Ten Ways to Protect Your Accounts with Strong Passwords

Recently, many of us have been receiving messages that some of our passwords have been compromised. I have written about passwords before but I want to give you another dose of rules, tools, and suggestions to keep you as digitally safe as possible. I have been sitting down with friends and relatives recently and asking them to evaluate both their passwords and how they store and create them. 

Here are some suggestions, rules, and tools:

1. Don’t use the same password for more than one login. If one of those sites has a breach, someone now has your email (or user name) and password. You can be sure they will try it on other sites! 

2. Make passwords long and complex. Use numbers, capital and small letters, and symbols (if the site allows). 

3. Do not, do not, do not, do not keep a list of your passwords on a post-it note on your computer. While a piece of paper in a file might have some degree of security and practicality there are better ways to do this. On Apple products, you can create a password protected note, which is better than having a slip in your wallet – but there are better methods. 

4. I recommend everyone use a password manager. I use 1Password, but there are many others. Apple offers Keychain built into the Apple ecosystem. The main benefit of a password manager is that it stores all your passwords securely and you don’t have to remember all of them. All you have to remember is how to get into the manager (thus the one I use is called 1Password because I only have to remember the password that lets me into my password manager). I STRONGLY suggest looking at a dedicated password manager that is not a locked note, Keychain, or the password saver built into your web browser. 

5. Another benefit of a password manager is that it can autofill your usernames and passwords when you go to a website. It will also remember your password when you use it on a new website (and even offer to create a strong and complex password for you). 

6. A side benefit of this is that, if my password manager does NOT offer me my password on a website that LOOKS LIKE it is my bank, for instances, it is a warning that I might be on a fake website and about to give away my username and password to a hacker! If my password manager doesn’t recognize the website, I need to find out why. 

7. Consider trying passkeys instead of passwords. Passkeys are when you use another device instead of a password. You might use your fingerprint or other biometrics. A website might ping your phone, watch, or other device. You can even purchase an actual digital key that plugs into your computer and lets websites know that it is really you! 

8. Many websites now use one-time password codes instead of passwords. You log in with your email and they send you a code. This is great – as long as you have control over the means of getting that code. If a hacker gets control of your email or phone number, you will be unable to receive these one-time password codes.

9. For this reason (and others), it is critical that you use secure passwords with your high-priority assets: your email account, financial institutions, any website where you have stored a credit card (Amazon), social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc), and of course, work-related websites. All of these should be protected with long, complex, and unique passwords – so long and complex that you could never ever remember them. Thus, storing them using a secure password manager would be a good idea (there is a theme here – get it?). 

10. Always, always, always take advantage of two-part authentication when it is available. This is when you get a code sent via text or email or through an authenticator app when you log on to a site for the first time on a new device or browser. This is not foolproof. If someone has your phone, they might be able to use this to reset a password. However, if you receive a message with a code when you haven’t logged in to that website, you know someone else is trying to. 

The scammers are getting more and more clever and devious, as I have written about before. We have to help each other stay safe and protected! While a warning that you have a compromised password may or may not be true, we all could improve our password security. Be safe out there! 

UPDATED: Strategies to Avoid Getting Scammed

The scammers are devious. They are increasingly harnessing both technological and psychological weapons to trick people out of their money – especially vulnerable people like the elderly. 

I have written about scams before, and while the articles and advice in those posts are still relevant, the scammers are escalating their tactics and we need to add some more precautions to our anti-scammer protection system. 

For those who don’t want to read much, here are my anti-scamming suggestions (this is an extenion on the list I wrote here): 

Trust your gut: If you even have a slight inkling that the phone call, email, website, text, or other form of communication is a scam: STOP! We frequently have a little voice in the back of our minds that raises the issue, but we don’t pay attention: PAY ATTENTION! 

Just because they have some information about you, even something as private as your social security number, bank account number, credit or debit card number, address, or date of birth, don’t trust them! Scammers can get this information. Bad actors can access private and personal data. Don’t rationalize that, “this can’t be a scam because they have my…”

If the message is urgent, it is likely a scam. If the message is highly sensitive, it is probably a scam. If the message is emotional, it is likely a scam. If the message is shocking, it is likely a scam. Your grandchild is most likely not in danger. No government agency is coming after you. No one has hacked into your bank account. “You can’t tell anyone,” is a huge red flag! When the person on the phone or the email screams that the house is on fire and you must trust them to put it out, hang up and do the thing next on this list. 

Contact the agency or person in question the way you normally do! If the email or caller says they are from your bank, hang up and call your bank. If they say that there has been a car accident and your relative needs help, call that relative (and if you can’t reach them, call someone close to them whom you trust). As the photo shows, links can look like they are correct and lead you to the wrong website. If you have a browser bookmark for your brokerage account, use that link– never click on links in texts or emails! 

Don’t give ANYONE your private information. Period. Don’t confirm your private information. Period. Of course, if you call your doctor, banker, broker, or other trusted source, you can do that. However, if someone contacts you and claims to be from their office – or even sounds like them – nope! 

