Overheard at Quora: “Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?”

Moodle is a free course-management tool that many schools (including mine) use to manage the online components of courses (including computer-graded quizzes, discussion forums, and the submission of online papers). The tool is powerful, but the interface offers a bewildering array of options, so that casual users are often dismayed by how many checkboxes it…

An Evening with a Board Game and Grandma

By the way, I won. Similar:Progress (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 15) Kira befriends a stubborn squatterRewatching ST:DS9 Dax and Kira are ch…CultureA quick Sunday visit to #fortligonier with my history-loving son.A quick Sunday visit to #fortligonier wi…CultureThoroughly enjoying Company.PersonalWhen you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a…

Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.

Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocket of freshly-washed pants & found old earbuds. (They work!) Looked down & spotted new earbuds. #win Similar:Why Even Try if You Have A.I.? Now that machines can think for us, we have to choose wheth… We’re drawn to activities that invite …AcademiaTWEEN GIRL: "What's a tribble?"TWEEN GIRL: “What’s a…

Fun With Charts: Scale Matters

At first glance, this chart makes it look like food stamp usage has gone from almost nothing at some unspecified time in the past, to some huge amount over a span of who-knows-how-long. Only a fraction of the visitors to the site will click on the chart to see the scale, which reveals that the…

Waiting for Godot Paper Dolls

Arts on the Waterfront’s Waiting for Godot Kit! Simply print and cut. Share it with the thespian in your life! Put one on your desk today. If you want take a photo of it and share it on our page. —Arts on the Waterfront. Similar:FBI: 'Exercise Caution and Attempt to Verify Information Through Appropriate Official…

Zork: The Great Underground Empire

A blogger has started chronicling a journey through the classic 1980s computer game, Zork. Before King’s Quest and its successors took the realm of adventure gaming into colorful graphics, adventure titles were solely text. Infocom specialized in these during the 80s, including the Zork series, Planetfall, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But Zork,…

Stop Clubbing, Baby Seals

Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessIn April, 2001 I was blogging about interactive fiction, Roget's Thesaurus, John Lennon, H… A student newspaper article about in…BooksWhy Love Lyrics LastI am inclined to agree with the “favorit…AcademiaKids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class. Twelfth-grade reading scores are a…BooksThe Fantasticks (Oct…

Tolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?

Interesting set of observations exploring the limits of omniscience and the sheer scale involved in watching an entire population. Failures in empathy lead to misinterpretation of anonymous rebellion in plain sight. Tolkien’s most potent and intimidating image of centralized surveillance, the Eye of Sauron atop a tower, taking in the whole world, has resonated with…