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Monday, July 24, 2017

Apple Issues Cyber-Threat Warning

I have many friends who say that viruses never infect an Apple computer (or iPad)...

Well Dod (Dod is Hebrew for "Uncle") Yossie is here to tell you that this just not so!!  Apple computers are just as susceptible to viruses and Trojans as are PC's.  That is why I always recommend that you purchase good anti-virus software for all of your electronic devices (iOS and Android included!!)



To prove my point, Apple today issued a Cyber-Threat warning for it's iOS for iPhones (and iPads).  There is a very real security threat that requires that the end user (that's you) download the patch from Apple.

The way to implement this fix is to head to the "Settings" menu and select "General", then you will see an option called "Software Update." Clicking on it should prompt the installation of iOS 10.3.3.

If you are running a Mac, go to the App Store and select the "Updates" tab. A prompt for macOS Sierra 10.12.6 should appear.

Now, just to be fair, the same threat exists for Android phones but they patched their software about a month ago.

Consider yourself warned!

As always, I solicit your comments on the website.

Yossie


Yossie Frankel

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Monday, June 12, 2017

A funny thing happened on the way to the blog post... (with apologies to "The Forum" and musical theater everywhere!)

Let me start by apologizing about the delay in getting this blog post out.

I know, I know... it is the end-of-the-year and everyone is busy so why should I be any different, but on a general basis, I do one blog post every week or so.  And let me tell you that there is soooo much to blog about!!

More about the reason for my delayed post towards the end... so keep on reading!

Well, since it IS the end-of-the-school-year and one of the most important things that you can do for your graduating students and departing teachers is help them move their GAFE - ahem, I mean - G-Suite - emails, contacts, files over to new G-Mail accounts.

Now, yes, Google does have Google Takeout which will kind of do this for you.  It will backup your emails, some files, some contacts and so on... but it does not move files shared with you, and it requires a bunch of hoops to jump through... not so fun!


Last year, I reported on Grad Gopher (previous blog post here) - which is now called Cloud Gopher (www.cloudgopher.com)  It is still - by far - the best deal in moving G-Suite stuff from one domain to another!  As they say on their website...


This service is really a "gem of an app!!"

Yes, yes, I know you are thinking: "Great Yossie, why didn't you tell me about these services last week so that I could have got a jump on this! - gee thanks!"

To answer that question, let me tell you what happened to me as I put together this blog post over a week ago.

About an hour after the conclusion of Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), - June 3rd to be exact -  I was preparing my livestreaming gear to help one of our CIJE Member High Schools broadcast their Sunday afternoon graduation (an extra-help service that we give to our member schools) and then I was going to move on to assemble this very blog post.  I felt just a wee bit too tired so I thought to myself that I would finish it during the day on Sunday.  Well, one thing led to another and at around 2 am on Sunday morning, I was just not feeling right and decided to go to the hospital to find out why.  

So I got in my car and drove myself to Cedars Sinai Medical Center (well... center is a bit of an understatement... it is actually more like a small city of its own in Beverly Hills!) and checked into the Emergency Room. I was immediately seen by the triage nurse and... that's the last thing I remember until I woke up at 10 am in the ICU!  It seems that I was the recipient of a full on cardiac arrest!!  Yep, no joke... CPR for 10 minutes.

Do you know what saved me?
(For those that know me personally, you know I always start with Hashem!!)

An amazing team of well prepared, well trained AND PRACTICED individuals in the ER and Cardiac Catheterization  Lab.  (As my regular readers may remember, I was a Paramedic for 14 years - part of that as an Instructor Trainer - so I KNOW the difficulties of collaborating in an active ER!)  

You know what else saved me?

Leading edge tech such as the special coolers to reduce my body temperature to keep my brain from being damaged. A state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheter Lab where the blockage in my coronary circumflex artery was diagnosed and a new medicated stent was installed.  

You know what else saved me?

A great staff (with really cool tech) in the ICU to keep me stable during the critical next two days to be followed by... 