Fakes are easy to create! Scammers can spoof phone numbers, so don’t trust the caller ID. Spammers can fake people’s voices, so just because it sounds like that person doesn’t mean it is that person. Spammers make website addresses, links, emails, and phone numbers look like the real thing. That is why you must always use the contact information that you have used in the past and know 100% is, in fact, the real thing – not the link, email address, phone number, or other method that they are feeding you. 

If there is even a tiny chance you are on the phone with a scammer: hang up! Then contact the organization using your regular contact method. Pro tip: if you are on a cell phone call and turn it to airplane mode, the person on the other end will see a “call failed” message. To really sell it, do this in the middle of a sentence or word. 

Don’t use passwords, passcodes, PIN numbers, or other private unlocking strategies in public - EVER. Don’t unlock your phone at the bar. Go inside the bank and cover your PIN number with your hand at the ATM – or better yet, use a teller. Never use passwords on public wifi networks. Learn to use passcodes like your face, fingerprint, watch, or USB keys. 

Don’t do strangers favors: Lots of scammers take advantage of your good nature. They ask to use your credit card at the gas pump because they only have cash. They ask you to loan them money. They ask all sorts of things. The answer is no! While sometimes, they really are people in need: more often, they are scammers. Give to charities and social service agencies and call them when people are in need - if people approach you directly, be suspicious. 

If you have other strategies, send them to me and I will add them here (and credit you, if you are okay with that – I can also credit you with just a first name or initials). 

Here are a few articles to give you the flavor of what scammers are doing: 

“Lake Co. Resident Nearly Loses $20K In PayPal Scam”

“AARP sounding alarm on fraud, offering helpful resources to victims”

“10 Security Settings That Protect Your iPhone From Thieves”

“How to Avoid Pump Switching Scams at the Gas Station” 

“How to Protect Your Parents From Elder Fraud and Scams”

“How to Protect Your Finances From Identity Theft”

“This 'IRS Letter' Is a Scam”

“These Financial ‘Experts’ Got Scammed, so You Can Too (Really)”

UPDATE: 

Some dear friends replied and added the following:

Beware when the person texting you says they can’t or won’t answer a phone call from you because they are “driving”… it’s really because you would instantly recognize that they are not who you think you are texting. If you think about it, people who are driving would really prefer talking over texting as that would be safer!

Many scammers are from foreign countries and English is not their native language. Therefore, be aware that even the SLIGHTEST English grammar or syntax error should alert you that the person is a foreign scammer who has a high level but not perfect proficiency in speaking English.  Even a SINGLE WORD misused that would not be said that way by a native English speaker should be a huge red flag to you.

If a person asks you to pay for an item via Zelle be aware that, unlike a credit card payment, money sent by Zelle cannot be retracted or credited even if you later can verify it was sent to a scammer. Never use a phone number or email link sent by the person to make a Zelle payment, as your money is probably not going to the person you think it is.

If you are purchasing an item and the main message to you focuses on receiving the payment rather than the details of the item itself that should clue you into the fact that all they want is to get your money from you.

If you are communicating with someone via Facebook messenger and then switch to texting but they won’t talk out loud by phone call that’s a clue that they are trying to hide their true identity.

If the party refuses to take a check as payment and insists on using electronic payment via Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal that’s a clue that it’s a scammer, as the scammer wouldn’t be able to cash your check, especially if located in a foreign country,

If the person selling an item says you need to pay them because other people are also trying to buy the same item, be aware that it’s probably a lie and trick to make you pay sooner rather than later.

Try to buy items from established online retailers like Amazon, Wal-Mart, etc, and not from Facebook marketplace or unknown retailers.

If someone asks you to text back a Google phone code and you do they might create a Google Voice phone number that links to your phone, thus compromising your phone! 

Beware of scammers who say that they are checking that you are not the scammer! How ironic! 

Thank you to my friends for these strategies! 

Reading For Treasure: ChatGPT Goes To School

I have written about how I think teachers, and especially teachers of the Humanities, might incorporate ChatGPT in the classroom. TLDR: I think teachers must embrace new technology and help students use it ethically and well. Not everyone agrees with me. Some teachers are clinging to dubious ChatGPT detectors, insisting that all writing be handwritten in class, or attempting to forbid its use completely. Good luck with those approaches. 

Instead, here are some articles that go into both the how and the why of confronting and dealing with our new educational environment. Most of these are by teachers who are reporting from the front lines. 

First, here are two great articles by teacher Daniel Herman published in The Atlantic. In the first, Mr. Herman contends (and I agree) that “High-School English Needed a Makeover Before ChatGPT: I used to make my students write essay after essay. There was always a better way.” The second one is even more direct, “The End of High-School English: I’ve been teaching English for 12 years, and I’m astounded by what ChatGPT can produce.”

Wired Magazine reports on how teachers and schools are using AI tools that repackage ChatGPT for both students and their teachers: “Teachers Are Going All In on Generative AI.” 

