As if a migraine moving in on the tail end of a cold compounded by sleepless nights wasn't enough, this week I got to engage in an absolutely fascinating email conversation * with one of my computer literacy students.
Bear in mind, this is a class in Office 2007: the students must use Office 2007. They can use any of the computers in any of the labs on campus because each and every one of those computers has Office 2007 installed. Their textbook packages included install disks for Office 2007 so that they could install the software at home, if they so desire.
# # #
To: professor trekFrom: Student With Problems
======================
I'm having trouble opening the document for the homework. I plugged in my flash drive, but the "homework #2" document doesn't show up in my Word folder.
Also, I think I left my course files disk in the computer I was using in lab last week, did anyone turn one in?
# # #
To: SWPFrom: prof trek
======================
> If anyone turned it in, it would be in the main lab in the Lost and Found.
> Did you look in the right folder: Word/Chapter 1/ ?
# # #
Are you suitably impressed with my avoiding any snarky "do I look like your mother?" comments? Probably a good thing, too, since I am old enough to be this student's mother.# # #
To: prof trekFrom: SWP
======================
>> Yes. I have Office 2003 so is Office 2007 supposed to open up with the flash drive?
# # #
I actually had to read that again to be sure the student was really asking that question. We spent a chunk of time last week going over how Word 2003 cannot open Word 2007 files. Part of the tutorial included showing the class exactly how you convert a .docx file to a .doc file for backward compatibility.# # #
To: SWPFrom: prof trek
======================
>>> You can't do the assignments in Word 2003.
# # #
By definition. This is, after all, a course on Office 2007.# # #
To: prof trekFrom: SWP
======================
>>>> The files don't stay saved to my flash drive or something. If I don't have Office 2007, how do I open them then?
# # #
To: SWPFrom: prof trek
======================
>>>>> You go to one of the labs at school and do the work there or you install Office 2007 at home. There was an install disk with your textbook.
# # #
* Spelling errors and grammar tidied up for the blog.
Posts
8 yarns:
Wow. That's impressive. It's not easy to miss the mark by so much!
After the day I had, I'm almost sympathetic to the student.
Oh, you are patient. I would have had to stomp around the room for a bit before I could be nice. Yikes! Don't you hate giving the information, and realizing you might as well have been talking to the wall?
You should be paid hazard pay for this kind of student. I am impressed that you could hold it together.
You are much more patient than I would have been. I think I would have had to walk away from the computer by the last message to avoid being really nasty or sarcastic, which is what I am best at.:-)
I couldn't do it. You're a much better person than I am, I couldn't have avoided sass at any cost. I bow down to you!
Clearly they thought they signed up for Handholding 101!
I would have told him it's a Y2K error and let him ponder that for a few more semesters.
Post a Comment