Being prepared for class but equipment malfunctions
I am rarely unprepared for class. Recently our campus has had some issues with equipment such as our only printer not working or projectors not working for power point presentations. I try to do the best I can to continue but it is frustrating and I know the students feel it.
Darcie,
What you describe happens to us all at times. This is a great reason to consider having good back-up plans. These are activities that can be implemented on short notice, are low-tech, and related to the topic area. Malfunctions can be frustrating for students, but so can their feeling their time is being wasted (which a good back-up plan can ameliorate).
Barry Westling
I have that problem all the time I just improvise to keep class going or use the boos to acheive what we are learning or lecturing for that day.
Valerie,
We are in a technological world, that's for sure. This is a perfect reason to have good, non-tech back up plans that can be implemented on short notice, and that are related to the course content. We don't want students to feel like they're just doing busy work or wasting their time.
Barry Westling
When preparing for a class you should have a plan A a plan B and a plan C. And as anyone who has served in the military will tell you most plans do not survive first contact no matter how good they are you must always make adjustments.
Electronic equipment will fail, power points will not run, the copier will malfunction etc... So always think about what you will do if these things happen. Be flexible, be fluid and always open to new ways of doing things. The good news is the more you teach the less this will bother you, there are some days you want malfunctions to occur so that you can dust off and try plan c.
ROBERT,
I agree these are realities instructors will face, just underscoring the need for good preparation along with practical backup plans. And more than once, what I tried as a backup turned out so well that it became a plan-A level activity.
Barry Westling
We frequently have the same problem at our campus. It is very frustrating for both the students and myself. Since I teach management and business courses, we typically end up using the technology failure as a starting point for a discussion about how organizational leaders can address such issues.
I also make sure that I post copies of the powerpoints on Engrade or Moodle so that the students can print them out. That way, even without the projector, we won't have quite as much of an upset.
Alison,
Oftentimes there is so much media and supportive resources to teach a course that is creates havoc when one of those seemingly key components is not available for whatever reason. Back-up plans can help. Also, as you describe, discussion about the situation can be blended into the mix. Also, making sure everything is working the day before is a good idea.
Barry Westling
I cannot walk into my class unprepared because I want to have class run as smoothly as possible for me and the students. However, We frequently run into software issues that I cannot correct and have found some ways to combat them but there are times when there is no immediate solution. This is always a tough area and I apologize to students and try to make make the best accommodations I can. That may include that they get it done for homework or the next class, doing it together or looking for alternative ways to accomplish the objective. Sometimes I feel like the students blame me for the software snags. Anyone have more ideas??
Lisa,
Yes, students will unfairly blame their instructor for classroom difficulties (even though they are more apt not to be prepared). But the reality is as more technology is present in our instruction there will be increasing degrees of unwanted delays, glitches, and frustration by everyone. Instructional back up plans is an effective method to use to combat when things aren't working for whatever reasons. These plans can include discussion, textbook reading, lab practice, or wriiten assignments, etc. Some instructors use so much variety that they are not dependent on a single element.
Barry Westling
It is frustrating. Just this last week, I had some slides to show my class during lecture, but I was unable to share them because the computer was missing from the room. However, I don't like to become to dependent on a certain way of presentation because of such instances. Instead of showing the slides, I drew on the whiteboard what I had intended to show on the slides. Sure the slides would have looked better, but I was able to get the point across without them.
Mickey,
So, this is a good example of being flexible, and not tied or dependent on only one type of delivery method. A few times I've been able to seamlessly transition to an alternate mode of delivery and the student's didn't even know that was not the plan all along.
Barry Westling
I teach full time at a technology focused career college and I have a set of "rules" that I follow to keep myself from getting into a teaching situation where I cannot function if something doesn't work.
1. Make copies/scans the week before; assume the machine will be busy or malfunction the day of the class.
2. Bring my personal laptop (with all necessary software and drivers loaded) in the event the classroom instructor computer is missing or malfunctioning.
3. Bring dry erase markers in the event the Smartboard isn't working or the projector isn't working. I can write and draw well enough :)
4. Bring a hard drive (possibly flash drives) with all downloaded materials available to give to students in the event the WiFi/Internet connection is down.
Those 4 "rules" usually keep me from getting into a bind. However, I have had to move my students from the classroom to a green screen studio/stage area with no computer or smartboard/whiteboard on 5 minutes notice a few months ago. I really had to think on my feet, but I made it work.
Jason,
Sounds like you've got good preparation. Even with the best preparation, there will still be inevitable snafu's in spite of our readiness. But the students will see that circumstances - not the instructor - is the source of the dilemma.
Barry Westling
