⚙️ Work
I was in Philadelphia for the SCUP 2024 Annual Conference. LOTS of great sessions, including several on designing for neurodiversity. And 2 colleagues from DIALOG Design presented to share their work designing the new Veterinary Learning Commons at the UCalgary Spy Hill campus. Amazing work.
I have about 20 pages of notes from sessions at SCUP, and need to take some time to pull out the interesting bits for various initiatives, committees, etc.
One of the things I wanted to do while in Philly was trying an authentic Philly Cheesesteak™. I found a place in the Reading Terminal Market that seemed authentic (the sign said they’d been operating for like 75 years, so close enough for me?). Anyway. Friends. It was tasty, but what a disappointment. It’s just Cheez Whiz™ on some beef with sautéed onions. Synthetic cheese-like goo? Nope.
🔗 Links
Webstuff
- TLDraw (via Tom Woodward). Like a month after I let the old TIDraw.net domain go, there’s a (much better) free-and-quick web-based digital whiteboard at TLDraw.com. Handy. And it allows for collaborative editing (where TIDraw didn’t do that at all). It’s built on React and has a LOT of dependencies, but it works well.
LMSes
- Instructure was just purchased by a global investments firm for $4.8 Billion Dollars to take it private. Private equity buys a major edtech platform (and will have to extract as much profit out of it as possible). Including all data, content, etc. They promise to provide “a great outcome for all shareholders.” No word of any outcomes for teachers or students who use Canvas. This could either be a good thing (no pressure to goose the stock price because it’s privately held) or a really, really bad thing (enshittification to maximize profit at the expense of everything/everyone else). Here’s hoping KKR and friends aren’t looking north to Kitchener…
🍿 Watching
I watched half of Godzilla x Kong and half of Godzilla Minus One on the plane(s). I’ll watch the other halves soon. They’re fun movies, but this whole “Hollow Earth” stuff is a little over the top.
🧺 Other
I’ve been kind of forced to realize that my back is doing its thing again. The disc in my lower back (L4/L5) is bulging out again, pinching the sciatic nerve. I’d been hoping it’d just go back to normal if I babied it a bit, fed it ibuprofen, and did the stretches I learned in physio. Nope. It’s still doing its thing. I think it was triggered by my recovery after the kidney thing - a week of couch-sitting while my kidney etc. healed. Which means I need to take it seriously so the disc doesn’t bulge out more and cause some serious issues. So. I’m back on the stronger meds to manage the pain, and I’m off the bike for a bit more. I’m hoping it’s only another week or two - or summer riding season is over.
And Jasper burned this week. Looks like maybe half of the town is just gone. Devastating. And this is in a national park with resources. There are hundreds of other fires burning in Alberta and BC right now - the smoke was visible all the way to the Great Lakes. Maybe this will be the wakeup call for our province to start addressing climate change? (I mean, Fort McMurray burning didn’t do it. Neither did the long list of other major fires in the province (and neighbouring provinces).)
🗓️ Focus for next week
- Planning Zoom stuff (AI, account management/de-provisioning, etc.)
- LTDT AI session #1