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You know what I hate about computers? Or rather, to be totally unfair, about PCs? When they go wrong it's a complete disaster, and yet they leave you feeling like it's your fault.
Today in intro physics, a big block of class time was scheduled for an explanation of MRI, centered on a nifty computer simulation. I've been looking forward to it: the last two times I taught the class, several of my pre-med students have told me it was their favorite lecture of the year. But because I also wanted to show some actual MRI data (my own), I had to use image software from the hospital that only runs on a PC. I borrowed a laptop from the department, and our IT guy helped me get the necessary programs all installed and running.
So this morning, I headed over to the classroom a bit early to get the laptop set up... and it refused to send an image to the display. I spent something like fifteen minutes hunting through control panels and other settings trying to find an option like "Detect Displays" or "Turn on mirroring" or anything along those lines, but to no avail: it never sent a signal to the projector at all. (One or two students looked over my shoulder and tried to help out, too.) Eventually, as class was ready to start, I gave up for the moment and closed the laptop's lid... at which point the projector lit right up! But of course it's hard to use the trackpad or the keyboard when the lid is closed: I had no way to actually control the simulation while it was visible on the screen.
In the end, when the time came to fire up the computer, I tried a few more things and even ran out to look for our IT guy for help, but I couldn't track him down (I had a class waiting for me: I couldn't look long). So I had to just abort that topic in the middle, promising to figure it out for next time. With only one class period left I couldn't afford to lose all the remaining class time, so I ended up scrambling to give the first half of the next lecture I had planned (the history of the universe: also very popular with students). I'm sure that splitting it up won't do anything to enhance their enjoyment of that lecture, either. And quite apart from the unwanted changes of topic, I know I lost a chunk of teaching time trying to make things work: I don't know how I'll find time to finish both those stories in the last class period.
After class, I finally figured out two solutions to the problem. One option was to steal a USB mouse and use that to control the computer when the lid was closed (I could get by without the keyboard); it took a minute for the driver to kick in, but it eventually worked. And the second was something I hadn't even considered looking for on my own: another professor passing by suggested hitting F8 (or perhaps "Function-F8") to swap between displaying on the screen or the projector. I can't comprehend why this laptop wasn't capable of displaying on the screen AND the projector (just mirror the same image!), nor why there was no hint of any way to change that setting in, say, the Displays control panel or in Windows help, not that I had that much time to search.
To get back to my original point, I walked away from this maddening, disappointing experience feeling like I was the one who had done something wrong. If only I had gotten to the classroom even earlier before class to get things set up, my lecture would have gone smoothly. If only I had spent more time using PC laptops lately, I would have known what to do. If only I'd been smarter about what to search for in help, or about where to look for the right settings, or about hunting through all the special Dell-specific function key labels on the keyboard...
But it doesn't have to be that way. Every single time I have gone to give a talk with my Powerbook (including the very first), it Just Worked. At the worst, all I had to do was to pull down the little display menu at the top and click "Detect Displays" (or open the Displays preference pane and hit the same button, or search for either "displays" or "mirroring" in system help, or...). Yes, I know "It Just Works" is an advertising slogan, but it's also been exactly my experience. You shouldn't have to outsmart your computer to make it work.
Today in intro physics, a big block of class time was scheduled for an explanation of MRI, centered on a nifty computer simulation. I've been looking forward to it: the last two times I taught the class, several of my pre-med students have told me it was their favorite lecture of the year. But because I also wanted to show some actual MRI data (my own), I had to use image software from the hospital that only runs on a PC. I borrowed a laptop from the department, and our IT guy helped me get the necessary programs all installed and running.
So this morning, I headed over to the classroom a bit early to get the laptop set up... and it refused to send an image to the display. I spent something like fifteen minutes hunting through control panels and other settings trying to find an option like "Detect Displays" or "Turn on mirroring" or anything along those lines, but to no avail: it never sent a signal to the projector at all. (One or two students looked over my shoulder and tried to help out, too.) Eventually, as class was ready to start, I gave up for the moment and closed the laptop's lid... at which point the projector lit right up! But of course it's hard to use the trackpad or the keyboard when the lid is closed: I had no way to actually control the simulation while it was visible on the screen.
In the end, when the time came to fire up the computer, I tried a few more things and even ran out to look for our IT guy for help, but I couldn't track him down (I had a class waiting for me: I couldn't look long). So I had to just abort that topic in the middle, promising to figure it out for next time. With only one class period left I couldn't afford to lose all the remaining class time, so I ended up scrambling to give the first half of the next lecture I had planned (the history of the universe: also very popular with students). I'm sure that splitting it up won't do anything to enhance their enjoyment of that lecture, either. And quite apart from the unwanted changes of topic, I know I lost a chunk of teaching time trying to make things work: I don't know how I'll find time to finish both those stories in the last class period.
After class, I finally figured out two solutions to the problem. One option was to steal a USB mouse and use that to control the computer when the lid was closed (I could get by without the keyboard); it took a minute for the driver to kick in, but it eventually worked. And the second was something I hadn't even considered looking for on my own: another professor passing by suggested hitting F8 (or perhaps "Function-F8") to swap between displaying on the screen or the projector. I can't comprehend why this laptop wasn't capable of displaying on the screen AND the projector (just mirror the same image!), nor why there was no hint of any way to change that setting in, say, the Displays control panel or in Windows help, not that I had that much time to search.
To get back to my original point, I walked away from this maddening, disappointing experience feeling like I was the one who had done something wrong. If only I had gotten to the classroom even earlier before class to get things set up, my lecture would have gone smoothly. If only I had spent more time using PC laptops lately, I would have known what to do. If only I'd been smarter about what to search for in help, or about where to look for the right settings, or about hunting through all the special Dell-specific function key labels on the keyboard...
But it doesn't have to be that way. Every single time I have gone to give a talk with my Powerbook (including the very first), it Just Worked. At the worst, all I had to do was to pull down the little display menu at the top and click "Detect Displays" (or open the Displays preference pane and hit the same button, or search for either "displays" or "mirroring" in system help, or...). Yes, I know "It Just Works" is an advertising slogan, but it's also been exactly my experience. You shouldn't have to outsmart your computer to make it work.