Learning new tech & growing into new things!

Taking a bit of a pivot to help more people learn about technology without feeling afraid to ask questions, feeling overwhelmed by all there is out there.

I think a lot about the time I was at a big name electronics store and a woman was clearly confused about which camera was right for her. The sales guy was trying to sell her something way more than she needed. When he walked away to check something on the computer, I walked up to her and asked her how she was going to use the camera. She said she just wanted to take pictures of her grandkids. I said ok, are you going to print anything larger than 8x10? She said no. So I showed her the best camera for her based on what she was going to use it for. This was obviously before we were all carrying around little computers with cameras in our pockets everyday.

I find that I am asked a lot of questions about technology. Some people want to know if they’re using the right software, or did they do the right thing when someone randomly called them telling them they were from support and needed to login to their computers. Others want to buy a computer and are looking at a $3000 laptop and are unsure if they’re spending too much money. And often times a $600 chromebook will work just fine for what they want to do.

When I started this podcast in July, 2018, I was really focused on helping teachers learn how to teach technology in their classroom. I still think this is very important and will certainly still be covering these topics on my podcast. Over time, as I’ve figured out the best technology for me to help teachers, my YouTube channel has really become the place for me to share tech tutorials many of which apply to teachers.

So now I want to use this podcast as a way to help those of us who didn’t grow up with technology, but our every days lives are filled with tech. We have to learn how to use this new banking software, figure out when it’s REALLY time to upgrade your cell phone, we have to help our kids learn how to safely navigate a digital world, manage digital distractions, and deal with the complex social issues around social media use and the anxiety that comes with comparison. We also have to help our aging parents and grandparents with their tech issues, when the printer doesn’t work, or there’s a weird message on their smart phone. Technology often times isn’t designed with the elderly in mind, so it’s up to us to help them figure out how to use it.I also had to learn a ton of new technology over the past year and a half to set up a successful podcast and YouTube channel. I won’t go into that here, but I knew I wanted to help more and more people so I had to figure out the best way to do it. And what better way than with this podcast!

Here’s what you can expect going forward.

I’ve affectionately named this podcast “The Tech for Regular People Podcast” because it’s just that. It’s not going to be overly technical. I will explain things in terms that you will understand. And if I use a term you don’t know, I want to know so I can explain it in a future episode. This is a judgement-free zone, where you can safely ask your tech questions without feeling talked down to, afraid to ask, or just plain embarrassed. Rather than talking about how much RAM something has or how many gigabits of this there are, I will explain to you that this works better because of that, so this would be a good choice for you if you are doing this.

I have a list of questions that I am starting out the podcast with for the month of May, 2020. What I would like for you to do is to submit your questions to me via phone, text, social media or email. If you go to www.GoAskHeather.