For those of you who want to detect students’ unauthorized use of AI, I have bad news: the research reported by KQED suggests that it is far from perfect, “How easy is it to fool ChatGPT detectors?”

If you are not reading, “Free Technology for Teachers,” you are doing more work than you should. This blog is outstanding! Richard Byrne provides a cornucopia of online and computer-based ways to make teachers’ lives better and improve student learning. In this piece, he provides,  “Some Thoughts About AI in Education.”

David McGrath in the Chicago Tribune takes a more traditional approach. He rightfully points out some of ChatGPT’s shortcomings and how this tool might be better suited to places other than the classroom. I agree with Mr. McGrath today. I am not sure his point of view will still be valid in a year or two. What do you think? “How teachers can defeat ChatGPT-using students.”

Finally, here is a different kind of “article:” High school English teacher Kelly Gibson makes TikTok videos about her experiences. She talks about far more than ChatGPT, but many of her videos discuss not only how and why she is using it, but gives very specific information about how students respond. What is also fun is that, if you view these short videos in chronological order, you get a wonderful view of a master teacher figuring things out lesson to lesson and challenge to challenge. Click here to see all of her videos and use the titles to select the ones you want to watch. 

 I am currently reading the Hugo nominated short stories, novelettes, and novellas. 

Reading for Treasure: Protecting Your Information and Privacy

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.

Once again, here are some articles to keep you safe as you use your technology. Specifically, how to thwart being tracked or scammed by devices, websites, advertisers, and others. 

This video from CNN includes a password tip that is genius and I have never heard of before. I am not going to list it here, but listen for the word “salt” in the video: "Here's how to keep your passwords safe, according to a hacker.” 

Wired provided a simple and common sense list of “6 Things You Need to Do to Prevent Getting Hacked.” Read the article, but I’ll list them here: Use multifactor authentication, get a password manager, learn how to spot a phishing attack, update everything, encrypt everything, and wipe your digital footprint. If any of those terms are foreign to you, take it as a sign you need this article. 

A great compliment to the above article, Propublica’s article, “A Former Hacker’s Guide to Boosting Your Online Security.” provides a straight forward and simple list of ten things to preventing stolen data, identity theft, and other online hazards. Again, I’ll list them here, but read the article for more: stop reusing passwords, delete unused accounts, use multifactor authentication, manage your privacy settings, think before you click, keep your software up to date, limit what you’re sharing online, security your SIM, freeze your credit reports, and back up your data! 

Lifehacker is also a great source for digital safety. Here a short and simple article that lets you know “How to Tell Which Apps Can See Your Private iPhone Data.” It is an older article, but still worth reading. 

This somewhat scary article from The Conversation via Inverse is a good overview of how your use of technology may put your privacy at risk: “Here’s exactly how tech companies and apps conspire to track you 24/7.”

Yes, emails can snitch on you. Many emails report back to their senders if you opened them, when you opened them, and even for how long you engaged with them. Want to stop this? Read this article from Wired: “How to Tell Which Emails Quietly Track You.” If you use Apple devices, this Lifehacker article, “How to Stop Email Trackers on Your iPhone, iPad, and Mac” will help you with this issue and more. 

A new form of hacking is to use free USB charging stations. Apple Insider discusses, “What juicejacking and trustjacking are, and how to protect yourself.” The basic piece of advice here is, if your phone asks you “Do you trust this computer?” or “Allow this device to access.. and you are not connected to your home computer, say, NO! 

How many of us have lost our phones or have had our phones stolen?  We may feel safe because our phone is locked with a passcode, fingerprint, or our face. Lifehacker says, “Your iPhone Is Still Vulnerable When It Is Locked” and then helps you secure it! 

And it is worse than that: Lifehacker provides instructions on how to use screen time on the iPhone to prevent a stolen phone from becoming a stolen Apple account or worse: "How Screen Time Can Save You When Your iPhone is Stolen." 

I am currently reading The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Humanities’ Calculator: ChatGPT Can Complete Most Class Assignments

OpenAI’s latest invention, ChatGPT, has teachers and professors in a panic, especially English and social studies teachers. If you are unfamiliar with ChatGPT, I assume you have been off-world, in stasis, or locked in a Klingon prison colony. However, since many of my readers fall into those categories, I’ll explain:

ChatGPT or GPT-3 is an artificial intelligence chatbot that is much more sophisticated than any other similar chatbots. ChatGPT can write essays – with citations. It can complete math homework and explain the steps. It can generate fiction, journals, and personal narratives. It can write cover letters, recipes, business plans, programming code, and much more. In short, it can complete many of the assignments that teachers and professors use to evaluate their students’ thinking and analysis skills. 

How should educators adapt? Do they make changes to their assignments? Do they move all homework into the class? Do they forbid the use of computers? Is that possible or reasonable? On TikTok, Twitter, and other forms of social media, teachers are discussing how to respond to the challenges of teaching in a world where a machine can do your homework in seconds. What should they do? 

