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:More bits of my summer project – another delightful span of a #neovictorian #steampunk con…AestheticsHere I am sketching spaceships like I’m 12 again. I feel like re-reading the novelization …AestheticsLecturing is So Much…

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:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsAnd the girl has succeeded in…

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:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free…

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:Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalIt's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3, but…TweetsFormer student: "I…

The t-shirt many professors would enjoy wearing

Inside Higher Ed Similar:Telekinetic Coffee Shop SurpriseBlogworthy promo for a movie I have no d…AmusingKimmel's Jab at Pence's "empty box" joke illustrates a bi-partisan #fakenews problemIf, like pollster Matthew McDermott, you…Current_EventsFaceTime Fun: iPod Touch Rides in Jedi FighterThrough the magic of FaceTime and the ve…AmusingAve atque valeWhat is a liberal education and what it …Academia@CNN…

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:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsRT @JordanFor:…

Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies

  Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies poster. Similar:Okay yes, this affirmation does matter to me and it will go into my annual review for next…Marked 832 AP English essays in a week o…AcademiaWho Watches the Watchers (ST:TNG Season Three Episode 4) Rationalist, talky mythbustingRewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….EthicsWhy do journalists use "allegedly" when…

Ignorance Meets an Invisible Disability

I’m sure my young, healthy-looking friend will gladly give you his parking spot if you’ll take his bone cancer, too. http://t.co/z2ABY0huCN Similar:Misleading to suggest that because I have nothing left to mark that I have nothing to do, …PersonalWatching a National Guard helicopter lift off after an EMS displayJust spending an August evening with the…PersonalCameras…