Teraknor

When you are in a position of knowing that the system that is supposed to support you has less backbone than a quivering Squid, solving problems become a matter of wit and guile. Having considered some of the solutions one has resorted to, in the accomplishment of ‘problem solving’ and ‘opportunity seeking’ would possibly put grey hairs on some less determined souls. I have formed the opinion that large organizations are generally directionless beasts. The CEO may lead, but the assembled mass beneath them often lurches along unaware of the motivation. Worse, is when the leadership demands ‘entrepreneurship’, ‘innovation’ and ‘new business’. Now having been in the position of finding it and seeing the culture fuck with it, I have to wonder if that is what was actually wanted. In some respects, if it is being asked for, it is almost the opposite of what is actually wanted (or understood). If an organization asks for innovation, does it want i...

You may (or may not) have seen some of my past mutterings on the concept of creating a simulated internet, as some technical tomfoolery is coming together. From January 2013 work will begin on the community and platform to support this. If you are interested please do get in touch, tweet me or email, they are easy to find on the slides.

Listening to the news this morning and the announcement that Ofsted are now 'measuring' local education authorities and their provision of provision (yep that is a valid term). In spite of a world where they have considerably less influence than twenty or so years ago. I could rant on about the political subterfuge taking place, I could also offer an opinion on the validity of inspections as a tool for quality. Yet with this world of hitting teachers and schools with a stick, I cannot see anywhere that shows me how we measure the impact this culture is having on the quality of our nations education. My question, one for teachers from all backgrounds ... Is the quality culture of inspection quality measures, affecting the quality of what you teach? Are the overt measures making some subjects too risky? I hear of technical professional topics in my field being avoided, as the league table + inspection culture renders them toxic as educators are fr...

... you may not have entirely grasped the severity of the situation?

Before you get excited, no Cisco will not be releasing a version of Packet Tracer on a Mac in the near future. The pervasive nature of Windows and Linux and the cost of Macs against the other technologies makes this an unattractive proposition. After some initial work with virtual machines, it was soon clear that the 'ideal' solution involved the use of WINE bottlers. At this point if you are not geeky and wondering what I am on about, may I suggest google, its a great tool. Having used PlayOnMac and WineSkin, I am impressed with the number of community participants that have joined the effort to check, test, tweak, share and mutter about the installation of Packet Tracer on a Mac. With Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion in common usage there is some finer tweaks occasionally needed. I have already beta tested PT6.0 and am pleased to report that it works in context. If you have not installed Packet Tracer on a Mac, please come to  https://www.facebook.com/gro...

Today, searching my drive for a completely unrelated file I came across the powerpoint below, a blast from my past days in further education. At the time, as someone on a senior lectureship grade, part of my role was to support staff development within our team. One of the recurring topics was student discipline. A select few who know me from then will recall that students seldom misbehaved twice in my presence, learning from their first experience. When you think about it, most of it is common sense, at least you would think so.

For those interested in Social Media ::: enjoy