Back to my "Five Rules for Becoming a Computer Genius" ... Rule #1 -- READ THE SCREEN!!
This rule seems obvious ... but most students (or people in general) simply do not read what is in front of them. Yet, if they did, most of the problems or confusing situations encountered in the locating and use of information would be alleviated.
We have had computer technology with us ... in our schools, homes, and offices ... for about 20 years. In that time designers of software, web sites, search engines, and operating systems have learned some things about making their products user friendly. That isn't to say that all of those products are great or as good as they might be ... but there are conventions and devices that are commonly available to the user -- things like search fields and the availability of Boolean search grids ... or print buttons that format a web-based document so that it prints what is wanted and not frames and blocks of gibberish ... or Help screens and sometimes tutorials for how to use a new application ... or ways for the user to sort search results by relevance or date, etc. ... or highlighted blocks or text to indicate what choice is being made .... and so on. Some of these things seem intuitive to those of us who have used computers and tech for a while, but younger students may not be aware of these aids and won't know about them unless they have time to scan and read the screen in front of them.
Without reading the screen, students can easily become bewildered as to what to do next. There are two extremes of this bewilderment. The first I call, The Quick Clickers ... and the second, The Hesitant Mice. The Quick Clickers do just that; they click and move through all sorts of links and buttons but never really see what they have and take no time to analyze their results. Pretty soon they are lost and have found nothing helpful. The Hesitant Mice are afraid to try anything and sit stymied - afraid to make a mistake. They are equally as lost and also have no information to use. Between these extremes are those students who, at varying degrees, successfully navigate through their task but those who do the best will have read and absorbed the visual and textual cues sitting there before them on the screen.
If we could teach students to really SEE what is on the screen ... AND give them the time to read it so they can figure out for themselves how to proceed, we would be moving a long way to making our students truly independent, self-sufficient learners. I estimate that about 70% of the "problems" students encounter while using technology could be solved by the very simply application of Rule #1 - READ THE SCREEN!!
