How to help someone use a computer

Thing to tell self: I think that I should remind and tell myself from time to time that apprenticeship can be the best way to learn. As the article said: “the best way to learn is through apprenticeship -- that is, by doing some real task together with someone who has a different set of skills”. By doing a hard task with a student who is struggling with computers, or other things, I am not only showing them that I care and will stick with them through the problem, but also I show them that computers aren’t “bad”. Even when something is difficult, it can be worked through and hopefully my students won’t develop a negativity to any types of computers.
Important rule: I am the type that likes to take over and show someone how to do something if they are getting flustered. If I am teaching my siblings to do something, I sometimes end up doing it for them. I think that the point made in the article about always making sure the person learning is doing the work is important. Even if it means pointing to every letter on the key board or screen, I let them do it because that is the best way for them to learn.
~A second important rule the article points out is to not blame yourself when things go wrong, always blame the computer.


When creating our technology presentation, my teammate made sure to blame the computer and only the computer, the Mac, when we began to encounter many problems getting our presentation to assemble together!

"Phil Agre's Home Page." UCLA Department of Information Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2010.