I asked ChatGPT, “How should English teachers and other teachers who rely on essays to test students' thinking skills adapt their assignments and teaching given that ChatGPT can now do much of the writing (and thinking) for students?”

Here is what it said,” As an AI language model, ChatGPT is not capable of doing the thinking or writing for students. While it can generate text based on a given prompt, it is not capable of understanding or analyzing the content of that text in the same way that a human can. Therefore, English teachers and other teachers who rely on essays to test students' thinking skills should continue to assign and grade essays as they have in the past.

However, it is important for teachers to be aware of the potential for students to use AI tools like ChatGPT to help them with their writing assignments. In such cases, it may be necessary for teachers to put in place additional measures to ensure that students are not simply copying or paraphrasing text generated by these tools. This could include requiring students to submit rough drafts of their essays for review or implementing more rigorous plagiarism detection methods.

Additionally, teachers may want to consider incorporating lessons on the ethical use of technology into their curriculum, to help students understand the importance of original thinking and the potential consequences of using AI tools to cheat on assignments. Overall, while ChatGPT and other AI tools may present some challenges for educators, they should not fundamentally change the way that teachers assess their students' thinking skills through writing assignments.”

While I think all teachers should teach about, “the ethical use of technology” as well as a frank and detailed discussion of what constitutes cheating and the consequences of academic dishonesty, I disagree with ChatGPT’s thesis. I asked it the same question several times and got variations on this same argument. ChatGPT says that the existence of AI tools like GPT-3 should not change teaching practice. I strongly disagree. 

Instead of forbidding the use of technological tools, branding them plagiarism or dishonest, or returning to handwriting in bluebooks, I contend that Humanities teachers must embrace this technology and use it further their foundational goals: critical thinking, argumentation, and communication. 

I was in middle school when calculators became small and cheap enough to be added to the school supply list. And while I knew the steps to divide large numbers, letting the machine handle that work allowed my teacher to not only enlarge the curriculum but to delve further into mathematical concepts and processes – and class became a whole lot more fun. ChatGPT may be Humanities’ calculator. 

Our students can already go online and find or purchase essays on a plethora of topics. Teachers who think they have an assignment that is unique or designed so cheating is not possible soon find that the market has proved them wrong. And while some students crib their work from online sources, which can be detected by plagiarism detection software, others simply provide original essays written by others. The essay arms race is never-ending.

Now ChatGPT can be the worst of both worlds: it is not the students’ work and it is original enough not to be flagged as copying. Time for capitulation, fellow teachers. Skynet has won this war, so it is time to move battlegrounds. 

What are we teaching when we ask students to write? On a basic level, we are teaching language and writing skills: sentence structure, organization, the use of evidence, tone, word choice, and grammar. Above this are thinking skills like argumentation, persuasion, textual analysis, historical and literary context, and the relationship between writer and work. There is more, of course. 

ChatGPT is a new tool with which to achieve these objectives. Instead of rejecting it and banning it from the classroom, why not make it another tool to achieve our goals? How might we do this? 

Use ChatGPT to generate example pieces of work. For some assignments, instead of having students write the essay, ask them to evaluate and improve what ChatGPT writes. Feed student writing into ChatGPT and examine the changes it makes. Give ChatGPT very specific instructions regarding tone, argument, or authorial intent and assess its effectiveness. Compete with ChatGPT. Give students an in-class prompt and then see how their efforts are similar or different from the writing of the AI. 

While I agree that writing will now be more often an in-class task rather than homework, ChatGTP could be part of an out-of-class process assignment. Students must show their steps (outline, drafts, etc.), but must also show where they used ChatGPT and where they used other resources (the writing lab, a tutor, a partner in class, etc.). This kind of assignment would allow students and teachers to go through the process together and break down the steps of good thinking, analysis, and communication. 

I will probably write further about possible ChatGPT connected assignments. I will look for articles that provide ways to adapt teaching practices to this new technology. 

Right now, plagiarism detectors like Turnitin.com may not be able to flag writing by AI. That will probably change. I came across a website that claims to be able to figure out to what degree a piece of writing is most likely written by a bot. I have played with it a little and it has been fooled as often as it was correct. 

Like computers, phones, and calculators, teachers who stick their heads in the mud and refuse to change their practices will only provide students with the choice of how to trick them with minimal conflict. Instead, like math teachers and calculators, we need to embrace this new technology, help students use it effectively and ethically, and refocus our lessons on the most important goal of our classes: competent, critical, and creative thinkers and communicators!  

Reading For Treasure: Winter Break Reading

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.

I started creating lists of articles because what I really wanted to do was either to email them to my teacher friends or post them on social media – but I didn’t want to be that retired guy who is always sending me articles I don’t have time (or desire) to read. I often do a short description of the article, but today I am trying only providing a quotation to whet your appetite. Let me know if that matters at all. Perhaps all we need is the title? Nonetheless, these are six good education-related articles worth your attention. 

