CUR/722 Comes to an Abrupt End
Sometime overnight, the server that my classroom resided one ended its life, at least this is what tech support told me. They had hoped to rebuild the server in less time but as of Sunday afternoon things were still down. When class isn’t available on weekends things get dicey. All of a sudden, I had last minute questions about the assignment that I knew could be resolved in class postings. All of a sudden, I wanted to check my professor’s notes and lectures. All of a sudden, I wanted to take advantage of the class materials.
It was a frustrating weekend, school-wise, for sure.
Some might say this has to do with the switch to a web-based classroom environment. It might, but the server being down would have impacted the Outlook Express environment too. Although, is OE the older posts would be available offline, making accessing the materials more readily accessible. Still, the new web interface is not the issue. The issue is redundancy. I am sure there are backups somewhere but the IT failure is no doubt giving rise to a series of conversations that ensure up time.
Perhaps most frustrating was that the server meltdown came at the end of CUR/722. I’ve had contentions with this class in the past few weeks and none of them were adeqautely resolved. I still feel as though the assignments and discussion were at Bachelor or Master levels and did not adequately stretch to doctoral level leadership discussions or work. The class being done now, I have little left to harp on. So, it is enough that I have voiced my concern through the end-of-course survey (and here I suppose).
I completed my assignment and like a seasoned UOP student, I emailed it to the professor to make sure the paper got counted. I hope my classmates did the same.
The classroom did come back up on Monday afternoon. It was empty of all earlier posts and materials. A message assuring students the earlier posts would be restored gave little comfort. The class was ending, what do I care if the older materials appear somewhere down the line. Truth be told, the classrooms dissappear after a few weeks, making accessing all older materials impossible.
Just as one class ends, another begins. I am preparing for Year 3 residency. I have a lot to do in terms of drafting chapters 1-3 and I will be buckled down after a short break here.
Image Source: zoomar
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