OS Activities

Pirates of Silicon Valley – an interesting movie, really shed light on how the computer developed  through the 80’s and 90’s.  The title of the movie obviously came from the quote “Good artists borrow, great artisit steal.”
There were several portions of the movie that I found interesting:
         1. Steve Jobs was not portrayed in the kindest light.  I do not know how true this story was, but I am pretty convinced that working for Steve Jobs was a brutal experience. Bill Gates had the aggressive side, but it was not shown in the context that Jobs was. 
          2. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were both very dedicated to their world, but in very different ways.  Steve had the artistic, life altering attitude, Bill was more business.  Both were very passionate.
         3. It is significant that both found quieter lives by their mid thirties, as commented on in the end.  The intensity of building the empires they did taught them about quality of life and relationships.
         4. Both left high quality universities.…….. no further comment.
In the end, the message was pretty simple – there are many roads to success.  Jobs and Apple took the innovative, life changing road.  Gates and Microsoft took the “you need us” approach with the large computer manufacturers.  Both were very business savvy in terms of licensing and royalty rights.  As they aged, their lives slowed down, and became more relationship oriented.  Maybe because they built their business so young, they could slow down in their 30’s.  One thing is for certain, they changed the world, communication and how day-to-day life is managed.

Linux OS

This is a platform that I have not worked in .  It is an OS that has gained popularity over the last few years.  It was originally developed in the 1970’s as a research operating system for university.  Sun had the original OS – “Unix”.  HP,  IBM and other had different versions.   The different versions caused marketing problems, and sales never reached the success of Windows or Apple.

Eventually, another version of  UNIX- called Linux - was made available for free.  Generally, people who use this platform:

• already know UNIX and want to run it on PC-type hardware
• want to experiment with operating system principles
• need or want a great deal of control over their operating system
• have personal problems with Microsoft

Linux is harder to manage, but offers great flexibility in configuration options.  Because it is so customizable, it is preferred by researchers.

Linux conforms to the Portable Operating System Interface.  Developers can write programs that can be ported to other operating systems. Linux comes in versions for all the major microprocessor platforms.

UNIX is copyrighted name; only big companies are allowed to use the UNIX copyright and name, so IBM AIX and Sun Solaris and HP-UX all are UNIX operating systems. The Open Group holds the UNIX trademark in trust for the industry. 

Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards Portable Operating System Interface compliance. "Open Group" does not approve of the construction of a "Unix-like" operating system, and consider it misuse of their UNIX trademark.


5 new things on the Mac

My disclaimer – some of the tips mentioned here I like to use, but do not have a reason to do so all of the time, and I forget.  Others I experimented with, and just did not find the tip valuable for how I choose to manage my computer.

1. Screen Shots
A useful feature as I progress through this Masters Program,; I find myself forgetting the commad it I take a week or two away from it-
You can take a screen shot of your entire screen by holding down the Command and Shift keys and pressing a 3.
If you hold down the Command and Shift keys and press 4, Mac OS X turns the cursor into crosshairs you can use to select whatever portion of your display you’d like to capture in a screen shot.
If you immediately hit the Spacebar after typing Command-Shift-4, Mac OS X replaces those crosshairs with a little a camera. Using the camera, you can take a screen shot of the Dock, the entire menu bar, a single open menu, the desktop, or any open window.
Your screenshot will appear directly on the desktop of your computer.

2. Exposé

Expose allows you to see what is on the desktop when you have a lot of  windows open.
Press the F9 key and Exposé instantly creates thumbnails of the open windows and displays them neatly on your screen. Click the window you want, and Exposé brings it to the front, switching automatically to the appropriate application.
You can press the F10 key to create thumbnails of the open windows of your current application. Or F11 to move all open windows to the side, so you can see the files on your desktop.

3. .txt files
Ablility to open html files by holding them over the texe editor icon.  The HTML document will then open as a text, for editing.  Very useful when working in html code.

4. Further explanation of how the sidebar works, and helps you keep files organized, or find lost files.

                        All of the categories listed allow you to easily find files by the date you worked on them, or by file type.   This is not how I choose to manage my computer, but my students have benefited greatly fromm knowing how to navigate this window.  I did use this window to find – you guessed it – the notes for this journal entry.

5. Exchange Support
 This is a great way to make it easier to check exchange account mail, like the accounts we have at our schools.  Instead of using Outlook to access Exchange services such as email, calendar invitations, and Global Address Lists, you can set up Mail, iCal, and Address book to sync up with your school account.  Your information will be  easity accessible from the dock.  Because they’re on the Mac, you can continue taking advantage of all the powerful Mac features you love.  Your Exchange-based work life right alongside your personal mail, calendars, and contacts.

CED 581 Week 1

 I am looking forward to the content covered in this class.  While I have found my education at Stritch to be useful, I am looking forward to getting into the specifics of why I chose the area of study that I did.  I have a comfortable level of the insides of computers, and have swapped out a variety of components in my 10-year-tenure at Burdick.  I am more comfortable with Mac products, so I welcome the exposure and experience of the Windows platform, and other computer brands.

The most informative material this week was the study of the history.  Coming from a  very conservative family, it amazes me  that my older relatives talk about the "good old days" - the days that actually started the tech boom and advancement.  I like watching the progress,  but I have great respect for where everything came from.

I do not really have any questions.  Sometimes listening to the experts discuss which product is superior gets a little annoying...  but everything has it's experts, so I'll just chalk it up to life.  My experience tells me that the superior product is the one you will enjoy the most, and use to its full capacity.

