Start Your Own School with a WordPress Plugin

Really exciting to see this type of thing develop (especially from the fine folks at WooThemes using the venerable WordPress platform):

Sensei from WooThemes: “Google is working on an online course solution. Same story with Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, and … you? If you run a website that uses WordPress, you can now easily (relatively) build your very own online school.”

via edudemic

We’re in for a major sea change that has to be scary not just to independent education outlets but also colleges and universities that “get it” when it comes to what’s around the corner.

That’s why Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT etc are working so hard to secure their footholds in this brave new world of education and learning. Sadly, k-12 independent schools aren’t seeing the light just yet.

Microsites and SEO

Microsites can still be powerful additions to your business’ web presence.

However, they can also cause you some serious headaches down the road if implemented incorrectly in 2013 (Google is an evolving beast).

Rand’s video from 2009 still rings true:

SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday – The Microsite Mistake from SEOmoz on Vimeo.

Additionally, go read his description of “subfolders” vs “subdomains” for more info on the topic.

We’ve done a great deal of work with clients on microsites over the years and are always astounded when people within the SEO industry confuse the subject to the point of actually hurting a client’s optimization. Always do your homework and always make sure to ask lots of questions about implementations and long-term strategies.

Remembering Danny Goodman: Four Years Is Too Long

I miss you everyday, Prof Goodman.

Victory is sweet, even deep in the cheap seats…

Sam Harrelson: Oh Captain, My Captain: Prof Dan Goodman

Here’s how he described me four years ago just before his death:

“Fun guy, smart guy, obsessed with techno gadgets, a little overbearing in Trivial Pursuit, good taste in music (early REM), bad taste in music (early Glen Campbell), reads too many blogs, writes too many blogs, dresses snappy, beautiful family, loves history, hates theology, and likely running from his true calling to be an evangelist.”

He still haunts me daily with that description.

Thank you, Danny.

Should Cursive Be Replaced by Typing Education?

I’m terrible at writing in cursive. I was in the hospital for a chunk of time during first and second grades when my public school taught the majority of cursive writing techniques (I’ll never forget the worksheets I had to do). Luckily, it didn’t hold me back much.

I understand the “kinesthetic benefits” of learning with cursive, however I do wonder…

Great comments and discussion on this Ask Reddit thread about cursive education:

AskReddit: “Do you think that cursive writing education should be replaced by typing education for 1-2nd graders?”

Remembering Aaron Swartz

Great piece from a mainstream publication about an open web hero:

Why We Should Remember Aaron Swartz – Businessweek: “Swartz wasn’t an anarchist. He came to believe that copyright law had been abused, and was being used to close off what, by law, should be open. It is hard to find fault with his logic, and there is much to admire in a man who, rather than become a small god of the valley, was willing to court punishment to prove a point. The world will have no trouble remembering Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, and this is as it should be. But it should remember, too, people like Aaron Swartz, the ones who make those empires possible.”