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 …EducationJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl…
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…
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…
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.
In an alternate universe George Lucas never made Star Wars because he was able to get the rights to Flash Gordon. See, that was Lucas’ original intention, and he even went to meet with King Features Syndicate, who held the rights, to talk with them about making a movie based on the classic comic strip…
Classic video games from the 1970s and 1980s have been put online by the Internet Archive and can be played within a web browser for nothing. The collection has launched with games from five early home consoles, including the Atari 2600 and Colecovision. The games do not have sound, but will soon, the Internet Archive…
Teens also don’t seem to care that Facebook is more technically sophisticated than other platforms. Miller believes that the last straw for most teens is a dreaded friend request from a parent. “It is nothing new that young people care about style and status in relation to their peers, and Facebook is simply not cool…
Ultimately, I got sick and tired of both groups trying to tell me how to live my life. The deaf culture advocates tell me I should fling away my [cochlear implant (CI)] and make my home within the community. The CI advocates tell me that I should give up using [American Sign Langauge] and become…
Some good tips on what to say about your English major during a job interview, and some realistic advice about English grad school. English majors choose a major that not only challenges them intellectually but gives them pleasure. They love to read and think that reading matters. Or they hope to be writers and have…
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. Liked the child actress in the flashback. Enjoyed the feuding scientists. The rest? Flashy, soulless CGI. Similar:Amazing birthday cake, created by Jane Eyre herself, Karen Baum. (Thank you @kaboom1250!)PersonalIn "World Drama" I'm adding the absurd, optimistic "The Skin of Our Teeth" (dropping bleak… In light of current events, I’m droppi…AcademiaThe…
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…
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:Kickball Ice Cream Maker Is Both a Stupid and Awesome Idea$35 Kickball Ice Cream Maker does exactl…AestheticsAfter you finish your brass-polishing shift, join me at the Gear and Heart to swap…
Similar:Someone seems to have slipped this over my transom. Thank you, #foodsubstitutefairy whoeve…PersonalTravel trouble, gun restrictions and no more ‘Mr Trump’: the trials of life as a felon It’s unlikely to be at the forefront o…CultureSo happy to work with @crissycp and benefit from her kindness and baking talents.PersonalMy son showed me Seven Samurai. I…
As part of a course I’m teaching on “Digital Storytelling,” I’m going to make a video in which I show my students how to code a branching story in Scratch. My daughter will provide the visuals. Here she is photographing her model of Bag End. We bought just a few actual Lord of the Rings…
Watch A Trailblazer Become An Inspiration With Two Sentences. I’ll Never Look At This Iconoclastic Cancer Patient The Same Way Again. Watch An Introverted Late Night Host Become A Legend With Six Words. You Will Roll Your Eyes When You See What A Bullied Holocaust Survivor Found. You Won’t Really Understand What’s Happening In The…
This set of 21 Theory Trading Cards, published by AltaMira Press, is based upon the online trading cards which have been so popular at David Gauntletts website www.theory.org.uk. Being actual cards, these are two-sided and contain more information; and whereas the online cards were only an official set of 12, for the published version, 21 new…
RT @Historiator: “@dancohen: Finally upgraded to OS X 10.9. It feels like a Borges story about OS X 10.8.” @MikeArnzen @DennisJerz Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting…
RT @Rhymestyle: First leaked photo from the set of Star Wars Episode VII http://t.co/xji8x9J5zL Similar:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsParallel structure in…
The passing agonies of the everyday are shared quickly and easily — texts about a disappointing grade, photos of a roommate’s overflowing garbage, tweets about the heat in a dorm room. The instantaneous nature of the complaints can give the impression that only an immediate solution will do. And some students relying on their phones,…