Originally posted in December 2019
At our school, we are fortunate to have two copy machines. They are new, this year, and they are quite fast. They have the ability to scan from and print to both sides of a page. They can punch holes in the copies, and they can staple multiple pages in a variety of patterns. They even hold several reams of copy paper, so they won't have to be reloaded as often.
The problem, it seems, is the human component. Copy jobs can be sent wirelessly through any computer that is connected to the system, and many teachers like to sit in their classrooms to hit the PRINT button. Ideally, from that position, one would then walk to the printer to pick up the copy or copies she printed.
But that ain't happenin'.
Instead, a person will hit PRINT and then forget that the copy is waiting to be picked up. Then, when I come along, I set the unidentified page(s) on a shelf beside the copier. When the person finally makes her way to the copy machine, she spends unnecessary time sorting through the random pages on the shelf to look for hers. It seems like a waste of time to me.
Then there is the person who physically walks to the copy machine to kick off a series of copy jobs that will take many, many sheets of paper (Perhaps this person then makes her way to the other copy to print pages, as well.). The trouble with this is that the person walks away, leaving the machine whirring and clicking along, and does not babysit the process. The machine jams? Someone else waiting to make copies will clear the jam if they want to eventually get to their own business. The paper runs out? Someone else will refill the machine. So many copies stack up on the tray that no more can be pooped out? Someone else will neatly stack them to the side. The copier explodes? Someone else will pull the fire alarm.
My point is this: please babysit your copy jobs! It never fails that if I send something from my classroom, and then walk to pick up what I have printed, something will be wrong with the copy machine, or my job sits waiting in queue with a dozen others, and I don't have the time to wait. My planning time is precious, so I need to spend it being productive and not working on unexpected maintenance on a machine I know nothing about.
Except on rare occasions, here's what I do: I take my laptop to the copy machine to make all of my copies. I stand there to make sure the machine does what it is supposed to do. I feed the paper into the tray when the machine stops. I clear my own jams. I clear the output tray and neatly stack my copies. It's that easy...and I have the peace of mind that I have remembered to pick up all of my jobs and that I have not unexpectedly held up someone else.
The problem, it seems, is the human component. Copy jobs can be sent wirelessly through any computer that is connected to the system, and many teachers like to sit in their classrooms to hit the PRINT button. Ideally, from that position, one would then walk to the printer to pick up the copy or copies she printed.
But that ain't happenin'.
Instead, a person will hit PRINT and then forget that the copy is waiting to be picked up. Then, when I come along, I set the unidentified page(s) on a shelf beside the copier. When the person finally makes her way to the copy machine, she spends unnecessary time sorting through the random pages on the shelf to look for hers. It seems like a waste of time to me.
Then there is the person who physically walks to the copy machine to kick off a series of copy jobs that will take many, many sheets of paper (Perhaps this person then makes her way to the other copy to print pages, as well.). The trouble with this is that the person walks away, leaving the machine whirring and clicking along, and does not babysit the process. The machine jams? Someone else waiting to make copies will clear the jam if they want to eventually get to their own business. The paper runs out? Someone else will refill the machine. So many copies stack up on the tray that no more can be pooped out? Someone else will neatly stack them to the side. The copier explodes? Someone else will pull the fire alarm.
My point is this: please babysit your copy jobs! It never fails that if I send something from my classroom, and then walk to pick up what I have printed, something will be wrong with the copy machine, or my job sits waiting in queue with a dozen others, and I don't have the time to wait. My planning time is precious, so I need to spend it being productive and not working on unexpected maintenance on a machine I know nothing about.
Except on rare occasions, here's what I do: I take my laptop to the copy machine to make all of my copies. I stand there to make sure the machine does what it is supposed to do. I feed the paper into the tray when the machine stops. I clear my own jams. I clear the output tray and neatly stack my copies. It's that easy...and I have the peace of mind that I have remembered to pick up all of my jobs and that I have not unexpectedly held up someone else.
