Technology Snafus

As a student in the age of technological advancement, I have experience many of times when the "tech gods" did not want to cooperate. I'm sure we can all regard various experiences in the classroom where a beautifully laid out presentation never reached its unveiling point. Having experienced such dilemmas, I thought it would be important to discuss various ways of circumventing for when such occasion happens and the "tech gods" are not on our side.

The following are a few suggestion in using technology in the classroom that I have either observed or been told of.

1. Make sure you know your environment. It is always important to know where you will be presenting and what equipment is available. Not everything is compatible with each other (i.e. Apple with Windows).

2. Request any needed equipment with substantial time. Of course, like any other event, requesting supplies with ample times assures your tools will be ready for you and it helps prevent any last second "snafus".

3. Making transparencies of your presentation. In case the equipment is not working you can use older technology and display transparencies on an overhead. Not the same glamor but your information will not be lost.

4. Make hard-copies (paper copies) of your presentation. In case there is no overhead or don't like to use overheads, you can always bring copies of your presentations to hand-out. Again, your beautiful visual may be lost but they are represented in the hard copy. More importantly, you can continue with the topic at hand.

These are four easy steps that can be taken to help ensure a smooth sailing come presentation day. Please feel free to share any other ideas you may have.