tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post2309649669199985780..comments2023-10-21T11:44:45.588+01:00Comments on ResidentAlien: Rage Against The MachinesMary Witzlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-14436764892812515262009-12-21T17:23:00.947+00:002009-12-21T17:23:00.947+00:00AnneB -- (Blush) Unwittingly, I have already done...AnneB -- (Blush) Unwittingly, I have already done that. One of the kids today called out "Sh*t!" when I managed to lose the Main Menu for the fifth time. I admonished him, saying that he should not use such bad language and he looked hurt. "Teacher, YOU say." <br /><br />And so I do. Sigh...Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-56908990916139277792009-12-21T15:00:54.251+00:002009-12-21T15:00:54.251+00:00Mary, I've just solved all your problems about...Mary, I've just solved all your problems about getting the kids to pay attention and learn. Teach them the English cuss words used for a technology (or user) fail!AnneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14353297751372957745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-11618461565657850652009-12-18T13:43:25.391+00:002009-12-18T13:43:25.391+00:00Someday -- Thank you for commenting. And thank you...Someday -- Thank you for commenting. And thank you for nailing one of the essential issues here: time. Kids (meaning people around 30 and under) seem to know how to do all of this stuff instinctively. For those of us who are superannuated, figuring out all the technology and getting ourselves to the point where we can use it seamlessly involves a huge time suck. Like you, I put in a lot of hours I'm not paid for. I find it hard enough to squeeze in everything I have to do in my paid hours. And now I've got all this technohell to juggle around. Now I know how my mother felt when they took away her mimeograph machine and brought in a state-of-the-art Xerox machine with all sorts of complicated functions.<br /><br />Anne -- I'm so glad that there are other technophobes out there; it really cheers me up. I'm surrounded by people who know all about this stuff -- and who roll their eyes when I get CDs and DVDs mixed up. <br /><br />You took that test too? I've never met anyone else who remembers that test! <br /><br />Here's hoping the dean won't force the smart board issue with you!<br /><br />Kara -- I trip over them and get them tangled up with each other and forget what they're all called or what they do and then get laughed at by the savvy. I hate cables with a white-hot passion.<br /><br />Charlie -- I want a Walkman! I love the idea of how deeply uncool I would look strolling around with one, making my kids shrink back from shame. <br /><br />I'm a roaring technophobe type too. If we weren't using machines to communicate, I'd suggest we go out for a little machine bashing party.<br /><br />Gypsy -- You're only half Luddite? I used to be full-blown, but lately I've worked my way down to 85%. But I'm 100% technophobe. And a blackboard with chalk will suit me just fine.<br /><br />Carol -- Yay, how wonderful to hear from you! When we first started, all we had to worry about was a Xerox machine and a tape recorder -- remember? And what a great presentation that must have been -- wish I'd been there to see it. When we next meet, I will make you do it for me!<br /><br />I will email you tonight.<br /><br />Lily -- Most of the time, I can make them do my bidding too, though like you I have no IDEA how it all works. Last year, I happened to read a book about the POWs who worked on the Burma Railway. With smuggled bits of copper wire, glass, etc., they managed to cobble together a radio under the most horrendous conditions. You could give me all the resources in the world, a manual, and a tutorial, and I'd be at it until hell froze over. Sad.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-79637243458402873142009-12-17T19:55:25.404+00:002009-12-17T19:55:25.404+00:00I can make machines do what I need them to, but I ...I can make machines do what I need them to, but I couldn't really explain how. That's the extent of my techie know-how.Lily Catehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17732112345439595471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-78344060708436579332009-12-17T01:47:27.927+00:002009-12-17T01:47:27.927+00:00Thank goodness Schwarzenegger cut our budget so se...Thank goodness Schwarzenegger cut our budget so severely that we won't get Smart Boards. This year. My latest ESL conference presentation was on The Paperless Classroom, which focused on teaching with NOTHING. Like your friend in Bhutan. That's more my style. Mary: email me! I have a Christmas package for you but I don't have your home address! Merry Christmas from Carol.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16938098820635279911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-61033702241984546622009-12-16T18:04:21.836+00:002009-12-16T18:04:21.836+00:00Sometimes technology just makes things a lot more ...Sometimes technology just makes things a lot more complicated than they ever needed to be. For most cases, I would imagine that a blackboard and chalk would be quite sufficient.<br /><br />But then, I am half-luddite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-14039974097567983802009-12-16T18:02:33.325+00:002009-12-16T18:02:33.325+00:00It's odd how all these school systems can affo...It's odd how all these school systems can afford high-tech "teaching" tools, but they can't afford construction paper or crayons. Too 80s, I guess.