Don't be an Ass Clown!!!

As promised, I am here to tell you a story. And this one is huge. Trust me.
It is about my first class with a power point presentation.
I had toiled for weeks on this herculean topic of UML. Actually, that is an insult to Hercules as well, because I am sure Hercules was not as boring and deranged as this topic I was forced to take. Yeah, I meant forced. Maybe coerced would be a better word. I was being forced to do something I did not believe in.
Let me tell you how this started. The teacher came to the class and announced that that someone who did not want to do a programming assignment would be given a seminar as assignment. And she asked who was good at taking classes. Naturally a couple of the boys shouted my name. Without a second thought she made me the scapegoat. But here is the funny part. I had absolutely no problem doing the programming assignment. In fact, I had completed it last month!!!

I could have done this and looked less ridiculous!!!

Now back to the present. I was standing there, in front of the class,in a corner. This is in contrast to my usual practice of never getting down from the dais. I let the slideshow run. The first couple of slides were fine, they were just intro stuff. So far so good.
But halfway through it, I realized that what I was doing was futile. This no longer held my interest. and it is a fact that if the teacher is not interested in what he teaches, the students will never benefit. And I was desperate. I just wanted to end this thing and get off. And I started rushing things. And there, I made a cardinal mistake. I rushed through the topics because they were easy. What I forgot was that I had read all this stuff for one full week before it became easy. The people sitting in front were neophytes. But it was too late. And I made one more mistake. I mistook the timing and entered a slide before I introduced it. The effect was ruined.
The nail on the coffin came when I tried to open a software I had downloaded, that was sure to sweep people off their feet, and the goddamn thing would not open!!! I was standing there like an ass clown, and my brain was not working straight to figure out waht was actually happening. So I stopped and got off.
In all, I pulled off my worst show in history, and I have been to Bangalore to deliver a speech on relativity before I knew what relative velocity was, and I read off a sheet of paper, and that was better than this.
That's all...
Coming soon...
A Trip Down Memory Lane

Seminar Time !!!

Today I had to take a seminar in front of the whole class on Shifter and Accumulator Design. So I thought that it would be nice to blog about seminars, an dhow they affect you...
For some people, taking a seminar in front of a whole load of people can be a harrowing experience. Your mouth becomes dry, you start sweating like a pig, and you stare around with a deer-in-the-headlights like look.
Thankfully, not me. I don't fall into that category. I know that I can go out there and give a good session. The only thing is, how good. Because each time I get on that dais, I want to outdo myself. I want to give the best seminar I have ever given. And I want each seminar of  mine to be my best so far. And with that pressure begins to build on me. I knew I could do it, but just getting through it is not enough, I want to do it great.
But the thing is, what I felt is not tension, or anxiety, or fear. It was excitement. You know that mix of emotions which surges through you when you are next in line to go on to a stage, and deliver a poem or speech you have worked very hard to get right? Not pure fear, but rather that sense of purpose, and direction.
I love it.
And all of this emotion lasts for so long that I get on stage. Once I am on, I am ON. There is no fear, no butterflies or caterpillars in my stomach, no nothing. That is what I am thankful about.
But one thing you notice is, people listen to you. People tend to listen to you speaking more than the teachers, but there is that occasional talk among a couple of students, and it gets on your nerves. You feel that you are working so hard on your seminar, and these people have the audacity to talk????
I would've loved to fire them on the spot, and believe me I could. But I didn't because I did it too. Not all the time, but even for a couple of times, I did it. Now you know why teacher's snap when people talk in their class.
I had just this one hour, imagine having to take 4-5 hours a day!!!
The output I got was fairly good, I think I gave it my best. Everyone appreciated it.
But now I have one more on 23rd, and I have to use a projector then.
To be frank, I hate the projector. As much as you can argue, it is not a good teaching tool. It is used only by people who are lazy to use the board, or want to finish portions fast. For efficient teaching it is a no-no.
Well, I have to use it, and I will.
My first class with a projector...
Coming Soon...
Only on Amit Forever...