Category: Technology

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Going Back to iA Writer

I’ve finally decided to go back to using iA Writer on my iPad. This has several knock-on effects, with the most notable being that my drafts will all be synced via iCloud.

I say “drafts” because my plan is still to use Dropbox as long-term storage. I now have a monthly reminder to copy completed blog posts over to the proper spot in Dropbox1I’m sure there’s some automation to do this, but I don’t really care enough for the scale at which I work. and will only use iCloud for in-progress work.

I’ll continue checking iA Writer’s stability with Dropbox. However, I’m content to use an app I thoroughly enjoy for a small bugaboo of a process change. Plus, the WordPress integration is a true integration, rather than a Javascript-based set of actions that amounts to a copy-paste.

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    I’m sure there’s some automation to do this, but I don’t really care enough for the scale at which I work.
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MuseScore and the Democratization of Document Creation

I find music scores to be absolutely beautiful documents. In middle school I was engrossed by creating my own music and, more importantly, writing it down. There’s video evidence of me being jazzed about receiving a “Lyricist’s Notebook” for Christmas around that time. I also recall purchasing a journal of staff paper for ambitious ideas I had. Yet turning musical ideas into something that can be shared, let alone something that would look good, felt out of reach. When the itch to create music struck me again last week I remembered a new-to-me program, MuseScore, that changed everything.

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Mastodon

I listen to several Relay FM podcasts, which keeps me engaged in a sphere of technology personalities. They kept me up-to-date on the exodus from Twitter that this region of internet culture experienced, and their settlement into Mastodon.

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Dynamic Content and Curriculum

Textbooks have been the premier mechanism for presenting curriculum for centuries. While the printed word is powerful and, for many people, superior to digital versions, the physicality of textbooks requires that their content remains static. Errors are inevitable, as are changes in relevant topics or pedagogy. New editions are the only tool to fight against the decay of a textbook’s utility.1Let’s not fight over who’s at fault for the prevalence of new textbook editions or their cost. I’m typically quite impressed by the forewords I see in many math textbooks comparing editions, and believe much of the time a new edition is worthwhile. In an educational landscape dominated by digital tools, it’s tempting to have content updated rapidly and frequently. This approach requires a deft hand.

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    Let’s not fight over who’s at fault for the prevalence of new textbook editions or their cost. I’m typically quite impressed by the forewords I see in many math textbooks comparing editions, and believe much of the time a new edition is worthwhile.