Computers and Writing Conference 2013

Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks for sharing the photo, Jill Morris.) Similar:Writing That Demonstrates Thinking Ability While reflecting on my semester for …HomeThe Rule of Capek's Robots: A public lecture, in which the word “robot” is traced, precurs…   HomeI can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I…

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:Four Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There?Stealing someone’s words isn’t the same …AcademiaA Man, a Plan, a Pointless(?) ProgramI readily admit that my accomplishment h…AmusingThe Benefits of No-Tech Note TakingI quibble with The…

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:Because Internet: the new linguistics of informal EnglishI’m planning to begin my online Shakespe…CultureCarolyn performed as Ariel yesterday in the New Renaissance Theatre Company's production o… Carolyn performed as Ariel yesterday i…AmusingPics from Thursday's dress rehearsal of…

Jerz Family Tin Can Robot Wars

Similar:Reading a Classic American Play to My Daughter BooksIn May, 2000, I was blogging about the 'I Love You' virus, hacking URLs, PG Wodehouse, and…In May, 2000, I was blogging about …AcademiaI was briefly excited that Turnitin.com's new app works in a park with no WiFiThen I realized… I’m a guy who gets ex…AcademiaLanguage Log…

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…

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:SHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After 10 YearsCome to listen. Come to share. Come toge…CultureA Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSDInhabiting an improvised play designed t…HomeNot Bad for an English MajorI didn’t have…

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…