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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Crapples...


It might not seem like it judging by the drop off in new blog postings lately but I HAVE been busy with subbing assignments. 

My last assignment was a three day assignment with 3rd graders at the newest school in the district. I’ve managed to only get assignments here once or twice until this year when I picked up five assignments and had to turn down three more due to personal conflicts.

To emphasize just how new this school is, look no further than the men’s restroom. No other school in the district has two urinals AND two stalled toilets. All other schools in this district are “single service”, which makes the timing at the end of lunch break an Olympic class race for male employees.

This school, being the newest, has the latest in high tech gear including document cameras, SmartBoards and high end Apple computers in every classroom.

It was the Apple computer that unexpectedly shut down just before class began on the third day of my assignment making the SmartBoard an instant Dumb&DeafBoard. I attempted to restart the computer, but I had problem with this particular version of Crapple Computer.

It had no “ON” button. In fact, I couldn’t even FIND the computer. I started with the big screen monitor and followed all the cables hoping to find anything that looked like a computer without success. Class was starting and I didn’t have any more time to futz around with it.

Fortunately the DocCamera still worked and using the Teachers Editions and practice books, we plowed away with the lessons as best we could without the fancy popup graphics and animation planned lessons.

After class, I resumed my search for the hidden Crapple computer. Again not finding one, I turned my attention to the big screen monitor. Again, finding NO controls on the front, bottom or top or sides, I moved around the table to the back. After moving a pile of books and folders, I saw it. On the lower left side BEHIND the monitor there was a single power button. Evidentially the big screen monitor WAS also the all-in-one computer. Have I already mentioned I’m not fond of Apple computers?  

This experience hasn’t altered my opinion one bit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got to read up on your blog. Our district gives us laptops to do work on and op our smart boards. Thankfully if a laptop ever stopped working I could borrow my neighbors if I had to. Just started allowing the kids to get near the thing cause I was so nervous one of them would do something I could never had expected them to do to my board. Oh, yeah we also have single serve restrooms. But we also have 4 all over the building.

Jene said...

That type of computer is one reason I don't want to volunteer for computer class again until 3rd grade when the kids move up to the PCs.