Do you have to be a tech expert to be good with technology? I don’t think so. In fact, after decades of working with technology and teaching it, I’ve learned that sometimes the more important skill is knowing what to do when you don’t know the answer.
Technology changes too quickly for any of us to understand every new device, app, programming language, or AI tool. Yet many people still back away from technology because they believe they aren’t “tech people.” In this episode of Mr. Fred’s Tech Talks, I explore a different way to think about technology confidence: stay curious, ask questions, experiment, and be willing to learn from someone else.
[EMBED PODCAST PLAYER HERE]
Being Good With Technology Doesn’t Mean Knowing Everything
I’ve been working with technology for decades. I teach technology, run GetMeCoding, and have spent more hours than I’d probably like to admit trying to make computers do things they didn’t seem particularly interested in doing. And I still encounter technology that leaves me thinking, I got nothing. That’s normal. We live in a world where answers are incredibly easy to find. If something doesn’t work, we can Google it, watch a YouTube video, or ask AI. Those are amazing resources, and I use them all the time.
But that convenience raises an interesting question: What happens if we become so good at finding answers that we stop getting good at figuring things out?
Exploration Can Come Before Expertise
Growing up, my friends and I were fascinated by technology even though we didn’t necessarily understand it. We experimented with early computers and gadgets, built things, took things apart, and tried to figure out why something worked or didn’t work. We weren’t somehow better at problem-solving than kids today. We simply had fewer ways to skip the figuring-it-out part.
That distinction matters. Today, someone might avoid coding because they don’t know Python, shy away from robotics because they’ve never programmed a robot, or avoid experimenting with AI because they don’t understand how it works. But expertise doesn’t have to come first. Exploration is often how expertise begins.
That’s an idea I emphasize throughout GetMeCoding. Whether a child is programming a robot, building with LEGO, experimenting with Scratch, or playing outside, the process of designing, testing, failing, changing something, and trying again develops problem-solving skills that go far beyond technology.
Ask Before You Answer
When someone is struggling with technology, our natural reaction is often to solve the problem for them. A better first step may be asking a few questions.
Try asking, “What are you trying to make it do?” or “What have you already tried?” You could also ask, “What happened when you tried that?” or simply, “What do you think is going wrong?”
The interesting thing about these questions is that you don’t have to know the answer yourself. They can work with a child learning Scratch, a college student debugging code, a coworker learning new software, or an adult trying to understand an unfamiliar AI tool. Instead of immediately searching for the answer, you’re helping someone understand the problem. That’s an important digital literacy and problem-solving skill on its own.
Don’t Steal the Struggle
This may be my favorite idea from the episode: Don’t steal the struggle.
When we see someone struggling, we naturally want to help. There’s nothing wrong with that. But helping doesn’t always mean solving the problem for them. Anyone who has learned to code knows the experience. You write something, run it, and nothing happens. You make a change and run it again. Now something happens, except it isn’t remotely what you wanted. So you make another change.
That frustration isn’t necessarily evidence that learning has failed. Sometimes that is the learning.
Experimenting, debugging, making predictions, discovering mistakes, and trying again are part of developing technology confidence. This is why I encourage experimentation in GetMeCoding activities and resources. Something doesn’t have to work on the first, second, or even third attempt for the experience to be successful. Sometimes giving someone another five minutes with a problem is more valuable than immediately handing them the solution.
Let Someone Else Be the Tech Expert
There’s another easy way to become more comfortable with technology: let somebody else teach you.
Ask a child to show you Minecraft. Ask a student to demonstrate something they built in Scratch. Ask a coworker how they use an application you don’t understand. Ask someone to show you what they’re doing with AI.
Then resist the urge to take over.
When someone teaches what they know, they have to organize their thinking, explain the process, answer questions, and sometimes troubleshoot their own demonstration. They’re no longer simply using technology. They’re thinking about how it works. There’s also a human connection hidden inside those two simple words, “Show me.” You’re telling someone that what interests them matters enough that you’re willing to learn about it.
That applies whether you’re a parent, teacher, grandparent, student, coworker, friend, or simply someone curious about technology.
This Week’s Tech Challenge: Just Say “Show Me”
This week’s Mr. Fred’s Tech Talks challenge doesn’t require new software, an account, or even an AI prompt.
Find someone who knows how to do something with technology that you don’t and ask them to show you. Let them teach you before you reach for Google or AI. Ask questions, try it yourself, make a mistake or two, and see where the conversation goes.
When you’re finished, ask one more question: “Okay, what should we try next?”
That’s it. The goal isn’t to become an expert in 20 minutes. The goal is to practice curiosity.
Technology Confidence Starts With Curiosity
There will always be another device, app, AI tool, or programming language we’re supposedly expected to understand. None of us is going to know all of it, and that’s okay.
Being good with technology doesn’t mean having every answer. Technology confidence can begin with being curious enough to ask questions, patient enough to struggle with a problem for a while, and humble enough to learn from someone else.Sometimes the most useful thing we can say is simply:
“I don’t know. Show me.”
Keep playing. Keep tinkering. Keep exploring.
Mr. Fred
