Ink

Today I taught a class in Keith 130. If you're not famiiar with the room, let me give you some background. (Skip down if necessary.) It is a pretty cool lecture hall. Pretty old school. I used to like it. Used to. They recently "rennovated" the room but I'm finding the improvements hard to value.

Added feature: carpet. Seems when you carpet a room, it tends to hold heat. Well the room does not have air conditioning. So when it is hot outside, it is hotter inside. Better have left it uncarpeted.

Shall I continue on that topic? Why even "renovate" it so half assed. The school could use that room in the summer. (There is a lot that goes on on campus over the summer.) So the investiment in the room still renders it an oven when it is warm out. Seems like the school could have sprung for a bit more.

So what pissed me off so bad today? Well, it's all about the white board. You know, those new fangled replacements for the so old school inferior chalk board. Yeah, chalk board. Who uses that? Well, I like the old chalk board. It worked so much better for me than overheads or powerpoint (ok, a late arrival to the scene, but nothing more than glorified transparencies for the overhead. don't oversell that technology people).

What is wrong with the white boards?

You have to depend on markers. Dry erase markers. And the school buys those that don't really erase well. "Oh, there are wipes you can use if the erasers don't work well." Hmm. Nice. I'll waste those 10 minutes we're going to lose anyway when we go to the 50-minute class hours now! I didn't have to deal with that with chalk boards. The whiteness of the chalk and the effectiveness of the erasers made the situation workable. Ok, there is some variation on chalk. At least then the powers that be were wiling to try stock some variety of chalk for the variety of chalkboards.

So today, I picked up the black marker. Dry. I realize it won't hold up over class. I pick up the blue marker. Tip is pushed in (something easy to do when you dot the "i"). Then I pick up the green marker. It too is dilatory. I toss it across the front of the room toward the trash can. I miss (as usual). I am seething. I tell the class "take a ten minute break, I'm going to the office to get some fresh markers."

I return with the same brand of markers. Expo2. Obviously not the optimal dry erase marker for the white board in Keith 130.

I make it through class. And I think it was a good class.

So

Should I just give up and use the document cam? I think it would reduce my animation. I think I can leave a lot more on the chalk board than on a document cam. But I could always have the pages from the notes I've written handy for reference.

I also find that overall ink is more messy than chalk. Overheads/document cam would either be messy or I wouldn't be able to erase effectively, meaning more scribble and scratching out.

This morning, I came back from my class (not in Keith 130) and had chalk all over my pants. Even my shoes. (I think I dropped the eraser on my shoe.) After some laughs in the office, I easily wiped it off. However, I still have ink on my hands from my later class. (I could have used the magic solvent. I have no fears about putting unknown chemicals on my skin.)

Furthermore...

Another sign of half-assed investments: Could they have at least put in a fancy white board that can have sliding (up or across) boards so that you can keep about 20 minutes of your lecture handy for reference? No, they put up single panel whiteboards.

Boo.

document cam?

well, boo to you too. It would force me to adjust my methodology. I'm old. I don't want to learn new tricks. (That's a joke. In many ways, I'm more immature and malleable than your 16 year old brother.)

Ok, if this rant is lame, I agree. But it is a real one. It is one that is preventing me from doing my job. It is like the capital I've been allocated has been reduced. You know what that does, Econ 121 students? It reduces my productivity. (Damn, always a lesson. So not like your 16 year old brother.)

But if this is lame, it is only because something bigger gripes my ass. But I can't talk about it right now without using even stronger language. But for now, I'll say, it's tough being a union man. I'm trying hard to defend the labor union of which I'm a member, but the past few months I've been holding it in contempt. Stay tuned.