Computer frontline troubleshooting

Computer troubleshooting gives some a quezzy stomach.  It is scary for some but terrifying for others.  I think the most important thing for people to remember is to not be afraid of trying to fix it yourself.  If it is broke you can't break it anymore and it can always be fixed.  The more a person tries to fix a computer the more comfortable they would feel.  This is actually how I got more comfortable I felt and the more I would try. 
Reading and researching is a great place to start to feel comfortable with technology.  There are many good sites to look at.  Computer Hope is website that has many good troubleshooting tips.  It has tips to troubleshoot software and hardware.  It gives the cause and the solution.  This helps you feel more comfortable by giving you a sense of what is going on.
People who have some knowledge about technology feel empowered.  The knowledge of technology also helps when you have to call your local IT person while at work.  This way when they are asking questions you understand what they want.  It makes it much easier to get your computer fixed. If you are interested in learing more, here are some sites to take a look at.

1. Trish's Escape from Hardware Hell
2. PC Hell
3. Microsoft Word 2007
4. Microsoft Tutorials covering all of their products

I am fascinated with what people put on the Internet.  The things people post on social sites, documents and pictures they post are sometimes not appropriate.  I often wonder “What were they thinking”   I don’t think people really think about the impact of what they put on the web when they put it there.  This is especially true of younger children.

 When talking about the Internet and technology you must also keep in mind, what you put on there is permanent.  The information placed on the Internet could be seen my millions of people years down the road.   Information placed on the web even if deleted may be cached somewhere and it is not really ever erased.   Let’s look at your personal computer and the information held on there.   When you delete the information on your computer it is not really gone.  It is still imprinted on your hard drive.  You can recover this when if you have a special program to retrieve the data.  There are special programs that shred information on your computer when you delete it so it is permanent.  There are a couple of different programs for this.  Boot and Nuke is one of them and it is a free Open Source program.   This program will delete all files permanently so they can’t be recovered.  Now think about the servers hard drive that hold your information you placed on the Internet, do you think that they use this kind of technology to delete your information?   Does anyone really think about that?  Now think about kids and young adults, do you think they even think about this?

I think with all the technology being used by students today they need to learn what they should and shouldn’t share on the Internet.    What people put on the Internet could be used against them if they put the wrong thing on there.  Employers and Universities will look at online profiles to get information on the applicants.   Don Goble states, “College admissions and employers do read your online profiles and they do make decisions based upon information they find out about you online. In fact, colleges will make decisions based upon many forms of questionable involvement.”  I think that we need to teach our children what happens with the information they put online.   We need to teach them the consequences they may face if they put the wrong information on the web.

Who do you think should teach them?  Should it be up to the teachers or the parents?

 

Goble, D, 2012, 10 Things Your Students Should Know About their Digital Footprint,  Edreach.us