The day was dominated by struggles with a virtual platform used for classroom management and distance lectures. This is one of close to two dozen platforms used in the past 19 months. They all do similar things but with different bells and whistles attached. Difficulties arose when running a pre-test for the guest lecture I do tomorrow. Sharing my slides could be done in several different ways. I could get them to show on the screens of others but then could not see the chat feature which is where student questions and comments appear. Different options exist for working around this difficulty -- such as having someone monitor the chat from their screen and speak to me when a message arrives. It is doable, just not as smooth as we'd like it to be. A second test will occur tomorrow if a different way to share screens and files comes to light.
In the meantime, I had a weekly chat with a good friend and had dinner out at another friend's home. This turned out to be a belated birthday dinner. Wonderful! We had seafood chowder with fresh rolls and a great mixed green salad. For dessert there was apple crisp (my favourite) served with butter pecan ice cream. There was also a wonderful rich cab to compliment the meal. I walked home since there was no breeze and air was feeling pleasant and a bit drier after all the rain of the past three days. That walk was calming, as most are, but tonight the town sounded quieter than usual. Stars were not very visible as cloud cover still exists but with some breaks so that the sky is partially visible. I do enjoy looking at what is up in the sky. Hopefully in the next few days, we will have a clear sky to gaze at.
Given the stressful interactions with the software program today, a song about technology seemed appropriate. This one speaks to varying aspects of virtual communications. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Virtuality - Rush
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