Ground Rules for Learning Tech Together

These rules are taken almost verbatim from Miriam Posner, and her original version can be found in this tweet.

THIS IS NOT A CONTEST. The only way to win is for everyone to win. If anyone has a question in the chat or on the discussion board, don’t hesitate to help.

YOU ARE NOT BAD AT TECHNOLOGY. That doesn’t even make sense, because technology is not any one thing; it’s a whole bunch of different skills, and it’s really unlikely that you’re bad at all of them.

YOUR MISTAKE IS ALMOST INVARIABLY MINOR. This is really common when people are learning new skills for the first time. I have seen people give up in frustration because they can’t remember where they saved their file. THIS IS FIXABLE. It does not mean you are a hopeless case!

NO ONE IS AN EXPERT AT EVERYTHING. You just can’t be on the cutting edge of text analysis, network analysis, GIS, Python, data visualization, etc., etc. Even seasoned experts are usually only great at one or two of these. Our goal here is to be good generalists!

WE DO NOT SINK OR SWIM IN MY CLASS. There is no shame in reaching out to me or your classmates for help. Everyone swims or no one swims!