Here’s a summary of some of the things I learned and published this week.
Readings (You can follow my daily readings as they happen here. Here are a selected few from the past week.)
- I’m glad that I found this and bookmarked it. It’s Computer Science 20 from Saskatchewan. There are so many good resources here.
- This is for anyone who is considering the leap from Windows to Linux. It’s a collection of 10 applications that you’ll find on both platforms. You won’t have to learn a new suite of software if you move. In fact, depending upon the distribution that you use, nobody but you need know that you’re using Linux – except that your computer will run faster and not crash. The biggy for me is the Update Manager. There’s no more waiting until you launch an application to find out that it needs to be updated; you’re notified when you launch Linux if anything has an update.
- I do own a MacBook Pro so I think that does give me license to enjoy this post about how Apple made its trillion dollars. And, yes, I’ve contributed to it in the number of adapters that I own. I’ve also contributed to electrical tape makers too.
- I’m intrigued by the Google Smart Lock. This is an article that describes it. I can’t help but think that education may well be the perfect place for its use with all the shared computers that we have.
- I don’t know that anyone reads articles like this before moving to a different town/city. Supposedly, these are Canada’s Best Places to Live. Interesting metrics; we went from being the safest town to number 331 on this list. Perhaps it’s because the downtown is closed down to traffic many weekends for festivals?
- This was the most retweeted share that I had this week. It’s about the death of the exam in Canada.
- A self-help article for Macintosh users. “How to see wifi passwords” on your Macintosh. I felt cheated because I knew this already but it might be helpful for others. For yucks, go to Google and type in “The wifi password is” and let it auto complete for you. Yep, we’re all concerned about security.
- Chromebooks have a nasty reputation that they need to kick. Particularly in education, school districts buy the cheapest that they can and then have issues. If you’re serious about it, or you’re looking to buy one for yourself, look at some that are a tad more expensive. If you look at it objectively, you might change your mind.
- I’m not sure that Google Earth was around when the dinosaurs were but it’s an interesting earthly presentation of what things might have looked like.
- I know that many people are getting ready to go back to school. Learning student names and working with seating plans is a big event. Here are some tips to help out.
- This is a scary article about blue light from phones causing eye damage. I hope that it starts a lot of serious research on the topic. We all need to be aware and take the best possible care of ourselves.
Blog Posts on doug … off the record
- Sunday – My Week Ending August 5, 2018
- Monday – An Interview with Adrian Angeles
- Tuesday – Help with Descriptions
- Wednesday – This summer in Ontario Edublogs
- Thursday – A need for a better update
- Friday – This Week in Ontario Edublogs, Number 320
- Saturday – @voicEd #twioe Playlist – Weeks 56-60
- Sunday – Whatever happened to … push lawn mowers?
Blog Post on ecoo.org
- Plan Now for #BIT18 in November A weekly reminder to think about joining us in Niagara Falls in November for the Bring IT, Together conference.
voicEd Radio
My on demand page can be found here. The latest edition features blog posts from:
Technology Trouble Shooting
I like to have music on while I’m working. I’d say that it’s in the background but I hum along so if it’s in the background, it’s not too far back. As I type this, I’m listening to Albert Hammond’s “It Never Rains in Southern California” and it sounds great.
But, the audio wasn’t always great.
My desktop speakers are connected to the television which is connected to BellTV and so I listen to Stingray Music channels. For a long time, I had a sense that there was something wrong. Particularly when there’s a song that uses a left or right channel specifically, I’d only hear one.
I’d put my hand over each speaker and there definitely was music being played through both. I guess just not stereo. When it would reach the boiling point, I’d track the cabling back to the television and it all seemed to work fine and I’d go back to work – until the next time that there was a problem.
I finally reached the boiling point and dropped everything, determined to figure out what was wrong. Tracing back, everything seemed to be in order until I looked at the connection between the television and the satellite box. There were two yellow connected wires which I had noticed in the past and just assumed that they were left and right music channel.
Upon further investigation…one was indeed the left channel but the other one was video. (which is the normal use of yellow cables!) In actuality, I’d never connected the right channel at all.
Now, I, like you I’m sure, have lots of cables around here except for the ones that I actually need. A quick trip to town to The Source got me a package of new cables and wow, life is not only good but the music is great!
Sometimes, it’s the little things.
I do wonder if I needed a cable at one time and robbed Peter to pay Paul.
Video of the Week
This is yet another case when a live performance beats the heck out of a recording — although the original recording is fabulous in itself. I think that once success hits, there’s a greater sense of ownership and freedom to take things to a new limit.
My Favourite Photo of the Week
The ECOO Board of Directors met in Kitchener this past week. It was the first time that we had all been together face to face as a Board.
From left to right: Jen Apgar-Director at Large, Stephen Hurley-Facilitator for a morning discussion, Harry Niezen-Treasurer, Adele Stanfield-Director at Large, Peter Skillen-Director at Large, Doug Peterson-President, Peter McAsh-VicePresident, Colleen Rose-Director at Large, Andrew Forgrave-Treasurer/WebMaster
Thanks for reading.
dp
doug --- off the record 