Sadly, as I started back at work in the second week of January, I did not have a much a break over Christmas. Just enough time to get a few things done around the house, such as fixing the shower. As well as catching up with a some friends. I had forgotten how much I missed in catch up with people in person. The mixed blessing is that my family and I subsequently stayed around home for much of the school holidays even though we were not in lockdown.
Personally, I have continued reading Proust’s Rembrance of Things Past, while I have been listening to The Weeknd and The Wombats. I have also been watching a lot, including Eternals, Tolkien, The Punisher and various documentaries on WWII and tanks.
Here then are some of the posts that have had me thinking:
Education
Why Wordle Works, According to Desmos Lesson Developers
Approaching Wordle from the perspective of learning and teaching, Dan Meyer summarises the ingredients that have helped make it work so well.
5 strategies for reading complex texts
Rather than simply relying on simpler texts, Alex Quigley discusses some strategies for supporting students with grappling with more difficult texts.
How to Build the Perfect Castle
Epic History TV walks through many of the different variables in the process of building the perfect castle.
Technology
The History of the School Bell
Audrey Watters pushes back on the idea of the factory model in regards to the history of the school bell.
AI Won’t Steal Your Job, But It’ll Sure Make It Suck
Whether it be food delivery drivers working for a phantom boss or Amazon workers unable to stop for the toilet, Clive Thompson provides examples of the way in which AI has made some jobs suck.
General
The Fellowship of the Rockers
Ann Powers uses Get Back to reflect upon the myth of ‘band guys’.
On Songwriting
Through a series of posts, Kevin Hodgson explores his process of songwriting.
Monks, a polymath and an invention made by two people at the same time. It’s all in the history of the index
Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Julie Street discuss Dennis Duncan research into the index.
The Problem With ‘No Regrets’
Arthur Brooks explains that the challenge with regret is to acknowledge the past and use it for learning and improvement.
Read Write Respond #072
So that was January for me, how about you? As always, hope you are safe and well, especially during this latest wave.
Inspired by the eruption of the volcano in Tonga, cover image via “Sheffield LEGO fest 2006: Volcano” by aldisley is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
What’s your interest in in WWII, is it just tanks?
I too have been fascinated by WWII documenteries, and how the social dynamics that led up to it compare to social dynamics now.
Not sure there is a particular fascination, other than my grandfather lived through WWII in Europe. I actually started by watching various war films, such as Dunkirk, Fury, Midway and 1917. I wanted a different perspective that a documentary provides.
Cool, the whole technological and logistical scale of WWII I find captivating, as well as its horror. So I tend to catch SBS documentaries whenever they appear.
I also found this interesting.
sbs.com.au/guide/article/… via @sbs
Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to keep an eye out too.
Hitler: Countdown to War seems to have expired, but I did find The Vietnam War. Although would be intrigued to see the original 18 hour version.
I feel there is something grounding about digging into the past.
I found the The Vietnam War documentary was brilliant.