Before school started this year, I wrote about starting the year WITHOUT an electronic whiteboard. I've had one in my classroom (between this school and my previous school) for about eight years. The first day of school is spent more on getting-to-know-you activities and learning procedures so my panic over not having a board in my room after the "updating" was for not. That afternoon we were told that the new and improved boards would be installed the next day...the second day of school. After taking the kids to another room for a couple of hours we returned to a classroom with a new board. There was a small learning curve as I had been using a Promethean Board for all those years and the new one is a Smartboard. Within in week though, things were up and running fairly smoothly and over the next 5 weeks it was a regular part of my teaching repertoire.
Then it happened...my new Smartboard started to get glitchy about a week ago! I lost the ability to write on it and shortly after lost the ability to use the touchscreen altogether. It's currently only a REALLY expensive screen and projector.
And I'm SOOOO frustrated! Now that we are well into the school year, I use it for almost every lesson or activity for one reason or another. To have no access to it now...well I don't know how to teach without it anymore. And right now I'm stumbling through old school lessons and just pointing to assignments in actual size, not projected 100X larger in front of the kids. I would not dream of teaching without it, and here I am living the nightmare of very limited tech in the classroom!
Someone from the installing company came out today, and apparently there is a camera in the board that is out and there's something wrong with the bezel...whatever that is. The parts have been ordered and I have to suffer through it for 3-5 more days. Humph...
Oh! And after updating to IOS 8, my iPad will no longer send group texts!!!
I tell ya, I'm having a tough week! ;)
three on thursday
4 hours ago
I'll be honest any courses I've done used a projector so when you speak of a white board I've not one real clue what it is.
ReplyDeleteOh the bezel on a watch is the frame that holds the glass. So it might be the frame if that's where the dohickies do their work.
IOS8 what's that. :-)
While the computer projector and screen were huge innovations in teaching...to not have to use an overhead projector with all those transparancies was such an improvement. However, the interactive whiteboard goes above and beyond that. In addition to being able to write over and somewhat manipulate anything on the screen (word doc, photo, website, etc.), the boards have an interactive software so lessons can be designed and the use of the boards capabilities can be taken advantage of. This video is a couple of years old and super cheesy, but it'll give you the gist of what we can use it for...http://youtu.be/_gdtRQ1K2vY
DeleteWith the kids being inundated with tech, a lesson with just the teacher standing up front and talking is futile. This board makes lessons super engaging. While I don't use it for everything, it does play a part in most of my lessons.
Seems the IOS8 has had a catastrophic launch. It wiped vast amounts from the share value. That and the new phone being bendy.
DeleteYah, the whole thing has been kind of a joke between the software glitches and the phone. I don't know anyone who has taken the plunge on the 6 yet. I'm on the fence. With the previous phones, the new version vastly exceeded the version I owned so the upgrade made sense. There isn't a lot that this phone has that my 5 doesn't have. There are few things, but things I can't live without? I don't know. My current phone still works well and gets the job done. The big "hit" on it is that it's larger, but to be honest I don't really want a bigger phone. The only thing that I would look forward to is that it has thumb print security...like a spy! :)
DeleteI had not heard about the bendy thing until tonight. I wonder how they will tackle that when the displays start to crack or fall off while bent. I'd be pretty angry if I spent that kind of money and the phone bent in half. It sounds like it's happening when people are putting them in their pockets and then sitting on them. Well, duh!
Has it arrived over there yet?
Mmm, I read it wasn't the sitting on 'em. But simple putting them in the jeans and walking. Or sitting with them in the front pocket not the butt, and the tension of the fabric over the leg is doing the bending.
DeleteAnd angry, I'd be bouncing off walls. I hate when a company sends out shoddy product and then expects that people will forgive them when they go 'oops, sorry'. It not as if you're getting them in a charity/thrift shop is it.
Yah you are probably right. Some say keeping a live cell phone in your pocket can make you a higher risk for cancer. I used to pop mine inside my bra if I didn't have a purse and didn't want carry it, but I won't do that anymore...just in case. Maybe keeping the bendy phone out of the pocket will be a blessing in disguise. :)
DeleteI watched a video on cnet that said these companies quality control SOOO many things - like pushing the home button a zillion times - but clearly this is something they've missed. A lot of people have speculated that apple doesn't quite have "it" anymore with Jobs being gone. I thought that was a bit of an exaggeration as there are other brilliant minds out there, but maybe there is something to it.
Oh man! It totally blows when technology doesn't behave. I feel ya! I have not had the courage to update to iOS 8. I want to do it when I'm home alone so if anyone leaves here in a body bag, it will only be me. :)
ReplyDeleteWe become so dependent on it, it's like I've lost a hand!
DeleteA friend of mine is a huge Apple groupie so I always wait until he does any upgrade or buys anything to hear what is working and didn't work. All seemed well so I took the leap. It's been super glitchy for me, especially on the iPad. There was a patch available last night that is supposed to fix bugs, so I installed that overnight on both the phone and the iPad, and this morning I was able to group text again. Whether or not that's a good thing ;)...at least it's functioning again. I'll keep you posted on the other glitches.
Will Clooney bolt ?.
ReplyDeleteHold on...I'm booking my flight to Venice right now!!! ;)
DeleteWho knows. It's pretty rare that these things last.
You too ?. :-)
DeleteStill, you'd wonder he went that way at all when you couldn't buy the good PR of him being an eligible bachelor. It'll never be the same if he marries her. For his career you'd think the 'b' alliteration would've been the way to go.
Speaking PR-wise, his appeal will certainly not be the same. He's been doing a lot more behind the camera these days, so maybe it doesn't matter to him anymore. Who knows, I'm always skeptical about the marriages in Hollywood as there could be any number of reasons why someone in entertainment gets married. There have always been rumors he was gay, so the tabloids are already reporting he's marrying his beard today. Who knows what people in the industry are thinking...they have different priorities.
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