Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

I'm a public school teacher who travels to different schools and camps to teach and find my self packing my notebook and using it most of the time in my work. I'm a highly creative computer user who uses lots of multimedia clips of many things about our world, childrens karaoke, and overhead visuals in my teaching. The computer makes for a very powerful education tool to couple with a smart resourceful teacher. I'm not using it for movies right now, but only occasionally use it for that during the semester as kids are watching movies at night during break.

I noticed today my camp director has a nice new shiny notebook with the Ministry of Education seal on it, but only is using it to upload all those photos of my classes and to type/print out the single page budget statement. That's it. Most of the time public school classroom computers are having technical issues rendering them useless and I don't have time to trouble shoot as they're about 5 to 8 years old in many cases and not well maintained from a software standpoint.

Since I care about taking pride in doing the best job I can to my knowledge and ability, I'm risking my expensive fairly new laptop in the cold weather and around young children though I'm not having issues with kids touching it as I make my rules very clear.

I have asked up several times why laptops are not provided to traveling teachers who use this as a very powerful education tool in conveying culture and English ideas, but get the I don't know or understand what you're asking for answer each time.

Being that the teacher is just about the very most active employee physical, mentally, and technologically, we deserve laptops and generally more support. Being that we have more budget than necessary in most instances, it's possible we could do a whole lot more for the students.

[Xuanzang]

Ｙｏｕ　ｗｏｕｌdnt be able to get English windows (unless you buy it yourself) on the laptop and you would be subject to their internet usage policy. My school says they spent good money on buying the English WIndows XP but the counterfeiting MS program keeps popping up with that fake bubble. The budget definitely went into something and it wasnt English.

I just refuse to allow SMOE to install their junk protection stuff on my own computer but I would have to acquise when it is school property. That AHn labs is one of the most intrusive POS ever.

I think they also fear that the native teacher might not take care of it and use it as their own personal computer. The former teacher at my school left the school computer in ruins. So much downloaded crap such as viruses and spyware from porn sites that my 2007 Samsung Dual Core, etc runs like my old P3.

[TheChickenLover]

Windows 7 is available now.

It's fast, stable & extremely user friendly (using mine @ work & at home).

It's also in English and Microsoft will give you an authentication key with your email address.

Try it out..you won't regret it.

Chicken

[sojourner1]

I already know how to use computers in Korean as I know how to use computers and it's not much different. If you know how to use a windows computer, you can get by working with any language not knowing that language nor having the vocabulary to actually read all that jargon. I just know the processes of using computers so I have only minor problems using my Korean computer I have on my desk at my main school. I'm quite well schooled with many years experienced in the computers and they all mostly operate the same; just different languages in each country.

As for using it as a personal computer, I do just that, becuase it's a personal computer. Everyone using PC's regardless of who owns them, as personal computers, because they're all about being a personal computer where you do everything computer related on it that you might do. Any smart user doesn't do porn; not even on the machine they own as it's full of viruses and malware. I do email and sometimes play computer games and other times watch a movie with ear buds when I'm finished with my work and have extra sitting time.

Everybody does personal computing on the employers clock and machine, except in corporations where they micromanage you.

The Koreans are not worried about what I do. I'm very sure of that as they don't really care as long as I show up for scheduled English classes which I'm very punctual and have never missed a time other than calling in sick. They're just inconsiderate and fail to communicate despite my efforts. The men in suits in the offices only think about themselves.

[IAMAROBOT]

I manage pretty well with a thumb drive and some portable apps from portableapps.com. You can put the whole open office suite, VLC media player, antivirus, and firefox on there so you can avoid having to navigate the Korean interface.

[Ukon]

[sojourner1]

I keep all my teaching materials on 2 thumb drives, duplicates, but the computers are so screwed up in most classrooms. I always try it, but most of the time there's an issue I don't have time to solve.

[Chris_Dixon]

And some public schools do give you a notebook, with an english os....that you get to keep as a bonus for a 12 month contract

[antoniothegreat]

getting back to the original question, why you dont have a laptop...

one thought, they see you have one and dont want to "waste the money" when they can use that to give someone else "more important" a laptop.

two, they dont care. you are just the foreign teacher, you are not a real teacher. some schools care, some dont.

three, you just havent gotten your turn yet. My school seems to get like 5 new laptops every year. there is some sort of pecking order to it. I got mine after a year and a half.

four, they really dont understand. they see you have one. why are you asking for one.

if, you think your school falls into category 1 or 4, i would stop using your computer, then complain about how nice it would be to have one. you could even tell them how some student dropped yours on the bus and it broke. something like that.

otherwise, be persistent. sadly, i have seen in a few schools, the issues for the FT just dont get taken care of. sometimes because the KTs are busy, sometimes they are just lazy Fuks. sometimes the KTs are incredibly clueless. at a high school attached to my middle school, they got a new teacher and asked me to help him so he doesnt leave early, like their last teacher did. i said their actions will decide that more than mine. of course what happens? they pay him his 300,000 settling in money 2 months late, his airfare 3 months late give him crappy furniture, etc. Even when I dropped lines like "If I were your teacher, I would be tempted to leave early since you guys do everything so late." my response was a look of curiousity like "really?" my answer "how would you feel if you got paid three months late?" "that would never happen." "exactly..."

retards...

[sojourner1]

[Draz]

My PS expected me to bring my own laptop to Korea and use it in the classroom. (Like the last teacher did, a new laptop got completely worn out in less than a year using it this way.) I didn't have one though. So they gave me a piece of crap that someone else tossed when they got a new one.

There was at least one Korean teacher who rejected the crap laptop the school provided and bought her own so it's just not a foreign teacher issue.

[cruisemonkey]

I don't travel at all, and my school gave me a new laptop. They also just bought me a new 'desktop' for my apartment - complete with an English version of Windows, (counterfeit)... of course...LOL.

[bassexpander]

[TheChickenLover]

[Chris_Dixon]

[quote="sojourner1"]