TechGlitches

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Example 1: You are doing a presentation which requires accessing a web page. The Internet connection or web page is down.
Strategy: Save the web page in advance to your laptop hard drive, disk or flash drive.
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Example 2: You have a powerpoint slide presentation but can't get it to run because the connection to the multimedia projector doesn't work, the laptop doesn't have powerpoint, or some other reason.
Strategy: Prepare printouts of your slides.
Strategy: Prepare transparencies for an overhead projector of each slide.
Strategy: Anticipate this could happen and check that the computer you will be using can run power point
Strategy: Bring your own projector and computer
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Example 3: I was at a technology conference doing a presentation which involved the use of many web pages. The Internet connection for the whole conference went down just as my session began. I had backup web pages, but I didn't know that someone had changed the settings on my laptop the day before, and I couldn't get it to work.
Strategy: A colleague in the audience suggested I act out the web pages that I would have shown. This turned out to be fun -- and refreshingly different.
Strategy: Prepare transparencies and/or printouts of the web pages as in example 2 above.
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Example 4: I was giving a presentation that involved showing some video from my laptop and I forgot to bring speakers.
Strategy: I checked with the hotel and they kindly hooked me in to the house sound, which turned out to be great!
Strategy: Check with other presenters who might have equipment you can borrow.
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Strategy: If the program is an .exe file, ask the lab technician to download and install the program before the class.
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Example 6: I've prepared demo CD-ROMS of software and placed the demo files in a Word file for the participants to open and run...only to find that the lab I'm using doesn't have Office on it!
Strategy : I Call ahead to the site and find someone who seems to know what they are talking about. Then I call back to confirm what we both said. Then, if possible, I show up (at least) the afternoon before the event and check it all out with my own eyes.
Strategy : I may have to resort to built-in Windows components like WordPad.
Strategy : Always have a back-up lesson ready.
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Example 7: Real Player plugins are not there.
Strategy: Pre-planning is essential, but often I've had to resort to flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants.
Strategy: Have a good sense of humor.
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Example 8: Security restrictions from the site IT administrator are set too high for adults.
Strategy: Ask your site administrator for their overide password, and then keep them informed on the sites that you used it for so they don't get a strange phone call from the district technology person asking why they were using the NRA Website.
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Example 9: Your program cut back on staff and took the technician out of the lab.
Strategy: See if there is someone in the community who would like to volunteeer in the lab or be on call.
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Example 10: You work on a lesson using your home computer and get to class and realize the computers in the lab don't have some of the features or they are configured differently.
Strategy: Get in early and check the computers. You will then have time to reconfigure applications or install software.
Strategy: Email the lesson to yourself in several different forms so you can access it from work.
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Example 12: I was scheduled to give a workshop which included using a variety of ClipArt in Microsoft Word. Prior to the workshop's start time, I checked a few computers to see if the ClipArt worked. Unfortunately, on many of the computers, the second disk (the media disk) had not been installed so there was only a limited amount of ClipArt to use during the workshop on those computers.
Strategy 1: Quickly find suitable images from among the ones that were installed automatically at the original time of installation so that everyone could work with the same images.
Strategy 2: Make sure to check any subsequent workshop site for complete installation of all of the ClipArt images at least 2 weeks prior to the workshop, so the technical support people at the site (if any) have time to finish the installation of the second disk if possible.
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Example 13: A 3-hour technology workshop requiring 25 laptop computers was scheduled for our central office location (located in a downtown highrise) at 1:00 pm on a Friday afternoon. Approximately 20 to 25 participants were expected, coming from all parts of the city. At 11:30 that morning, the major transformer providing electricity to the entire building blew up. The automatic emergency generator kicked in providing a minimal amount of electricity to the building. At first, it was decided that the workshop could go on as scheduled sans computers. We would do alternative activities which were created on the spur of the moment. When it was determined that it would take several days to replace the unit, a decision was made to evacuate the entire building and send everybody home, but not until about 2:00 that afternoon, after the arrival of most of the participants.
Strategy: Prepare alternative activities in advance.
Strategy: Get emergency contact numbers including cell phone numbers of known participants at time of registration.
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Example 14: I started to do a seminar in an off site lab. I had asked prior to the seminar that plugins like Quick Time and Real Player be on the computers. I could only get into the lab 20 min prior to session, and when I got there the plugins were not on the computers.
Strategy: I used it as a lesson for downloading, and some participants had never downloaded so they loved it. We got everything done and only started the scheduled seminar 15 minutes late!!
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