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. Below are a selected few, with commentary, from the past week.
- This is interesting. If you’re concerned about security using Zoom as a conferencing tool, how about switching to Facebook’s Messenger?
- Since you’re probably not doing anything else these days, would you reconsider the cloud services that you’re using? If I had a do-over, I’m positive that I would do things differently.
- Just what we need to worry about after Nova Scotia, fake OPP officers posing as coronavirus cops.
- It’s the spring and the salmon are headed upstream. But, there’s a blockage in the river so a cannon gets them by it.
- We’re going to hear so much more about browser fingerprinting as I suspect we’ll see this feature in all of them shortly. What will the trackers think of next?
- Quebec is the first to blink, opening schools and daycare centres on May 11. Every other province will be watching with extreme interest.
- What does it say about Apple users that they have to look to the mothership for a solution because facial recognition doesn’t work when you’re wearing a mask? Maybe they’ve long since forgotten their passcode?
- I think this is one of the very best big business stories to emerge from this crisis. London Drugs helps others by selling their products in their essential service locations.
- You had to see this coming. It makes sense to move the House of Commons online. Have you seen how close together their desks are? So, they meet virtually and problems happen. I don’t know that there’s any sympathy coming from educators!
- I interviewed Sophia Mavridi on this blog a while back. Here she gives a presentation about virtual learning with synchronous and asynchronous classroom and the recording is available free to view.
- This is a tremendous reminder that classrooms and schools are communities and they all start their day with “Good Morning”.
- I don’t think we’re going to go completely cashless after all this because there are still places where that wouldn’t work. Most of what I do now is via plastic. I don’t think I’ve opened my wallet for cash since all this started.
- What if you gave a party or a class lesson and nobody came? In New York City, the answer is to stop going live. That’s too bad because a lot is lost when you take away that personal touch.
- I don’t like to comment too much in public about United States politics but this is so outrageous, I can’t not. Obama broke the Coronavirus test kits? Seriously? How he can remain quiet in public is beyond me. Or, maybe he just lets the comments speak for themselves.
- On the surface, the concept of a tracking application on your phone might sound like a good idea but it needs to be held up to scrutiny.
- Personally, I think this weapons ban is long overdue. I can’t understand why two years is needed to turn your guns in is necessary. Next Friday or we’re coming for you works for me. And, I can’t believe the baloney about the need to bear arms. a) this isn’t the United States b) if you believe you have a right to hunt, I’ve yet to see a deer armed with one to try to get you first.
- This is a wonderful editorial about how we’re all in this together and its not a time for “every country for itself”. All leaders need to read and understand this.
- I love articles that tell me how I can tweak my browser and mark it marginally better. I actually seldom make the recommended change but use it as a learning experience to see what’s “under the hood”.
Blog Posts on
doug … off the record
My daily contributions to this blog. If you’re looking for a week in review for doug–off the record, you came to the right place.
- Sunday – My Week Ending April 26, 2020
- Monday – 10 questions for Heather Durnin
- Tuesday – So, Microsoft settles it?
- Wednesday – Look up
- Thursday – Re-opening questions
- Friday – This Week in Ontario Edublogs
- Saturday – Feuding
- Sunday – Whatever happened to … pens?
#FollowFriday – May 1, 2020
voicEd Radio
This week on voicEd Radio, Stephen Hurley and I chatted about identity, pivoting, mathematics, and leaping in a COVID-19 era.
This week’s show – https://voiced.ca/podcast_episode_post/identity-pivoting-and-leaping-in-a-covid-19-era/
Intro Song:
All of the podcasts are archived here.
Blog posts this week came from:
- Beth Lyons – @mrslyonslibrary
- Alanna King – @banana29
- Sue Dunlop – @Dunlop_Sue
- Peter Cameron – @cherandpete
- David Petro – @davidpetro314
Technology Troubleshooting
From 2009, I have a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 computer. It dates back to the era of the netbook. Remember them?
It came with Ubuntu Linux installed and I loved it in a time when people were bring huge laptops to meetings. I’d just tuck it under my arm. I know that it infuriated the Microsoft fan people because it was faster than their Windows computers and I was up and running with Open Office while they waited for this “industry standard” to load.
I eventually made it dual boot so that I now can go Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Why? Because I could.
It still has a place around here when light, easy, and portable is of the essence.
Sadly, this week, when I plugged it into charge the charging LED just went nuts flashing amber instead of charging.
I’ve tried the troubleshooting onine and it looks like I’ve got a dead battery. It won’t charge at all. So, 11 years later I have a portable that will be tethered by a power cable. With the price that Dell wants for a replacement battery, I could actually buy a brand new Chromebook.
Video of the Week
Who says football is boring?
Photo of the Week
On one of our daily walks, we saw one tulip who was getting a head start.
Thanks for reading.
Please join me daily for something new and, hopefully, interesting for you. Time willing, this summary appears every Sunday afternoon.
Be safe.
dp
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https://dougpete.wordpress.com/
If you find it anywhere else, it’s not original.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.