Irony Becomes Her

Winning

The PowerPoint is mightier than the sword.

I love my students, but I don't trust them. They are a lively bunch, and this gives the impression (or illusion) that they care very much about the class. But that impression weakens when they will not be quiet long enough to hear what I am saying about the requirements of their assignment.

Today they absolutely had to cooperate, because this class was being observed by my boss. Any feelings of incapacity for this job seemed magnified ten times by knowing that she would be sitting in the back, scrawling extensive notes on my performance. The show must go on, however, and Microsoft came through for me.

I use a nifty bit of technology called a SmartBoard, which looks like a whiteboard but is actually connected to the computer so that I can display and write on whatever I am displaying on the computer at the front of the room. When I had not yet obtained a key to the computer cabinet in the classroom, I didn't call this useless obstruction 'nifty.' It took the best blackboard space and forced me to use the sides. And my ineptitude with chalk is not the least of the signals I continue to receive that I might do well to look into a different line of work.

But they were dazzled by my PowerPoint, as I gleefully scribbled all over a sample rough draft while they pointed out what was wrong with it. They even took turns talking about it a couple of times. It made me smile inside.

My boss even had kind words for me as we walked together back to our offices. Evidently I "used the technology well." I brandished what weaponry I had, and I won. I won.

posted by Lynn @ 6:30 PM