[Trainer-Talk] Philosophical discussion -- can you teach people to follow instructions?

[Wayne Merritt]

There seems to be a fear of new tech and reluctance to take action and look information up. I am on a high traffic list for iOS and there are both kinds of people on the list, as well as those that regularly help them. I use a combination of techniques to find out how to use or do something on my phone. I will generally ask questions if I have never used an app before or to get more information. I am capable though of researching on my own or trying an app or feature to see how it works. Then again, if I am going to something brand new, like when I started with Windows 10, I wanted more direct instruction. To get that I listened to podcasts and talked with people. I think as teachers we need to be able to meet each person's need wherever they are on the spectrum. For me, this looks like asking a student questions to determine what they know, and adjusting the questions based on their answers. In other words, making the questions easier if I need to.


Wayne Merritt
Sent from my iPhone 6S

> On Sep 15, 2016, at 11:42 AM, Julie Adkins via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> And same thing for the conversations I observe on email listservs. Why on earth don't people research things for themselves?  Why don't they get the books that people write?  Listen to podcasts?  For heaven's sake, at least Google it?!?  People ask other people how to do every single little thing on their iPhone with VoiceOver!!  
> 
> Julie Adkins
> 
> 
>> On Sep 15, 2016, at 12:38 PM, Julie Adkins <assistivetechtrainer at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Most people I work with will not take charge of their own learning. I give them all kinds of resources for continued education and they won't bother. It feels like laziness to me. Or could it be fear?  Are people really so busy?  I know they are not. 
>> 
>> Julie Adkins
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sep 15, 2016, at 12:07 PM, Deborah Armstrong via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> My co-worker is able-bodied. He has several advanced college degrees. He is fit, and handsome and half my age.
>>> 
>>> His 16GB Galaxy 5 has no more room for storing data. This is a regular occurrence; he comes to me nearly every week in a panic about it. In desperation, he bought a 128GB SD card, which, when we looked through his storage this morning, has over 120G free still.
>>> 
>>> I have located many pages, Youtube videos and the like to assist him, but his phone is filled with private data, which I believe is why he asks me, the blind person to assist, because there is no worry that I will actually see any of it.
>>> 
>>> This page:
>>>              http://phandroid.com/expand-galaxy-s5-storage/
>>> for example has clear and accessible instructions for solving all his issues. He doesn't need it to be accessible but I chose this page to show to the list.
>>> 
>>> Anyway, all my efforts have been for naught. Despite his P.H.D. in psychology, he seems psychologically incapable of following instructions.
>>> 
>>> I guess what I'm wondering here is what techniques do you all use to teach people how to take charge of their own learning? I work in a community college with disabled students who are often terribly dependent! This example of my co-worker is only the most dramatic because he's otherwise so competent.
>>> 
>>> --Debee
>>> 
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