Scrooge Is My Brother

My daughter delivered the opening “Marley was as dead as a doornail” speech as the narrator in the Stage Right! homeschool production of A Lyrical Christmas Carol. My son played Scrooge. The show was great. During the bows, I was already pretty misty-eyed when my daughter threw her arms around Scrooge and proudly announced, “He’s…

“What irrational person would argue against your claim that hoe is a Gothic punk?”

Dictating student feedback, I said “Would a rational person argue against your claim that Poe is a Gothic poet?” My Mac typed: “What irrational person would argue against your claim that hoe is a Gothic punk?” Similar:Fun with Geometry — Biological and TheoreticalFor some reason today I was thinking of …Academia“for every cliché of a…

Senior Tech #1: How To Master Texting

It’s funny because it’s true. Senior Tech #1: How To Master Texting Similar:Rules of Engagement #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 18) Worf is accused of destr…Rewatching ST:DS9 After a nightmare f…JusticeMaking Interactive Fiction Mainstream: ReadersJon Ingold describes the gamelike storyt…AestheticsGoogle's AI could probably beat you at AtariWhat’s significant in this story is not …CybercultureComputer…

What kinds of local stories drive engagement? The results of an NPR Facebook experiment

  We looked at every story we geotargeted during the months of July, August, and September 2012, focusing on the ones that the localized NPR Facebook following liked, shared, and commented on at a high rate. From this group of successful stories, we identified similarities which allowed us to create nine distinct content categories. We…

What Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2012?

Current US law extends copyright protection for 70 years after the date of the author’s death. (Corporate “works-for-hire” are copyrighted for 95 years after publication.) But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years (an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years). Under those…

The Search for IT Relevence — Featuring Seton Hill IT Guru Phil Komarny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGh6MasSUVc The Search for IT Relevence – YouTube. Similar:Why Study Humanities? What I Tell Engineering FreshmenScience writer Jon Horgan writes: We li…AcademiaLook at the adorable little tape casette. Adventure International / Scott Adams Inc. spoke…GamesPost Gazette Corrects Headline of Seton Hill iPad FollowupEveryone makes mistakes. As a student jo…AcademiaThe Supreme Court could soon change the…

I’d Pay to See This

Fan Video Win Similar:The Case Against High-School Sports”I’ve been in hundreds of classrooms,” s…CultureEvery few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw "The Empire Strikes Back" the night …HistoryDigital literacy is different from print literacy. How do we balance the trade-off?My job includes teaching students to rea…AcademiaCarolyn at about 7yo drew Titania…

Distributing Candy at Holiday Parade

Similar:Among today’s major professional accomplishments: installing this hook. #springbreakMy office door feels more complete now. …AcademiaThe girl has gotten progressively more dedicated over the past few days.When you’re a homeschool parent, you go …AestheticsPart of my daily routine is practicing German for about 15m per day. With no particular pr…EducationThe boy is visiting the Prohibition…

Results of the 18th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition

 The 18th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition has ended. Congratulations to Marco Innocenti, whose “Andromeda Apocalypse” took first place! The top three games were: Andromeda Apocalypse, by Marco Innocenti Eurydice, by Anonymous Guilded Youth, by Jim Munroe The winners of the Miss Congeniality contest were: Guilded Youth, by Jim Munroe Escape From Summerland, by Joey Jones…

At Age 11, I Named the Curiosity Rover

Wonderful story! I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and decided to get a TIME for Kids magazine off of Mrs. Estevez’s bookshelf. It was the 2008 Invention Issue, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. In the magazine, there was an article…

What a 21st-Century English Major Can Do: Screencast Demo of an Inform 7 Text-Adventure Journalism Game

Have I mentioned lately that I have some really awesome students? Here’s a narrated screencast, presenting a progress report on a term project that involves programming in Inform 7 to create a text-adventure game designed to teach student journalists how to cover a campus event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKxPi3L6aDs This is what a 21st-century English major can do,…

Popcorn Maker

I’ll have to look into this. Popcorn Maker. https://popcorn.webmaker.org Similar:My new inspiration as I work on my syllabuses I applaud you, person who, halfway …AcademiaThe Die Is Cast (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 21) Garak's mentor leads a pres…Rewatching ST:DS9 After the recap of …CultureThe new marshmallow test: Resisting the temptations of the webThe…

One Man, One Computer, 10 Million Students: How Khan Academy Is Reinventing Education

  It’s a prototypical Silicon Valley ethos, with one exception: The Khan Academy, which features 3,400 short instructional videos along with interactive quizzes and tools for teachers to chart student progress, is a nonprofit, boasting a mission of “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.” There is no employee equity; there will be no IPO;…