Tech Ed Courses Offered Summer 2023

Institution: Brock
When: Late Summer 2023
Course: Construction Technology: Grades 9 & 10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/construction-technology-grades-9-10-abq-brock-late-summer-online/

Institution: ETFO
When: Summer 2023
Course: Science and Technology, Grades 7 and 8
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/science-and-technology-grades-7-and-8-etfo-summer-online/

Institution: ETFO
When: Summer 2023
Course: Science and Technology, Primary and Junior, Part 1
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/science-and-technology-primary-and-junior-part-1-etfo-summer-online/

Institution: OISE
When: Summer 2023
Course: Technological Education Honour Specialist
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/technological-education-honour-specialist-aq-oise-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Communications Technology Grades 11/12
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/communications-technology-grades-1112-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Communications Technology Grades 9/10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/communications-technology-grades-910-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Computer Technology Grades 9/10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/computer-technology-grades-910-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Green Industries Grades 9/10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/green-industries-grades-910-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Green Industries, Grades 11 & 12
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/green-industries-grades-11-and-12-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Honour Specialist Technological Education
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/honour-specialist-technological-education-aq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Technological Design Grades 11/12
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/technological-design-grades-1112-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Queen’s
When: Summer 2023
Course: Technological Design Grades 9/10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/technological-design-grades-910-abq-queens-summer-online/

Institution: Windsor
When: Summer 2023
Course: ABQ Technological Design, Grades 11 and 12
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/abq-technological-design-grades-11-and-12-windsor-summer-online/

Institution: Windsor
When: Summer 2023
Course: ABQ Technological Design, Grades 9 and 10
Event URL: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/pd-calendar/events/abq-technological-design-grades-9-and-10-windsor-summer-online/

Am I missing any? Please let me know @ peter@beens.ca or comment below.

How can I use Bing Chat AI in Chrome?

Bing Chat AI is a new feature that allows you to interact with Bing in a conversational way, using natural language and ChatGPT technology. You can ask Bing anything, from factual questions to creative requests, and get personalized and engaging responses. However, Bing Chat AI is currently only available on Microsoft Edge, which means you have to switch browsers if you want to try it out. But what if you prefer to use Google Chrome as your default browser? Is there a way to access Bing Chat AI in Chrome without having to install Edge? The answer is yes, using some simple hacks and extensions.

One way is to use the Bing Chat for All Browsers extension³, which lets you access Bing Chat AI from any website. Another way is to use the Bing AI for Chrome extension⁴, which shows you Bing Chat answers alongside Google results. A third way is to change the browser’s user agent to trick Bing into thinking you are using Edge². You can find detailed instructions on how to do that in the article by How-To Geek².

Source: Conversation with Bing, 2023-06-03

1. Bing AI for Chrome – Chrome Web Store. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bing-ai-for-chrome/oofdkcckpabclngcdjnkhlldcfadlfmh

2. Bing Chat (GPT-4) in Google – Chrome Web Store. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bing-chat-gpt-4-in-google/pcnhobmoglanpljipbomknafhdlcgcng

3. How to Use Bing AI Chat in Google Chrome – How-To Geek. https://www.howtogeek.com/876422/how-to-use-bing-ai-chat-in-google-chrome/

4. How to use Microsoft Bing AI Chat in Google Chrome – TECH POINT MAGAZINE. https://techpointmag.com/use-microsoft-bing-ai-chat-in-google-chrome/

5. How to access Bing Chat AI on Chrome or Firefox – Pureinfotech. https://pureinfotech.com/access-bing-chat-ai-chrome-firefox/

Python f-strings: Use of “=” (very cool!)

In Python f-strings, the equal sign (=) is used to print both the variable name and its value in a string. It is used to facilitate print-debugging by expanding to the text of the expression, an equal sign, then the representation of the evaluated expression. For example, if you have a variable named x with a value of 5, you can use an f-string like this: f'{x=}' which will expand to 'x=5'⁷.

Try it out here!

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/30/2023

(1) python – What does = (equal) do in f-strings inside the expression …. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/59661904/what-does-equal-do-in-f-strings-inside-the-expression-curly-brackets Accessed 3/30/2023.

(2) Python f-String Tutorial – String Formatting in Python Explained with …. https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/python-f-strings-tutorial-how-to-use-f-strings-for-string-formatting/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(3) Python f-strings: Everything you need to know! • datagy. https://datagy.io/python-f-strings/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(4) Python 3’s f-Strings: An Improved String Formatting Syntax (Guide). https://realpython.com/python-f-strings/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(5) PEP 498 – Literal String Interpolation | peps.python.org. https://peps.python.org/pep-0498/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(6) Modulo String Formatting in Python – Real Python. https://realpython.com/python-modulo-string-formatting/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(7) f-strings in Python – GeeksforGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/formatted-string-literals-f-strings-python/ Accessed 3/30/2023.

