People who use simplistic expressions they pick up elsewhere and think they are being profound annoy me (since I am a curmudgeon). “It is not about the technology.” OK, you did not create that expression. You probably heard it at a conference or read it in one of blogs you follow. Does it describe your situation and what exactly is that situation? Is it an excuse?
Sometimes it is about the technology and knowing how to use it. If you mean to say that technology for you or your studenta is a tool that you are using to accomplish some end (which is what I assume you may mean if you use this expression), please note that the end is only achievable if the technology is working and everyone involved knows how to apply the tool.
I have been very busy with my real job lately, but my tech toys have also been causing me some problems. Real work and failing technology are a stressful combination.
I post to three blogs that have three different purposes. There is my more professional full-length blog (Learning Aloud). There is this blog and there is the blog that I used mostly to point to useful resources generated by others (something like how many others use Twitter). It is this “resource blog” that failed. I explore software by using it. Someone has to do it. I found a simple blogging tool called Chyrp (get it – like an alternative to tweet) and decided to give it a try. Once I decide to experiment with software, I have two options. I can load it on a server I operate at the university or I can load it to a commercial server I lease. When I have the physical server in my possession, I have the greatest amount of control, but also the most responsibility. Doing this kind of thing is not like firing up Microsoft Word so you can write. You must understand the operating system of the computer (I use old Macs, but the free software I use is pretty much using the BSD Unix that underlies the mac system). You must understand the enabling software (PHP and MySQL in most cases) and you must understand whatever software application you want to use. These different layers also seem somewhat sinister in that they must be coordinated – the version of one layer must be consistent with the version level of the other layers – or things stop working. Great freedom and complete control, but sometimes it is just you and a machine that does nothing. No help except the many online comments and remedies and complaints about it still nor working. No one to call. The alternative for me is to use a commercial service that keeps the layers in proper coordination and will even automatically install certain designated software applications. Things just work.
I made a crucial mistake. I installed a third party application on a commercial platform. They don’t mind. However, this is kind of the worst of both worlds. You don’t really have complete control to tinker and you do not always know what they are doing (like upgrading). Chyrp worked for over a year and I accumulated several hundred posts. Then it stopped. I know the company did upgrades and my best guess is the old application I was running contained code no longer supported by something that was upgraded (probably PHP or MySQL). I am often aware of upgrades, but I also like to modify the open source code to accomplish some task. I like what the software then does, but cannot remember exactly how I made it work. So, I stick with the older software rather than going through that entire discovery process again. I could contact support, but there is a new message suggesting that if you have a MySQL question you need to call rather than chat and it was starting to look like they were probably not that thrilled with folks like me who liked to experiment.
So, the old blog is no more and I am now using one of their general, but well supported blog tools. I was able to save the data from the database and I can find the images and videos I included. It just takes a lot of time to add the old content to the new blog. I have now moved some of the old posts to the point I am just after the election and reliving the enthusiasm of that time. The timing is kind of interesting. I am reliving the enthusiasm post by post while listening to the conservative talking heads on Fox complain about the dire consequences of the new health care plan. I take some pleasure in this. It is kind of like switching over to listen to the Minnesota gopher hockey announcers when the Sioux are winning.
I feel like a wimp. Like my tech chops have failed me. Like I am not up to working until 3 AM to make it work any more. Maybe this summer.
Anyway, the old blog is kind of working again – Learning Together. Actually, if you want to relive the enthusiasm and optimism of the 2009 election, you would connect at about the right point in history. If you want something more current, you will have to give me another week.
Sometimes it is about the technology.