Hang in there, Nilly. Hang in there Shir.

Has Suzy been around? Does she still have peeps in Iran?

Glad to hear from you, Nilly and Shir. My thoughts are with you; I only wish it was for more general well-wishing and not the current situation.

I spent most of yesterday raking leaves and it brought home that I am OLD in a way that the recent visit to the cardiologist and assorted echocardiograms and EKGs hadn't. I did eventually manage to get my whole front yard to an acceptable level of lawn showing, but I can remember baleing hay as a kid and it doesn't seem like something as lightweight as leaves should wear me out as much as it did.

My cousin and girlfriend are visiting from Ohio, and they are enjoying the beach and sunshine very much. We are avoiding the news except for brief updates to keep the feelings of hopelessness at bay. Friday, we are going on a 3-day cruise and are seriously considering not purchasing internet to take a media break.

eta: Am I the only one to get an earworm from a 3-day cruise converted to a 3-hour cruise?

Laura, I just started humming the theme for Gilligan's Island, so no. You are definitely not the only one. I'm reading a great book which is making this whole work thing extra hard to want to engage in. Do you thin anyone woud notice if I just kept reading my digital copy of the book while I make the students do something else?

I think that sounds like a fabulous idea, kat. There must be lots of self-guided work those children could do!

JenP, I am making them draft a research paper (2000 words) by hand in pen with no access to tech They've spent 3 weeks taking notes and outlining and this week is writing week. So they don't need me at all.

BUT, and this is a significant but, my eyes are fubar at work. Reading on screens that aren't eink are killlllling me. I have stopped reading to write a little and I can't see across the classroom. So much eye fatigue. Bodies aging are tricky beasts.

my eyes are fubar at work. Reading on screens that aren't eink are killlllling me.

UGH hard same. I had my eye appt on Friday and the doc confirmed my prescription hasn't changed. So my glasses work fine but my eyes get so tired by the end of the day that I can't see for shit. I gave myself as much of a phone-free weekend as I could and it definitely helped, but my job is looking at computers all day, so.

JenP, I am making them draft a research paper (2000 words) by hand in pen with no access to tech They've spent 3 weeks taking notes and outlining and this week is writing week. So they don't need me at all.

This is good in that they are actually learning how to do it, and, also, I'm curious how you feel about this being the way you have to do it to guard against tech creep. (I mean, and outright "Dear ChatGPT, please write me a paper.") Specifically, is it taking time away from other topics or areas you'd ideally prefer to cover with the in-class time?

ETA: This would have done me a WORLD of good back when I was in HS but for different reasons, of course. My only getting down to it because the deadline is upon me method of paper writing taught me some skills, for sure, but not the ones my teachers were shooting for, I'm pretty sure.

It's a scenario I wonder about a lot for someone who is not a teacher and doesn't have kids! How do you encourage 'em to think and learn discernment in this emerging tech environment.

...says the woman who relies 100% on GPS. (But, I CAN read and use an actual paper map, at least, if I need to, up to and including addjng up miles along a route and such.)

I'm teaching an online calculus class now, where the students have to take their exams in-person. It's painfully obvious that nearly the entire class is using some sort of AI for their homework assignments, and then completely failing the exams because they haven't learned anything because they didn't do the homework. And none of them seem to figure this out.

Also, ugh. There's a guy on Facebook (I'm friends with him there, but I don't really know him too well -- he's a friend of one of my high school friends) who keeps posting these "I am horrible misogynistic trash and the worse ally ever" comments to any of my posts about the US men's hockey team, and I don't know him well enough to tell if he's being sarcastic or not, but either way, it's incredibly annoying. And it seems like he's looking for attention specifically on posts that are about how women shouldn't have to clean up men's messes, which is definitely a choice. (If anyone feels like responding to him, feel free to, but don't feel like you have to or anything -- I'm not.)

It's painfully obvious that nearly the entire class is using some sort of AI for their homework assignments, and then completely failing the exams because they haven't learned anything because they didn't do the homework. And none of them seem to figure this out.

Argh. So depressing.