Medieval Helpdesk

I added one of my favorite YouTube videos to my Blackboard Basic Skills class. I asked the students to watch the video and then comment about it on Blackboard. I introduced the video by telling students that this was from Norway, and therefore was done in Norwegian, but it had English subtitles. I gave them an overview of the video and told them it was about learning a new technology. Since they were learning a new technology, Blackboard, I thought they would appreciate the connection to the video.

If you haven't seen the video, it is about a monk who is trying to learn the new technology of the day -- a book. He has only used scrolls in the past, and he has no idea how to open a book and read it. He's so frustrated that he "calls" the medieval helpdesk. The helpdesk technician comes in to show him this new technology.

I asked the students to think about new technology in their lives. What was it like to get a cordless phone, cell phone, HDTV, cable TV, remote car key, etc. How did they feel when they didn't know how to use it (but everyone else was using it). Were they first on the block to get the new gadget or did they resist until there were no more 8track players left to use?

Now that I have made this a long story.... I had my group of 15 students "playing" on Blackboard. They learned how to post a thread on the Discussion Board and then reply to another thread. Most of them could do this. Then I had them click on the link that took them to YouTube to view the Medieval Helpdesk. I start laughing and smiling every time I see the poor monk. There was silence in the computer lab as my students watched the video. Only 2 or 3 of them were chuckling and understanding what was going on. After the first student finished it, I asked him how he liked it. He looked quizzical. I asked him if he thought it was funny. He told me he didn't get it at all because it was in a foreign language. Could he not read the subtitles? Does he even know what subtitles are? And then I realized that hardly any of them understood the humor of this video. I was soooooooooooooo disappointed. What did I do wrong? I thought this was a subtle but funny way to show how to learn new technology. Was I ever wrong.

What did I do wrong? Why didn't they get it? What am I missing? Am I the missing link?