A caring group of caregivers in the Cardiac Observation Unit where I spent the last few days of my stay until I was discharged home - having spent a total of seven days and seven hours at Cedars Sinai Hospital.

Do you know what else is amazing about all of this?

Except for a bit of pain from catheterization (it's normal!) bruised arms from the IV's (whisper the word needle to my skin and every vein goes into hiding!!) I was back at work by Monday (yesterday)!!  Yes, I have a reduced work load as I can't lift anything too heavy yet, but can you imagine it??!!  From basically "dead" to writing about "ED-tech" in one week!!

Each one of the devices that was used save my life and hasten my recovery was invented by a person, or team of people, who benefited from a Science or STEM based education. Each member of the Cedars-Sinai team that I interacted with was a dedicated person who was well versed in 21st Century Ed Principals such as Collaboration, Creativity and, Critical thinking!

CIJE (the Center for Innovations in Jewish Education) works hard at giving our partner schools the tools they need to give our kids a quality 21st Century Education - so that they can grow up to become life-savers.. just like all of the people I met at the Hospital!.  And that, my dear readers is why I work for CIJE!!

Regards to you all!  Coming up next week, stay tuned for some more blogs on Mixed Reality and the world's thinnest holograms!

As always, I solicit your remarks on the blog site.

Yossie

Oh yes, I would be remiss if I didn't give HaKoret HaTov (give thanks...) to ALL of the Administration, Staff and Volunteers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.  Thank You!!



Yossie (John Jay Yaakov Yossef Frankel to be precise) Frankel
Tech Specialist

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Sunday, May 14, 2017

PD is only part of the equation!

I am a HUGE believer in the power of PD (Professional Development.)  You know, constant learning... keeping up with the latest in what is going on educationally.  I can say with full confidence that GREAT TEACHERS are Lifelong Learners!

I would suggest that PD by itself is not enough.  We can sit through seminars, workshops and classes but until we get a chance to SEE educational techniques working - either in our own classrooms through trying them or seeing other teachers model the techniques - that they all just live in the realm of possibilities.  While I liked trying new things in my classroom, I sometimes felt more comfortable seeing someone else do it first. 

I found that in a classroom visit, I could see another educational professional in action performing the technique or teaching modality that I was interested in.  It was very powerful and I ALWAYS loved visiting other classrooms.  Some of my best teaching ideas were ones that I "stole" from watching other teachers!!

Well, Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, here in Los Angeles, (Hillel, it just so happens, is the school that my son attends :-) is holding a visiting day where they are opening up their classrooms to other teachers!  On Monday, May 22nd, if you are a K-8 teacher and can get the time to come, I would highly recommend that you attend.  After all, seeing is believing!!


There are limited spaces available and you need to book in order to attend.  Here is the agenda for the morning:
  • 8:30 a.m. Meet and greet; refreshments
  • 9:00 a.m. Classroom visits
  • 10:20 a.m. Meet teachers and students
  • 10:45 a.m. Visionary leadership panel
  • 11:30 a.m. Closing

As always, I solicit your comments on the blogsite.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel
Tech Specialist, CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Won't Ya Be My Neighbor!? (apologies to Mr. Rogers!)

Last week, on Technology: In Plain English I left you off with a very bleak outlook for the future job prospects for our kids - I even "used" cliff-hanger music!!  (Here is the link to last week's "Who are the people in your neighborhood")

To quickly recap... Based on the top 10% of students in India and China alone, those numbers almost equal the TOTAL number of students in the American educational system!  So how are our children going to compete on a global market? 

Now many folks think that if we increase our teaching of science and math curriculum to include coding and other STEM/STEAM based proficiencies that this will help us compete. Yes, it will help, but you have to remember that in both India and China there is a very strong emphasis on science/math.  That includes coding and other logic based disciplines.  Also, the governments have acknowledged that in order to compete globally, they have to improve their command of English and so have added advanced English speaking classes, complete with diction coaches! This means that adding math/science/STEM/STEAM subjects alone is not enough.

So, what's the answer?

