Problem/Project-Based Learning

I recently was working with my internet network in my apartment so that all the computers and wireless devices on it were working. My roommate has a Mac laptop, I have an iPhone, a palm pilot as well as a desktop and laptop computers both running XP. I had never worked with Mac computers except a few times in different computer labs but nothing extensive. My boyfriend is the IT and Security Specialist for the radio station B101 and had setup the wireless network for me. However my roommate's laptop was being difficult: the laptop would get internet initially when you put in the 52 digit password but then once you restarted it, it wouldn't be able to connect. I had emailed my boyfriend to make a trip to my apartment to sit down and 'fix' the situation. I knew that he wouldn't be able to get down there for a few days and really wanted to get the internet up for my roommate. I knew I was somewhat confident in my computer experiences to KNOW I could figure out what to do. Instead of waiting for my boyfriend to come do the work for me I took my roommates laptop and sat down between all three computers and started changing each and every setting possible till I found one that decided to work. This took a lot of self confidence and motivation to keep working at doing it on my own without consulting someone else. I sat down and looked at each of the different securities available with my router and attempted each one using the best of my problem solving skills. Even though it took time, my desire to complete the task on my own paid off. I was able to find a very secure setup for the network which allows all computers access. Thus far, it has worked flawlessly. When I ended up talking with my boyfriend later, he said that he would have done the same setup! So my confidence skyrocketed knowing that the professional with degrees in the field would have chosen the same path as myself. I think that it is important for students to understand how to troubleshoot and work around the errors and alerts that come up on computers when working with technology. This could be turned into a classroom activity where students have a few different options which they must figure out the correct setup to get the best results. It's a trial by error by doing type of activity. There is some science or knowledge behind it but you still have to be able to exercise the power of doing to create results.