Computers and Writing Conference 2013

Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks for sharing the photo, Jill Morris.) Similar:Hacking the WordPress Social Plugin to Include Pages in Addition to PostsI love the WordPress Social plugin, whic…HomeYour Brain Does Not Work Like a ComputerThe brain-as-computer is a powerful meme…HealthVerizon Forced Me to Remove Parentheses, Quotation Marks, and Apostrophes from a…

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:My J-Term course on August Wilson doesn’t actually start until tomorrow, but the first ass…We’ll cover all 10 plays, but each stude…AcademiaNew Graphic for MLA Style Paper HandoutThe other day, I noticed that if you Goo…Academia"Do Date" vs "Due…

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:The Most Awesome 450 Page Presentation Everhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt9F7tKc…AestheticsBefore the haircut. PersonalThe Hidden Feminist Messages in 'Schoolhouse Rock!'Hidden? Sure, but certainly not accident…AcademiaCommentary: What My Struggling Students Wanted Me to UnderstandI haven’t taught a developmental course …AcademiaFULL BLOOM at Latrobe’s…

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…

One Author Breaks Down the Reality of Violent Games in the Media

Chris Person posts a link to this very clear critique of news reporting that blames violent video games and movies for real-world violence. One Author Breaks Down the Reality of Violent Games in the Media. Similar:Two classic novels returning to Accomack schools following voteAccomack County Public Schools announced…BooksJust wrote the first ending to my in-progress…

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…HealthClassroom Project: Students Get 1 Hour to Propose, Shoot, Edit, Publish DocumentaryStudents created this in 60 minutes. …HomeTake that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeNerd siblings…

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:The elements, in haikuEach element of the…

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…