*Windows 7 Bootup

I put myself through yet another Microsoft Upgrade Process as an “early adopter”  just so that I could understand better what everyone will be experiencing when they choose to upgrade their Microsoft Products (If possible, the best practice is to do a “clean install”).   All in all, the Upgrade process went fairly smooth although, it took me much longer than I anticipated and over twice as long as when I upgraded a system from Windows XP to Vista.   My Vista Premium Upgrade Play by Play is here:

The two biggest issues that I had in this upgrade were as follows:

1. After running the Microsoft Windows 7 Compatibility Checker, which can be found here  (and also on the UPGRADE DVD), I was given a “clean slate”.   Upon starting the upgrade process itself I was notified by a more thorough “checker” that “Windows will affect the following features:”

• Windows Mail is no longer included in Windows 7 (Not a big deal if you are running Outlook) AND you are able to download the Microsoft Windows Live e-mail program here as an able substitute.  The good news is that if you have been using Windows Mail, the upgrade process WILL SAVE all of your current messages and then re-import them into Windows Live Mail when you download and install it.  I’ve tested this feature and it DOES work.
• A number of my programs were listed as incompatible with the UPGRADE but would work upon un-installing them and re-installing them afterward including: Pinnacle Studio 12, ATI CATALYST Control Center, and iTunes.

2.  The biggest issue for me came when I got to 21% at the Expanding Windows Files section.  I’ve done enough installations to know when something is working right and it appeared to me that the the Windows 7 installation was STUCK at 21%.   I’ve also done enough UPGRADES  to realize that if you let the computer “do its thing” and give it enough time -it may still work.   After about 30 minutes into the 21%, I began to be concerned that the computer, indeed, had frozen -the only hope was that the mouse still “moved” and the hard drive light was still blinking… so, I looked online to see if anyone else was having the same problem.  Sure enough, I found many people having the same issue(s) that I was.

THE FIX: THE “INTERNET WISDOM” GATHERED INDICATES TO WAIT THIS ISSUE OUT!  MY SYSTEM FINALLY MOVED ON TO 22% AT ALMOST  EXACTLY ONE HOUR FROM THE “STICKING POINT”!  WAITING WORKED FOR ME.  -Hopefully, it will work for you too…. I know it’s easy to get “antsy” and want to push the re-boot button but, wait a long while before you consider doing so.

It seems as though people have been reporting this issue since the BETA stage (and the same-percentage-error-place on some VISTA installations) and apparently all the kinks have not been worked out yet.   Things like this become “deal breakers”, so I hope that some of you will find this and it helps you get through the process!  More on this issue here and here. 

My advice- if it “freezes” for you around these percentages…grab a coffee and watch a show and come back 30-60 minutes later and check it…still stuck? -grab another coffee…

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Read the rest of Microsoft 7, The Upgrade Play by Play, Expanding Files Fix, And More (854 words)

*Socrates -Wikimedia Commons

I’ve worked with many teachers.  I’ve been taught by many teachers pre-k through 12th grade, under-graduate, graduate, and throughout my doctoral education-related degree programs.   I work with students aspiring to be teachers, student-teachers,  cooperating teachers, and their associated administration teams.   I’ve been a teacher for most of my adult life myself.  Over the years, the observations that I’ve made about the “other side of the classroom” have led me to believe that a number of the teachers that are currently teaching are either doing it for the wrong reasons or have developed such a cynical and jaded attitude to their profession that they probably should consider changing their career path or, at least, -their teaching perspective(s).

One of the RISKS that anyone takes when putting out this kind information is a back-lash from those that have TRULY been forced into strange, odd, and unusual circumstances that have created their own individual situations and/or “plight”.    There can be no doubt that there are public records of some school systems that have shown signs of favoritism, nepotism, un-called for bureaucracy, elitism, dis-proportional spending, and special interest lobbying that affect the teachers’ ability to actually “be good or better teachers”.   Other than recognizing these and other factors ahead of time as variables that do and could come into play with regard to a small number of teachers’ perspectives, I do not intend to focus on some of the “more legitimate” arguments that might have brought a teacher(s) to these particular perspectives…

When anyone looks at a list like this (including myself), they begin to immediately begin a series of comparisons as to how they are like/not like these points and/or how others they know are like/not like these points.   It is always a good exercise to re-evaluate ourselves, our goals, our current state of mind, and our current views about “why we are the way we are” or “why we think the way we do”.    There are many articles and lists available that detail the ”traits of good teachers” and thoughts about “what makes a good teacher”.   Interestingly enough, I have not come across many articles like the subject of this one -the flip-side of those other lists.   After talking about and “bouncing” my list off of a number of current teachers, I’ve decided to go ahead and post this on MusTech.Net to enter it into the body of discussion that surrounds this topic.

There are three quotes that I find particularly inspiring with regard to education and teachers that are appropriate to go along with a post such as this, the first from J.F. Kennedy, the second from William Arthur Ward, and the third from Kathryn Patricia Cross:

“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” -J.F. Kennedy

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” -W. A. Ward

“”The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate ‘apparently ordinary’ people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people.” -K. Patricia Cross

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Read the rest of Signs That You Might Want To Re-Think Being A Teacher Or Your Current Teaching Perspective(s) (1,158 words)