Friday was a weird day. I got what is called a "roving" assignment. It was a training day for the English teachers. But instead of having them out all day, they split the group in half so half were out for the first half of the day while the other half were out for the second. And since the teacher I was covering the first half of the day had a 1st period prep, I was sent elsewhere for that period.
Which is why when I walked into the class I was covering 2nd period, I was not surprised to find the computer set up with the class' assignment.
The class had vocabulary words to copy down. This is something they do every day. All I had to do was turn on the projector.
Well, ideally that's how it would have worked out.
When I got into the room, I found a countdown clock on the computer. I had less than ten minutes before it was going to shut down.
I know this drill. The computer uploads updates. Then it tells you it needs to shut down. But you can postpone that. So, that's what I did. I told the computer to postpone shutting down for four hours.
Only, that didn't stop the countdown clock. Nothing would stop the countdown clock. I tried the exit button. I tried CTRL-ALT-DEL. I tried the escape button. I clicked on everything I could. But the countdown clock kept ticking away.
The only other trick I know is to shut down the computer. Which is what it was going to do anyway.
Unfortunately, it was going to take the vocabulary words with it. And I didn't have the teacher's log in, so when the computer restarted, I would not be able to access the teacher's files.
Ah, technology...
In the end, I could not stop the forced shut down. The students had maybe five minutes of the eight to ten that they needed to copy down the words. And with no other choice, I then just started them on the assignment for the rest of the period.
It was a freshman class, so I had the usual freshman problems. The teacher's computer finished restarting. And then I could log in to the computer under my log in.
And it turned out that the teacher had a back up for me. She had printed out the words (as well as the words for the next class), and her document camera was connected. So, I set that up, and about halfway through the class, we were able to complete the vocabulary that should have been done at the start.
Better late than never.
With that technical difficulty out of the way, I had no issues with the computer for the next class.
These are the joys of subbing. Unexpected issues always seem to crop up.
Sounds like a G-rated "War Games."
ReplyDelete"Shall we play a...game?"
Ha. Totally. :)
DeleteOkay, Al's comment cracked me up. Shows my age, but oh, well. Sorry for this frustration. I cannot imagine having to deal with kids AND computer issues.
ReplyDeleteKids and computer frustrations? Um, yeah, that's just a typical Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday...).
DeleteI love technology. Until it misbehaves, that is.
ReplyDeleteBut technology always seems to misbehave. Eventually.
DeleteIt's the worst when computers pull stuff like this. Good thing the teacher had a backup.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger change was something I loved. But as I have aged, change is not something I like so much. So not having a regular classroom, my own computer and my own stuff in my own desk would be an issue for me. I hate that I have gotten that way...I liked being the other way better!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that there's anything wrong with that. We all find our comfort zones.
DeleteFor a middle age lady I like change most of the time. Life is an adventure with twist and turns.
ReplyDeletecoffee is on
So you began your day with a heart attack? Or were you more calm and collected than I would have been? You always seem calm and collected –ready for anything – at least in your writing, after the fact. :)
ReplyDeleteNot so much a heart attack as a "whoops" moment. I think if they'd been an older class, I wouldn't have worried as much.
DeleteAwww. I'm sorry that happened to you. I wish I was readily available for ya. In the next instance (should this ever happen again) try this:
ReplyDelete1) Open your 'Windows' button in the bottom left Corner
2) Search for or open 'Command Prompt' (also simply 'CMD' if you hit the run button)
3) From there you should only need to type the following and then hit enter
shutdown /a
What this is telling the computer it to please abort (or /a) the shutdown that is pending or starting. :)
Good to know. In this instance, though, I don't think I would have been able to do that, as I couldn't even get out of the screen the computer was on. (It was showing a slideshow, and escape didn't take me out of it.) But next time, assuming I have the Windows button, I'm all over this. Thanks.
DeleteI hate computer shutdowns. They are always at a bad time!
ReplyDeleteThey are. Which is why I always postpone. When I can.
Delete