For my job (Yes, as a teacher. I never though I would say those words.), I am creating modules that are computer-based for our students to complete while we are out of town. The task is very straightforward and generally involves opening an already existing powerpoint presentation that has been used for years to teach the class, making it more interesting, record the audio of myself presenting it slide by slide, then write up a 10 question quiz at the end to make sure they understood all the material. It's more involved and glorified than that but if you strip it all down to the bare bones, that's essentially what I'm doing. Yes, it is straightforward. However, it is extraordinarily more time consuming than it sounds. For a 12 minute presentation, I put about 15-20 hours of work into it. I have just completed my third and fourth presentations and I'm pretty satisfied with them. They have all the information in a good powerpoint layout without too many words, sprinkled with photos, splashed with humor, narrated in a very interested and engaging tone, and takes the place of a long lecture.
It has finally come back around to me that students have completely disregarded the presentation and have just skipped to the quiz. They can take it a few times so I imagine that they just re-take it, learning which are the right answers along the way, until they pass it. I really shouldn't care, but the hardest part for me is all of the work that I've put into it gets completely disregarded. I put all of my free time into making these modules as educational, interesting, engaging, and entertaining as I possibly can, and then it turns out to be for nothing. It's a deflating feeling.
I don't like what it feels like but in time, I'll get over it. I don't want my happiness to be dependent on what other people do or don't do. If my students already know it all, then there's no problem with them skipping everything. If they don't know it all, it will show up on the midterm and final exams. I am proud of my work and I enjoyed putting forth so much effort to make what I've made. That's far more important than whether anyone else appreciates it or not.
It has finally come back around to me that students have completely disregarded the presentation and have just skipped to the quiz. They can take it a few times so I imagine that they just re-take it, learning which are the right answers along the way, until they pass it. I really shouldn't care, but the hardest part for me is all of the work that I've put into it gets completely disregarded. I put all of my free time into making these modules as educational, interesting, engaging, and entertaining as I possibly can, and then it turns out to be for nothing. It's a deflating feeling.
I don't like what it feels like but in time, I'll get over it. I don't want my happiness to be dependent on what other people do or don't do. If my students already know it all, then there's no problem with them skipping everything. If they don't know it all, it will show up on the midterm and final exams. I am proud of my work and I enjoyed putting forth so much effort to make what I've made. That's far more important than whether anyone else appreciates it or not.
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