...dedicated to...hmmm, we're still figuring that one out...
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Somewhere in the process of testing some new software and adding the OS X 10.1.5 and Internet Explorer 5.2 updates, I lost my PPP panel from the Network panel of System Preferences. Internet Connect didn't! Using the excuse of being busy catching up on stuff since our return from the Cleveland Clinic trip (OS 9 was still connecting just fine), the web site came last on a list I didn't make much of a dent in (dangling preposition noted, but left uncorrected to irritate anal English teachers:-). I've actually been playing with the G4 Software Restore disks to get a clean installation of OS X. I've tried so much software and seen the forever spinning frisbee cursor so often that it was time to clean up my system on my primary partition. Most of the problems I experienced appear to have come from the 10.1.5 update replacing the PPP preference pane with PPPoE. The gPort serial port I've using so I can use my old serial port modem also got zapped in the upgrade. I hope to post an update late this evening (Tuesday) for tomorrow (Wednesday). I'm competing with friends and family calling Annie (who is doing great--PTL) and a teenager with friends to chat with on IM (great kid, though)! (Hmm...what's with all the italics and parentheses?) If you have suggestions, news ideas, etc., please .
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New items on the Schwablearning.org site this week include: As always, links to all of the new and updated SchwabLearning.org articles are available in the Schwab Learning Online Newsletter (link expires 6-23-02). Past newsletters are now archived in the new SchwabLearning.org Email Newsletter Archive. Software Introductions and Updates While I've been "off," lots of software updates have appeared on the web. The cross-platform Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor is now at version 2.3. Apple introduced their new PowerSchool version 3.0 school management software. In the cool, but non-educational realm, the great OS X freeware, TinkerTool, is now at version 2.2. And Microsoft has solved a lot of IT headaches by listing Internet Explorer 5.2 for download, rather than having to use the Apple Software Update panel to update each OS X machine. Pertinent Columns I found a couple of interesting columns in yesterday's New York Times. Diana Jean Schemo's Silently Shifting Teachers in Sex Abuse Cases (free registration required) talks about a problem in our profession that casts a pall upon us all. Abby Goodnough discusses the lighter subject of school appearance and its political effects in Judging a School by Its Posters (free registration required). A Washington Post column by staff writer Emily Wax tells about a retired administrator who came back to make a difference in a difficult situation in A Tough Time at the Head of the Classes . Oops!
Oh, well, nebulas are one of my favorite photos for desktop pictures. Below are some of the ones I've used as desktops at various times and some that I plan to use in the future. The kids in my class notice the backgrounds when they change and often ask the magic question, "What's that?" While it doesn't help get their math, reading, or spelling done, such a question often starts an educational conversation about nebulas, planets, galaxies, and space stuff in general.
Devotion For June 16-22, 2002 Zach Wood's weekly devotional for this week is The Source of Real Hope. I hope it adds a bit of brightness to your week. Zach also maintains an archive of previous devotionals. Special Education Vouchers in Florida Richard Rothstein's latest Lessons column, A Voucher Program Flunks Special Ed (free registration required), describes an unusual voucher program for special ed kids in Florida. He writes that "Any child whom a public school has identified as learning or physically disabled or otherwise in need of special help can get a voucher for private tuition." Unfortunately, the program does not require private schools to monitor special needs kids' goals. A change this year also allows private schools to charge more than the voucher amount. New York City Board of Education Out Yilu Zhao tells of the changeover in control of New York City schools in Without a Bang or a Whimper, the School Board Fades Away (free registration required). Zhao writes, "The State Legislature has handed over control of the city's 1.1 million student school system to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a prize that eluded his predecessors. With this legislative change, the mayor will directly appoint the schools chancellor and the majority of the new 13-member Board of Education." A Review of NEA President Bob Chase's Term of Office While the title of Jeff Archer's recent Education Week column, President Leaves Mixed Record On Pledge to "Reinvent" NEA, sounds critical, Archer writes a good review of National Education Association President Bob Chase's years in office. Bush on Character Education A Yahoo News/Associated Press posting, Bush Champions Character Education, says President Bush "championed character education Wednesday, saying his administration's effort to see more schools teach values is key to students' future success."
Summer Vacation Donna Harrington-Lueker talks about how young teachers spend their summers in Teachers' summers off evaporate. URLs for Old Sharewares I'm just beginning to catch up on emails I owe folks who wrote while Anne and I were in Cleveland. A special thanks goes out to Dwight Early for tracking down a bunch of URLs for me on older Mac software. He'd run across my old columns Trends in Shareware and Disappearing Software and noticed the URLs for the items that were incorporated into System 7.5 were broken. One of the advantages of running an independent site is that I can (and do, as time permits) go back and correct broken links after publication. Software Robin Landsbert has updated two of his Mac freewares. Finderella, a "simple Macintosh Finder replacement for children," is at version 1.0b12. Flash Cards, "a simple reading tutor," is at 1.0b8. I've played a bit with the second app -- Flash Cards -- and noticed definite improvement over earlier versions running it under OS X. Please note that Robin's applications are still listed as beta versions (not final versions and subject to some problems as development continues). Purdue University's MultiSpec has been updated to version 6.21.2002. It's available for download in Windows and Macintosh formats. From the Purdue site description:
Going, Going, Will Be Gone on Monday! Joe Taylor sent along this item he found on the Low End Mac Swap List. If you live near Indy, you can't beat free!
SBBOD (A new acronym?) I was looking at the postings on Macintouch's Mac OS X Reader Reports: 10.1.5 Part VI and noticed one posting that referred to what I've called the spinning colored frisbee thingie as the SBBOD (spinning beachball of death). I think I like SBBOD better. Best of all would be if 10.2 would fix the increasing number of problems showing up in OS X! Have a great weekend!
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