Are you getting bullied by the internet? Tired of seeing that rainbow color wheel spin or the infamous loading of a site that never comes to fruition? Are you tired of seeing your classroom minutes tick by as you’re trying to troubleshoot and seeing your students mentally check out one by one?
My husband, Joshua Northcott, and I are both involved in technology with our daily lives and even careers. And over dinner one evening, talking about highlights from the day, he began sharing with me an expression that his coworker often says sarcastically at the point of frustration with the stupidity of others… “just click refresh and get on with your your life already”.
We both were cracking up over the context of how this expression came up, but long after our laughter ceased, I still had that saying going through my head. It’s so simple and so applicable!!!
When technology fails us, and it will, what can I do?
#1. Click Refresh
Before calling IT (Information Technology Department, freaking out, complaining that something is broke, or worse being destructive, JUST click refresh!!
#2. Try a different browser
Not all internet browsers are equal. Personally, I use Chrome a majority of the time due to being a Google Apps for Education school district and it serves my needs for the most part. However, I have run into times where a program is not functioning like it should or a site is not loading and interacting correctly. So copy and paste the URL and try that link in Safari or an Internet Explorer browser and see what you find!
#3. Clear your cache and cookies
Think of it this way, when you’re using the internet you are leaving behind footprints of just about all your activity online. Making a clean sweep of these footprint files in a manual way may solve problems with web sites or your browser.
Try clearing your cache first to see if that solves the problem.
On Chrome: click on the three dots in top right corner, settings, Privacy, Show Advanced Settings, Clear browsing data, select the correct boxes, and from the beginning of time. Shortcut keys Ctrl-Shift-Delete (Windows) or Command-Shift-Delete (Mac).
On Internet Explorer: try the shortcut key Ctrl + F5 to clear cache.
#4. Hard shut down
If none of these solutions have fixed your problem, do a hard shut down. Preferably, do this by closing all your windows and go to the option “shut down”.
#5. And if all else fails, then result to “ Get on with your Life Already!”
- What did we do before technology? Plenty! So you’re relying on technology for your lesson and it fails you…. That should not take precedence over getting on with the lesson. Adjust your lesson, pitch a new angle, and ditch the technology for the sake of time and getting on with great learning and engagement.
have a love and appreciation for technology and what it has allowed me to achieve in and out of the classroom, but I also appreciate knowing that I can still create amazing experiences and learning opportunities even when technology is unavailable or giving me more challenges than I have time to deal with. This is the 21st Century and let’s remember that critical thinking is one of the greatest skills we can teach and applicable in any area. But after the critical thinking has been applied, let’s click refresh and get on with our lives already!
"How do I clear my web browser's cache, cookies, and history?." 16 Feb. 2017, https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahic. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.
