I have recently started a new series of technical English classes, this time on Sjælland near Copenhagen. There is an advantage to repeating sessions but I cannot exploit it to the full because the equipment level of the classroom I find myself in is the lowest I have experienced so far. There is a blackboard which means I have to either handcopy or take bad photographs of what we note down. There is a very slow computer with no speakers which means that showing streamed videos is out of the question. There is a projector/beamer but with no apparent means to switch it on.
I have in the past collected interesting videos such as the HP customer service call on You Tube or the intercultural differences in email on video jug. I have also recorded previous groups doing telephone exercises which I used at the time but which I like to recycle in the form of different exercises for future groups (eg write the follow up email to this telephone call). I also collate all our materials into a single online location to give some sort of permanent location to the class (in the past I have had a group where we had to use a different physical classroom each week).
In the present situation I have studiously avoided using IT but next week we are looking at telephone technique and I would like to do some recordings and show some videos or play some existing recordings. The only solution is to become completely independent by downloading all necessary videos and audio files onto my laptop and making sure that I don't leave the house without a pair of speakers as well. It's very time-consuming to do it all myself like this. And I thought things were moving forwards. Thank goodness I don't have to bring the electricity generator as well!
