New Year’s Technology Resolutions
Audio of the blog
Supporting staff and students to achieve their full potential since 1968.
Welcome to our weekly CENMAC blog post
New Year’s Technology Resolutions | by Mary Long, Deputy Team Leader
Happy New Year! And welcome to 2022!
It’s that time of year when our attention turns to setting goals and making promises to ourselves (and others) in areas where we want to make improvements. New Year’s Resolutions can be easy to make, but somehow even easier to break. It is hard to stick to our resolutions at times, especially if we have set ourselves particularly challenging ones.
If you support students using CENMAC devices, the New Year is a great time to start developing habits which will encourage students to take ownership of and responsibility for their equipment.
When thinking about technology use and how to improve that area of my life, there are three resolutions that I will be aiming for over the coming year.
1. I will get better at keeping all my technology tools charged and ready for use!
All too often I find myself scrabbling around on a train, or out and about in cafes and restaurants, searching for sockets for multiple devices which are down to their last few percentages of battery life. This year, I resolve to build a better charging habit, with a dedicated place and time in which to charge my devices, preferably at times when I don’t need to use them. I will also seek to set myself a weekly reminder to check the battery status of all my devices and charge those which are needed.
This resolution is also relevant for me and will prompt me to recharge whenever I feel my own battery has been drained! I will seek regular times and places to look after my own internal battery and try to monitor my energy levels with a weekly reminder to check my own status and how I am feeling.
If you support students using CENMAC devices, the New Year is a great time to start developing habits which will encourage students to take ownership of and responsibility for their equipment. You could begin by making sure that students know where and how to charge their devices and start to build it into their daily home-time routine. If students take equipment home, make sure you have conversations with families around how and when it will be charged, so that it is ready to use for learning the next day.
2. If I come across a minor issue with my technology, I will research and troubleshoot this myself, rather than seeking help straightaway.
With so much information available through search engines, it is becoming easier to find fixes and solutions online for minor technical issues. This is something that students can also be supported with, and many of our CENMAC students enjoy knowing that they have been able to find and fix a problem themselves. Of course, for any major difficulties, or for things that are not so obvious, you can take advantage of the CENMAC TeamViewer option, enabling you to receive help remotely from CENMAC’s terrific technician, James (recently nicknamed ‘Sonic’ by a student in one of our schools, when he saw the speed at which he works!).
3. I will deepen my understanding of some of the technology tools that I’m not quite as familiar with.
Setting aside a regular time when I can focus and explore some technology that I may not be as familiar with will be vital if I am to achieve this resolution. It will also be helpful to create a checklist of the kinds of areas that I want to explore in more depth and keep a record of how and what I have learnt. This information can then be revisited over the coming year, as I often find that with newer types of technology, if I am not using them regularly, I sometimes forget parts of my learning.
This is also true for the students that we support. It is essential that children and young people are given time to learn how to use the tools that will help them with their learning. It helps if a record or checklist of what has been covered can be collated, so that students can refer back if they need further support. The students that we support who have the most success with their use of technology are those that receive additional time, either at home or at school, to learn how to use their equipment and software. This is best done at times aside from using it for the curriculum or communication when those demands take precedence.
Do let us know of any technological resolutions that you or students make for this year. And, as ever, do call on your CENMAC specialist if you need any assistance.
This year, I resolve to build a better charging habit, with a dedicated place and time in which to charge my devices
… keep a record of how and what I have learnt.
Don’t forget you can share your CENMAC experiences for our CENMAC family to enjoy. Plus, sign up for our newsletter to read more about Education and Technology.