<br /><br />And I still use my Walkman, especially for audiobooks. I am dinosaur, hear me roar!Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722567671925063706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-49837991172866183772009-12-16T06:34:40.179+00:002009-12-16T06:34:40.179+00:00cables are the bane of everyone's existence. w...cables are the bane of everyone's existence. well...second next to pestilence.karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01690274092026593186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-29529481590700771672009-12-15T18:40:49.236+00:002009-12-15T18:40:49.236+00:00I have a very similar story about a mechanical rea...I have a very similar story about a mechanical reasoning test -- and everyone in my family is amazingly good at that stuff. <br /><br />I use a whiteboard. When the dean complained, I told her that I could always rely on the whiteboard to get the notes across. So far she's left me alone about it.<br /><br />We have smart boards, too. I'm just too dumb to use them.<br /><br />I so feel your pain.Anne Spollenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12915171740680350711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-86103213716192399592009-12-14T20:41:59.988+00:002009-12-14T20:41:59.988+00:00I teach 5th grade in a small rural school. 3 year...I teach 5th grade in a small rural school. 3 years ago - our district entered what I like to call"techno gate". All 7th - 12th graders were issued macs (with internet and CAMERAS), teachers now have smart boards, elmos and projectors in their classes along with clickers and air liners.<br />I don't mind the technology, but the problem is WHEN do I have time to learn and utilize all the new stuff? I use the elmo and projector daily - My student use the air liner (basically a wireless notepad that allows them to mark on the image projected on the wall - or interact with it using the smart board technology when we do sentence diagramming or corrections).<br />I like the technology for the fact that it engages kids - makes them excited to use it and learn. However, the same is true of the art projects I utilize to teach grammar - application is at the top of the learning hierarchy - but if I don't have the TIME to learn it, it wastes time on my classroom trying to figure it out....and I already work a lot of hours for free...<br />Good luck - <br />it gets easier with use....Someday.....https://www.blogger.com/profile/05937022766926309226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-61358740803654552822009-12-14T19:51:18.174+00:002009-12-14T19:51:18.174+00:00Nanmarino -- Thank you for visiting my blog!
I wa...Nanmarino -- Thank you for visiting my blog!<br /><br />I was so proud of myself when I first managed to communicate with people on Skype. That was before I knew all about smart boards, power point demonstrations, and cell phones that connected to the internet. No sooner do I figure out some seemingly unfathomable new thing than something even newer and more complicated comes along.<br /><br />Robin -- I had another high-tech lesson today and it was horrendous -- I left the classroom gritting my teeth, drenched in sweat. I'm starting to feed cables into sockets in my dreams. <br /><br />I'm glad to know that you stick to pen and paper when you take notes. I'm pretty sure my doctor in Scotland talked to me over a laptop. I thought he was multi-tasking, surfing the net while getting me sorted out. <br /><br />MGHiggins -- If I explored all my memory black holes, I'm sure I could make everybody feel great about themselves. <br /><br />Machines, directions, and names are my biggest ability black holes. Sometimes I really wonder what possessed me to go into teaching in the first place.<br /><br />Laura -- Please get in touch with Charlie Callahan (of 'Hounded') who often posts here. He is looking for a mobile phone that does nothing but make and receive phone calls!<br /><br />I almost never swear (especially when I'm away from home and don't really need to), but during these classes it gets so hellish that many words come unbidden to my lips. Death, hell and poison were just to give you the general idea of my warm up. Once I got started, I really let fly. Good thing those kids never remember anything I say.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-48249891333592773512009-12-14T03:49:27.236+00:002009-12-14T03:49:27.236+00:00Death, hell, and poison are pretty tame compared t...Death, hell, and poison are pretty tame compared to what I could have taught them!! I once dropped the F-bomb over the phone to one of the computer support people at my work place! It didn't help that this particular computer company was a small business run by very religious people! BTW, my cell phone isn't capable of texting and I couldn't be happier!!<br /><br />(You need to email me your address! I have to send your bag to you! Click on my 'about me' picture and my email is right there!)laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174697892947430149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-44627357872416756432009-12-14T02:12:14.261+00:002009-12-14T02:12:14.261+00:00smart board, dumb teacher. Heh.
