Author: Allan

I’m letting everyone know that I’ll be away from Dec. 21 to 29, 2024.  No tutoring! I will, however, be available during the following week (the week of New Year).  Please let me know if you plan on doing tutoring that week.  If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you are not being tutored.

I just wanted to say “sorry” to those who have been trying to get stuff done on my website.  It was down for about one and a half days due to a glitch in DNS Naming Services.  I think it’s all back to normal now. It may take a day or two to get everyone’s…

Hi everyone.  It is September 1st, 2024, and a new school year thus begins.  Clearing house time! I have some unclaimed homework.  None of them have names on them.  If you see something that is yours, please let me know, and I’ll return it to you.

Hello, loyal students and parents!  Just letting everyone know that my schedule is now (pretty) full for the fall 2024 school season.  Most likely, students will be chosen from the waiting list after Christmas.  Sorry for the wait! I do have Sunday afternoons available, but that’s it.  For those of you who booked early, thanks! …

Summer has come! For those students who continue tutoring sessions through the summer, I likely won’t be away much.  For my online students, nothing will change. Tutor Doctor Lethbridge has put out an article on the “summer slide”, a term coined more than 50 years ago to describe forgetting material learned due to lack of…

I will be away from May 2 to 8, 2024. There will be no tutoring May 2 and 8, but I will be available for online tutoring the remaining days (May 3~7). Please let me know if you would like tutoring online by filling this out.

I (Allan) will be absent from March 26 to April 2, 2024 due to a death in the family. The last day of tutoring before leaving will be March 25, 2024.  Tutoring will resume again April 3, 2024. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Please note that I will be away on Monday, January 29, 2024. There will be no tutoring sessions on that day. Sorry for any inconvenience! If you would like to schedule another session at a different time, please let me know.

There will be no tutoring sessions from Dec. 23, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024. Last sessions: Dec. 22, 2023 Sessions continue: Jan. 2, 2024 Hope you all have a great holiday!

Just a reminder to everyone that Monday, October 9, 2023 is Thanksgiving.  No tutoring.  Enjoy your turkey!

Hi everyone. Just a reminder that Sept. 4, 2023 is a holiday (Labour Day), so no tutoring.  But, if you really think you need to have a session, I’ll make myself available.  Otherwise, enjoy the long weekend!

Please note that there is no tutoring June 21, 2023. Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day, everyone!

There will be no tutoring sessions for one week, April 6 ~ 12, 2023.  Happy Easter, everybody! 

I finally have a new server up and running.  About half of the webs are transferred over to the new one, and the other half will follow soon.  This means that:  Your class plan & homework page will hopefully be faster with less downtime.  If you use the new version, your homework completion and scores will…

I will be taking time off from Fri. Dec. 24, 2021 to Sun. Jan. 2, 2022.  If anyone wishes to have more time off from tutoring, please let me know. I hope everyone has a great holiday!

There will be no tutoring on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2021.  If you normally have a session then and want to reschedule it, how about either the Sunday before (Nov. 7) or after (Nov. 14)?  Please let me know a few days ahead of time if you do.  Thanks!

There will be no classes during Thanksgiving 2021, including Monday.  I’m roasting a turkey for family and friends!  For Sunday & Monday students, we will resume next week.

The old server is, once again, up and running. Why?  The new server is not working yet, and I am at a loss as to how to get it running.  Anyone know how to run PHP on IIS? If you have trouble logging in, please let me know.

I’m finally able to set up my new server.  Does this mean fewer glitches?  I hope so!  It will take a few evenings to move everything over from the old to the new.  It’s been about 1.5 years since my server caught a cold and has not been able to heal itself.  So, if there…

Sorry, everyone, I forgot my phone at home today, and I am at work.  I tried logging in to my email accounts, but they won’t let me without my phone.  Go figure.  If you absolutely need me, you can call (403) 320-8588 ext. 244. 

Thank you for everyone’s patience and understanding while I took some time off.  My mother passed away late at night on June 12. All tutoring will resume today as per your normal schedule.

I’m sorry, I have to cancel the next few days’ sessions (Wed, Thurs, Fri).  My Mom has been in hospital a while now and will be passing away soon.  I would like to spend extra time with her.  Sorry for the short notice.  Maybe we can continue next week.  I’ll update everyone by SMS (text).

The “stinky” printer is taken again. However, printer #4 is back and available for loan. Same thing – it’s a network printer, meaning it connects to your internet (wireless or cable), and I print homework directly to it.  Yes, I print from my house to your house.  I know – amazing, right?  But true. You…

The “stinky printer” (printer 4) is available now if anyone wants to borrow it. Why is it stinky?  The fuser unit (the hot roller that bakes toner onto the page) is apparently a little smelly.  I admit, it does smell a little, but only on the first print. It’s an HP Color Laser Jet MFP…

In an effort to mitigate disconnections from Bramble while tutoring, I purchased a new wireless router.  It did not work!  We experienced five disconnections during my first session Monday afternoon and three disconnections in the second session.  I attempted it one more time on Tuesday with similar results.  I’m back to using my old D-Link…

I’m hoping that my new router will make a difference. Recently I’ve had classes drop during session because of poor network stability.  Weird things on Bramble would take place, too.  If you’ve noticed a timer counting up, suggesting that you’ve been inactive for a while, you’ll see that this is usually due to a poor…

Just letting everyone know that I’m phasing out all non-secure student web pages.