“Trust the Teachers” by David W. Blight, The Atlantic 
 “What American teachers most need is autonomy, community respect, the right to some creativity within their craft, time to read, and, perhaps above all, support for their intellectual lives. Most would not mind a pay raise.” 

“When parents scream at school board meetings, how can I teach their children?” by Jennifer Wolfe, CNN
“My students know that to move forward toward understanding and engagement, we have to be willing to talk about the hard stuff….Our country deserves people willing to have difficult conversations and solve problems together. We need to turn toward each other, not away from each other into spaces where uncomfortable discussions are treated like a crime. Without civil discourse, we risk tumbling toward civil unrest.” 

“Parents slam state board’s proposal to triple number of annual standardized assessments for students: ‘We must keep testing at the absolute minimum’” by Karen Ann Cullotta, Chicago Tribune
“A state plan that could triple the number of federally mandated tests Illinois students must take in the coming years is being slammed by some educators and parents who say after the recent loss of classroom learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing kids need is more testing.” 

“Voice, Chat and DM: Remote Learning Tools That Make Sense In Person” by Caroline Smith, KQED Mindshift
"But Cohn discovered advantages to her students typing some of their assignments during virtual education. Watching her students’ writing appear on their respective Google Docs in real time meant she could provide simultaneous feedback. The process of editing on the computer — liberated from the messiness of revising on a piece of paper — made the process less burdensome and more enjoyable for her students."

“College Admissions Are Still Unfair” by James S. Murphy, The Atlantic
“There is also an important component of racial justice in dropping legacy preferences. The practice overwhelmingly benefits white applicants and harms first-generation, immigrant, low-income, and nonwhite students. A 2018 lawsuit against Harvard revealed that 77 percent of legacy admits were white, while just 5 percent were Black and 7 percent were Hispanic. At Notre Dame, the class of 2024 had five times as many legacies as Black students.” 

“School Stumbles Upon Chalkboards From 1917 During Renovation, Perfectly Preserved Lessons Provide Rare Look Into Past” Dusty Old Thing
“Construction workers were removing chalkboards– taking them down to replace them with new Smart Boards– when they stumbled upon some older chalkboards underneath. Luckily, they stopped to examine the chalkboards before destroying them, and they quickly realized that the boards were from 1917… Nearly 100 years ago! Stuck underneath layers of other boards, these antique chalkboards had been preserved with the chalk still on them, providing an amazing view of life in a mid-20th-century classroom.”

I am currently rereading The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler  

Computer Wimp Forever!

I started saving for my first computer when I was a freshman in high school in 1978. My friend introduced me to playing simple Star Trek games on the school VAX. He taught me BASIC so we could go to our local Radio Shack and torture the salesmen by programming infinite loops into the TRS (we called them trash)-80s. 

I was hooked. When my school purchased Apple IIe computers, I started playing with simple programs to create animations and do simple data processing. I wanted one of these! 

By the time I got to college, I was still saving for my own computer. No one in my dorm had a personal computer. My first programming courses made me use cards and sent me to the sub-basement of the tech building to run them. I knew there were other approaches. 

Finally, a friend gave me the first issue of MacWorld and suggested that, instead of an Apple IIe, I might want to buy the brand new Macintosh. Almost simultaneously, our college made an agreement with Apple and student prices for the tiny personal computer made it time to spend my savings. Of course, there was an eight-month wait. I plunked down my savings and bought my first Mac in 1984! 

In some ways, I was quite different than who I am today. However, my desire to research the hell out of everything was already in place before I turned twenty. So even before I had my computer, I was reading books about personal computing, programs (not yet called “applications”), and the still infant concept of communicating with other computers via a telephonic connection called a modem. 

My favorite guide and the book that became my bible was called Computer Wimp by John Bear. The subtitle was “166 things I wish I had known before I bought my first COMPUTER!” I would quote Dr. Bear to my parents, friends, and family when they questioned me about this “computer business.” 

Bear introduced me to the idea of buying a computer based on the software rather than the hardware. He talked me out of my “but wait” paralysis that some better and cheaper computer or program would appear on the market as soon as I purchased something. 

Bear’s writing style was accessible and his tone was light. The book didn’t take the heavy technical approach that many people used when they learned the amount of money and time I was spending on my computer. 

Computer Wimp made me a backup fanatic. This lesson has saved me, my grade, my work, my class, my students, and my sanity. I became a back-up-alholic! Recently, my computer crashed and my multilayered backups made the recovery nearly painless! 

More than the list of lessons, the book suggested that computers were not going to be the exclusive domain of engineers. Communications majors like me could make good use of them. Bear didn’t get everything exactly right. He thought that, “The free standing computer may fade away as small computers are built into various household tools and appliances.” He was partly correct. He didn’t predict the rise of the Internet, but he gave me the tools to find it myself. 

