Thursday, October 3, 2019

Phoning it In


Last Friday I ended up covering the eighth grade English class of the department chair (the one who gave me lesson plans for the first couple weeks while I covered that vacant English class). They're reading Lord of the Flies.

It used to be when kiddos were reading in class, it meant that they'd read aloud, a paragraph at a time, or they'd read it to themselves. But with so many audiobook options nowadays, it's more likely that they'll follow along while a professional reads to them.

(There are pros and cons to this, and most teachers change things up depending on the day. When there are subs, using the audiobook helps with classroom control so so much.)

But, of course, the teacher didn't leave her laptop, and the hook up for the classroom speakers was on the opposite side of the room from the desktop computer. And the Chromebooks were locked up. (Sigh.)

It was suggested that I use my phone.

(I am reluctant to use my phone as it's old enough that the battery doesn't hold a charge as long as it once did. And I didn't bring a charger with me.)

So, I typed the address into my phone. I eventually got the thing to work, but it took a while. (And it was touchy besides.) During which time, well, eighth graders don't wait well.

At least I got it working well enough so that I didn't have that same issue the rest of the day. Although, there were other issues...

(But it was a good way to spend the day seated rather than on my sore ankle.)

The teacher had left helpful Post-It notes where I needed to stop and ask questions. They had written work to complete. It was a great lesson, once the technical issues were worked out.

If you're curious (or would like to have an audiobook version of Lord of the Flies), you can find that here.

19 comments:

  1. when you mention 8th graders, I have to wonder whether you're reading Lord of the flies or living it...

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    1. LOL. That's probably why they teach it to them ;)

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  2. Oh my gosh...we love our computers but when they give you issues its stressful!! haha....I am having an issue right now with my McAfee all of a sudden decided to block me downloading pics. See I usually put things on fb and then I save that from FB to my pics on my computer for blogging. It will not let me save them. Can't copy and paste into that folder either. Driving me NUTS. But it will let me copy from fb and paste into the blog....thank goodness. Anyway, gotta have someone that knows more about puters to fix the issue, you see, I know ENOUGH to be dangerous!!! You have some real fun subbing!! haha

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    1. Oh, so that's what's been happening on your blog. Because those pictures have been hit and miss lately.

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  3. LOL with songbird's comment. I think I read Lord of the Flies in high school. Are the 8th graders able to comprehend it and discuss it? Of course they probably are since they are exposed to so much more than I was when I was their age.

    betty

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  4. I've never read Lord of the Flies, but I'm starting to feel like I need to.

    I definitely understand trying to conserve your phone battery. I forget to charge mine at night more often than not, so my battery is always low.

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    1. I don't know if you need to. It's not my kind of story, so I'm quite content to get the bits of it I get while covering English classes.

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  5. You didn't bring a charger? That's living dangerously.

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  6. Technology can be a blessing a curse, for sure. Be well!

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    1. No kidding. Like today. Which probably won't be a post next week as I wrote a similar post about two weeks ago.

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  7. I love your line, "eight graders don't wait well." That is perfect.

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  8. Reading that Lord of the Flies is being read "slightly sped up" cracked me up.

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  9. Nowadays, there'sn't anything that can't done with the phone!!! Not sure if that's good or bad. But glad it came handy here.
    It's good to carry a charger or a power bank with you, especially if the phone is an old one. I do that, since my phone is two-and-a-half years old and the charge drains out much faster than it used to.
    Remember reading Lord of the Flies long long ago. Thanks for sharing the Soundcloud link. I will listen to it.

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  10. I love the Lord of the Flies. Super disturbing, though.

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  11. Liz,

    I remember those days of reading aloud. I always felt so self-conscious because I wasn't a confident reader due to what I know now from hearing issues. Reading along with an audiobook would've been a nice addition to my school days. I don't recall if they used those much back then but it almost seems like I remember some classes might have used pre-recordings of something now. I'm glad you got things workedout. Maybe it's time to upgrade your phone. :)

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  12. Had to read that in year 10. I didn't mind it but it isn't one I would go back to read again.

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