Two years ago today, Ohio had its first three confirmed Covid cases. Two days later, Ohio reported that we now had four cases. No one was saying that we had one new case; the reporting centered around the total. “But how do we know if things are getting better or worse?” I wondered. If we’re only reporting the totals, we don’t know how fast the … Continue reading Tracking Covid Cases
I carry my work life in my backpack. I try to make sure it has everything I need, everywhere I go. If I’m in a school or at a meeting or in a coffee shop, my backpack has all the stuff. If I’m at home and something comes up that needs my attention, I can grab whatever I need from my bag. It works well … Continue reading Cleaning Out the Backpack
A few weeks ago, I had a request to remove Zoom from our student devices, and block students from reinstalling it. “We’re never going back to that,” the teacher explained. Apparently the fifth graders are using the chat function in Zoom to talk to one another, which she wants to stop. By “that,” she meant remote schooling. At the start of the pandemic, we leaned … Continue reading Unzoomed
Snow days are magic. There aren’t many things that remind us how unimportant we are. But that call from the school changes everything. Suddenly, that homework assignment isn’t due for another day. The test has been postponed. The faculty meeting will be rescheduled (or, maybe it won’t). Basketball practice won’t be happening. Depending on the home situation, Mom and Dad might go into a panic. … Continue reading Snow Days
As we work through plans to replace SMART Boards in our classrooms, I was reflecting today on the classroom environment that they were installed to support. In my schools, we had dabbled with interactive whiteboards for a few years, but the first major initiative to install them was in 2007. And though it took several years before they had expanded to every classroom, it was … Continue reading Smarter Boards
Apparently, today is “National Shoot Up Your School Day.” News outlets are reporting that schools are stepping up security following a rash of viral threats circulating on the TikTok platform. The ones who have spent more than 15 seconds researching their news stories are also including a statement from law enforcement saying they are aware of the issue, but have seen no credible threats. Schools … Continue reading How Do You Know?
I received a letter in the mail from my car’s manufacturer. They’re issuing a safety recall to repair a condition involving the Smart Junction Box: The Smart Junction Box software logic may not properly interpret the signals received from the multifunction switch in certain circumstances. As a result, the turn signal may intermittently activate in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver. … Continue reading Software Update
In the job interview, they asked if I knew Linux. Sure. I’d played around with it a little. I used it as the operating system for a “server” that I set up in my classroom. I was running a MUD for my students. It worked, too. But it was tough to get eighth graders interested in text-based adventure games, even in the 90s. So I … Continue reading Problem Solving
When we got word that we weren’t going back to school, I made a pot of coffee. I went to the basement with my laptop and notebook, and I jumped on the first of many Zoom calls with my instructional coaches and curriculum director. It was early evening. On a weekend. We were just starting to get the idea that things weren’t going to be … Continue reading Stress Less
I’m pretty old. I was thinking about my first job interview. It was 1993. I was asked what I thought about Microsoft Windows. I told them it wasn’t a real operating system. It was just a shell that sat on top of MS-DOS. It was a resource hog, and it was unreliable. It made computers harder to use rather than easier, and it wasn’t worth … Continue reading Nostalgic Optimism
For years, I used the same company to buy most of my technology supplies. If I needed printers or cables or memory or consumables, I would always go there. The company had pre-negotiated contracts with several different agencies and consortia, so their pricing was reasonable. They had a fantastic database of products that allowed me to easily compare products and prices and options. Ordering was … Continue reading Friction
Years ago, I put together some professional development workshops for teachers centered around using “web 2.0” technologies in the classroom. At the time, the idea of the World Wide Web as an interactive, participatory tool was pretty new. The classes addressed things like blogs and wikis and video conferencing and personal learning networks. They were offered in June, right after school let out for the … Continue reading Because We Want To
Taste of Tech 