This Day In Education

It’s October 25 and on this day in 2001, Microsoft released its wildly popular Windows XP operating system.

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the GA (General Availability) release of Microsoft’s Windows XP. The XP is short for Experience, so the version’s official name is actually Windows Experience. This OS is remembered for its pleasant aesthetics – such as the grass green start button, the bright blue taskbar, along with that oh-so-iconic scrolling plains wallpaper.

It’s October 24th and on this day in 2020, Cameroon experienced a school massacre. 

Seven students died and thirteen others were wounded in the Kumba School Massacre. 

A dozen men were responsible for the attack in Kumba, Cameroon.

The heinous assault gained international attention and brought a renewed interest to the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.

It’s October 23rd and from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. it’s unofficially Mole Day. 

Fans of chemistry rejoice. For those unfamiliar, strap in - we’ve got some explaining to do. We warn you, things are about to get technical, but interesting nonetheless.

It’s October 22nd, and on this day in 1938 Chester Carlson invented the copy machine.

The Seattle native’s invention was the next leap in written communication at the time. The process he originally called electrophotography, later called xerography, used opposite electrical charges and light to transfer any image or document exposed to it. A copy. Can you imagine a classroom without copies?

It’s October 21, and on this day in 1998, the US Congress enacted the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, more widely known as COPPA (cop-uh).

This piece of legislation was passed with the aim of preventing websites and online services from collecting information from children without parental consent.

It’s October 20th, and on this day in 1859 American philosopher, pragmatist, and educational reformer John Dewy was born in Burlington, Vermont. Dewey had a profound effect on teaching and learning, and he changed the fundamental way we view education in this country.

It’s October 19th, and on this day in 1901, Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March in D Major, premiered in Liverpool, England.

It’s Monday, October 18th and today in 1386, the University of Heidelberg was founded. It was the first university established in Germany and it is still in operation today. The story of how a small town became the center of a large university is a strange and surprising one.

It’s October 17th and on this day in 1979, the Department of Education Organization Act was signed into law.

This Act put into motion the establishment of the US Department of Education as we know it today.

It’s October 16th, and on this day in 1843, the fundamental formula for quaternions was first written. Irish mathematician, Sir William Rowan Hamilton, while walking with his wife in Dublin, was struck by the formula that would revolutionize the study of dynamic systems. Excited, lacking paper, and not wanting to forget his stroke of genius– he carved the formula for quaternions into the stonework of Broome Bridge. Where it remains to this day.