Spreadsheet humor? Kind of... #busedu #excel

As I had surgery yesterday, I began my "few weeks leave" for recovery today and (naturally) am sitting here on my laptop looking for business teacher fun... don't worry, I'll switch to Netflix later.

Anyway, I ran across (brace yourself) a stand-up comedy routine about SPREADSHEETS! Okay, it's probably not the most hilarious thing ever, but this time of year, sometimes we do have students out for testing or lots of students out for field trips and it's nice to have a few "somewhat related" activities for those days. Perhaps this could be one. Let's face it, there aren't many "movies" that you can watch in Microsoft Office class (oh to be a science or social studies teacher, right?).

Check out Matt Parker's video (he loves math)--

In his YouTube description, he has a neat little application where you can upload an image and it will convert your photo into a spreadsheet. Here's mine: (goes all the way over to column DW!)

Yes, he turns the word SELFIE into EXCEL-FIE. :) Enjoy!

Google Chrome font issue... #busedu #gafe

So, numerous students this year have had a strange issue where their font on Google search results, Google forums, and other pages are light and italic. It does not follow the user to other computers, and I have been plagued all semester with students randomly having this issue.

Today, I finally decided I was going to tackle the problem head on (I'm on break and surgery tomorrow so I'm about to have a few weeks off)! I have Googled my heart out before, but I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of it.

My workflow--

1--Google. And read Google forums. Several had this issue and some recommended Chrome extensions or uninstalling Helvetica fonts. I didn't love that idea. Next.

2--I had a thought (the web design teacher in me) that maybe I should try "inspect element" on that italics font and see if I could find WHAT FONT was the issue. In that process, I isolated Roboto to be the offender. On two machines I tested that I  knew students had issues (one was light and italic and one was actually bold) I found that they each had one version of Roboto font (for one, italic and light and for the other, the dark "black" version of the font). Hmm. On a whim, I looked at a computer that worked fine... it didn't have Roboto font installed at all.

3--On the "light font" computer, I installed Roboto font and tried to figure out which (it had tons of variations) specific font it needed to display properly. Apparently it just uses "the only" Roboto font (and why Google chose that, I do not know... it doesn't roll down the font stack and sub with Helvetica or Arial or generic sans-serif. Instead, it just uses any old Roboto) that is on the machine. So, I downloaded and installed Roboto-Medium (you can grab it here).

That worked! Yay! Celebration!

I actually left off that I tried Roboto-Regular and Roboto-Medium and then cleared the cache (Control+Shift+Delete in Chrome and only check "cached images and files" and apply). That worked, too, but I don't think you actually need both or need to clear the cache if you get the "right Roboto" in the mix.

NOTE: My students do have rights to install font since we do graphics in my class, so probably if you are locked down, you won't have this issue... but you never know!

Anyway, I feel accomplished today. And, maybe someone else has had this same issue, so hope it helps you!

Social Media and business... throwing shade! And my rant... #busedu

Taking a minute to peruse the Twitter-verse this afternoon whilst resting between NBEA sessions and found this gem from HootSuite in March 2017--

10 Risky Brand Comebacks on Social Media That Worked

Of course, had that been written this week, it would likely feature a Southwest brand attack on United Airlines for the "dragging incident" earlier this week (but Southwest didn't really tweet that... read this). And this website includes the best social media fun from that incident--

Hilarious Twitter Reactions on the United Airlines Fiasco

But to be serious for a moment, all of this seems to be very telling of our times, right? As a business teacher, I was raised (by Dr. Linda Henson Wiggs at Southeast Missouri State University) to be a professional. The business teachers should be the "best dressed" in the school (man, glad I don't have to wear pantyhose anymore!). And, we taught the right way to respond to negative feedback, how to write a proper rejection letter for a job offer, and how to politely deliver bad news.

But, in 2017? Wow, the world is a different place!

Social media has changed the climate for business and education. The concept of business transparency is critical to business success. Now, businesses cannot run from complaints--they are all over social media, not just in an angry letter solvable by a free taco coupon (can they ever get an order right?).  And, as a teacher of business or business communication, how do you equip students to face this changing business climate?

It's a constant battle and something we, as teachers, cannot run from. If you are teaching business and are not keeping up with social media, you just HAVE TO. It's time. You cannot relate to today's student (and business!) if you are not in touch with the pervasive nature of social media and how it impacts not just individuals, but the world of business.

Maybe I'm just a big ol' mess, but I'm getting tired of people talking about how they don't have time to learn another thing, don't want the drama of social media, yada yada. Whatever you want to say, my social media knowledge (and my insights from my kids and my students about what they are into, such as Snapchat) are invaluable. Every business teacher needs to get on board. You don't have to be tweeting regularly or creating blog posts every month. But, exploring social media and reading about its importance is critical. It's not something you can run from. Your students deserve your commitment to this if you are going to be the business or technology expert that you should be in the classroom.

Of course, you're probably not reading my blog. :)