GBH Forum Network: "Meme Wars: how the internet changed politics from Occupy to the insurrection"

GBH Forum Network (@GBHForumNetwork) tweeted

Just published! 👉 https://t.co/kXqZEphvrK  or https://forum-network.org/lectures/meme-wars-how-internet-changed-politics-occupy-insurrection/ 

A talk with @ShorensteinCtr @BostonJoan and @brianfriedberg moderated by @BostonGlobe @anissagardizy8 on meme wars and their impact on American democracy. https://t.co/w7BAfa3fe3

Shared from Twitter ->   https://twitter.com/GBHForumNetwork/status/1604964817072279582

Have you used the Suggestion Box? | Town of Franklin MA

On the Town of Franklin home page, there are a variety of Customer Service Request links available.

• If you find a street light out, or a pothole that should be filled, use the "Public Works work order"
• Sign up for the Reverse 911 to get notified by the Town of an emergency in your neighborhood.
• Or use the Comment Box to make a suggestion...

Visit https://www.franklinma.gov/ to use any one of these options

Have you used the Suggestion Box? | Town of Franklin MA

Two MA vaccine scheduling alternatives to the State option

 

"THANKS TO THE  ingenuity of a software developer on maternity leave, the state may be improving its public website for scheduling COVID-19 vaccines.

Olivia Adams, 28, developed her own website, which assembles vaccine appointment slots from multiple sources into a single, one-click spot where people 75 and over can sign up to get the shot.

“My mother-in-law was having trouble booking an appointment for her vaccine, and then had the same trouble when she was trying to get her father vaccinated,” wrote Adams on her website. “I kept hearing the same frustrations over and over – from family, from friends, and on the news. The sign-up process was too confusing, too disjointed.”

As an Athenahealth software developer on leave, she had the skills to try to resolve the issue, so she launched a free, user-friendly site on February 5."

Continue reading the article online 

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/website-developer-helps-people-find-vaccination-appointments/ 

Boston Globe coverage of the website

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/05/business/this-software-developer-is-building-better-website-find-vaccination-slots-than-state/

1 - Go directly to the website to schedule an appointment if you are in the phase of qualifications  https://www.macovidvaccines.com/

An alternative to make an appointment has also come up from another set of developers  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/another-coder-has-built-a-covid-vaccine-appointment-website-for-mass-residents/ar-BB1dvQ9L

2 - Go directly to this site =>  https://vaccinatema.com/

Two MA vaccine scheduling alternatives to the State option

Go Viral Game

"A 5-minute game that helps protect you against COVID-19 misinformation"

Fun and insightful to play. Give it a try. How well do you do?

https://www.goviralgame.com/en/share

 

 

Note: I share this cautiously. If you don't know or recognize how things do go viral, you will find out. As with any tool, this information can be used for good or not. Your choice. Please make a good one. 

 

Go Viral Game

 

 

Lifelong Community Learning: This is a great time to learn new skills

Check out our online courses today!

Lifelong Community Learning This is a great time to learn something new! In partnership with Ed2Go, we offer online courses on a wide variety of topics. So use this time to gain business or personal skills from home. We've made a couple of suggestions, or you can review the full array of career training and/or professional development courses using the links at the bottom of this email. Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking Learn to use digital editing techniques to show off your photos and memorabilia. Starting with simple projects, you'll quickly learn how to build pages, use artistic journaling, and produce sophisticated illusions. Creating WordPress Websites Learn how to create attractive, sophisticated blogs and websites—without any coding! WordPress is the world's most popular content management system, powering more than 34 percent of all sites on the Internet. Blogging and Podcasting For Beginners Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. Technical Writing Career Training This course is for you if you want to develop your technical writing abilities or are seeking a professional career as a technical writer.for websites, emails, proposals, technical instructions, and more. Want to Learn Something Else? Career Training Programs Professional Development

Lifelong Learning Institute - Franklin Public Schools | 218 Oak Street, Room 137, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by lcl@franklinps.net in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!

Lifelong Community Learning: Winter Online Learning

Are you ready for a change? Would you like to learn something new? Here's a chance to explore new opportunities.

Check out these options AND remember, many courses also have a self-paced option that you can start anytime.

Grant Writing Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/how-to-write-a-grant

A to Z Grant Writing is an invigorating and informative course that will teach you how to raise needed funds. It's an excellent primer for individuals wishing to become grant writing consultants or community grant writing volunteers.


Supervisor Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/supervisor-suite

To succeed as a manager, you must know how to lead, communicate, and delegate. If you’re a new manager, this online management training course will prepare you for success in your new position.


