Your Move, SmartBoard

Last Thursday there was a frenzy in the department. Like piranha fish, instructors were swimming about in packs, bloodthirsty with excitement because of the University's very first American SmartBoard. Even though it's winter break, instructors are contractually obligated to be in their offices (it's Turkey...is the only explanation I've gotten). So instead of drinking tea for three hours on Hassan Hoja's new leather couches (which came with the SmartBoard upgrades), everyone crowded into the department's primary classroom to watch a demonstration.

This is the first SmartBoard at Yuzuncu Yil, as well as in Van, and probably in all of southeastern Turkey. I sat through the demonstration, though I didn't understand it, but I did see the board do quite a bit of intelligent things, including solving a hand written quadratic equation and playing a keyboard cat video. Unfortunately, the board has yet to receive its "this isn't really funny" lines of code yet.

I teach my conversation classes in the primary classroom where the new SmartBoard is. The white board that was previously there has disappeared. On Monday, the day of my first class, I told Hassan Hoja that I didn't know how to go about teaching without a white board; I didn't know how to use the SmartBoard. He told me that it was perfectly safe to write on the SmartBoard, that the demonstrator himself had done it, and then he lead me into the primary classroom and began to write on the board with a regular marker. He kept writing my name and erasing it, saying, "It is perfectly fine!"

My class was the very first class of the university (students' classes don't begin until next week). Because of this, I was to be the very first instructor to teach using the SmartBoard. I spent the first part of class writing out words and then quickly erasing them before the ink had time to dry. I was still nervous, despite Hassan Hoja's reassurances. During our class break, a couple of students came up to the board to examine it. "I do not think you should write on it," they said, and I assured them Hassan Hoja said it was alright. The older men of the class spent the next five minutes of the break attempting to show me how to use the board by repeated pressing the button marked "Pencil" and trying to write on the board. After a while I stopped explaining that the SmartBoard needed a projector to work.

This is me, except the board isn't on, the girl is a guy, and I'm wearing flannel.

The second half of class I relaxed and didn't erase as I taught, so after class I stayed later and tried to scrub the board with the paper towels I had brought. However, it seemed that no matter how clean the towel was, each time I wiped the board there was still a blue tint on the surface.

I was starting to panic when Zeki Hoja, the department's jack of all trades, appeared in the doorway. "Zeki Hoja," I said, "thank goodness. I may need help."

Zeki Hoja looked from me, to the board, and back to me before saying (and I quote - realize sometimes I tend to exaggerate but this entire story is the truth) - "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"