An article written by Phil Agre addresses the difficulty of explaining how to use computers to someone who doesn't understand. It is hard for a person who knows what he or she is doing to keep in mind that what he or she thinks is apparent may not be so to the person they are explaining the concept to. I struggle to be patient with people when they don't see what I think is right in front of their faces. As a result of keeping in mind that people may not understand what I already know, it is also important that I avoid negative comments when addressing the person I am helping. I know that when I am trying to learn something, the last thing I want is for someone to tell me I am doing it wrong.
When thinking ahead to the project that my team and I will be working on, these ideas will be important for us to keep in mind. People may not originally understand or be able to recognize the importance of what we are trying to present. We cannot assume that they will know why applications are useful for educational purposes. It is also important that we stay positive in our presentation. If people have questions or don't understand how something works, we will have to explain it without acting like we can't appreciate their misapprehension.
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