Paralegal Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/paralegal-suite

Careers in the legal field often require years of training, but paralegals can enter the job market quickly. This online course bundle will introduce you to the basics of the paralegal profession.


For additional professional development opportunities
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/

Lifelong Community  Learning: Winter Online Learning

In the News: aggressive mosquitoes being fought; "525 million probes a day from foreign soil"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"About two years ago, Todd Duval got a call from a New Bedford homeowner. The woman’s children were being attacked by relentlessly aggressive mosquitoes in her yard. The kids had sustained so many bites that the woman took them to the doctor to make sure they’d be OK.

Duval, an entomologist with the Bristol County Mosquito Control Project, visited the home. He found plastic toys scattered throughout the yard, corrugated downspout extensions on the home’s gutters and buckets for collecting rainwater that the woman used to water her tomatoes.

The containers were an ideal breeding ground for a species of mosquito that has been threatening to colonize Massachusetts for a few years: the Aedes albopictus, or Asian tiger mosquito.

The first Asian tiger mosquito in Massachusetts was found in New Bedford in 2009. Over the next few years, Duval and other mosquito trackers found the tiny day-biters buzzing around traps in increasing numbers, mostly in New Bedford, Fairhaven and, in some years, a neighborhood in Dartmouth."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190927/climate-change-clears-path-for-new-mosquito-in-massachusetts-it-can-carry-zika-dengue-and-other-tropical-diseases

"Every day, the state’s computer network is “probed” more than half a billion times by entities outside the United States looking for a weak spot in the state’s cyber protections that could allow bad actors to infiltrate the state’s information technology infrastructure.

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) and others maintain defenses against those probes, but some programs are expected to run out of funding in January when the Legislature’s last IT bond bill runs dry, EOTSS Secretary Curt Wood told lawmakers Thursday.

“We have major initiatives ongoing right now, if the money expires in January, which we anticipate, we will be stopped without any traction,” he said. “So the urgency from a funding perspective is critical.”

Wood, Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan and Public Safety Secretary Thomas Turco pressed the House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets to advance a $1.15 billion bill authorizing funds for information technology, public safety equipment and cybersecurity projects."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190928/state-officials-seek-critical-funding-for-cybersecurity

Lifelong Community Learning: Online Learning

anytime, anywhere... just a click away!

Online Learning anytime, anywhere...just a click away! Lifelong Community Learning in partnership with Ed2go is offering career training and personal development courses! CAREER TRAINING • 6-18 Month Format • All materials included • Prepare for certification • Student advisors Courses Include: • Certified Wedding Planner • Optician Certification Training • CompTIA Certification Training: A+, Network+, Security+ • Web Design Professional • Digital Game Artist Certificate • Administrative Professional w/ MS Office Specialist 2016 • Mobile and Desktop Web  Developer • Medical Billing & Coding Visit our website for program details! careertraining.ed2go.com/fps Personal Development • 6 Week Format • Discussion Areas • Monthly start sessions • Expert Instructor Courses Include: • Speed Spanish • Accounting Fundamentals • A to Z Grant Writing • Grammar Refresher • Basic CompTIA A+ Certification Prep • Creating WordPress Websites • Medical Terminology: A Word Association Approach • Introduction to SQL • Secrets to Better Photography • Real Estate Investing Visit our website for program details! ed2go.com/franklined

Lifelong Learning Institute - Franklin Public Schools | 218 Oak Street, Room 137, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by lifelong@franklinps.net in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!

“They go where the money is”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Places such as Baltimore and Atlanta have been hit with massive cyber-attacks in recent years, but it’s not just major cities that are at risk of losing data or having their systems hacked. Smaller municipalities are also targets.

According to a 2019 report from the International City Management Association, approximately one in three local governments do not know how frequently their information system is subject to attacks, incidents and breaches. Of those that do, 60 percent report they are subject to daily cyber-attacks, often hourly or more.

Tiffany Schoenike, chief operating officer for the National Cyber Security Alliance, warns smaller municipalities are just as likely as larger cities to be the target of an attack. This could include anything from sensitive data being lost or stolen to systems being locked with the only recourse paying the hacker to regain access.

“Sometimes funding levels make things worse,” Schoenike said. “This could be from not being able to afford the right kinds of technology, or not being able to hire the best people for the job.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190723/as-new-threats-arise-is-your-local-government-safe-from-cyber-attacks

One of the keys to successful online processing is to ensure the site you are dealing with uses https. The Town of Franklin site does use this feature:  https://franklinma.viewpointcloud.com/

One of the keys to successful online processing is to ensure the site you are dealing with uses https