I want to salute the tech people at all of our schools, who make it possible for us to develop exciting new ways to teach, and give our students access to exciting new ways to learn. They keep the equipment running, and they find new software, and (despite the filtering software) try to make it easy for us to find our way around.
I have only one small gripe.
Don’t (as you did today) promise me access to specific tech tools on the first day that all classes meet, and then e-mail me at 4 in the morning of that day to say that you can’t do it. I’ve already made my lesson plans around the tech, and I may not have time to revise them successfully. I understand — tech problems arise, you’ve spent 18 hours on the problem, etc., etc.,
But I hate winging it on the first day. And if I have to wing it on the first day, my natural instinct is to blame the tech, and blame you.
Instead say to me, “I don’t think we can do that on Wednesday. How about Monday?” Then if it’s ready by Wednesday, I think you’re terrific.
In Star Trek terms, show me that you’re a Scotty — and that you get jobs done in a quarter of the time that you think it’s actually going to take.
Because otherwise, I don’t trust you, and I don’t trust the tech.
Thanks.
(Oh, and by the way… I do trust the tech, and I do trust you [my specific guy, Jason]. But because it was the first day, I made alternate plans… just in case.)
