Blog

I hate paper.

I lose it. The dogs eat it. Yep, two year old beagle likes to eat my paper.

Now my handwriting sucks. But I am taking classes and taking notes really does help it stay longer. Taking notes and doing at the same time is the best.

Now my handwriting sucks because I don’t do it much but it is getting better.

Texas has a thing called a senior waiver. It means that I can take up to 12 hours at any state supported college. I started with Dallas Community College because there are several campuses close to me.

This summer I took Java and Fundamentals of Cloud Computing. The Java I had taught for years but they covered topic outside of what I taught. I have hosted some websites with Azure but not much. Unfortunately, it didn’t dawn on me that I was preping for a certification test.

This fall, I am taking C# and Mobile Application Development. We are on Hello World with each class.

The Mobile Application Development course is in person and using a platform called Thunkable. It resembles Scratch and Alice. In other words, it’s a drag and drop language. You can see it at Thunkable.com.

Of course, the only reason you would know I moved is that the design is totally different.

Typepad is shutting down so I’m trying a new site.

If you try to open your assignment and you get a GitHub, page not found, you are logged into the wrong repository.

Just close all your accounts and open the correct one.

I’m taking a class at Dallas College.  Programming in Java.  I wanted to see if there was a better way to teach Java.  Well, they are doing it the same way we have been doing it for decades.

Disappointed in the instructor but that’s another post.

We are using an electronic book, and the exercises are in MindTap by Cengage.  It ties until GitHub and does some magical stuff.  On July 3, I was happily working on assignments when the system failed.

I contacted Cengage and they were already on holiday and couldn’t help until Monday.  So I did some digging and I discovered that I really didn’t want everything in my GitHub account anyway.  I decided to create a new account using my Dallas College login.  It took a lot of effort and a whole bunch of scary messages but I finally got everything working again.  I’m. Be moving the repository out of my main GitHub account soon.  

Specifically, I got an email from the repository that says that "Run checks: Some jobs were not successful".

On going to GitHub, it said:

run-checks

I bought it from the Apple Store, but it's also available on their website:

LogicTech Video Doorbell

I had Milestone Electric install it.  We also needed a new chime.  

What I like about it, is that the camera footage is stored on the Apple Cloud and is easy to install with Apple HomeKit.

Here's the image from the camera:

We have expanded, and now have a group of supervisors.  Since I've never had a supervisory role, I'm still "just" an instructor.  But I am the person they use when they need to replace an instructor.  Partly because I teach so many courses, and partly I am so flexible.  That means I will get all the students from an instructor who leaves us (happened twice), or I get students who have issues with another instructor.

By the way, I occasionally have to give up a student because we don't get along.  Hasn't happened in a few years now, but no everyone meshes well.

I don't get a lot of Advanced Scratch these days, I don't think we get as many students for that course as we used to.

I do get a lot of Python students.  We start that in third grade.  We have two courses, one for third to fifth graders, one for six grade to ninth.  

I am now teaching the entire Web Design series — Introduction to Web Design, Advanced Web Design, which is more CSS than not, and Interactive Web Design with JavaScript.

I still REALLY enjoy it, though the last two years has been very intense.  

When I took the job, it was supposed to be part time, and I was supposed to be training other trainers.

A couple of weeks in, we got a new person in charge of instructors and that didn’t fit with him plans.

He pushed at me to be a regular instructor and be full time, but at the end of each day, I couldn’t see out of my right eye and my weight loss stalled.

There is a reason to have junior college and college programs to teach technology.

Learning technology for the first time takes a lot of time of reflection.  5 1/2 months – 40 hours a week is too intense both for students and for instructors.

It doesn’t allow enough time for homework or reflection.  It also doesn’t allow instructors enough reflection and adaption time.

I don’t recommend boot camps for either the instructor or for the student.  Especially after living it for a few months.

 I'm currently in the process of scrubbing my social media — just unpublished all the related blog posts and already removed everything from LinkedIn.

It was an interesting little side journey and it made me realize just how good I have it.  A part-time job I love and can do anywhere.   My family. My dogs.

I'm returning to retirement and won't try anywhere else again.

If the job had been what had been promised — working remotely and teaching both students and instructors I would still be there.  I wasn't supposed to work in the office.  I was working with a junior instructor and was supposed to be teaching him.  Would have been nice if he had been told that — but I'm guessing that he hadn't been told that.    We were all told we were going back to the office last Monday — and we were to return that week.

I wish them all good luck.  They need it.