(8) What does ‘f’ mean before a string in Python? – Stack Overflow. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58233423/what-does-f-mean-before-a-string-in-python Accessed 3/30/2023.

This post was inspired by this tweet:

Hey Bing Chat: How can I compile a Python program into an executable file?

Bing Chat is an AI alternative to Chat-GPT. I’ve been testing it quite a bit since, at least for now, it is completely free and in most cases does an excellent job.

Here is a test case that worked perfectly for me…

Prompt: How can I compile a Python program into an executable file?

There are several ways to compile Python code into an executable file. One of the most popular ways is to use PyInstaller² which can be installed using pip package manager². Once installed, you can use it to create an executable file by running the following command in your terminal:

Continue reading “Hey Bing Chat: How can I compile a Python program into an executable file?”

Hey ChatGPT, When Should I Take CPP?

Stacks of coins, growing from small to large, with plants growing out of each of them.

I’ve seen all sorts of test cases for ChatGPT, with some responses being good and some bad. Just for the heck of it, I thought I would ask it for some serious financial advice:

With $xx in an RRSP and a current pension of $yy per month, when is the best time to take CPP? I am zz years old.

The answer was amazingly insightful, and pretty much matched up with my own thoughts.

Screenshot of ChatGPT output.
Click image to enlarge

If you’re in a similar situation, why not give ChatGPT a shot and see what it recommends. Remember though that it’s free advice, and shouldn’t be acted upon without a good knowledge of your financial situation and perhaps corroborating advice from your personal banker.

Your thoughts? Would you trust this advice?

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an artificial-intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models and has been fine-tuned using both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.

ChatGPT is available at https://chat.openai.com.

Justin Trudeau is Wrong About Google’s Response to Bill C-18

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized Google for removing links to Canadian news articles in search results as part of a test for a small percentage of users, stating that it is a “terrible mistake”. However, his comments mislead on several critical issues with Bill C-18, a bill that mandates payments for links to news articles.

It cannot reasonably be said that Google is preventing Canadians from accessing news, since the removal of links from search results does not remove or block the site itself nor prevent anyone from accessing it directly. Furthermore, the bill would require payments to hundreds of broadcasters without any actual journalism or original news content.

Bill C-18 is not about payment for the reproduction of journalists’ work, but payment for links, indexing, and any other mechanism that facilitates access to news. The bill threatens the free flow of information online, and if it passes in its current form, it could create a framework that would threaten the foundational principles for how information flows online.

Google is rightly taking a stand against the bill’s threat to the free flow of information online by considering not linking to Canadian news articles.

(This article has been summarized using ChatGPT from Michael Geist’s excellent article found here. Posted date: 2023-02-25)

Ontario Curriculum Archive

Ontario educators, I’ve attempted to archive all curriculum-related documents here.

Please let me know if I’m missing anything.

If you have any old documents in your possession, please reach out to me via the comments below (or Twitter) and I’ll send you my email address.

If you wish to respond by Twitter, you can do so here.

https://github.com/pbeens/Curriculum/tree/master/Canada/Ontario

The 26th Annual Zoom International Student Film Festival

From an email shared on the Communications Technology email list:

The 26th Annual Zoom International Student Film Festival is now open for submissions! The festival is open to all high school students worldwide between the ages of 14-18 and it’s free to enter. It’s a great opportunity for students to showcase their work on an international scale! The festival will take place on April 20th @ 7PM. Deadline to submit a film is April 14th. For more information about the festival and/or to submit a film go to: https://earlhaig.ca/zoom/

Looking for Microsoft Office for Just $49?

I received an email this morning from Koingo Software, a company I first purchased from in 2008. They’ve now branched out into selling software deals, many of which are quite good.

The deal that I want to share today is Microsoft Office Professional 2021, for both Mac and Windows. These are not subscriptions, they are a one-time purchase of $49.99.

The regular price is $349, so this is a great deal.

You can purchase the Windows version here and the Mac version here.

I’m not sure how long this deal lasts so you may want to act fast.

How to Identify a Spam Message

Spammers just aren’t very smart.

I received a phone call from a friend concerned that her credit card was being charged for an antivirus program she no longer used. I asked her who the email was from and she replied it was from a cryptic Gmail account. No reputable business would send customers emails from a Gmail account. Yes, some small companies might use Gmail, but certainly not companies like McAfee or Norton.

Coincidentally, here’s an email I received a day or two after my friend. There were so many red flags I thought it would be interesting to share.

Click to enlarge

If you ever get an email you are unsure about, look for these giveaways:

  • Did it come from an email address associated with the company? If not, it’s likely spam.
  • Does it hype up the email with exclamation marks, use of bold lettering, or all-caps? If so, it’s likely spam.
  • Is the email sent directly to you or did you receive it because it was bcc’d (blind carbon copy) to you? If it was bcc’d to you, it’s likely spam.
  • Lastly, is the formatting professional? If not, it’s likely spam.

Are there any dead giveaways I’ve missed? If so, let me know in the comments below!