Atlas.ti Reflections

Atlas.ti and I had to part ways.  I'm a bit bummed about that because I really did put a lot of time, effort, and money into trying to make it work.  I am very much planning to try it out again in the future...but ultimately I had to make the decision that it wasn't going to enhance my work on this project during this semester.  Here are some thoughts on why.

1. Me.  My vision struggles make it difficult for me to get accustomed to new programs.  I don't get much out of classes or tutorials that are meant to introduce various functions of the program.  I have to learn on my own through reading and trial and error.  When I sit in workshops or classes where others are demonstrating programs, I tend to get frustrated because I fall behind and miss so much of what is happening.  It's not that I can't learn how to use program or that I'm resistant to using technology.  It's just that it takes a great deal of time for me to feel comfortable using a new program in a way that works for me and my vision abilities.   
2. The program.  There were several challenges that I ran into when attempting to use Atlas.ti.  My first issue was the fact that the program can't be used on a Mac, and I don't currently own a PC.  I thought I solved that problem when I bought Parallels and Windows.  But then Atlas wasn't capable of playing my video.  While it can play some mp4 files, it cannot import the specific kind I needed to use for my project.  I didn't mind converting my video.  Unfortunately, I discovered that all other versions of the video diminished the quality.  Because the visual quality was extremely important to my data, I felt that using the converted videos would negatively impact the transcription.  I decided to transcribe using VLC to play the mp4 file, but still planned to use Atlas for my analysis.  But I eventually discovered that I needed to watch my video again and again to do my analysis...and that meant using VLC.  
3. The decision.  I thought about using codes in Atlas to mark up my transcript while projecting my video in VLC, but at this point a computer disaster led to more complications.  I borrowed a laptop from OIT, but it was unable to project my video.  I borrowed a laptop from a friend, but it was a Mac and couldn't run Atlas.ti.  While it might have been an option to use both computers in order to use VLC and Atlas simultaneously...at this point, I decided that it just wasn't the best option for me to use to complete this project.  I don't think that I would have been able to take experience the true benefits of the program and would have made my analysis harder not easier.
4. The future.  I would like to try out Atlas in the future on my own.  I've considered using it for a literature review or to code data for my own research.  I do know that I want to use it for something that I don't feel rushed to complete.  That way I can take my time to become familiar with the program and figure out what can and can't be enlarged and what features are the most beneficial for me.