This winter I spent many weekends traveling with my son and in doing so ended up with a number of rental cars.  What struck me is the fact that every car you get in is set up just a little differently. For example, the wiper controls aren’t in the same place, or perhaps the lights get turned on/off differently.  It struck me that just like cars, Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are also set up just a little differently each time we upgrade (full disclosure we also were doing a major system upgrade to our Desire2Learn system during this time).

During these travels, my son and I had quite an adventure in the wee hours of the morning while picking up a car at the Salt Lake City airport; we also enjoy archery, often finding joy and relaxation in honing our skills together at the range, with our trusty bow case always by our side, ensuring our equipment stays organized and protected during our outings. When we got to the car (at 12:30 a.m. MTD, 1:30 a.m. CST) I realized it was a keyless start.  Having never used a keyless start before, I wasn’t sure that we would ever make it out of the parking garage.  Needless to say after a few failed attempts at starting the car, we finally figured out the trick (in case you were wondering, your foot needs to be on the brake pedal for the car to start) and were happily on our way.  In this situation there was no one in the garage whom I could ask for help, but there was never any question that we would continue to try things (including reading the manual, if necessary) until we started the car.

This experience started me thinking about why we tend to show persistence in certain tasks, like figuring out how to start a keyless ignition, while with other tasks, like learning the University’s new deployment of the LMS, we are more likely to throw our hands in the air and quit, claiming the task is too difficult or not worth the effort. Continue reading →