As I was researching this blog, I came across a comment that a data researcher added in a footnote.  It would appear that, when asked, the Chinese interviewees complained that their educational system was not as flexible as the American system. It was their impression that, unlike in America, their kids were not taught how to be creative!  And this, I believe, "hit the nail on the head!"

21st Century Competencies promote Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), collaboration and creativity!  The concepts of Project Based Learning (PBL - not to be confused with Learning by Project - different thing entirely!), Blended Learning, properly executed STEM/STEAM classes, and so on, are all about creative learning! And that is the edge that we have - well, as long as we include this kind of education it in our schools.  Unfortunately, there are still many Jewish Day Schools that don't include any 21st Century Educational Modalities in their curriculum.  The whole reason why I joined CIJE was to help fix this problem!

CIJE's mission is to bring cutting edge initiatives (that is why we are called the Center for INITIATIVES in Jewish Education) to Jewish Day Schools across the US. One of our programs, the HS Engineering course, teaches physics, coding, electronics, entrepreneurship and collaboration that culminates in the students creating a "cap-stone" project that they display at a regional conference.


No, the above picture is not of a science fair where students regurgitate something that they have learned.  This is is photo of hundreds of East Coast Jewish Day School students who are pitching real world ideas that they created during the HS Engineering course!  This is all about creativity, collaboration, HOTS, etc!

Next week in Los Angeles, we will be holding our West Coast regional conference.  Interested in finding out more?  Here is a link to the event flyer.



As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel
Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Who are the people in your neighborhood - with apologies to Big Bird!

Speaking of neighbors...

Thank-you to everyone who came out on Sunday for our first ever CIJE STEM/STEAM & 21 Century Ed day! From the feedback from the 60+ participants, the day was a grand success.  Your dedication to our kids is amazing and is exemplified by you giving up a Sunday for professional development.  I am in awe of you!

Also, a special thanks to COJDS, EMEK School and the presenters! Without your participation this event could never have happened! 

One of the attendees on Sunday was the president of CIJE, Mr. Jason Cury.  He was talking to a group of participants about why our Jewish Day Schools - all U.S. schools for that matter - really need to invest in STEM/STEAM education.  When I heard what he had to say about general education in the U.S., I became more than a little concerned.

Firstly, let me be clear.  My blog readers know that I have been constantly writing on the need for improvements to our educational system.  That is what this whole blog is about - cool ways to "up-your-educational-game" - but, as King Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.  All you have to do is read my blog post Story as Old as Time to see that science and math education has been a concern here in the U.S. since the 1950's!

As Jason explained to this group of participants, in the "old days" our competition for earning a livelihood was usually our neighbor.  


No, not literally the "guy-next-door" but the person who is in the same socioeconomic bracket as us.  You know, same education, earning potential, similar dreams and so on...  In today's global economy, that neighbor could be someone living in India or China.  OK, you may think... "so it's just a bigger pool of competition... no problem."

Yes, problem!

Let's crunch some simple numbers...

Students in school in
  • India: 315 million
  • China:  400 million
  • United States:  75 million

This means that China ALONE has more people in school than the US has population! (US Population is 324 million)

Take the top 10% of students from India and China.  That would be 31 million from India and 40 million from China.  That almost equals the number of TOTAL students in America!!

And those 71 million top 10% kids are getting the same level of education (more-or-less) as our top 10%.  Also, they will eventually become the middle class of their home countries with the same level of education as 7.5 million of our kids from here in the US!!  That is a lot of competition from the "guy-next-door!"

Now, for the very scary part...

In India a middle class family earns $23K US.   In China, they earn $32K US.  In America, they earn $97K US.  So, for an employer who can employ on a global basis it would make more sense to hire someone from India or China than to hire me!!

"But Yossie," you say, "that doesn't change people having to hire in America!"

