I had a rough week. Sick for the past 2 weeks, I really just wanted to get through this work week. I was burned from meetings afterschool and every weekend there seemed to be some function going on.
But the week was especially rough because my Media Production class was slacking, the students’ attitudes were negative, and I was blowing the horn that they were out of line, out of focus, and not taking this class seriously.
Well, I tried a few things, from laying down the law (basically saying these are the assignments, and they had til x day to complete them), to making some counselor referrals, to trying to rearrange groups and seating charts.
None of this worked, and I spent Wednesday and Thursday evening sweating and stressing in bed, waking up to pee and contemplate about how I had failed and what I was going to try next.
Friday, I had an answer. Donuts. Fresh from Safeway. Two dozen. It was part of my idea to create a social time every Friday before we start class. Not only was this a time for them to get their sugar fix and do what they love to do most, talk. It was a time for me to relax and get to know them better. The way the semester has been going, the more we got deeper into the projects and tutorials, the less we actually talk. My role as a guide or coach gave way to the old traditional teacher. The class has lost its excitement, its meaning. The whole point of the Academy of Information Technology is to inspire students to achieve more by giving them something they love to do. Most of these students chose this academy. They should all be passing if not doing their best.
The rest of Friday’s class had a much more relaxed and focused tone. Students were on task, they were helping each other, and some of them almost finished their projects. I made my rounds to several individuals, gave them suggestions, and was overall, trying to be helpful. I was not barking orders, making speeches, trying to tidy up the way I presented my information. I was there, with my students, letting them show me their best.
Archive for February, 2010
Losing focus
Feb 27
Macworld Expo 2010
Feb 13
Macworld Expo 2010 was somewhat of a disappointment. Besides seeing the active and innovative exhibitors in the mobile developers section and hearing Kevin Smith wax eloquently about dicks and fucking and how life has changed so much from the days of Clerks, the whole show was a bit of a disappointment. While there were plenty of new and some established vendors, a lot of those present came with barebones stuff. Very few teams set up splashy large booths with free stuff, colorful demos, contests, and free stuff. It was quite boring making the rounds that I was tired even before I made it halfway through the area.
What was also lacking was any new products that made you say wow and have you take out your wallet right on the spot. Even if there were, most of the companies did not have the goods to sell. So what is the point of coming? The last booth I walked into was Textrec or something like that. These guys were completely incompetent in terms of going out to greet people. They had so many products to show: iPhone, iTouch cases, almost every other phone and camera and device they had a case for. They even had some of these products in packaging hanging on some racks. Well, when I finally got someone’s attention about a Leica case that would fit my Panasonic LX3, the guy finally explained that they were not selling anything at their booth. I could already tell, but I needed to ask just to see how incompetent they were at communicating.
Well, I did see some cool stuff. Like gamesalad.com which lets users create their own games and upload them, as well as market them. And there was the phone app that integrates so many features on it. I am glad I tested the Beats by Dr. Dre Studio model. That sets the bar for headphones of today. Awesome sound! And Blue Microphone’s mic that plugs into the iPhone!
Will I come next year? Maybe. Who knows what the industry will be like. Who knows what gadget I’ll be using next year. In the meantime, I’m content with what I have and glad I didn’t spend much more than lunch and a cup of coffee.
Macworld Expo 2010 was somewhat of a disappointment. Besides seeing the active and innovative exhibitors in the mobile developers section and hearing Kevin Smith wax eloquently about dicks and fucking and how life has changed so much from the days of Clerks, the whole show was a bit of a disappointment. While there were plenty of new and some established vendors, a lot of those present came with barebones stuff. Very few teams set up splashy large booths with free stuff, colorful demos, contests, and free stuff. It was quite boring making the rounds that I was tired even before I made it halfway through the area.
What was also lacking was any new products that made you say wow and have you take out your wallet right on the spot. Even if there were, most of the companies did not have the goods to sell. So what is the point of coming? The last booth I walked into was Textrec or something like that. These guys were completely incompetent in terms of going out to greet people. They had so many products to show: iPhone, iTouch cases, almost every other phone and camera and device they had a case for. They even had some of these products in packaging hanging on some racks. Well, when I finally got someone’s attention about a Leica case that would fit my Panasonic LX3, the guy finally explained that they were not selling anything at their booth. I could already tell, but I needed to ask just to see how incompetent they were at communicating.
Well, I did see some cool stuff. Like gamesalad.com which lets users create their own games and upload them, as well as market them. And there was the phone app that integrates so many features on it. I am glad I tested the Beats by Dr. Dre Studio model. That sets the bar for headphones of today. Awesome sound! And Blue Microphone’s mic that plugs into the iPhone!
Will I come next year? Maybe. Who knows what the industry will be like. Who knows what gadget I’ll be using next year. In the meantime, I’m content with what I have and glad I didn’t spend much more than lunch and a cup of coffee.
