As part of my initial introduction to my college students, I mention that I am not a procrastinator and encourage them to fight the inclination to put things off. When there is work to be done and a deadline, I will do the work first, no matter the temptations pulling me away, no matter the voices telling me I have plenty of time. I am not sure where this proclivity came from, but it served me well throughout my academic and professional career. I think it was partially a survival mechanism: I have trouble relaxing if there is work to be done, even if the deadline seems to be far away. Plus, I have lived and worked with technology long enough to know that expecting the unexpected is a solid philosophy.

I teach for a major university here in Virginia. We just finished the spring semester. I spent Monday and Tuesday grading and submitted my grades on Wednesday morning. In between, I worked on my summer course. Yesterday, I completed the final touches, made the copy to the second section, and as I enjoyed a congratulatory drink, I heard the news that local K-12 school divisions had been hit by a Canvas security breach.

This morning, my university announced the breach and that Canvas was temporarily offline while Instructure, Canvas’s parent company, investigated. It appears widespread and includes Virtual Virginia, the state’s online course provider. While I do feel sorry for those professors who had planned to use next week to get ready for summer, I may have enjoyed a self-satisfied little smile knowing that I am ready to go.