A Typical Teaching Day
I’ve had a lot of people ask me about what a typical teaching day is like for me, so I thought I would go into some detail on my downtime. Now remember, I only teach on sea days. On port days I can offer classes, but I can take the day off and go see the sights if I want to, as well (which I usually do).
On a typical sea day, I get up in the morning and have a proper breakfast in the officer’s dining hall (usually Raisin Bran and/or an omelette with ham and cheese – the menu doesn’t change). Then, I head to work. All of my classes take place in the Internet Café (the spot where passengers go to use the internet), which can be both a good and bad thing. It’s good in that my venue never changes; on other ships you have to teach classes in different places since there is no dedicated spot. It’s bad, though, in that a lot of people think I am the person that runs the internet, so I say “I’m just the computer instructor” a lot. Sometimes people even come up to me while I’m teaching classes!
I usually teach 5-6 classes a day (with a break for lunch). Before my classes start, I may offer a complimentary lecture or have office hours. The complimentary lecture is usually called “Discover the Magic of Digital Photo Editing” and it introduces people what a digital photo is and all the things you can do with it in Photoshop. It also talks about all the other classes that we offer. Sometimes a lot of people show up, sometimes only a few. It really depends. I notice the smaller classes are more fun, because people are more likely to ask questions and interact with me.
After the lecture (or if I’m not doing one), I start teaching my computer classes. There is a fee for each class, but they actually get to work with the computer programs (in the lectures, they do not). I teach all different kinds of classes: Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Windows, Movie Maker, etc. and I teach them for all different skill levels. Eventually I plan to offer internet-based courses, although those are a little trickier. You can check out the schedule I posted from an earlier cruise to get an idea of the classes.
The most popular classes – by far – are the Photoshop classes. People take a lot of photos on their vacation and they want to learn how to edit and organize them for when they get home. It’s really fun to watch the progress people make in just a short time. One woman started off having never used Photoshop in her life, and by the end she was using Layers and Selections like a pro.
The Office classes, while smaller, are also fun to teach. While I have a curriculum of things to teach, I almost always go “off” it based on the skill level of the class or the student. It can be tricky, though. One time I was teaching an advanced Excel Data class. One guy had used Excel for many years and knew it inside and out; the other guy had just started to learn what a spreadsheet was. Because they were both in the same class, I had to teach in such a way that the advanced user could still learn something, but the beginner wasn’t left in the dark.
Teaching computer classes may sound easy, but it’s not. It’s not really a question of “skill,” but more of patience. You have eight different people, eight different skill levels, and you’re trying to make sure that everyone learns something but also that no one is left behind. I show people how to do something in the front of the class, but then I walk to each person’s computer screen to make sure everyone is on the same page (so no one gets lost). It’s also helpful to learn how to not use a program. For instance, a student may get an error by clicking the wrong button or having the wrong properties set. It’s good to know how they got there and how to get them back.
When I’m not teaching classes, I also have the option to offer private classes. Those are one-on-one and can be whenever the person wants about any topic the person wants. For instance, I’ve had people ask me specific questions about how to use their personal computer. I’ve also taught people how to use a computer for the first time. The private lessons can be fun, but they also can be challenging since I don’t have a curriculum I can “stick” to.
Remember, I’m a one person department, so I do it all. I teach all the classes, and I am responsible for all the paperwork. When people register for classes, after the day is done, I have to process the charges and figure out how much money was made for the day. The more classes and students I have, the more work there is to do. I also have to spend time preparing for the next cruise. I’m still learning what classes, times, and combinations work and don’t work. It’s hard to gauge what each cruise is going to be like, but I’m still learning.
I hear a lot of my friends ask, “Who the heck would want to learn computer classes on a cruise ship?” And the answer is – plenty of people. Like I said earlier, people are taking these vacation photos, but they really want to know what to do with them. Also, a cruise ship is a place where you learn how to do lots of things you might not otherwise learn to do on land – meringue, paint ceramics, learn to play bridge.
So, now that I’ve talked about what my teaching days are like, are there any other specific questions?
