Being the geek!

I have always considered myself to be a little bit of a geek, and I mean that in a positive way.   When I was younger I enjoyed building electronics kits, a little bit of computer programming and wargaming.  Does it get any geekier?

I am still a bit of a geek.   Recent examples include purchasing a new fan and fitting it to my NAS drive despite the fact the unit apparently had “no user serviceable parts” according to the manufacturer.    That’s what they think!   I have also recently been making use of my sons Raspberry Pi to transfer files between hard drives and NAS drives at home, using RDP to remotely access the Pi from my laptop or tablet.    I am also looking at using the Pi as a Media server connected to one of our household TVs.

I have always enjoyed the odd little techie project.    The issue is that I generally don’t find the time to engage in these types of activities to the extent I would like.

I look at the Pi and the massive number of projects I could undertake using it however in order to do so I need to find some time and get started.

I think the issue is that I am looking for a particular project which will really engages my interests and until I find such a project it is all too easy for me to put my geeky tendencies to the side in favor of tasks and activities of a “higher priority”.

I do however dabble with programming whenever I get a chance and have only this morning created a little routine to provide some quick analysis of our school registration data to help out those in the office who are required to follow absences up.    This kind of geeky behavior is more common for me as it is work related and has a clear purpose and benefit.

My son who is 10 years old got a video capture card for Christmas to allow him to record his Xbox gaming for sharing with fellow gamers.     This is something that I think I need to engage with my son on.   He has also previously expressed an interest in green screening so this may be another area where I can express my inner geekiness but with a specific purpose and benefit, that of spending more time with my son in joint activities.

Thinking about it, I can see how my geekiness might align with my urge to hack the classroom.   Both involve some creativity, experimentation, repeated fails and hopefully eventual success.

Long live the geek!!

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Gary Henderson

Gary Henderson is currently the Director of IT in an Independent school in the UK.Prior to this he worked as the Head of Learning Technologies working with public and private schools across the Middle East.This includes leading the planning and development of IT within a number of new schools opening in the UAE.As a trained teacher with over 15 years working in education his experience includes UK state secondary schools, further education and higher education, as well as experience of various international schools teaching various curricula. This has led him to present at a number of educational conferences in the UK and Middle East.

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