Computers and Writing Conference 2013

Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks for sharing the photo, Jill Morris.) Similar:I can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in Nov 2000 …BusinessIncoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not to be cheerful …AcademiaHypertext as a Teaching Tool –…

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:How Literature Became Word Perfect There can be no true distinction drawn …CybercultureThe Dog and the Oyster (Aesop Fable)I always enjoy my visits to the studio. …SpeechI just finished "Beyond Eyes" and I think there's something in my eye.My…

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:Unscheduled Disasters in Journalism: Learn to DealIn school, we expect our professors to a…AcademiaAmanda Knox responds to high-profile movie profiting off of her nameAmerican student Amanda Knox was wrongfu…CultureIrony in Blakes7 Reboot?RT @Laroquod: @DennisJerz If #Blakes7 tu…BusinessI…

Jerz Family Tin Can Robot Wars

Similar:Pict Classic Theatre Romeo and Juliet. PersonalA Merry Look at Journalism in "The Year Without a Santa Claus"   AmusingIn Purgatory's Shadow #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 14) Garak answers a coded …Rewatching ST:DS9 Kira helps Odo re-a…DramaI'm nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." I’m…

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:13: The Musical Promohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40MbeApiX…CultureR.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Full Play (via Zoom)All 3 acts and the epilogue to R.U.R. (R…BooksCommunities of Play: The Social Construction of Identity in Persistent Online Game WorldsI played the…

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:How to promote your laser skin clinic effectivelyI rather miss teaching HTML and doing my…AestheticsNested (procedurally generated game of expanding…

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:Not Bad for an English MajorI didn’t have much choice when it came t…HomeComputers and Writing Conference 2013Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks f…HomeMemories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI arrived in Toronto in 1992 as…

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:Other than #StarTrek memes, my favorite part…

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…