks.We put reminders on our mental, and our office bulletin boards. We stash extra plugs and connectors and quicktips in our bags and on our desktops. I asked the storytellers to share the contents of their techkits:

What gets you unstuck?
What keeps you from getting stuck?
What do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
What is on your getting started list for newbies?

Nan Lombardo
Had I known ten years ago what I would be doing today, I would have paid better attention and taken notes. I have wonderful colleagues and friends who help me get unstuck, but they don't always keep me from getting stuck in the first place. I would tell newbies to stay as current as possible, and not be afraid to take risks, especially if those trips to the edge will enhance what's best for kids. My kit would include:

A laptop that has everything I want and stuff I don't even know yet that I need – with all the latest cool gadgets and abilities to take me places and show me things that I can only imagine.

A screwdriver with interchangeable heads.

A bottle of aspirins.

Duct tape.

Crampons to help me climb the walls that mysteriously pop up to build character and humility.

Alexis Moran
What gets me unstuck is having someone experienced teaching me. And what keeps me from getting stuck is learning it the first time. Ten years ago, I was 8 years old, and I wanted to know more about computer graphics.

Julie Botel
Here are some things I'd put in my kit:

A G4 titanium Powerbook with DVDs of Matrix and Total Recall and preloaded with bookmarks of sites about people I love (I started to make a list, but it got waaaay too long).
An airport A Palm with an integrated cell phone – with an Avant go account.
A really good Swiss army knife.
A set of shoelaces as a reminder to empower others to "tie their own shoes" – technologically speaking, that is. GIVE SOME TO EVERYONE!
I could think of some other things, but a kit shouldn't be too heavy!

Kathy Conway
A puzzle to remind me that I am a teacher and I am here to awaken students to the possibility of their ideas. Life is full of puzzles and I need to give my students the skills that will help them solve those puzzles

My Laptop A zip drive and disks with all of my back-up files
A couple of my favorite CDs to listen to when I need to relax
TI Graphing Calculator Cell phone Tape recorder for moments of reflection
Flashlight – I don't like the dark.
Pencil and paper – When all else fails, including my computer battery, I can write down my ideas on paper.
A photograph of my family to keep me focused on the important things in life and to remind me to spend a little less time at the computer and a little more time with people.

Deborah Peek-Brown
There are four things you need to have in your tech kit to survive in a world of technology:

Patience
Problem solving skills
Patience
A friend you can call 24-7 who knows more about technology than you do!

Angela Cristini
My biological research has me collecting crabs and other invertebrates in the water and mud from some beautiful and not so beautiful locations in New Jersey. This training as a field biologist is the best possible preparation for working with technology.

Things never go as you think they will in the field – the chain on the winch broke and the equipment is now on the bottom of Newark Bay. You must always have Plan B, C, D, and E. This is directly applicable when designing any project, workshop, presentation, and lesson involving technology – always bring handouts to a presentation in case all technology fails.

When you are stuck in the mud up to your waist – don't panic, relax and let you instincts get you out. When you are ready to bang your head into your monitor because the same error message has come up 20 times – don't panic, relax and let your instincts get you out.

After you have relaxed and find you are now up to your chest in mud – yell HELP – and the team members you left on shore will extract you. Always establish a life-line of techno-savvy colleagues who, preferably know your learning style, and can save you from physically abusing your computer. The clams you collected from the most polluted bay in NJ and transplanted to the best bay in NJ repeatably die within two weeks of exposure to clean water. You have to be prepared to examine all potential solutions and sometimes think outside the box to problem solve in biology and to do what you think may be possible with technology.