Your post actuall...smart board, dumb teacher. Heh.<br /><br />Your post actually makes me feel much better about myself, because it reminds me that we all have our ability black holes.MG Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03584010470283038023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-80440082420633561792009-12-13T19:46:57.126+00:002009-12-13T19:46:57.126+00:00Oh, man, I would feel exactly the same way, Mary. ...Oh, man, I would feel exactly the same way, Mary. And, I would be just as facile with the equipment. <br /><br />My equivalent hell is the constant threat of making everyone have computerized records. I actually take notes while people talk, so I can remember what the heck is happening. You can't type on a laptop while people talk. It would look demented. Plus, I'd delete everything by mistake. I know I would.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396540555696283171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-41391188491963970492009-12-13T17:40:16.499+00:002009-12-13T17:40:16.499+00:00I love your term "selective luddite". I&...I love your term "selective luddite". I'm one of those too. I haven't mastered a smart board and am in no hurry to. I'm kind of fond of Skype (but that one seems easy to get the hang of)nanmarinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00774886321171665796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-27958264685195397452009-12-13T16:31:05.494+00:002009-12-13T16:31:05.494+00:00Postman -- Me too. I can imagine a cave classroom...Postman -- Me too. I can imagine a cave classroom would have a lot of advantages to the traditional types. If I taught in a cave, I wouldn't have the problem of students CONSTANTLY going to the windows to open or close them or adjust the blinds. But I'll bet slamming my head against the wall would hurt a whole lot more...<br /><br />Patrick -- You're young and techno-whizzy, aren't you? It must be so neat to be young and techno-whizzy! My kids can sort out i-Pods, DVDs, laptops, and CD players in mere seconds. <br /><br />Sigh. I can tie shoelaces, though. And if they're ever stuck without calculators, I'll get the answer faster through long division. (Smile. Or -- since you're young -- :) )<br /><br />Falak -- My husband did the very same thing just the other day! It drove him mad: he'd just downloaded a whole slew of wonderful stuff we all like and in a second it was all gone. Even people who know their technology manage to do things like this!<br /><br />I'm still the joke of the household though. My kids will never let me forget the time I got a CD mixed up with a DVD.<br /><br />Bish -- My parents were really old-fashioned: I still remember 78s, 45s and 33 1/3s along with slide rules, shoes with laces, and going to church every Sunday whether you felt like it or not. <br /><br />My husband still insists that the kids in his class show the process they use to work out math problems, and I think a lot of his colleagues do the same thing. <br /><br />I'm so glad to hear about your iPod! Makes me feel better about the MP3 player I got for Christmas a few years back. It's still in its box.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-75588765738401994242009-12-13T13:45:18.223+00:002009-12-13T13:45:18.223+00:00I'm with you Mary. I'm no techo-geek eithe...I'm with you Mary. I'm no techo-geek either. I sometimes wonder if today's kids will ever know how to do things in their heads or on paper. I mean, there was no such thing as calculators when I went to school. Only the smart kids (like my sister) used a slide-rule. Anyone remember them? We had to memorize things, build our own graphs, solve math problems on paper so the teacher could see our work. Our spell checker was the dictionary. Amazing.<br /><br />I've had an iPod about 10 months. Still haven't figured out how to use the d**n thing....Bish Denhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359927719391990534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-29852481504524196092009-12-13T11:31:06.313+00:002009-12-13T11:31:06.313+00:00The last time I tried to put songs into my ipod I ...The last time I tried to put songs into my ipod I went and deleted all the songs that it previously held. After that I fiddle with it only under my brother's supervision. My brother who is 3 years younger to me and not yet out of school. Only last week my uncle got a cd home and asked me to load the songs into the computer. I was the joke of the household till a few days back.Falakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08321524864693512771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-77357158811365780612009-12-13T09:46:08.418+00:002009-12-13T09:46:08.418+00:00LOL! Well, some of my high school teachers are lik...LOL! Well, some of my high school teachers are like that too. <br />Better luck with those 'machines' in your next classes! =)Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05562271120251744291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-62289967520265765542009-12-13T02:06:30.138+00:002009-12-13T02:06:30.138+00:00I think I'd rather teach in Bhutan. At least c...I think I'd rather teach in Bhutan. At least caves keep a constant temperature. Death, hell and poison...ha!A.T. Posthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03987529687181431843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-84294325782753567982009-12-12T21:56:07.507+00:002009-12-12T21:56:07.507+00:00Suelle -- Thank you for visiting my blog!
