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Uses

Inspired by the community posts at https://uses.tech, here’s a list of my regular tools:

Hardware: #

  • Macbook Air M1 (2020), base model
  • iPad Pro 11" (2021)
    • This is quite possibly the best technological device I’ve ever owned. It does most everything I want very well with great battery life. Use it for teaching my classes, marking (digital) papers, reading articles, …
  • iPhone SE (2023)
    • This thing is a tank (just like the previous SE 2020). In a Rhinoshield bumper case and screen protector, I can hurl it across a room, startling my students. It’s great.
  • Kindle Paperwhite (from 2018ish?)

Software: #

Teaching: #

I attach my Macbook Air to the classroom’s projector system and then fire up:

  • Air Server lets me AirPlay my iPad to my laptop. It runs the display inside a window, so that I can also resize it and then demo websites, use Desmos, Sage, etc.
  • MS Teams for streaming and recording.
  • GoodNotes 5 (the AI features of 6 don’t appeal to me)

Grading #

  • Students upload their work in OneNote’s Class Notebook tied to our course.
  • I then mark them on my iPad using OneNote.
  • Grades are noted in Numbers, then recorded in Excel, and finally imported into Blackboard. It’s tedious, but it works!

General #

  • Mail: Apple Mail and Outlook. I can’t make up my mind.
  • Calendar: Apple Calendar
  • Browsing: Safari primarily because it’s so fast, Firefox when I want to use Containers. Edge for university work – it syncs with our AD credentials for easier access to university resources.
  • Screenshots: SnagIt
  • Code: VS Code and Emacs
  • Notes: Obsidian
  • Reading: Kindle, Readwise Reader, Zotero
  • More: Espanso, Nextcloud, Tailscale, Amphetamine, AltTab, NoTunes
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