Computer Wimp was my starting point. It was the beginning of a lifelong computer connection. My little Mac followed me through college. By the time I got to senior year, I had an account on both Compuserve and America Online. One winter break, I blew the lid off my roommates’ and my phone bill with all of my online time. Going online at that time meant tying up the phone line and being charged by the phone company by the minute. It was easy to overspend. Who knew that I’d spend so much discussing Star Trek with people all over the world! 

I became a personal computer person. I became the computer wimp! I upgraded that old Mac and moved on to the MacPlus and to a PowerBook (which I still have), eMacs, iMacs, Macbooks, and Macbook Airs. I have used other types of personal computers both at home and at school, but I have found PCs (I call them pieces of c) far less human-friendly to this computer wimp than my Macs. 

Computer Wimp introduced me to the questions, issues, and attitudes that have shaped me as a computer user. Although I did not become an engineer or programmer (yet), my computers have been an integral piece of my teaching and my life. I can’t imagine working without them. 

Call me a nerd, a geek, or some other fine term of endearment, my love for computers can be traced back to my dear high school friend’s intervention and the wonderful writing of John Bear. I will forever be a computer wimp!

Reading for Treasure: Scamdemic!

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

I have written about scams before and my most recent post deals with some thinking strategies to help us sift through the overwhelming mounds of information (and disinformation) in order to evaluate them well. However, the evil fraudsters are taking advantage of the current crisis to trick people into giving away their money, information, or more; thus here are some articles to help you protect yourself and your loved ones from the evildoers who would trick you. 

CNN’s article, “6 coronavirus vaccine scams that target your money and personal information - and what to do about them” is a short and very clear listing of possible scenarios. It is worth sharing with family-  especially elders! 

Wired has a good review of “How to Avoid Phishing Emails and Scams.” I have also written about this issue, but the fraudsters are getting more and more sophisticated. I also want to note that this article recommends the use of a password manager – and so do I (see below). 

Scamming can pop up in all sorts of places. Lifehacker’s article “Beware of These Creative Online Dating Scams” reminds us that people are trying to trick you even when love is what you are searching for! 

Another way to foil scammers is to improve your security. You must have a password manager if you are going to use complex effective passwords. Since LassPass changed its options, Bitwarden is a good choice if you want a free option. Lifehacker’s article about Bitwarden is worth a read if you want to taste test a password manager: “Bitwarden is Now the Best Free Alternative to LassPass.”

One more Lifehacker article reminds us, “Don't Trust Phone Calls From 'Venmo' or Any Other Service.” When your bank, utility, or other service calls, hang up and call back using the number you would regularly use to reach them – not the number from which the possible fraudster called you! 

Google has created a new feature to help you figure out if the sources that appears in your search are credible and trustworthy. Engadget lays out how to use this feature so you can evaluate sources and be sure you are getting the best information possible: “Google search results can tell you more about a site before you visit it.”

Currently, I am rereading Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Reading For Treasure: An End of the Year Digital Grab Bag!

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Since we are all sending so much time on our digital devices, here is a grab bag of articles to make both your online and offline life safer, healthier, and better.

If you use an iPhone, it is time to retire those old “in case of emergency” designations in favor of the phone’s built-in emergency contacts. You can make any contact an emergency contact by editing it and selecting “emergency contact.” In addition, this article from Apple World goes one step further and explains “How to Send Your Medical ID to First Responders in an iPhone Emergency Call.” During a pandemic, this seems like a feature to activate. 

Many of us are spending hours and hours on our devices. If these devices break or lose our data, we may have significant problems. That is why it is critical to back up everything – and I mean everything. Wired Magazine has a good overview of this: “How to Back Up Your Digital Life.” If your answer to “what would happen if your computer crashed?” Is that you would be up the creek, consider reading this and backing up everything! Remember, you probably want to back up your phone, too! 

Often the weakest link in your digital armor is your password. Some of us use the same password all the time. Some of our passwords are easy to guess, even if you don’t know us well. Some of us have answered quizzes or done those Facebook questionnaires and shared the answers to every possible security question with the world. The key to good passwords is making them long and complex, but that means they are difficult to remember (and to crack). The key to making long passwords usable is a good password manager. I use 1Password, but there are many to choose from. Here is an Engadget article to get help you start using one: “It’s time to start using a password manager: Here’s how”

Finally, two good pieces from one of my favorites, Lifehacker. First and most important, “Never Email Your Social Security Number, I Am Begging You.” The title says it all, but I will add this: please think of any unencrypted email (which is probably all of our emails) as a postcard, not a letter. There is no envelope and anyone on all the systems it passes through (and there are many) could look at it. 

Finally, since we are sitting in front of screens all the time, we need to protect our necks, backs, wrists, eyes, and the rest of our bodies. Lifehacker also provided a good guide to make sure that you are not making yourself sick by the way you are using your computer: “How to Ergonomically Optimize Your Workspace”

I am currently reading The Peripheral by William Gibson

Physically Safe, Emotionally Supported, and Academically Engaged: Twelve Ideas for School in the Fall

In person or not in person, that is the dilemma. Schools are trying to figure out how they will engage with students in the fall. Some schools have already decided that they will continue teaching via computers distantly. The American Academy of Pediatricians has recommended that schools open in person and have provided guidance about how to do that.

