Hints for Being a Lecturer

I happen to have some experience in this field, so here is the wisdom I have gleaned over the few years I have danced the education waltz:

1- Inform them Immediately of your Geek-status

They are going to find it out anyway. This way you get to use it to your advantage and they cannot hit you with it later.

2- Use the Names They Hate, Deliberately

This one is a corker.

It winds them up no end, especially if you first pretend you have done it by accident. The rest of the class will laugh and the whole class relaxes. Apart from the poor unfortunate who keeps hearing a name he or she hates, but all good things require sacrifice, right?

3- Talk About TV Shows and Film

A knowledge of pop culture tends to give you the "coolness" factor. Besides talking about stuff on television and film tends to be SO much more interesting than whatever drivel tends to be on Syllabi anyway.

Of course, when I say television, I DO NOT MEAN SOAPS, for they are the work of Satan.

Talk about dodgy shows with amazing looking women (here in Ireland, I am thinking stuff like the OC and Mile High).

4- Say Controversial Things

I tend to repeat controversial topics in class, as long as they are not offensive. This provokes discussion on all sides, puts the class in a good mood (because they tend to laugh at whatever you have said), and generally cuts through the ennui that can set in.

5- Identify the Class Archetypes and Use Them

Every class has them. There is the Mad One, the Class Stud, the Class Slut (despite all our enlightenment there is still lots of room for sexual hypocrisy), the Quiet One, the Clever One, the Funny One, the Victim. You get the idea. I tend to stick up for the Victim - despite the fact that he or she normally puts in for the grief.

6- Mention Extra-curricular Activities

Last Christmas, I happened to see a group of First Years walking down the street push a shopping trolley at 0300 in the morning. Naturally, I brought this up once classes started in January, and managed to get a surprising amount of mileage from it.

7- Be Approachable

There have been times when I have not been as approachable as I should have. I have always regretted it and try to do better. Students appreciate it when they feel comfortable enough to talk to you about whatever it is about your course they are struggling with, and it also leads to a better relationship.


I'm sure I have more but right now I am starting to feel all self-conscious so I am going to stop their on the mystical number seven.

In Defense of My Teaching Policies

In light of my previous post, it is time to be flippant.

Today, during class, my students accused me of being mean.

Computer rooms are plentiful over here in DIT Aungier Street, just not for the casual user.

[Side note: Isn't it interesting the way causal and casual are almost the same? I must remind myself to think about this in the future]

Classes are constantly running in a lot of the labs, but I have been allocated some of the easier access ones.

This, combined with the fact that very few students tend to show up to some of the classes, means that students are constantly trying to interrupt my class to read their email.

My body has responded with a highly-sophisticated response and defense mechanism for this perpetual assault. I drone out "Sorry there is a class on in here."

Today, my students, having heard this what I can only assume was the thirtieth time, asked me if I liked saying it.

I was surprised. How could uttering such a drone be enjoyable? Do I have the appearance of a masochist?

"No," I told them, "I just enjoy the look of disappointment on their faces."

They believed me and accused me of being nasty.

I was very hurt.

The truth is that I am too lazy to put a "Class on in here, Go away" type message.

Still, it is good to be feared.

Blogging and Personality

This blog has been up for a few days now, but already I have noticed a few strange things.

Firstly, by my nature, I tend to be blunt and direct. In essence, I am very much an "all or nothing" kind of person.

Strangely though, I find myself holding back when it comes to writing this blog. It may be that I am reluctant to fully vent on a public forum. Perhaps I do not wish to slate a student or acquaintance who has annoyed me in a way which is both permanent and easily viewable.

At the moment, though a few people do know of its existence, I have not told anyone the location of this blog. People cannot accost me for what they have not read.

However, I certainly hope that will change once I find my feet and a purpose. Hence my reticence.

Secondly, I am surprised at how my personality must appear on this blog.

I find myself sounding very serious, considered, and elitist.

While I could be accused of those traits from time to time (and I will always be the first to admit arrogance), I doubt anyone who knows me would consider them immediately obvious.

Perhaps I am treating this thing too seriously.

A very interesting experiment, all the same.

Lecturing and Computer Use

I am a lecturer in DIT, and I find it to be both very rewarding and incredibly frustrating at the same time.

I teach basic computing and IT skills in various business courses in the Aungier St part of DIT and so a lot of my students tend to be clueless (at least initially).

Having to repeat yourself over and over, and having the students not understand the very basics of computer use came as something as a shock to me initially, but I am (slowly) getting used to it.

What I find even more surprising is that IT skills for my first year students is not improving.

I would have naturally assumed that teenagers would be comfortable with technology, or more comfortable than they were ten years ago. That does not seem to be the case.

My new students are certainly more technologically aware than we were ten years ago, but a huge majority of them still do not know how to copy files onto a floppy or USB key.

I find this staggering.

Band of Brothers

I am watching this excellent television series for the third time as my housemate has not seen it.

Band of Brothers is one of those singular works that improves every time you see it, probably because you get to know the characters better.

If any of you have not seen it, you should. It is fantastic, and not only for those who like war and history.

Somewhere is Here

Well, I read a lot of blogs and my friend started one the other day.

It is something I have been meaning to do for a while, and now I have the motivation.

I have absolutely no idea how I am going to use this.