Published by: Jon Ketchum

 If there’s one thing that’s difficult for anyone to encounter when trekking through the swaying trends of technological know-how, it’s a steep learning curve. Whether you are a self-proclaimed “technology native” or “immigrant,” it is seldom easy to ratchet on a new set of training wheels to learn the ‘next’ new system.  

There are some organizations however, that purposefully develop new technologies to meet the needs of nearly every ‘adopter.’ In my observation, these companies are successful in their outreach because they do 3 things well; they offer products that have a purpose, products that are user-friendly and most importantly, products that are fun.  

There is one company in particular that has mastered the art of ‘reaching out’ to a varied audience. With the release of their inexpensive point and shoot camcorder in 2007, Flip Video single handedly demolished the latent learning curve associated with operating a video camera for its users. Their “plug and play” product was fresh, fun and easy to use, providing certain satisfaction for anyone willing to hold the device in their palm.

User-friendly products such as the Flip Video are especially useful in the education sector because they offer needed ‘clarity’ for both technology immigrants and natives within a collaborative center, the classroom. Consequently, these well-packaged systems fuel many new thoughts and ideas for both learners and teachers furthering a student’s education.  

Because the Flip Video is a practical system it is also a practical tool. Often times, a routine lesson plans is given new life when a new technology like the Flip Video is introduced. Instead of handing in a report for only the teacher to read and learn from, students now have the potential to craft projects that an entire class can learn from. In essence, these user-friendly ‘tools’ help inspire new learners, giving them a sense of exploration and ownership over their work.

In retrospect, ‘we’ are a divided group of technology adopters. As such, we should all hope that ‘plug and play’ products will continue to be readily available for our use as new systems come and go. Maybe then we can ditch the training wheels once and for all and rest assure that our learning curves will forever be slight in their inclination.