WESTWOOD—Students silently supported their biology professor during lecture today as she struggled to toggle multiple tabs on Internet Explorer.
“So here we have a… oh where did I put that one? It shoul-it should be um, there should be a cell diagram here somewhere, hold on,” Professor Elizabeth Franklin said through bouts of nervous giggles and well-intentioned puns while she clicked on every tab four times each to no avail.
“I hope you kids find this ‘humerus,’” she said, swallowing audibly while she opened Bing and searched “Structure Of The Cell, Biology Class, 2016” in hopes of finding the graphic. About 15 minutes into lecture, student Mark Lee worked up the courage to meekly mention that the graphic was saved on Franklin’s desktop.
“Well, I searched the top of my desk, thinking that I had printed it out. But Mark stood up and helped me out, bless his soul. Who knew that you could have an image readily accessible from inside the screen itself?” Franklin said, excitedly saving images of xylem and phloem to her “Documents” folder.
After the event, students were still reeling.
“Professor Franklin’s actions were nothing short of heroic,” said second-year student Carina LaGuerra, recalling the day’s events with unshed tears in her eyes. “It’s rare to meet a professor who cares so deeply about her students that she will exert such effort to juggle two or more websites.”
While LaGuerra’s classmates echoed her deep admiration for their professor, Franklin herself insisted that it is her duty as an educator to provide the highest possible quality of instruction.
“My doctor told me that I should rest up for the rest of the week to reduce what he calls ‘dangerous stress levels’ resulting from my teaching methods. I don’t really understand how the World Wide Web works, but I’m figuring it out, one lecture at a time, for the kids,” said a bedridden Franklin.
“What it comes down to is that Professor Franklin goes above and beyond what is expected of her to provide a modern, multifaceted educational experience. I owe her more than words can say,” LaGuerra said.
At press time, Franklin was working up the energy to learn how to connect her laptop to the overhead projector.