 

It is a complex and dangerous problem. For the most part, schools like to play it safe. In this case, all the options are significantly problematic. Bringing students into the school building is fraught with medical risks, but teaching them at home has not been working well.

 

Some parents may choose to home school their students in the fall. Students and staff members may spend large chunks of time unable to attend or connect to school due to illness, family assistance, or other problems. The 2020-2021 school year will be the opposite of routine.

 

What should schools do?

 

Distance learning has not been successful. Returning students to their classrooms creates hygiene, space, attendance, and countless other challenges. While there appears to be evidence that children are less likely to get COVID-19 or infect others, we have already seen the problems that come of even small number of infected people in groups.

 

Recognizing that one solution will not work for every student, school, or family, here is my brainstorm list of school opening possibilities:

 

Build the Relationships First: Spend the first few weeks, regardless of whether they are in person, remote, or both, getting to know each other. Focus on building the student-teacher and classroom relationships: bonds first and give the creation of that bond significant time and priority.

 

One Student At A Time: Consider one-on-one options. Could teachers and other staff members check in with kids for brief periods a few times each week? Could teams of teachers collaborate such that they have a shared group of students with whom to connect? Fine tune curriculum for each individual student. With absences, illness, and the many challenges this time is bringing, it is likely that few students will be in the same curricular place and one size will fit no one. Focus on each student singularly. 

 

Teachers, Not Students, Change Rooms: Organize students so they are with kids who are taking the same classes and then move the teachers from room to room and leave the kids in the same place. If a group of eight to fifteen students stay in the same room and work with a team of teachers, we have limited the number of people with whom they are connecting, removed lots of hallway and lunchroom exposure, and given students a singular home that could be sanitized. In addition, we create a team of teachers working with the same students!

 

Classes In Person, Broadcast, and Recorded: Make sure that all in-person classes are simultaneously broadcast to the kids at home as well as recorded and posted. We must constantly plan for lots of short and long term absences of students and staff! This is another argument for teams of teachers working together.

 

Classes in the Community and Outside: Move classes out into the community and incorporate community service activities that connect to course concepts. Move classes outside to the greatest extent possible.

 

School Families: Create multi-age groupings of students and form families or Harry Potter style houses. Eating together helps bring people together. So does low-level self-disclosure. We all know that just because students were born in the same year does not mean they are developmentally in the same place or possess the same skills or knowledge.

 

A Huge Group Project: Make the first few weeks of school one big group project. The group might be the class or a larger team or the entire school. This could be a community service project, figuring out how school will work, career-focused, problem based, or some other highly engaging active work. What if school was transformed into a singular enterprise working together toward a shared goal?

 

Integrate the Arts and Student Support Services: Have every class have an art, music, theatre, and/or dance component – and teacher. Ask counselors, social workers, case managers, school psychologists and others to stop by classes on a regular basis. Make sure they become an integral part of the classroom community.

 

Slow Down and Focus on the People – not the Content: Slow down the curriculum and the content and focus on the people instead. Make sure that students and staff get to know each other really really really well. Rather than focusing on coverage and content, be sure that social-emotional needs are met and that students are psychologically and physically well. Treat every student as if they are suffering from trauma – because they are. 

 

Look at Grading Differently: Make evaluation far more in-depth than letter grades. Ask students to create criteria and then to self-evaluate. Make these evaluations meaningful and relevant to students. Ask kids to track their growth over time. Make sure that every child knows that the goal is for that they succeed and earn an A  - whatever A looks like.

 

Create a Department of Parent Connection: Support parents and families that are struggling with childcare, food, shelter, and other issues. Many universities now have offices of parent communications. Perhaps having some staff dedicated to coordinating assistance to and communication with parents would be a good way to open school’s door wider – and thus provide even more support for kids! 

 

Each Teacher and Class Must Partner With Parents: Include and partner with parents and families. This means reaching out to parents on a regularly. Elementary schools often have a home newsletter, why couldn’t middle and high school classes also reach out to home in both directions? Parent phone calls and emails will be critical, too!  Home and school must be even more closely connected than ever before.

 

I have not addressed nitty-gritty issues like busses, making hallways one way or having two-stage passing periods (even rooms, odd rooms). Such logistics must not be allowed to overshadow making sure that students are physically safe, emotionally supported, and academically engaged. Schools must focus on how to best support students and their families.

 

Some old structures will be useful, but many will be restrictive and problematic. Schools staffs must be willing to reinvent school, let go of rigid mindsets, and be highly creative. They should talk to each other and learn from each other – and from any source they can!

 

Here is an outstanding article that I saw after I finished this entry that goes into more depth into some of the same ideas and some even better ones!

Reading for Treasure: December

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! Here are some articles to read before the holidays.

