Computers and Writing Conference 2013

Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks for sharing the photo, Jill Morris.) Similar:Infinite Scrolling: XKCD's Creative Insight on a Common Interface IndignityAmusingThe Dadliest DecadeThe eighties, at least, were drenched in…HomeWriting That Demonstrates Thinking Ability While reflecting on my semester for …HomeNot Bad for an English MajorI didn’t have much choice when it came…

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:There are two factions working to prevent AI dangers. Here’s why they’re deeply divided. We are assigning more societal decisio…AcademiaThe Best Way to Start an Academic PaperBoth of the following writing samples de…AcademiaDon’t worry: It’s not just art!Before a…

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:It's probably safe to throw these out.PersonalPlaying video games linked to breast-feeding, not crimeGreat piece from Ben Kuchera at Ars Tech…AmusingMillennials Shy Away from Voice MailI was happy a few years ago when Seton H…CultureYesterday's Enterprise (#StarTrek…

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:Fascination (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 10) Comic crush after crush; that's…Rewatching ST:DS9 A character-driven …AmusingMr. Spock, weren't you wearing blue and black a minute ago?AmusingFormer Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed [a…

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:Take that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeFacebook, really? More people liked the picture in my post than saw the post that includes…I don’t pretend to understand. HomeSuch deep roots you have: How Little Red Riding Hood's tale…

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:NASA confirms the best-ever evidence for water…

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…