Computers and Writing Conference 2013

Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks for sharing the photo, Jill Morris.) Similar:Annie Sullivan on teaching:  Helen Keller, rendered blind and dea…CultureWordPress duplicate images driving me crazy I’m using the Atahualpa Theme with WPT…HomeA Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSDInhabiting an improvised play designed t…HomeHypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom…

Does Math Exist?

Millions of high-school students might wish math did not exist, but, alas, it does, at least as a human creation. The question, however, of whether math exists independent of humans is a much deeper one, and PBS’s Mike Rugnetta gives a fun, brief overview of the age-old philosophical debate in the video above. via Does…

LGN Launches Quandary to Develop Ethical Thinking through Play

The Learning Games Network, a non-profit spin-off of the MIT Education Arcade and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Games+Learning+Society Program, today launched Quandary, a unique game that encourages players to think ethically as they lead a human colony struggling for survival on fictional planet Braxos. The game’s goal is to provide an engaging experience for players aged 8-14…

Press X to Teach

Ready to mash up gaming and teaching at Computers and Writing 2013. Press X to Teach. Similar:Analysis | The ‘Kellyanne Conway on the couch’ controversy is so incredibly dumbOne photo from the event shows her scrol…Culture5 of the Fiercest One-Liners in HistoryYes, the Spartans’ one-word response to …CultureMystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History…

Preparing for some serious nerd time with the family this summer

Set phasers to “nerd”! This summer I’ll be schooling the kids on classic Star Trek and Babylon 5. Similar:Random #steampunk workstation with a porthole, because why not. Most of the surfaces are f…AestheticsYes, we will see almost anything branded Sherlock Holmes.PersonalThe Begotten #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 12) Kira and Odo face surrogacyRewatching ST:DS9…

Jerz Family Tin Can Robot Wars

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The Milestones That Matter Most

[W]hen Japanese and American fourth and fifth grade children were asked why they shouldn’t hit, gossip or fight with other kids, 92 percent of the American kids answered “because they’d get caught or get in trouble.” Ninety percent of the Japanese kids asked the same question responded, “because it would be hurtful to someone else.”…

Kairos: Open Since 1996

As a plucky new faculty member I wrote a critique of an early design for the online journal Kairos. My article was snarky in form (I invoked Mystery Science Theater 3000) but serious in intent (“The overdesigned Kairos site perpetuates the myth that online rhetoric is necessarily complex and arcane,” with the earnest bold text in the original). They hypertext…

DC Just Announced Plans For Choose Your Own Adventure Style Digital Comics

It’s rather hard to believe it took them so long. DC Just Announced Plans For Choose Your Own Adventure Style Digital Comics. Similar:The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows The researchers found that participants…AcademiaA Message from Hester Prynne (Student Video)Have I mentioned lately that I have awes…AcademiaScience Fair VictoryIn this photo from…

Why You Should Blog to Get Your Next Job

It’s your resume, only better: Everyone has a resume. But a blog allows you to highlight the skills on your resume, times ten. For example, if you’re a writer, you can flex your writing muscles and post examples of your creative writing. Even if you’re a tax accountant, you can write your thought-provoking opinions on…

I Canna Give Ye Any More Screens, Cap’n!

The iPad Mini and the ChromeBook are just loaners, but it was fun to arrange them this way. Similar:Your Brain Does Not Work Like a ComputerThe brain-as-computer is a powerful meme…HealthHacking the WordPress Social Plugin to Include Pages in Addition to PostsI love the WordPress Social plugin, whic…HomeIncoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks…

NASA Confirms That Curiosity Found An Ancient Martian Stream

Last year, NASA announced that the Curiosity rover had found preliminary evidence of an ancient streambed, indicating that water once flowed freely on Mars. After a few more months of study, that preliminary announcement has been confirmed – Curiosity has found the remains of an ancient stream. —Forbes. Similar:Jerz Family Tin Can Robot Warshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIBQkobPW…PersonalHow a…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

Texty Cloak of Darkness in Prose

Below is a snippet from “Texty Cloak of Darkness,” which aims to use prose conventions to emulate game-state changes and alternate endings (in a medium designed to be linear). Since our encounter, such as it is, has already begun, it may as well happen in a place. The foyer of the opera house is where…