from John C
Upgrading to a new Mac? How?
I’ve often been asked to help people move their files from one computer to another. It’s pretty simple for me, since I’m a Mac enthusiast, but it seems like many people struggle with the terminology. Just the words “Migration Assistance” can be a stumbling block. They often don’t realize what the Finder can do. They might get stuck using the Mail app or not understand the basics of Pages. Once they get the hang of using one app, they can’t seem to accept that there are other ways to do the same thing that could save them time and make things easier.
Following a list of instructions can be overwhelming if they see more than three steps and each step has unfamiliar words.
I know how that feels, because I was the same way when I was a kid trying to follow a cake recipe. I wanted the cake, but I had no idea what “baking powder” was. I thought if I knew all about herbs and spices, I could make anything taste better. But I never got around to learning what I was interested in.
Is there a better way to learn? Is it even possible to teach something technical and complex in a way that makes the student eager to experiment?
When I was learning how to write shell scripts for a computer, I first discovered that there were 120 commands to choose from for a task. For the most part, I only needed a few of them. Of course, if I learned all the commands, I might have found some that would have simplified the task. Nowadays, Python is the preferred scripting language, and it has thousands of useful tools and commands for anything you can think of. Enter AI. Now things get easier, right? Because the AI knows everything about Python and dozens of other languages and can instantly put together code that may or may not work. The trick is in creating a prompt for the AI that gives clear instructions on what to use, what it’s for, and how the end result should behave. Simply put, the AI needs a complete plan to work with.
And that’s the key to teaching anyone anything. First, create an outline. Then, fill in the details. And keep it simple, explaining every new term along the way.