RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes…

RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes I go onstage to point everyone to archive.org/details/histor… and hopefully computer history … Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureLoved seeing A Comedy…

One of the Sadder Lost and Found Messages You’ll Probably See Today

Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:How To Gain or Lose 30 Minutes of Life Every DayIf you smoke two cigarettes, you lose 30…Design"The threat is no longer simply from government censorship."After using examples from Warsaw and Pra…CultureMy Cow Game Extracted Your Facebook DataThe Cambridge Analytica scandal is drawi…AmusingEpiscopal bishop on President…

The Amazon Mystery: What America’s Strangest Tech Company Is Really Up To

Seriously: What is Amazon? A retail company? A media company? A logistics machine? The mystery of its strategy is deepened by two factors. First is the company’s communications department, which famously excels at not communicating. Three requests to speak with Amazon officials for this article were delayed and, inevitably, declined. This moves discussions of the…

Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “…

Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “It’s hard when your idols fall.” Tween: “That’s why I don’t have any. Except for you.” Similar:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a…

Emily Dickinson Manuscript for “The Chariot”

A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:Nerd-buddies”He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *…BooksWhy Study Humanities? What I Tell Engineering FreshmenScience writer Jon Horgan writes: We li…AcademiaVerify or Duck! Journalists should confirm all details they didn't witness.New…

Nerdy Rainbow Loom Crafting

My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:Feature: History Lesson: the treasured past of LucasArts point and clicksI played more of the Sierra point-and-c…CultureA former student contacted me to share her thoughts.A few years ago, I told myself I would…

AP reporter’s mistake: Did the punishment fit the crime?

Reporters have been sometimes fired for willful misconduct, such as repeated instances of plagiarism or fabrication. Reporters who’ve suffered that fate, such as the New York Times’ Jayson Blair and The Washington Post’s Janet Cooke, were guilty of gross journalistic malpractice. But firing a reporter over an unintentional mistake is “extremely rare,” said Scott Maier,…

The Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than Ever Rely on It, Fewer People Create It

I’m getting ready to introduce my freshman writing students to college-level research, so I found it helpful to read this brief introduction to the internal problems Wikipedia creates for itself. When a major news event takes place, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, complex, widely sourced entries spring up within hours and evolve by the…

“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making…

“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making a person-on-the street video interview about the new iPad. Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsWhat…

RT @joningold: Thing is, the freedom of the parser…

RT @joningold: Thing is, the freedom of the parser is a sham – not because it *doesn’t* understand everything but because no-one plays as t… Similar:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in…

Attribution, Editorializing and Defamation

In the Nightly Noodle Monthly, former North Adams Transcript journalist Isaac Avilucea posts this passage, which he says was removed from a sports feature that got him fired. But there’s a reason she’s not at MountGreylock anymore, choosing to transfer to a school with somewhat inferior academics and athletics. Part of it has to do with the stuffy social atmosphere that…

I just did the thing where you look everywhere for…

I just did the thing where you look everywhere for your glasses but you can’t find them because you are already wearing them. Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalTweet: Came around the corner and…

The t-shirt many professors would enjoy wearing

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Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing)

EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 18-Jan 22) Unit 1 (Dec 18-22) mostly experiencing digital stories (reading, watching, listening, playing, whatever), and reading articles & discussing them online. (We take a break Dec 23-Jan 1: no classes, no homework.) Unit 2 (Jan 2-7) trying out 4-5 tools for creating digital stories, and learning two in a little…

Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

Neil Gaiman tells us why books matter: When you watch TV or see a film, you are looking at things happening to other people. Prose fiction is something you build up from 26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world and people it and…

In the publications office with student journalist…

In the publications office with student journalists. I’ve heard them saying “affirmative” and “negative.” The editor just said “Make it so.” Similar:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationFormer student: "I…