Competency 5

5. Identify and provide potential solutions to technology problems or situations in your setting.

Standards addressed

• Wisconsin Teacher Standard: 1, 9

Sample Problems

In addition to the problem solving I do daily as I use a range of technology, I am responsible for a lab of 25 Mac computers, two SMARTBoards, two projectors and various pieces of other equipment. The lab is used both for classes and for students working on individual units. Over the last few years a range of issues have arisen. When addressing a problem, I start with a the Help resources in the application itself, a Google search, a Youtube search, the user forums for the application, and experts in the application.

I have created a series of webpages to explain how to solve the problem for both student users and for students who are assisting in the labs. Here are a few examples (some attached below):

• Browsers handling mixed content
• Attaching to headsets for recording on SMARTBoard
• Handling large video files in Google Sites
• Signing into lab Chromebooks

Resources to Help Students Learn on their Own

As many of the students using the lab are more familiar with PCs than Macs, I helped a student create a short video two years ago on how to make the transition.

One other example of problem solving is my work in a class I teach called Virtual Libraries. In the class, students develop a website using a variety of web development tools from Google Sites to Weebly to WordPress to LibGuides to their district's course management system. I am not an expert on all those systems, so during the 3 days we meet, I spend a good deal of time working with students to solve problems such as how to embed blogs in a website or how to incorporate forms to gather information. I start by giving them a range of resources to learn the tools on their own and then we use help sits, user forums, outside experts, and simple Google searches to locate answers to questions that arise. For example, here are the resources I provided in the Summer 2015 class.

• Learn about your chosen web design tool: Make sure you know how to organize content on the page, use images (and video), add text,change fonts and color, add links, create navigation, and add widgets / scripts / HTML (to embed calendars, RSS feeds, etc.) in your chosen tool. Feel free to use these resources or any others you find useful.
  • LibGuides: Go to http://blog.springshare.com and look at the documentation on LibGuides v.2. It is recommended that you look at the links under School Libraries & LibGuides Resource Guide. If you want, you can either listen to the recordings or just look at the pages listed under them. You will need to sign in with your LibGuides (now called LibApps) account. For most of you, this will be your gmail address.
  • Weebly:
    • Beginner's Guide to Weebly
    • Weebly: How to Do Everything
    • Videos:
      • Weebly 2015
      • How to Build a Website in 15 Mintues with Weebly (2013 - options have changed slightly and moved to the left)
  • GoogleSites:
    • Google Apps Learning Center
    • Google Sites Help Center
    • Additional info:
      • Gooru: Google Sites Tips, Tricks, Training Videos and Articles (blog)
      • Videos - basics:
        • Google Sites Tutorial for Education
        • How to Create a Google Site 2015
  • WordPress:
    • WordPress Lessons (Codex)
    • Lynda.com (accessible with UWW netID and password, search for WordPress when signed in)
    • WordPress Tutorial (SiteGround)
    • Videos:
      • WP for Beginners (need to sign in)
      • iThemes' Wordpress 101 Tutorials
      • How to Make a Website; Build a Website with WordPress from Scratch
      • PressCoders HD Video Tutorial Series (sign up for free)
  • Your district's CMS: If you are using your district's CMS for this class, you will have to locate documentation on how it works.

Reflection

This is a skill I continue to develop. I have learned to break the problem into potential subproblems, try a solution on different computers or with different browsers, test out slightly different versions of the problems, change only one thing as a time, and develop a wide range of potential sources of help. As technology and applications change rapidly, I am constantly learning new software, determining what has changed in new versions, and changing documentation for users.