The Weekly Review — Issue 4

The Weekly Review — Issue 4

Coding, social media and Stoic app reflection

It has been a busy week at work. I took on the role of teaching computing to Year 7 to 11 (11 to 16 year olds) as the current computing lead was off. As a primary trained teacher (5–11 year olds), I had little experience teaching the older students. It has been a great experience. I’m teaching the older students next week before having a two-week break.

Other than teaching, planning and assessment, very little time has been given to anything outside my job. However, three areas of interest have diverted my attention away from my job.

Coding

As mentioned in my previous weekly review, I have been learning to code through web development and Python. I have been coding each evening. At school, the current job role involves coding and teaching students for four hours each day. I am getting more practice than I could have imagined.

Admittedly, I haven’t posted in the past three days for my 100 Days of Code challenge because my workload, family commitments and well-being have taken priority over blogging.

I will most likely lump the three days into one and post when I have time today. There’s a lot to take in with all this learning, but I love every moment of it.

Social media

Social media and mainstream media has looked a lot different this past week. I thought I would get anyway from writing about this, but I think a silent voice is not the solution. Like Fred Korematsu once said,

IF YOU HAVE THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG, DON’T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP.

The atrocities happening in the Middle East have set humanity back. It is so hard to see what is happening. As someone who works with children, I despise what is happening to them. Hate will only grow hate. I know how impressionable children are. I have a first-class honours degree in pedagogy, after all.

Social media, particularly X/Twitter, has been a haven for toxic name-calling and disinformation. Elon Musk must be able to read the room. Surely, he can see the wrongs of those who want to spread hate. I’m all for freedom of speech. However, I think the threats of violence and promotion of hatred should not be promoted anonymously online.

The images, videos, comments, and links shared on X while scrolling through some posts about coding have been the worse I have seen on the platform. The platform is falling apart.

My school, just like thousands around the world, teaches our students to be respectable digital citizens, who think carefully about what they put online. Then, I go online and see ADULTS post everything we teach our students not to post. Why is it that young students can behave more respectfully than the adults around them?

Anyway, I have taken the stance, in pure protest, to not use X/Twitter until they have adequate moderation. It won’t stop the hate, but it will make the platform semi-respectable. I do not accept the disinformation, AI-generated images, and hatred seen this week.

I do apologise for the sober post (a very British thing to say). It had to be said.

Stoic app reflection

Now. On to something positive. I have spent this past week using an app/service called Stoic. It has been on my radar for a year now.

When I was looking at journaling apps, Stoic was in my top five choices, alongside Day One journaling app. I had watched some videos about the app, but ultimately, went with Day One for my journaling.

I watched a video about guided journaling, which I didn’t know was a real thing. It turns out, guided journaling is the best thing to have happened to me this year (in the writing sense).

The aesthetics of Stoic drew my attention from the start. The contrasting colours and typography is precisely my style. I love the minimalistic approach. Stoic is far from minimalistic in what it offers. It has an abundance of features and curated content to guide you through nurturing a mindful approach to life.

I have loved every moment of using Stoic this week. I won’t go into everything Stoic offers here. The app needs its individual post.

Stoic is an Apple-centric service that works across all the devices I have used it on, including the Apple Watch.

Stoic offers more than a guided journaling experience. You can write freeform, input your mood, read quotes (and respond), and meditate, both guided and unguided. They even have a collection of breathing exercises.

On my Apple Watch, I have been able to access my mood/emotions tracker, read inspiring quotes, practice breathing, and run unguided meditation practices.

I start each day with a guided journal entry, which asks me to track my mood, ask what is causing these feelings and ask a series of three questions to dive deeper into my feelings.

What I like about the app is it asks questions I would never have thought about independently. They ask the right questions, even if they can be uncomfortable to answer. I feel more reflective in what I enter each day. I simply don’t assume. It is good to analyse what is going on in my life, especially with the changes I have been experiencing recently.

I genuinely believe the quotes feature could be the new social media replacement for numerous people. Just like any social media app, you can scroll through inspiring and thought-provoking quotes. And just like any social media app, you can respond to them with your thoughts and impressions.

I reckon you could replace all social media apps on your phone with Stoic and feel you have a voice. Read — Reflect — Respond — Rest.

The Stoic app is subscription-based. I feel it is worth every penny (or dollar) for what it has to offer. It is definitely worth trying out the 7-day trial for yourself.

What is happening to Day One? Well, I still use Day One for daily entries. They come as freeform with photos. Even though Stoic offers photos and sketches in the journaling app, I feel Day One was a better navigation UI for easy access. Stoic feels more like the weekly view in the Twos app.

Learn more about Stoic on their website — getstoic.com

Twos on Two

Program Design (in Scratch) by Andreia

I teach Scratch at my school and love to see examples of it in the wild. Any tips are greatly appreciated. I love learning new things in Scratch. I have one game posted on Scratch’s platform and four other projects unpublished for completion.

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday by Parker

There appears to be a running theme of Stoicism this week. I’ll leave you with these quotes. The Stoic app has many other quotes by Marcus Aurelius and Aulus Gellius fyi.

Saved Articles

Discourses by Epictetus: A Stoic Summary on GetStoic.com

What Is Stoicism? A Definition & 9 Stoic Exercises To Get You Started on The Daily Stoic.

YouTube bookmarked

The power of vulnerability by Brené Brown on TED

I won’t put thoughts into your head. Just watch this. Living outside our comfort zone leads to greatness.

Stoic: Guided Journaling and Mental Exercise App — Review by More Productive

Charlotte offers her personal view on the Stoic app. It is one of the videos that pushed me towards trying out the app for myself.

Thank you for reading my weekly review. Coming back next Friday for more updates.

Mark @ CodeMacLife

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