"Be Prepared," or The Boy Scout Motto Revisited

The technology-enhanced classroom is a thing of wonder. Administrators are even abandoning the term classroom in favor of the more up-to-date "learning space." Thousands of dollars worth of equipment laid out by a learning space consultant for maximum efficiency, and then something goes wrong. How to avoid the waste of a class period, you say? Expect that something will go wrong and be prepared to teach with last generation technology. Anyone care to sing the praises of the chalkboard? No batteries to replace, no bulbs to blow, and no training needed to use it.