A professor’s strongest aid is technology, so it would be foolish for them to not master it for the sake of teaching.
By: Jack Plaia
To start off the 2025 fall semester at CSI, I entered my advanced level Italian class prepared to learn. I found a seat and sat down. Seems like the perfect school day, right? The only problem was that instead of learning I was met with my Italian professor fighting with the very technology that was supposed to be helping him teach.
Not only does this issue take time away from learning, but it also makes professors look bad.
Whereas some students are happy to get a few extra texts in because of their professor’s misfortune, others can’t help but become aware of how embarrassing the situation is for the teacher.
Professors, faculty, and mentors alike have the responsibility of teaching and informing students, and they need to be respected to do so properly. While nobody is expected to be perfect, losing five, ten, or even 15 minutes of class because a professor doesn’t know how to use the technology crucial for getting their message across, can leave a bad taste in many students mouths and cause them to question the authority of those who should be guiding them.
The fix to this CUNY conundrum is simple. Because it often takes the IT department
many valuable class minutes to arrive to assist a professor, I believe CSI should
arrange a short course for professors that explains how to properly connect computers to smart boards. This course could take place directly before the beginning of each semester and should also provide a checklist of troubleshooting steps that professors can follow if they are experiencing technical difficulties.
However, if it turns out it is not the fault of the professors and CSI’s technology is truly just confusing, it may be time for the college to invest in some new, straightforward classroom tech.
