Technology

Have you ever met one of those people that can't wear a watch or the scanner at the grocery never works for them? They seem to have some sort of force field that makes those things go haywire. I am one of those people. However, my problem isn't as simple as a watch or the grocery scanner. NO, mine happens to be computers. Any type of computer, iPhone, iPad, desktop (any brand) really any computer. Sadly, this makes my job difficult.

Librarians don't just read books anymore. We are immersed in technology and branded with the job of teaching information literacy. This is tough when you are tech challenged. I spend a large part of my time educating myself on how to evaluate web sites, cite sources, learn about copyright and creative commons, investigate apps, and play around on Google so I can keep stuff organized. In turn, I try and share my knowledge with staff and students. I teach the kids in class and run profession development workshops for adults. The problem is that every single device I use has some sort of issue. You know it's bad when one of the top tech people in the area says something like, "Wow, I have never seen this happen with an iPad before." No, I didn't drop or drown it, it just became stubborn. So we wiped it thinking that would solve things, ahh wishful thinking! I moved onto my laptop. On many occasions I have clearly overworked this apparatus since it needs a break and freezes in protest. This usually occurs right when I am the middle of something incredibly important. Thankfully, I have moved onto Google docs which saves my work automatically EXCEPT for that one time where the doc disappeared. I am probably the only human being to actually lose a Google doc but if you knew my record, you wouldn't be too surprised!

The point of this post? I love technology, I am not scared of trying new things. Error messages do not send me into a panic nor do lost files (anymore). I will keep pecking away at mastering the techniques and fighting my battle with the tech tools in hopes that one day they will give up and just behave for me. Perhaps one of the big corporations would like to hire me and give me free products to find the weaknesses. Until then, I'm going to keep teaching the kids and staff what I can glean from these impossible machines and leave you with app that I love.

App of the week: Book Creator: there is a free version and a paid version. It allows you to create a book using art, pictures, and text. The books can be saved online, emailed or printed. It's a great way to share stories with those relatives who live far from you.

Keep reading,
The Noisy Librarian