One of the most disconcerting experiences I have had is when I discovered — in the middle of teaching — that my website, with all my resources for the lesson and the course — had been summarily shut down. I wrote about it some years later in: My Worst IT Training Days #6: The Day My Website Was Shut Down.

However, rummaging through my archives, fighting through the cobwebs, I came across my description of the catastrophe when it actually happened. So here it is: living history and reportage!

December 2006

I am always telling students and others: ICT is only reliable in the sense that you can rely on it to go wrong at some point, so always have a backup plan. I was pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom of this approach last week when I discovered, upon arriving at the college, that my website had been closed down due to a hacking attack. It had been perfectly fine 30 minutes before. Unfortunately, all my notes and resources were on the internet -- a methodology I developed when other approaches went wrong!

I could ask that all the files be placed on the college's network, but that would mitigate against last minute changes (maybe that's a good thing?). I could have come armed with a usb stick containing all the files and placed them on he network myself upon arrival. Perhaps I will do that next time.

At the end of the day, the most effective Plan B is to be so familiar with the subject matter that whatever happens you can just deliver a lesson and meet your objectives anyway -- which is exactly what I did. In other words, even if I say so myself, I did act as a good role model.

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