johnhendron.net: hendron’s digest - a weblog

Update: After writing this, my second attempt at a migration failed, too. In both cases, it tripped-up on a folder containing portfolio materials I created from a class I took. I removed this folder from the queue for migration, and attempting a 3rd run.

Thus far, my migration to Mac OS X Leopard hasn’t gone real smoothly.

I started by installing a new hard disk into my PowerMac G5. This drive would be the “Leopard” disk. Still in the computer was my older master disk, the “Tiger” disk. I installed a “fresh” copy of Leopard on the new drive, and used Migration assistant to copy-over my information to the new drive.

The first migration, which took place while I slept, failed.

Seemingly, it couldn’t move the Applications, only copied half of my files, but then it couldn’t create a new account in doing so. One suspicious thing it left in the folder name for my “non” user was “.noindex.” Once Leopard discovered my Tiger drive, it began indexing it with Spotlight. I have read that the two indexes, the Tiger and Leopard variants for Spotlight, are not compatible. So… I told Leopard NOT to index my older Tiger drive.

Then I ran the Migration assistant. And surprisingly, it failed.

So this morning, I did index the drive in Leopard, and have run Migration Assistant again. It’s currently at the 3 hours, 5 minutes mark.

I chose this method for getting started with Leopard to avoid having to make a backup clone of my Tiger drive. The new drive afforded me more space, etc. I have several options awaiting once this is complete for using Time Machine.

There is always a lot of good things to see and listen to from the Pop!Tech conference. I really enjoyed watching this one.

I also blogged about this elsewhere, and plan to run it in my newsletter next week in Goochland.

At lunch the other day, a colleague said that my documents all look consistent. “They all look the same, they have a personal stamp… same typeface, etc.” I began to think about fonts. Well, those who know me well know that I’m always thinking about fonts. Some favorites of mine I do use often, in hindsight, and while they aren’t any of fanciful “new kids on the block,” they are all old favorites:

I use Myriad and Union a lot in documents I produce at work. Union is nice and chunky, and appears “large” even at smaller type sizes. Centaur is difficult to read on screen, but when magnified, is quite arresting. Pontifex makes me think of the 80s, I hope it someday soon comes back into “style.” Aldus is the thinner, taller, more delicate and refined cousin to Zapf’s Palatino, a font that unfortunately has been overused having been found on millions of PCs.

I used the “middleschrift” variant of DIN in lowercase in 2000 for my website, biberfan.com. It was originally designed for German highway/traffic signs.

http://english.freemap.jp/worldpaint/worldpaint.html

For more in the collection see here.

Great little video demonstrating the appeal of Google’s Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations.

I’ve been counting.

Under the moniker “TechTimes” I have published 36 newsletters and 99 podcasts. You can see for yourself. It makes me wonder, what would it all be like as a single volume… of course, a book wouldn’t work with audio and video podasts?!

Next week, I’m poised to release the 100th podcast. I hope I come up with something good. It would be a good opportunity to try the new video camera, eh?

In a virtual world, you can even take it easy.

New on EduIsland 3 is an ITRT retreat for Virginia technology resource teachers!

Today was a my second day at work meeting with individual teachers to establish technology goals, which we do at the start of each school year. The individual goals focus on two technology-integration projects that likely involve teachers going into “new territory” by trying new technologies/applications in their teaching. For our middle school teachers, they each were given a goal, to integrate the use of their Promethean ActivBoard into instruction.

This system isn’t perfect; but it does give teachers focus on how they can use technology in the classroom. I hope to present on this process through conferences this year.

Yet, something struck me towards the end of the day. One teacher said to me, “Things really work well together here, when we help each other out. I mean, right? Let’s work together and help one another…”

It was this act of working together as a team of educators, to help in the mission of educating students, that I hadn’t thought about for some time. I see my job many times as helping teachers use technology to improve their teaching. But I am not sure if I have ever looked at my colleagues, especially so when I was a teacher, as team members poised to help one another. Sure, I knew we were a team towards common goals, but so many times I felt we were each on our own.

Some teachers reached ahead. Some became administrators. Some moved on to better jobs. Some fell to the side… most marched on, imperfect, but good enough to meet the summer, and a new year.

So, it was with a very refreshing welcome that I heard those words today… “let’s [...] help one another…” It takes a special person, I think, to help a colleague. First, you have to be willing to think of your colleagues well-fare. Ultimately, helping your teaching partners in school helps the cause; it’s helping the art and science of teaching and learning to improve.

But it also takes a special person accept help. Probably this is most extraordinary. It’s an admission that you have something to learn from your colleagues. It’s an admission that you have room for improvement, that you may not have all the answers.

I personally don’t want to frequently admit I learn from my colleagues. Yet, it is true that I do. Working among the educators I have over the past 8 years (and going) has been an incredible learning experience. But a call to help one another is something that’s rare in practice, but needed nonetheless.