OK, yes, but... my son wants to be a video game developer.  It requires special skills and an aptitude for programming but it can be done from anywhere in the world.  More and more, the jobs of the future are going to be global in nature and I worry if  he be able to get a job when he graduates from school!
 Check out Josan's art: www.pinterest.com/ferranprat/josan-gonzalez/


Before you start thinking about a dystopian future.. I believe that there is there a solution... but more on that in Part Two next week!  (play cliff-hanger music here :-)

Yossie


Yossie Frankel
Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

RED ALERT! - Very serious issue

Well, its another major spam alert!!

Yes, this is very real and kind of scary - so be very aware.

Today, May 3rd, there have been multiple reports of folks getting emails with invitations to open a google doc.  After clicking, the user is taken to a google site and asked to log in again (as google sometimes does) but in this case, the spammer/pirate gains access to you g-suite/gmail account.

Very bad stuff!

First reported on Reddit...  here is the (real) link


Yossie Frankel
Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

An Ode to Educators...

Educators are a strange group of people...

(Famous professors from Hogwarts)

They stay up late at night marking students' papers and creating lesson plans. They are constantly reading, web-surfing and attending conferences to keep up-to-date on the latest in ED trends. They sometimes get abused by students/parents of students/administrators. They never get enough time to sleep, are notoriously poorly paid and yet, they remain in their profession!!

Yep, very strange group of people indeed!

I should know... for the last 30 years I have been a part of that group and I wouldn't give it up for anything!!

Well, yes, there was one year where the new 9th grade almost drove me to insanity and made me think of leaving... but I didn't!  Oh, there was that parent whom I almost got a restraining order against, but they live in another country now!  Ah, the stories I could tell if you buy me a nice glass of wine (or a scotch!) at an Ed Conference, but the bottom line is that I keep on returning to being an educator.

Now that I am a "teacher educator" and not working in the classroom trenches everyday, here is a HUGE shout out my colleagues who still are!  You are amazing, dedicated and, yes, a little crazy!! :-)

I wanted to do something nice for you all so I went to my management at CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education) and asked if I could set up a special Professional Development day where educators in my area could come together for networking, great workshops and - every teachers' favorite - a bagel lunch!!  So that everyone could attend, it had to be for free. To make it even more difficult, in order not to miss a school day, it had to be on a weekend and being that CIJE works with Jewish schools, it could not be held on Shabbat (Saturday).  That left only one day - SUNDAY! 

Much to my joy, they said YES! (Thanks Mr. Jason Cury - CIJE President and Dr. Jane Willoughby - VP West Coast)  My bosses did have one caveat though... the presenters at this PD day had to be experts in their field with a national or international reputation.

So I approached my good friends at the EMEK school here in LA and they agreed to provide the venue - thanks Rabbi Shifman and Michelle Andron!  I then approached my colleagues at COJDS (Consortium of Jewish Day Schools) and they agreed to help - thanks Dr. Shapiro and Rabbi Glass! A quick email to the internationally known Dr. Camille McCue and she agreed to do the introduction keynote address - thanks Camille.  Another quick email to my friends at Apple ED in LA and they agreed to do workshops and before I knew it, I had a jammed packed event all arranged!! (Thanks to all of the presenters!!)

The event will be running THIS Sunday, APRIL 30th!  I still have a few seats open, so if you want to attend you will need to register right away at:  bitl.ly/cijestem2017  and, yes, there is NO CHARGE!!

  • If you wanted to hear about all the new Apple stuff for EDU, you need attend!
  • If you want to learn about Ji Tap and Ji Calendar for your school (amazing products),you need attend!  
  • If you want a full briefing on the CIJE Engineering and Science programs that are available for your school, you don't want to miss this! 
  • If you have always want a great introduction to Blended Learning, accessing Higher Order Thinking Skills, Designed Thinking, Holistic STEM in Limudai Kodesh, Digital Citizenship (a must for everyone) and access to one of the original "shakers and movers" in Tinker Space and 3D Printing, then you need to come to this event.


I hope to see you all on this Sunday, April 30th, 2017.  The fun starts with coffee and cookies at 8:30am!!

Oh yes, before I forget - go hug an Educator!  Without them, we would be nothing!!

Regards,

Yossie


Yossie Frankel
Tech Specialist, CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel