English Professor Suddenly Realizes Students Will…

English Professor Suddenly Realizes Students Will Believe Literally Anything She Says onion.com/1dA4WPR via @TheOnion Similar:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessClassroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureHabits for…

RT @heatherfro: The number of my nonacademic frien…

RT @heatherfro: The number of my nonacademic friends who think #mla14 is a conference about MLA formatting is amazing. Nonacademic friends, you’re the best Similar:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsShe doesn't have keys or…

RT @chronicle: Humanities programs are teaching st…

RT @chronicle: Humanities programs are teaching students to deconstruct technologies, not just texts: chroni.cl/1dpCosi Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesHow hate and misinformation go viral: A case study…

RT @arnzen: “The Ethics of Fiction Writing” by Ron…

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RT @elongreen: This, from 1922, is the greatest he…

RT @elongreen: This, from 1922, is the greatest headline in the history of @nytimes, or any other paper. http://t.co/7rUTiXSBXd Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsIn Defense Of Metaphors In…

Supergiant and Hypergiant Stars Compared to our Solar System

To begin with, the terms “hypergiant” and “supergiant” are both a bit general. For the most part, these terms are loosely used to refer to the largest and most luminous (brightest and thus most energetic) stars in the universe. The exact term that one should use depends on the specific star that one is discussing…

Games as Text and K12 Social Studies

Rather than training students to identify and practice the strategies of rhetoric through reading and writing, what if a media existed (and the students regularly engaged in it) that communicated ideas, arguments, and points of view through its procedure, rather than in a linear set of carefully structured arguments? In this case, learning is at…

Jerz and Daughter Teach Scratch (Digital Storytelling Tutorial)

In the past I have posted tutorials for how to use Scratch to create a ball-and paddle computer game, but I let Carolyn create what she wanted to create. Rather than targets to shoot or puzzles to solve, she chose to tour a virtual environment, via a self-paced storybook. You move ahead by clicking the screen, and invisible buttons trigger animations.

This tutorial is a good introduction to how easy it is to make something interactive in Scratch.

Carolyn started with photos she had already taken of her Lego hobbit hole, added some simple programming to make a click advance to the next screen, and to make an invisible button trigger some animation.

In the video, she’s careful to run the program after every couple of steps, and she catches a few mistakes. When I point out that an interactive detail she coded would be hidden from a player who didn’t know where to click, she added a label that made sure her players wouldn’t miss the interactive bits.

Portrait of a Ten-Year-Old Girl

This thoughtful article demonstrates how to use colorful details to keep a reader engaged enough to absorb statistics and trends. What could be just an amusing slice of a Canadian girl’s life of carpools, playdates, and self-invention becomes a launching point for social commentary. The author does refer to herself, but deliberately, selectively; to serve…

My son showed me #PacificRim.

My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the child actress in the flashback. Enjoyed the feuding scientists. The rest? Flashy, soulless CGI. Similar:Facebook Hired Journalists to Train Its Trending Topics AlgorithmRecently I noticed an unusually incendia…BusinessThank you, anonymous donor of Mardi Gras candy.Okay, on closer inspection I see the red…AestheticsJourney's End (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7,…

Conflict Strategies for Nice People

Nothing to do with Christmas… just thinking about the upcoming group projects due in my online J-Term course. I should also probably re-read some Dale Carnegie, which I do every few years. Teams need conflict to function effectively. Conflict allows the team to come to terms with difficult situations, to synthesize diverse perspectives, and to…

What’s wrong with the way I talk?

Wife & daughter competing w each other to imitate brassy actress from Singing in the Rain. “Whaat’s wrong wit’ da way I taawk?” #pleasestop Similar:Students in “A.I. and the Future of Literacy” are presenting now in Cecilian Hall. @setonh…PersonalI didn't mark a single paper or set foot in a classroom. Here's why this prof is…