It may hate me, but I love IT.

Technology hates me.  Okay, I realize that it isn't truly possible, but I certainly feel targeted by anything which requires me to a) Remember a password or b) Track chargers that later yell at me when I try to use them, indicating that "this device could charge MUCH more efficiently if I used the one provided with the device."

I have a basket full of cords and chargers, and live in fear of tossing ANY of them, for fear of creating a paperweight out of a formerly functional piece of technology.

Last week I tried to teach with my new favorite pieces of technology, Dash and Dot.  They worked fine over the previous weekend when I charged and tested them, but by Friday I was prompted to "update" the software.  With a password for itunes.  I was at school, and had no access to said password, and had a darling six year old waiting patiently to interact with Dash and Dot.

Instructional Technology (IT).  I love IT.

At the risk of sounding like a commercial for McDonalds, I love Instructional Technology.  I love it like my own learners, with the same level of acceptance for its quirks and differences.  Oh, sure, I may roll my eyes behind its back, I may silently -- or not so silently -- plead that it works as expected, and I even brag about it's amazing capabilities, all while crossing my fingers behind my back that it performs as I expect it to, on any given day. 

I remember the first computer that my husband and I bought together.  "It has ONE GIG", said the salesman.  "You will NEVER need more than one gig for ANYTHING you will ever have to do." 

He was wrong.  Heck, I'm pretty sure my cellphone is bigger.  But it has been 30 years. 

In no particular order, here is a list of my current technology obsessions:

• Dash and Dot  (aka Bo and Yana).  Simple enough for a five year old to learn programming and coding.  Oh, and a 53 year old, as well.  I really want to invest in a whole lot of LEGOS to make masks and capes, and well, you get the idea, to dress these two up.
• My Lenovo Think Pad.  They (the scary IT department at school) gave us the new touchscreen Yoga computers right before Thanksgiving, and took away our old standby Vaios.  I love my Vaio, and couldn't imagine loving anything more.  It took some getting used to the touchscreen, but it's not as steep of a learning curve as I'd thought.
• Nooks in the classroom.  The idea that I can hand a Nook to a kid, and that same kid will peruse the library on the device to see what else is on there and READ MORE blows my mind.

Of course my smartboard and ipad are integral parts of the daily classroom as well.

Oh, and how did I finally fix the robot problem?  You'll never guess.

I tweeted my frustration.  SOS TWEETS get amazing results.  The company responded within seconds, and we're well on our way to designing a maze for Dash to run this week.

Only if I can escape the restraints of the cords that keep creeping out of the basket towards my wrists.  I'm pretty sure they're out to get me.