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:Leonard in Slow Motion (9min video)Leonard exists in slow motion but lives …AestheticsThe Outsiders — four sold-out weekday matinees; four more performances this weekend So proud of my talented, hard-working …BooksNetflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ adaptation breaks cycle by not filming in PittsburghVery glad to see another of August Wilso…BusinessIn May, 2000, I was blogging about…

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:Pipe Trouble’s government…

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:The Outsiders –…

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:Schiller schools internet on correct Apple device plurals, but Cook says "iPad Pros"”Siri, is the world ready for Apple pod …CybercultureThe Ensigns of Command (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 2) Data plays MacGyver to sa…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaHappy retirement celebration to two dear colleagues.AcademiaOut & About: Stage Right holds its annual Heart…

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:Another 40sq cm chunk of a #steampunk control panel. I'll do three more variations followi…AestheticsAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. Trying to add a subtle pattern to…

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:Writing skill matters in the workforce.BusinessClickbait Tactics Drive the Writing of Headlines on ABC NewsI probably should not…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:TARDIS from today's 3D printing class.AestheticsBlender 3D Flyover of Fantasy Steampunk Spacecraft When my kids were small, at bedtime …AestheticsLooking forward towards the wardroom (center) and the officers' pub, the Gear and Hea…AestheticsThe Evolution of 'Star Trek'(Infographic) | Space.comThe first 45 years of Star Trek (in an a…DesignParallels (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 11)…