Teachers who have already shifted to a digital work environment have accepted the tedious necessity of keeping track of several dozen usernames and passwords as the price of admission. A lot of the tools we use are free, but almost all of them require an account. Mine are kept an undisclosed location that I frequently visit because I can’t possibly remember more than forty combinations. Although it is inconvenient, I’m already sold on the benefit of the tools they provide. I want to use my Google account, Yahoo, Vitalist, blog, Flickr, Moodle, Ning, NBPTS, AP Central, Voicethread, Spurl, Diigo, Widgetbox, Trailfire, Linkedin, Gliffy, Skype, etc., etc. etc. So I will keep track of the passwords.
But what about the teachers who are still in an analog environment? If they are not sold on the benefits of these tools, the username/password issue becomes just another problem easily thrown into the “this is too complicated and unreliable” pile of reasons not to bother. What’s worse is the way in which many teachers (and students as well) have trouble navigating the different sequences of steps that follow the “forget your password?” link.
Last week a colleague and I were proud that we completed more than three dozen screenshot video tutorials for teachers in our district. It made sense to us that the concerns voiced over storing them in the high school’s Moodle may prevent elementary school teachers from accessing them because they only used their Moodle account on a professional development day two months ago. Yet the concern was voiced again when we suggested that we publish them in the district web site, which also has password protected regions. Schools require teachers to be responsible for the key to their classroom, can they also require teaches to keep track of two or three usernames and passwords?
More importantly, and this is where you, the reader (usually silent or absent though you may be) come in. What is the best way for teachers to keep track of their accounts? I understand the frustration of remembering passwords, because I have to go back to my list a couple times a day. There has to be a better way.
And something tells me that the “post-it pasted to the monitor” method isn’t the answer.
Here’s a method that I use. It may be a bit complex for some, but I think it gives me plenty of security. Here it goes:
First off, I graph a circle. Let’s say x²+y²=20. That crosses the X and Y axis at both 4.5 and -4.5. It also has a center at 00.
If you haven’t stopped reading by this point, I’ll continue (even though I can’t know that). Once I have a formula set up I start to change my passwords. If I register for Moodle I set my password to moodle45. If I need a password for my class website I set it to wwheuro447.
After I get the system set up I can tape my passwords to my monitor (or have a word document saved on my thumb drive). I just write on the sheet “Moodle: x-axis” and “Class Webpage: Radius” Since I know the simple formula for the circle I created, my password is just some simple math away (if I happen to forget it).
In reality my formula is a bit more complex and doesn’t use a circle, but the idea is the same.
By the way, I was in your AP US and AP Euro classes at Orange. ’99 and ’00 respectively. I’m now teaching AP Euro in Burlington.
Neil! Now that’s a flashback, next thing I know I’ll hear from Matt and Katherine.
Although I couldn’t follow your method (surprise?), it sounds effective because you have a sort of code within a code. As long as you can remember the key, or formula you can remember the password. That’s not unlike the people who use family members, only that the formula is difficult to figure out. Relatives names are the first try for anyone trying to break in. I’ve also heard of characters and places from a book. If you can remember the book, you can remember the passes.
My son (2nd grade) told me that everyone in his class has the same pass for Study Island. Before I could explain to him the reason we use passwords, he told me that Webkinz will not let him use the same username for his pets online. The commercial sites are teaching greater online responsibility than the school.
Glad to hear you’ve joined the club, keep up the good fight.
And sure enough, you’re hearing from me —
Per the answer to your question — I’m very much looking forward to the day of widespread OpenID implementation. That’s the best answer, as far as I see it.
But I do have a common, throwaway username/password for a whole slew of services that I don’t care about — mostly newspapers that make you register for them.