U.S. Relies on Floppy Disks for Nuclear Weapons System

That is a headline that startled me and grabbed my attention. I have been seeing more and more articles about the state of Technology in U.S. Government Agencies, from the White House trying to update from Windows XP (about 2 years after Microsoft ended support) to this article about a Government agency responsible for nuclear weapons relying on 8-inch floppy disks from the 70s.

Granted, these systems were invented at the height of the Cold War. These were the most technologically advanced systems at the time. Also, I don't think I, personally, would trust nukes running on Windows 98, but maybe an upgrade is due.

Article 1: Feds Spending Tech Money on Floppy Disks and COBOL, Report Says

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/feds-spending-tech-money-floppy-disks-cobol-report-says-n580066?cid=sm_tw&hootPostID=652f59fc5f82b3e68fc44c9948de00ef

This reminded me of another article I saw last year about the computers in the IRS being the same computers used when JFK was president.

Article 2: IRS Says It Depends on Kennedy-Era Computing

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/04/irs-kennedy-era-computers-process-tax-returns/21138992/?gen=1

This article contains a humorous / nostalgic video the IRS produced back in the 1950s to gain public support for using computers to process tax returns faster. I have included the video below for your enjoyment.

Comments

What Comes First, Education or Technology?

http://www.ictineducation.org/home-page/2016/2/24/what-comes-first-education-or-technology This is a good article about putting education technology in perspective. "What has happened is that the existence of the technology has enabled you to reconsider some of your teaching methods." Technology has sparked a critical change in education. When integrating technology in education, for the most part of the 20th century, the focus was on adding technology to already existing teaching practices. “I want to get people to start from the notion that there are educational things that they want to do, or educational processes that they would like to engage with, and then - and only then - talk about the technology.”— The death of the digital native... Technology is inspiring us to change what we are doing in our classrooms and how students are learning. Here is an example of how technology can inspire a change in teaching practice: 1990s Tech Example: VCR usa...

3 Tips for Classroom Discussion Backchannels: Class Tech Tips

A backchannel is a space where students can post questions, respond to prompts and participate in a discussion without raising their hand. You might set up a backchannel for students using the free tool Today’s Meet or have older students set up a Twitter account and tweet using a shared hashtag for a virtual class discussion. If you haven’t used backchannels before you may want to check out this post for a quick overview. So what does this have to do with BrainPOP? BrainPOP is a favorite resource for helping students dive into a range of topics. Read more on the link below. http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12230

8 Google Sheets Add-ons Teachers Need!

Google sheets is a very powerful, although a bit basic when compared with the industry standard Microsoft Excel. Google Sheets Add-ons add some of the advanced features of other spreadsheet programs into Sheets. These add-ons have allowed me to completely move away from Excel for all data entry. We ...selected for you the 8 most popular applications there. Using these add-ons will enable you to: Create graphs and forms and write complex math in your sheets Create and modify a planning schedule for project management in a spreadsheet; easily scaffold, manage and assess students projects in Google Drive ...see the article below for more http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/07/8-google-sheets-add-ons-every-teacher.html

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