Sunday, March 5, 2017

Building Empathy


I was getting gas and really struggled with these new pumps. I saw the little image of how to insert the card but it just wasn't making sense. After two tries the pump locked me out! I was perplexed. My primary role is all things technology, how could this pump defeat me?

This tiny little lesson made me think of how many of our teachers and students experience this level of frustration daily from the tech they use. Time is short and the pressure is high. When things don't go right it is much easier to just turn around and do it the way it has always been done.

At the gas station I almost paid cash, I almost sent my kids in with my card to pay but I pressed on. It was only a matter of time before I figured it out.

This gets me thinking about the times when we offered some Appy Hours before and after school. This allowed the teachers time to meet up at a local St. Louis Bread Company and talk about the latest apps they were using. A low to no stress environment that allowed for the conversation to wander from apps to lessons to their own children.

These learning opportunities might just be what some need to explore new areas and bring something back to the classroom.




4 comments:

  1. The ability to explore things in our own time can make a world of difference! I always panic when I am trying something new and time is short.

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  2. A great idea and love the titled Appy Hours. Pressure and stress are definitely not the best environment for learning.

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  3. I love the idea of "Appy Hours" and the fun it might bring to discussing something that can, at times, make even the techiest of us want to pull our hair out! Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Time to work through new ideas is so important. It's so easy to stress and almost go into that "fight or flight" mode when something isn't going our way as quickly as we want it to. I think Appy hours sound like a great way to get teachers to connect!

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