Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Underwaterbob]

I had to come here and bitch or I'm going to snap and kill my co-teacher.

I've spent hours upon hours working on presentations and multimedia for all of my classes because we have a new English lab with all kinds of fancy technology. I come in yesterday and it's not working, all of my lesson plans are done up with powerpoint presentations with sounds, animations and videos, and I can do nothing. Not a problem, I've been teaching on a bloody chalkboard and out of the book for three years now, I can fall back on that.

I'm assured that everything is fixed, I come in today and start everything up and sure enough it's working. I get to the video in my presentation that I tested a million times to make sure was working and for some reason there's no right channel in the sound system so you can't hear half the audio (why the video was panned so strangely is a mystery in the first place). I waste half the class trying to fix it, get it working (jiggled some wires) end up blasting through the material in record time and have too much time left over for the rest of class. During which I try my best to control this, my worst class by far, for a full ten minutes.

After this class and the nightmare that were most of my classes yesterday I'm informed that the new vice-principal (who I have more seniority at this school than, despite his being nearly twice my age) has complained to my co-teacher that my after school class was too loud (they were laughing, having fun, and paying attention I might add) and that now everyone down the chain of command to me is stressed out because of my class ENJOYING ITSELF!

My co-teacher tries his hardest to help me with the tech, but obviously has no idea what he is doing and largely gets in the way during class. ARGH, whatever, I give up.

[Xuanzang]

I'm surprised your vice principal could hear them or even cared if they were alive or not. Isnt there the computer lady or guy to sort out these kinds of things?

[harlowethrombey]

if it was working before and then you come in and it's busted that means some teacher is messing around with it for an after school class.

there should be some teacher who is 'in charge' of the room. Ask him/her to set up and fix the tech. If you have to, stop by first thing in the morning to ask them nicely to just doublecheck.

I feel your pain. I teach a night class that starts after every other teacher has left the school. If some earlier teacher has messed around with the computer/projector/audio then I'm basically screwed.

As far as your class being loud. Just say you'll try and keep them quieter and do whatever you want. Schools in korea are the same as everywhere in the world, if your class 'spills' out into the other classes people will complain, then you make a verbal apology and continue to do what you need to do, repeat as necessary.

Relax. Technology screws up. I'm sure your coteacher is flustered, too, so ask him to help you talk to someone who is tech savvy to help fix things.

[sharkey]

yawn, everyone has their problems, no need to burden others with yours

[Underwaterbob]

[Underwaterbob]

Spoke too soon. They just dumped another class on me, check that, the same class one more time. I now have a 45 minute class with 12 students, then a half hour break, then another two 45 minute classes in a row with the same 12 students, who I'm sure will be totally enthralled to thrash through 3 regular one class lesson plans in an afternoon since I was given less than fifteen minutes notice of this crap. This goes on until 4:50pm.

[Straphanger]

[teachergirltoo]

Working in a computer lab at a Korean school can be quite frustrating, and you will be driven to the nut house unless you just learn to roll with the punches and be creative. I will share my own experience and maybe it will help you.

Before I left for my winter holidays the school promised me that the entire computer lab would be in top condition upon my return so that I could teach a computer animation course for the year. I examined the room and made a list of all the items that needed to be fixed.

Well, two months later when I returned I found that the room had not been worked on at all. And they didn't even know where the keys were for the tower boxes. They told me that had called the tech many times but he had not shown up. Knowing that this tech could understand a handful of English I asked them to dial his number. I said, "Angry white teacher at XX waiting for you...angry white teacher wait for you today and not go home...waiting for you now." They said it was the first time in two months he had shown up. Regardless, he still didn't have the knowledge to fix anything. (We all decided that he must by the inept nephew of some higher up that needed a job). So that left me with 40 broken computers, vandalized monitors and keyboards.

I then decided that if I was going to have a working computer lab, and not be overworked by fixing, and maintaining everything myself, OR waiting for the Korean staff to get the right people here to fix the problems, I was going to have to be creative - so I borrowed a phrase from BEST BUYS in America and made several big colorful posters and hung them around the school. They said, I was recruiting for the XX GEEK SQUAD. I said that the responsiblities would be fixing and maintaining the computer lab computers. The reward for joining the team/squad would be being able to play computer games on a certain group of computers. Some Korean teachers said they were unsure if I could do this, and didn't know what to think of it. However, it has worked out good. I now have working computers and boys that will fix things when necessary.

I strongly suggest that if you wait for the school tech to be there for you, or other teachers, you will have a lot of frustration. If possible try to utilize the talents of your students. Also, once you have everything working good, ask that there be a sign-in sheet so that it is clear which teacher was in the room last. I always make an announcement before class that if anything breaks or is damaged on a computer during class, or noticed after, (I have them all sign for their seating) then the school will make them pay for it.

And lastly, don't get rattled if the technology fails. If the computers or audio, or internet, go down for the day and you don't have plan B for a chalkboard lesson ready, then just keep an extra 40+ handouts in your box that can keep them busy. The high point about having that new room though is once you get that classroom up and running smooth you'll probably love it.

[Faunaki]

Don't sweat it. Everyone complained about my classes too cause they were too loud. So this year they moved my E-room next to an empty classroom. No more complaining teachers. Suggest that to your vp.

You obviously need the help of the comp guy. Get to be friends with him and rather than ask your co-teacher for help, ask instead that he calls the comp guy. You have one right? Ours comes in every Wednesday. I get him to teach me how to fix everything so that I don't have to wait a week for the comp to work again.

I hear you though, when I've got a great PPT and can't use it, it sucks but then I just go into word search mod. ^^

[marlow]

[Fishead soup]

That's why I try to keep it as simple as possible.

A copy of Side by Side and a photocopier.

[Underwaterbob]

Good idea with the handouts. I forgot I've got a million of them I made the first year when it was just beaten up blackboards and chalk. Now me and my students have gotten a taste of the electronic white board and there's no going back. Students who rarely paid attention before were all of a sudden enthralled. It's really intuitive to use and an awesome educational tool, when it's working.

The biggest problem is the custom made for the school software they use to run most of the stuff. I'm guessing it was made by a few of the inept techies someone else was talking about. Today, for example, for no good reason the videos that come on the CD with the book have all the sound in the right channel, also for no good reason the sound from the computer has to go through the software to get to the amp, (possibly to be able to send the audio to individual workstations) and the right channel wasn't working, thus no sound. I rebooted the software, wiggled some wires, and got it working. The board, or maybe the short focus projector, tend to recalibrate themselves, making writing on the board impossible. Often when I'm in mouse mode it changes back to white board mode on it's own and I end up drawing all over my power point presentations when I'm trying to change slides.

I'm only at the school on Thursdays and Fridays, and I think all the messing up happens during the week, such that things are thoroughly screwed by the time I arrive. I spend most of my prep time at both schools for this one school. The other school I'm still chugging away at the blackboard.

They've also managed to stick my most learning challenged student (read my other thread, this kid is wild) in my extra class with mostly very bright students. I'm all for equal opportunity, but he needs to be in a special ed class, not my after school class where he manages to do things like lock up my board markers in the electronic filing cabinet (why we even have this thing is a mystery) that I don't have the combination to while I'm not looking.

Home, Friday evening approaching, beer in the fridge, mental prep for next week underway...