Intending to attend

Attention has been got at by ICT these last few weeks. There has been an upgrading of the technology first to a Samsung 8 inch tablet running on Android and with a touch screen, then an Asus X555L laptop running on Windows 8 and without a touch screen. Also I have moved from MS Office to Open Office.

I find it difficult to hold focus on a given topic – there are so many attention grabbing options at the touch of a button (astonishing apps). And my organic short term memory is not effective these days. I therefore need to muster the discipline for figuring how to make things happen and then repeating the procedure until it sticks.

Most programmes have a built in help system and this sometimes includes tutorials on how to get started and how to use the more sophisticated options. Failing that you can search for them on Google or Youtube. The quality of these vary but I usually find something useful from keen nerds.

I feel an intention coming to attention. The idea is simple . Print out a to-do-list and set a kitchen timer to limit the amount of time you spend with this aspect of CPD. Here is a generic list for the basics of using a new programme.

1. how to enter the programme
2. how to create a new file (or open one that already exists)
3. how to enter data (ref types – text, clips, links, audio, video, photo etc)
4. how to save or export the file (ref types)
5. how to exit the programme