“I smile to hide how completely overwhelmed I am!”
I’ve been getting e-mails from students saying things like, “I’m near tears,” or “I’m so confused!” And I try to calm everyone down and move forward.
Then this morning I was working on the class Calendar using dates from my iPad Google calendar.
I was getting so confused because none of my dates made sense or agreed with my original dates. I made a huge mess, and then I had to get offline. Ten minutes later, my Google calendar did a big re-sync. It turns out that Google had been experiencing a massive Calendar hack, and I got stuck right in the middle of the thirty minutes or so it lasted.
So I have to re-do the Calendar for you–crazymaking!
You see? We’re all in this together–real life tech writing issues!
Miranda,
There was no need to get to the point of tears when I was right here the whole time waiting for student calls and texts. I got plenty of those, I’m glad to say! NEVER let yourself get that stressed without reaching out for help, okay? It takes a whole village…
🙂
Sandy
Dear Sandy:
I totally concur with the whole confusion thing! I have not only been almost in tears, but have actually had many tears. In fact, I honestly thought that I might need to drop the class because I could not figure out how to get my posts to actually post or replies to show up. This is my very first time doing anything with blogging. I hope that you are able to share with me and the rest of the class your knowledge about this technological wonder. I look forward to reading more of your blogs and hope that you can give me some tips how to improve my BlogSpot.
Thanks,
Miranda
Thanks, Kallista! I find everything goes better when there is a constant flow of direct communication between everyone. 🙂
I am still confused, yet I am pressing forward. Just when I think I’ve got, I don’t . Tomorrow is another day. I will try again.
Victoria
It is very hard getting used to all of my professors online courses. Everyone is different which makes it so difficult. But I am definitely trying and I am glad that I am not the only one very lost in this process.
Thank you for being so understanding, helpful and honest with us!
Kallista
Jeff,
I’m not sure what you mean? It certainly seems to ME that the instructions have been delivered as clearly as possible considering how unfamiliar this material is to most students. I’m sorry they don’t live up to your expectations, and I will work hard to do better.
It is my experience that it tends to help people to know that the instructor shares some of their frustrations and that a touch of humor helps “the medicine go down.”
Be forewarned that I am very humorous person, and you can expect more of the same throughout the term. If you don’t feel your personality is a good fit with mine, you are, of course, welcome to consider your options.
Sandy
i am not smiling nor do i find find any of this laughable. most of us are are taking this class online due to extremely busy schedules. i feel that i have already spent to much time sorting through all the scattered and unclear expectations. for a technical course i would have thought info/expectations would have been delivered in a clear, streamlined manner.
hello, i have already created a blog site, and completed an introduction. i emailed you the URL.
i also sent you a request so that i can add the “class blog” portion. it seems that the mutual consensus with other class members is mass confusion. any clarification would be greatly appreciated.
hello, i have already created a blog site, and completed an introduction. i emailed you the URL.
i also sent you a request so that i can add the “class blog” portion. it seems that the mutual consensus with other class members is mass confusion. any clarification would be greatly appreciated
Hi Sandy, I would of been one of the students in your emails too, but I was so confused I wasn’t even sure how to navigate the website to email you or where to leave a comment. When I heard this was going to be a blogging type of class I was pretty excited I love that you can be creative as much as you want. I just printed out your syllabus/calender and was relieved. Thank you for fixing the dates!!!
Oh wow…I am so relieved to read all these people’s comments and know I’m not the only one having meltdowns and thinking of dropping the class. I thought I was some kind of moron and it made me question if I was computer illiterate! Everything everyone is saying on here is like a mirror image to how I feel!
Sandy-I’m so glad to see the dates back to normal..it freaked me out yesterday!
Brandon,
I assume that nobody has done a blog before; however, most beginning employees are expected to help out with the corporate blog. Blogs are used as student portfolios, too, so it’s my job in Tech Writing to make sure you have this skill set.
I expect confusion and frustration-just share that with the rest of us on your blog, and you’ll be amazed at how many people will appreciate you saying you feel the same as they do!
I am so happy to know I was not the only one confused. Actually I was a little afraid to ask because I never used or created a blog before. Thank you for the clarity and a hand moving forward. I am looking forward to this experience.
Brandon
No, it’s never just you, but sometimes we each feel alone in our tech frustrations. I think it’s great to commiserate–misery loves company!
Absolutely! I have actually allowed two full weeks for everyone to get familiar with the Edublog and Moodle features of the class, so you’ll get there! And it seems like every class or job you’ll ever have will present you with a new set of tech challenges.
It’s good to know that you understand the struggles many of us have been facing the past few days! And I agree completely with your advice. I spent an hour yesterday trying to figure out how to link my blog with the rest of my classmates, and by the end I was so discouraged that I wasn’t sure if I should even remain in this class. Though I still haven’t figured out how to solve my issues, just taking a day off, taking some deep breaths and diving back in makes it feel a million times more manageable! Rome wasn’t conquered in a day, and this blog doesn’t need to be conquered in a day either.
Perfect.. Real life situations in the classroom setting are perfect, at least we have each other to communicate with now instead of when we are out on our own and alone 🙂
It’s so nice to know it happens to everyone and not just me.
Victoria,
When this happened to me, I thought how perfect when all my students are going through it, too!
Thanks!
Thanks, Mere! It’s always good to know we’re all in this mess together!
I love the picture you posted because that’s what I do; smile when things are falling apart! Thanks!
I don’t feel alone now. Yesterday was rough but joy comes in the morning. Today was much easier.