Here’s an example of what I consider to be the inanity of computers along with the dislocations teachers are expected to put up with.
My classroom is no longer mine; I’ve been placed in the cafeteria until the new building opens. My classes are close to 30. The A/C in the cafeteria is so loud I have to shout to be heard. (see my Daily Lesson Plans category for what I planned to work around this situation)
Last week I discovered I could not access the program we use for in-school functions like lesson plans, grading, and attendance. We have no IT person so one of the coaches is pretty good and helped out, along with another person who used to be in charge of printers; these are teachers who have their own work but help out. They are swamped, of course. So the coach got me set up so that I could go to the computer in my old room (which I could still get into then) where I would see an e-mail message directing me to change my password, etc. I did that but it didn’t work.
So today, the teacher who used to help with printers was handy and I asked him to print out a roster for my first year classes. I had acquired new students not only over the summer but over the weekend! When he found out I couldn’t get into the network nor the school program, he took me into the workroom and got me set up. Great.
When I went to the cafeteria to use that computer, I didn’t see the icon he had clicked on but I knew that if you click on “other” you’d get apps specifically for my school which led to a link for this grade/attendance/etc. program. I got into the network but couldn’t get into the program.
So at lunch, the coach sat beside me and I asked him about what he said when he’d set me up originally, something about needing a different user name. It turns out that if you go through the apps instead of clicking on an icon, you have to use your school e-mail address as your user name.
Are you following me so far?
So HE kindly came over during my next hour and fixed it so my user name was the same across the board and I was able to enter my attendence, lesson plans, and homework assignments for the day. Yea! Now I have to set it up so I can access all that from home.
My question is this, if you’re still with me, WHY IN HADES DO THEY MAKE IT SO COMPLICATED????
Today I heard we will be in our new classrooms next week some time. I can do this. Nothing to write on (I brought my personal white board, thank goodness, which I had to search for through the junk pile someone created in my old classroom despite the fact that my materials were piled up the way we were told in May); no cohesive seating at the long cafeteria tables; the aforementioned noise problem; and so on.