I keep...Suelle -- Thank you for visiting my blog! <br /><br />I keep my journal on my computer and have done this for the past five years. But for some reason, that very thing happened to me too, just last month, for the very first time, and I still can't figure out how it happened. It really is beyond infuriating.<br /><br />K Erickson -- Oddly enough, I'm pretty good with a belt sander and hot air gun (simple, fairly uncomplicated mechanisms), and I can hold my own at casual conversation. But group speaking is quite a different story. I feel exactly the same when I'm trying to merge with the traffic flow, coming onto a freeway. <br /><br />Charles -- Ooh, yes -- I'm sending you a cyber high five! In fact, the handful of my colleagues who are able to use technology in the classroom use it very effectively. For someone like me, though, it absolutely decreases the learning process. And it certainly increases my misery. <br /><br />Nora -- Yes please, let's trade! You send me your cave and you can have my laptop, speakers, projector and all those horrid fiddly cable thingies. Especially all those cable thingies -- they are YOURS. Is your cave air-conditioned?<br /><br />Marian -- I'm a selective Luddite. In my dreams, I go around smashing all the smart boards and projectors in our school. (Umm...if any of my colleagues happen to read this, I am really NOT the one who wrote on the smart boards. 'In my dreams' I said.)<br /><br />Love your iPod story! I couldn't tell an iPod from an MP3 player. Eighties technology was great, wasn't it? I was working for Sony when the Walkman came out and we all thought it was the hottest thing off wheels. Whoever thought it could possibly be surpassed by newer, slicker gizmos?<br /><br />Vijaya -- I LONG for those basics! I feel like such a boring old thing, so totally out of touch. I want to kneel down and scratch numerals in the dust with a stick and use small stones and shells to count groups of ten. And if I've GOT to have graphs, then I want to make them all by myself.<br /><br />Robert -- How sick am I that the thought of Bill Gates sweating it out in front of all those hundreds of people cheers me up no end? It's all his fault this technological stuff happened anyway!<br /><br />Back in the 80s, all a teacher had to do was pop a video into a machine and press a button. Pausing the video was easy, too. Now, it's supposed to be so wonderful that we can use laptops to show DVDs, but for simple souls like me it's infinitely more complicated. <br /><br />Kim -- I found that very student in all three classes, but it was still awful! They couldn't make the sound fit, they couldn't get the room darker, and they couldn't figure out when I wanted to pause the damn thing -- in fact, one techno-whiz kid kept assuming I wanted to pause at the very wrong moment. I miss my VHS video machine.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-57877237148050025502009-12-12T20:05:01.842+00:002009-12-12T20:05:01.842+00:00In each class there will be one or more students w...In each class there will be one or more students who will be able to whizz their way round it in a matter of minutes. <br /><br />You need to figure out who it is in each class (probably the one who speaks the least amount of English and rarely turns up) and recruit them to be your operations manager.Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-15779126127522646692009-12-12T18:26:11.250+00:002009-12-12T18:26:11.250+00:00Some things in our life should not be ported to Ne...Some things in our life should not be ported to New Technology just because they CAN. White boards are great because you can hand the pen to a student to participate in the lesson.<br /><br />As far as technology failure, nothing could have been more embarrassing than Microsoft CEO Bill Gates who was demonstrating the latest version of his operating system monopoly at a huge publicity event and it failed miserably. <br /><br />With four different remotes to run our various television appliances and no easy way to connect my computer to the TV, technology has a LONG way to go yet before it will truly be useful to the rest of us.Robert the Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863488312604865183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-12771987680592882392009-12-12T18:20:11.356+00:002009-12-12T18:20:11.356+00:00Don't even get me started ... I do classroom v...Don't even get me started ... I do classroom visits and there's no regular board. I had to use a smartboard. Once I was doing a math lesson, and all was well until the teacher showed me exactly how smart the smartboard was -- it made the graphs for the kiddies! I wanted to take that mouse away from her. Whatever happened to the basics such as reading, writing, and 'rithmetic?Vijayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876606729146077830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-51409172779926433382009-12-12T17:50:17.312+00:002009-12-12T17:50:17.312+00:00Oh Mary, I hear you about modern technology. I'...Oh Mary, I hear you about modern technology. I'm not a Luddite. I fully support innovation and improvement. But somehow it takes me forever to become familiar with new developments.<br /><br />Last year I bought a new computer from a friend, and he said he would throw in something for free. Then he handed me this small white oblong... thing.<br /><br />"What is it?" I said, puzzled.<br /><br />"An iPod."<br /><br />"Oh. What's an iPod?"<br /><br />He stared at me for a long moment before telling me that it was what modern people used to listen to music. What did I use?<br /><br />I replied in a small voice, "A Walkman."<br /><br />After he stopped laughing, he said, "Marian, the '80s called. They want their technology back."Marian Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.com