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…HomeI can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in Nov 2000 …BusinessThe Declaration Of Independence, 240 Years Later…

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 Not to Hate Shakespeare The problem isn’t Shakespeare—it’s h…CultureThe Pointlessness of UnpluggingWhat sex was for the Puritans, technolog…Current_EventsPope Francis calls for "news communicated with serenity, precision and completeness"Pope Francis recently addressed Italian …CultureInnovative journalism: A game about 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:Reporters’ Privilege Compendium | Pennsylvania Shield Laws Guide – RCFPThe Pennsylvania Shield Law and the Firs…CultureIt's a thing to do.PersonalPopcorn MakerI’ll have to look into this. Popc…AestheticsMy daughter was five or six when she created the character…

Jerz Family Tin Can Robot Wars

Similar:Why I Left Academe to Become a Science Communicator: The pursuit of academic research was …From explaining the effectiveness of soc…AcademiaShort-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year…https://youtu.be/-cJp-kelrL8  AestheticsHandshakes Really Do MatterMonday night handshake/eye contact pract…CultureLiving Room PhysicsI’ve blogged before about my eight-year-…EducationStar Wars, Star Trek And V Author Ann…

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:A New Talent EmergesI tried hard to frown disapprovingly whe…HomeDress Rehearsal for Laurel Ballet "Alice in Wonderland"My daughter is playing the “Caterpillar …HomeThe Dadliest DecadeThe eighties, at least, were drenched in…HomeHypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown…

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:A shooting, the president snatched away -…

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…