CEDu 527 Week 5

How to lead change.  Lots of great ideas were brought up in this weeks activities.  I can really see how certain programs worked out, and - more importantly - why others did not.

I have learned to take time, research your project, and talk to lots of people.  Get feedback, research problems and solutions, and then talk to people some more.  To be confident in leading, you have to have a grasp on every scenario imaginable of anything that may go wrong.  It isn't that you don't believe in what your ideas are, but you will encounter every conceivable question and situation.  How one handles this will show true colors.

This was a very enlightening week for me.

CEDu 527 Week 4 - Top 10 lessons on school climate

Now that I am an '"excessed" teacher, I can only reflect on these topics, how I have handled them in the past, and how I need to use this knowledge to look forward.  My principal has said over and over how he wants everybody back.  He has done some gambling with school funds to keep specialists in place at least in .5 FTE positions.  It is still very nerve-racking for all, as nothing will be finalized until the third Friday of the school year.  While I understand his thinking and his strategy, it is still demoralizing that I am the one specialist excessed in the end.  It leaves a door open for me, albeit a scary one.  Few things in life have rattled me like this one has.

So from a fresh perspective, here are my lessons learned on school climate and morale:

10. School climate is a major factor in the success of all - teachers, students, support staff, and administration.  That being said, in the future I will remember that actions speak louder than words.   How one interacts with others will go much further than the 2 second compliment that is too soon forgotten.

9. Hidden agendas are a dangerous thing... try to avoid them.   Looking back on my 10 year career at Burdick, I can see all of the agendas.  Anyone playing politics among the staff is not in the profession for the true reasons.  It is too bad that hind-sight is 20/20, but fore-sight is not.

8. Working hard and being accountable will not guarantee anything.  Sometimes you have to play politics, too, no matter how many times you are told your skills are valuable to the school.

7. Always have a great friends and goals to keep spirits up - a job is not the only thing in the world. This may, at times, be your only source of positive support.

6. Exercise and eat the right foods - this adds to the positive support.

5. Laugh with your students, they will give you their trust.

4. Have high standards for your students, they will respect you.  Know that it may take a while for them to realize this.

3. Do all of your copy work after the office closes - you will avoid lots of negative energy.

2. Take a fun field trip once a year.

And the #1 thing I learned about school climate:

As your students graduate and go on to bigger and better projects, the new ones bring new perspectives.

CEDu 527 week 3

Many interesting topics this week.  I find the generational differences discussed in this weeks reading interesting and amusing. 

Recently, I have become a new member of the "sandwich" generation - those who are raising a family and caring for aging parents.  My mother-in -law is 80 years old, and recently widowed.  Now, overall, she is pretty good.  It is not really safe for her to shovel snow, or anything like that, but she can get around the house, stores and take care of more than the basics.  Her eyes and ears work well, as does her mind.

Where is gets amusing is watching her take on the world, with digital this and that, and watching the kids take on the world - totally different.  Then my husband (a baby-boomer, 15 years older than I) gets in the mix.  He is very competent with all of the digital this and that, but sees it as a frill, where our kids see it as necessary life.

I always thought the "Greatest Generation" - those born during the depression and came of age during WWII-saw  a remarkable amount of change during their life time, more than any other generation would.  Now I second guess that, as you look at the changes that happen within short time spans.

Well, I'm going to stay in touch, and roll with the change.  And enjoy the ride along the way!!

LL

Burdick on Fox 6

Click here for Channel 6 coverage of Burdick and the new MPS budget mess.
The latest news is the gross amount of money being withheld from MPS - somewhere in the ballpark of $175,000,000.  Now, I am all for accountability.  I drive some in my building nuts with this!  However, the amount of staff being cut is going to place an undue strain on those who are left, and there will be a dip in performance.  With the amount of job cuts our school took, I do not even see how they are going to have the teacher work day structured within the constraints of the MTEA contract.

Take some time to read the responses to the segment - very......interesting...disturbing.....enlightening....

Here's to better tomorrows!

LL

CEDu 527 week 2

Interesting topics this week, communication and interviewing.  Some of the points brought up raised some questions for me.

The text discussed the interviewing process, and how it is usually handled by an administrator.  In our school, there is an interview team.  There is also a process for interviewing, somewhat like the Robert's Rules of Order for managing meetings - not quite on that level, but there is a protocol.  This at least keeps a little bit of a leash on the politics that may occur. 

The next topic I found a little insulting.  The text also discusses questions an administrator may want to ask in an interview.  The text mentions that the administrator may have a different certification background than the person being interviewed, and may not be familiar with the best practices for that content area.  Now, far be it from me to disrespect any teacher or administrator, but the fact of the matter is simple.  For kids to get better at anything, they have to practice.  I don't care if it is basketball or calculus.  This is why we do homework..... practice and rehearse arts..... practice our sports teams.  The method may differ, but the concept is the same. 

UMMMMMMM, if you have an administration unfamiliar with basic practices in any area, it may be time for an administrator with better qualifications.  It would be good for the department head to get this person familiar with the curriculum.  And no, I do not think that this is asking too much.  It is asking an administrator to be aware of what is going on in the multi-million dollar building he/she is being paid to administrate. 

This brings up an excellent example of why administrative visibility is important.  A good general knowledge of building practices will go a long way in leading your team of teachers, and visibility will show an interest.

That's all for now, folks!

LL