<--PREVIOUS PAGE     HOME     NEXT PAGE -->

When everything "hits the fan"

You come up with a great assignment for your students to create a project using new technology, but they can't download the software. Your online testing program freezes and deletes students' essay exams. Someone hacks into your school's server and you can't upload graded research papers on time, causing several students to send you panicking email messages. 100% of your students fail to complete an assignment, and you wonder how they can all be illiterate.

Bad things can happen to good instructors. If something goes wrong, it's important to be able to cope. Don't take a bad situation as a personal failure. Sometimes the best way to learn how to be an effective instructor is to learn what not to do first.

Whatever happens, stay in communication with your students while you work on a solution to the problem. Hopefully, if it's a technical issue, your local tech support crew can help. For pedagogical issues, some schools offer a forum for instructors to ask questions and trouble-shoot solutions. The WISE forums include a trouble-shooting forum for this purpose.

Finally, take advantage of practices that help you deal with stress. I personally like margaritas. Of course, healthier options like taking walks, practicing yoga, and playing with puppies and kittens are all good options, too. (Some of this advice is a trifle facetious. To make a long story short, just find something that takes you away from the computer for a short while and helps you relax.)

Photo on this page: Creative Commons licensed photo via Flickr, Miedo by Arturo J. Paniagua

<--PREVIOUS PAGE     HOME     NEXT PAGE -->