Computer Programming and Literacy: An Annotated Bibliography » Nettework

Annette Vee posted a very helpful resource on code studies. With the recent uptick in the “everyone should code” movement, it seems that everyone’s now talking about computer programming as a new form of literacy. The terms by which people refer to the concept vary, but the central idea is shared: computational literacy; computational thinking;…

Programming Is the New Literacy

Will the need for a separate scribe tribe of programmers continue through the twenty-first century, or will the skill set of an educated person soon include programming fluency? I think that as programming becomes increasingly easy (which it will) and as the need to show rather than explain becomes important (which it will) and as…

Abridged too Far

Similar:What if Generative AI turned out to be a Dud?I’m sad thinking of all the students who…BusinessHarvard revokes admission of several students for posting "offensive" memesThe First Amendment of the constitution …AcademiaThe Business 9 Women Kept A Secret For Three Decades, by Lori Weiss Over the next three hours, The 9 Nan…AmusingOnce on This Island…

We Only Think We Know the Truth About Salt

WHY have we been told that salt is so deadly? Well, the advice has always sounded reasonable. It has what nutritionists like to call “biological plausibility.” Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty:…

LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media

I’m generally ambivalent about the whole “LinkedIn experience,” but if it wants to inspire confidence, the company should devote the same amount of attention it currently places on badgering its members on tightening its security. —LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog. Similar:Scoutship Flyby –…

York Corpus Christi Play — Introduction

In an age when the concept of “separation of church and state“ was unthinkable, the Corpus Christi Play was an integral part of the religious, economic, political and artistic context of life in medieval York.  —York Corpus Christi Play Similar:Little People, Big Fun: A Brief History of Fisher-Price Little PeopleI remember having a Fisher Price airplan…BusinessStephen…

It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk

Interesting collection of reflections on the status of cyberpunk, that branch of science fiction devoted to the exploration of dystopian networks and augmentations and hacking and  information, rather than galactic empires, huge space objects, aliens among us, etc. It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk Similar:Disruptions: Texting Your…

MLA Journals Adopt New Open-Access-Friendly Author Agreements

And there was much rejoicing. The journals of the Modern Language Association, including PMLA, Profession, and the ADE and ADFL bulletins, have adopted new open-access-friendly author agreements, which will go into use with their next full issues. The revised agreements leave copyright with the authors and explicitly permit authors to deposit in open-access repositories and…

Maker Faire and Science Education: American kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests.

I was at a “serious games” conference several years ago. During a crowded seminar, where I found myself seated on the floor because there were no open seats, one of the industry types was frowning because an educator kept speaking critically of testing. “If you don’t test,” asked the pragmatic businessperson, “how can you assess?”…

We’re Creating a Culture of Distraction

I’d argue that what’s happening is that we’re becoming like the mal-formed weight lifter who trains only their upper body and has tiny little legs. We’re radically over-developing the parts of quick thinking, distractable brain and letting the long-form-thinking, creative, contemplative, solitude-seeking, thought-consolidating pieces of our brain atrophy by not using them. And, to me,…

My Parents (ages 72 and 78) Learn a Polka Step from my iPad

  Similar:Allergic to Grammar ErrorsSource: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm…AmusingThe Complete Deaths: all of the Bard's 74 scripted deaths in one new play.Over the past four centuries, the brutal…AmusingJohn Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork features a “scale of paces.” My #unity3d placeholde…John Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork f…PersonalHe Googles for some random memes to connect with…

President Obama writes sick note for 11-year-old Minnesota boy

I love this story! Mr. Ackerman — Please excuse Tyler… he was with me!” Obama wrote on 11-year-old Tyler Sullivan’s behalf. The Rochester boy skipped school Friday to attend Obama’s visit to a Honeywell factory in Golden Valley with his dad. President Obama writes sick note for 11-year-old Minnesota boy (VIDEO) – NY Daily News. Similar:Memory…

Stage Right’s Alice in Wonderland

My daughter shared the role of Alice this weekend (she played “Small Alice”). On one night, she also doubled as the mouse, for a different Alice. Similar:Humanities research is groundbreaking, life-changing… and ignored Most arguments for “saving” the humani…AcademiaMechanical innards for a Steampunk set piece. #Blender3D #greebleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oChXOu8C…AestheticsMy Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole (Village Voice)A closed-minded…

Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Depends on who you ask. – The Washington Post

I love the obscure Prufrock reference win this Washington Post story: So as the motorcades come and go, are they talking of Marco Rubio? via Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Similar:This Is Your Brain on WritingWhen I teach creative writing, I notice …HealthDoctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:Proto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureAmanda Knox responds to high-profile movie profiting off of her nameAmerican student Amanda Knox was wrongfu…CultureOn my fantasy #steampunk cruiser, every uniform is a parade dress uniform. #Blender3D #ble… The first few weeks of Jun…AestheticsThe six wives of Henry VIII, in pie…