fuscia
January 4th, 2006, 03:32 PM
if most end users are like me, there's going to be at least one apparently huge stumbling block in the way of getting to use linux (for me, it was getting my usb wireless adapter going). as evidenced by these forums, there is no shortage of help, in fact, there's an embarassing abundance of help. the problem with this help is that nearly every helper has too much respect for those they are helping. the people who provide support for windows, know enough to treat their little charges like idiotic dirt, which is surprisingly helpful.
as a teacher, i'm am forever having to remember what it was like to be clueless and fearful of the unknown. it is easy to look back at all the steps i took to get wherever i am and to remember how often an accidental discovery gave me a foot in the door to learning something about what i was trying to do. what is hard for me is to guess where the beginner stands. i don't think i have found anyone who is standing in the same place i once was. what may have been an "aha!" moment for me, might be a "so what?" moment for them. conversly, something that might have always been painfully obvious to me, might be a revelation to them. additionally, there are lots of little things we have all learned that have become so second nature, we have forgotten we ever even learned them. it's easy to remember the significant pieces of acquired knowledge while it is easy to forget all the little acquired details that make up more of our understanding than we often appreciate.
my experience with learning about linux, and firefox before that, is that i've always felt like the first chapter of the manual is missing. the first chapter would include everything from "turn power on" to a glossary of odd terms (the glossary should be in beginnerese). when i first started asking questions about linux, i got some very patient answers that, unfortunately, made references to things i had never even heard of. while i was never treated with even the remotest suggestion of impatience, after a while, i couldn't help feeling that i was making a pest of myself and that maybe i needed to go back to the 'beginner class'. for example, for my wireless problem, i was asking about ndiswrapper quite a bit. the suggestion that i should 'just get it from the repositories' was made, but as i had absolutely no clue what a repository was ("or, did he say 'suppository'? i wonder if that was a hint"), even after asking a friend of mine who uses red hat at work (he uses windows at home) who didn't know what they were either, i felt somewhat astonished. looking back at it now, having used synaptic on a daily basis, i laugh at my puzzlement. the explanation that was missing, that would have cleared it up for me, was that synaptic was a collection of programs that comes with the installation of ubuntu, only the programs aren't installed yet (for someone who has only known going to the garden store and buying plants, the notion of 'seeds' is completely foreign and unimaginable).
so, we need to write the first chapter of the manual. the problem in doing so is that those who are expert are unlikely to unravel the fabric of their knowledge enough to reclaim all their subconscious bits of knowledge to the level of consciousness. that then leaves the task up to those of us who are advanced beginners ("just watch your older brother"). unfortunately, people like me are probably far more occupied with the fear that we might mislead someone than with the thought we might actually be helpful, it is unlikely we will be the authors of this chapter.
well, i have no solution.:rolleyes:
as a teacher, i'm am forever having to remember what it was like to be clueless and fearful of the unknown. it is easy to look back at all the steps i took to get wherever i am and to remember how often an accidental discovery gave me a foot in the door to learning something about what i was trying to do. what is hard for me is to guess where the beginner stands. i don't think i have found anyone who is standing in the same place i once was. what may have been an "aha!" moment for me, might be a "so what?" moment for them. conversly, something that might have always been painfully obvious to me, might be a revelation to them. additionally, there are lots of little things we have all learned that have become so second nature, we have forgotten we ever even learned them. it's easy to remember the significant pieces of acquired knowledge while it is easy to forget all the little acquired details that make up more of our understanding than we often appreciate.
my experience with learning about linux, and firefox before that, is that i've always felt like the first chapter of the manual is missing. the first chapter would include everything from "turn power on" to a glossary of odd terms (the glossary should be in beginnerese). when i first started asking questions about linux, i got some very patient answers that, unfortunately, made references to things i had never even heard of. while i was never treated with even the remotest suggestion of impatience, after a while, i couldn't help feeling that i was making a pest of myself and that maybe i needed to go back to the 'beginner class'. for example, for my wireless problem, i was asking about ndiswrapper quite a bit. the suggestion that i should 'just get it from the repositories' was made, but as i had absolutely no clue what a repository was ("or, did he say 'suppository'? i wonder if that was a hint"), even after asking a friend of mine who uses red hat at work (he uses windows at home) who didn't know what they were either, i felt somewhat astonished. looking back at it now, having used synaptic on a daily basis, i laugh at my puzzlement. the explanation that was missing, that would have cleared it up for me, was that synaptic was a collection of programs that comes with the installation of ubuntu, only the programs aren't installed yet (for someone who has only known going to the garden store and buying plants, the notion of 'seeds' is completely foreign and unimaginable).
so, we need to write the first chapter of the manual. the problem in doing so is that those who are expert are unlikely to unravel the fabric of their knowledge enough to reclaim all their subconscious bits of knowledge to the level of consciousness. that then leaves the task up to those of us who are advanced beginners ("just watch your older brother"). unfortunately, people like me are probably far more occupied with the fear that we might mislead someone than with the thought we might actually be helpful, it is unlikely we will be the authors of this chapter.
well, i have no solution.:rolleyes: