September 26, 2012
Do You Make These 9 Mistakes
…with your child’s computer education?
- Show your child how to do something rather than allowing him to discover
- Do for them rather than let them do it
- Say ‘no’ too often (or the other enthusiasm-killer, Don’t touch!)
- Don’t take them seriously
- Take technology too seriously. It’s a tool, meant to make life easier. Nothing more.
- Underestimate their abilities
- Over-estimate their abilities
- Give up too quickly
- Think there’s only one way to do stuff on the computer
I promise–none of these are necessary for your children, your students, to thrive in technology. They love learning. They can’t break most computer parts. They want to try things out and then do it themselves. Let them. They may discover the Better Mousetrap. After fifteen years, I am still learning from my students. Every year, it’s something new (which I often share with you under the Tuesday Tips).
Children are serious about having fun. It’s one of their jobs. Technology is how they do this. Feel free to join them now and then. You’ll be surprised at how much then know. But, sometimes, they need help. Offer it with a guiding hand.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-sixth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
