Technology stole several minutes from my class yesterday as I attempted to show them a DVD of the Bach Freiburg Orchestra playing the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg.

Of course the DVD player would not work. Roads were snow covered here in Michigan so it took me a full fifty minutes to do a twenty-five minute drive. I arrived with about five minutes to spare. Got to the class and the DVD player would not work for me.

Went to the office (hah) and reported it with unfelt civility.

Came back and tried it on the computer. AHA! It worked.

So I handed back papers. The IT guy came while I was doing this. When I pointed out that I had the DVD queued up on the Mac computer, he was satisfied and left.

Of course, after I handed back papers and attempted to play the DVD on the computer, it was no longer loud enough to hear. Another several minutes while I tried to figure out how to change it. I ended up ejecting it and putting it back in and lo and behold that worked.

This kind of bumbling around increases my sense of my own ineffectiveness.

Then the review for Thursday’s quiz seemed to catch the class completely unprepared. At least no one who knew stuff was talking and most everyone looked a bit confused. Oy!

By the time I had finished the review, I had about fifteen minutes left to give two listening quizzes (one practice for Thursday, one extra credit over material the students were supposed to have studied for that class) and teach the new concepts.

I just managed to give the two quizzes.

This morning I finished looking at these.

It surprised me that close to half of the class identified three or more out of five pieces that they were supposed to have listened to for class. And three people identified all five.

This is encouraging.