What Sci-Fi Can Teach Computer Science About Ethics: As a teacher of Science Fiction, I believe that the genre can give readers far more than a glimpse into the future. One of the most powerful aspects of SF is its commentary on ethics and morality. Science Fiction is almost always about the present far more than about the future, and this Wired article explores why future computer engineers might benefit from a little SF literature!

The Comforting Fictions of Dementia Care: This long article from The New Yorker debates whether or not we should lie to our relatives with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. My view, before I read this article, was that contradicting and correcting memory challenged adults is irritating to everyone and helps no one. Now, I am not so certain. The moral and ethical issues raised here have given me a great deal to consider.

The Definition Of 'They': This short piece from NPR explores the word “they” as a singular pronoun referring to someone whose gender identity is non-binary. The Merriam-Webster dictionary, as well as many style guides, now recognize the use of the word “they” in this manner. In fact, this use of the pronoun is Merriam-Webster's word of the year! As a former English teacher, using a plural pronoun for a singular subject was a change of habit, but a necessary one: it meant treating my students with the respect and care that they deserved! It was the right thing to do!

The Problem With the “On the Spectrum” Armchair Diagnosis: In this article from Fatherly, the writer makes the argument that, when a non-medical professional says someone is, “on the spectrum”, they are trying to “explain away behavior considered odd. It’s wrong, yes, but also potentially damaging to people living with ASD whose disorder is increasingly misunderstood as it is weaponized.” Just as it is wrong to call someone “retarded,” and use of that word harms more than the person at whom it is directed, this article argues that the overuse of “on the spectrum” has similar ill effects.

White Folks ‘Embarrassed to Admit’ They Just Learned About the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Through an Episode of ‘Watchmen’: This Atlanta Black Star article responds to the opening scene in the new HBO series, Watchman, which shows the destruction a prosperous neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma by a Ku Klux Klan attack. It points out that there are important and pivotal parts of our history that have been ignored, erased, or otherwise hidden. While the TV series is addressing contemporary racial issues, watching Watchman should not be the primary way we expand our understanding of the complex and problematic history of race in the United States – and such an understanding is critical for everyone!

What If Your Computer Crashed And You Could Not Recover What Was On It?

Last Sunday, my computer froze and showed me nothing but a beach ball. I waited. I restarted the computer. I looked online and tried several techniques to boot in safe mode, recovery, and off an external disk. Nothing worked. I called Apple and we spent several hours trying to reinstall the operating system, repair disks, and get the machine to start. It refused.

I eventually took the very large computer to the Apple Store, and I await a repair. Yet, as you can see I am still writing this blog. In fact, using my work computer, an old computer at home, and my iPad, I can do almost everything. My solution is imperfect; for some important functions, I am waiting for my computer to come back from the shop.

One thing I am not worried about is the recovery of my data. My photos, music, documents, home records, and other valuable files are backed up to both an external hard drive and through a backup cloud service.  I am confident that, when I get my computer back, I will be able to restore it such that I will be able to function as I did before it broke.

That wasn’t always the case. This is not the first time a computer has crashed on me. Since that first painful lesson, I have instituted a system by which I back up files in multiple ways to different sources.

What if your computer were to crash, be stolen, or destroyed? What would you lose? What might make life more difficult for you? What would be irreplaceable?

The easiest way to back up your computer is to automate it. I use the Apple Time Machine system, but almost every hard drive has a program to create backups on a schedule. Every platform has a variety of options to backup once a day, hour, week, or whatever makes sense for your needs. You can purchase an external drive and use the program that comes on it or one that is connected to your computer’s operating system.

My children have laptops. They do not leave their computers on desks connected to external drives. For that reason, I subscribe to a cloud backup service that backs up automatically from the cloud. There are several companies offering this service. If you are interested in which one I use and why, reach out to me and I’m happy to tell you about it. I don’t want this to be a commercial.

Unfortunately, the service I used for many years just ended their consumer backup plan and I have recently moved to a new service. Thus my children are not protected by this way right now. That is an issue.

Another solution to the laptop problem is to purchase a micro SD card. These cards are small memory cards that can hold as many files as some phones, tablets, or computers. Most computers have a slot to read them. You can purchase cards in many sizes. My plan is to purchase 200-gigabyte cards and let my kids either automate or manually copy their important files as they see fit. I use a similar method with my school computer. Once a week, I copy all my important files to a flash drive.

Of course, for many of us, much of our digital life is online anyway. Between Google Drive, DropBox, iCloud, and other services, we can keep a great deal of our important data online. I don’t do that with the scans of my tax returns or old photos. My financial files are on an old version of Quicken that I have intentionally prevented from connecting to the internet. And I have a ton of music and videos that would take up far too much space to store online. Thus, I back them up on a drive that sits next to my computer. 

I am hopeful that when I get my computer back (which I am assured will be any day now) that I will be able to reload my digital life and be back to normal quickly and painlessly. Thinking about backing up is not fun, but it is far better than the problem of losing everything that was on your computer.

So again, I ask: what have you done to protect yourself if your computer were no longer functional? What will you do now?