I’m letting everyone know that another network printer is available for anyone who needs it.

Sorry, people, my web server had another hiccup. 

Hi everyone.  I’m taking on a new position in my day job and will be working Mon. ~ Fri.  I will no longer have mornings & afternoons free to tutor. If you want to discuss the schedule, please let me know.  I’ll be emailing everyone about it over the next few days. To all my…

If you don’t mind, please fill out this quick questionnaire on this year’s Reading Week.  I’ll be taking a break as well unless you want to have session.  I’m okay either way!

Printer #5 is taken again.  No more printers left.

Just a reminder to all Tutor Doctor students – your monthly tutor logs showing all session dates and times are online for you to see.  It is posted the 20th of every month, the cut-off date for Tutor Doctor’s monthly session cycle.  If you don’t see it there, please let me know.

I’ll be taking a break between Fri. Dec. 25, 2020 and Mon. Jan. 3, 2021. This is shorter than usual.  Because of COVID-19, many students (and / or parents) don’t want much time off. If you want to have more or less time off, please let me know.  I’d be happy to accommodate whatever schedule…

This server may have interruptions for today (Sunday).  Updates are being installed.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  

For students without a touch-screen computer who are still struggling to “write” with a mouse or touchpad, I still recommend the Huion 1060 Plus drawing pad.  It’s at Amazon for about $90, or $80 if you have Prime, or less if Amazon gives you a discount, which they sometimes do. I had one student damage…

Your personal stuff – whiteboard, visual summary, assignments, etc. – will be offline for a few hours today (October 6, 2020) due to some security upgrades.  They’ll be back online by this afternoon, I’m pretty sure. If by then your password doesn’t allow you in, please text, call, or email me. As well, worksheets made…

The spare laptop is once again booked for about two months.  If anyone with a Mac having trouble with Bramble needs it, let me know, and I’ll save it for you.

This form for in-home tutoring must be filled out before each in-home tutoring session.

The spare Windows 10 laptop is available for loan again.  If anyone is having computer issues and is interested in borrowing it, please let me know.

The Huion writing tablet is sold to a student, so I no longer have it for loan.  I bought mine from Amazon.

As most of you have heard, our Premier, Mr Jason Kennie, has decided that we are now able to start ‘stage 2’ of reopening our economy and other services, including tutoring well ahead of schedule.  Tutor Doctor has given the ‘go-ahead’ for at-home tutoring, provided both parties are good with it and a questionnaire is…

Hi everybody.  Just letting you know that the next available time to borrow the sketching / writing tablet is June 19, 2020.  Anyone who wants to use it should let me know by then.  So far, it has mostly been a hit.  The biggest dilemma has been setup, but I can help you with it.

I’m sure many people have heard that the Alberta government is planning on their Stage 2 of reopening of businesses and other services.  Their goal date is June 22, 2020.  Tutor Doctor supports either in-home or online tutoring and states that in-home tutoring must be agreeable to both parties. I’m pleased with online tutoring so…

I’ve purchased a Huion writing tablet from Amazon.ca.  It is now available for loan for one session to ‘test drive’.  People have asked about them and how they work, so this is your chance to test one out before you buy one.  The only thing I ask is that you pick it up when you…

I’ve been working on a new method of submitting your homework.  If you have a scanner or an all-in-one printer with a scanner, you can scan your homework then drag-and-drop it from your scan folder on your computer to my server.  If you have Windows, then it should work.  Have a look at some instructions…

Some students / parents have asked me how to set up writing on their computer screen instead of using a mouse.  Here are some ideas for drawing / writing tablets.  They plug into your computer’s USB.  You write on the tablet, and it shows up on your computer screen. Turcom TS6580W drawing tablet – 8×5…

Do you want the good news or bad news?  The bad news is that in-person tutoring sessions are suspended indefinitely.  Once COVID-19 / Coronavirus is no longer a threat our health, I will be happy to resume in-person sessions.  The good news is that the online tutoring platform I’m using works well.  If you want…

Please take a few moments to complete this survey. COVID-19 / Coronavirus and Online Tutoring Sessions

Because of recent COVID-19 / Coronavirus outbreaks, I have set up an online platform for my private students to communicate through the web.  If you want to use these rather than having in-person visits, please let me know.  I am hoping it won’t come to that, but, should things get substantially worse, I may conduct…

Because of recent COVID-19 / Coronavirus outbreaks, Tutor Doctor has set up a few online platforms for students and tutors to communicate through the web.  If you want to use these rather than having in-person visits, please let me know.  I am hoping it won’t come to that, but, should things get substantially worse, I…

I completed switching to a new server about 3PM today.  Sorry for being offline so much recently.  If you experience any issues moving forward, please let me know by text or email.