Teaching with iPads: Motivation, Inspiration and Alienation in the Appleverse

Here are the slides for the half-day workshop I presented with my colleagues, Laura Patterson and Christine Cusick. Similar:A Christmas Carol (WAOB Audio Theatre)Marley was dead. (I voice the narrato…BooksOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaWhat It Was Like to Watch the Beatles…

Making Writing Socially Engaging: Asking Why New Media Draws Us In

[View the story “Making Writing Socially Engaging: Asking Why New Media Draws Us In” on Storify] Similar:Why fake news worksFake news works on our emotions, usually…CybercultureHow iPhone Apps Steal Your Contact Data and Why You Can't Stop ItNothing really new in this article, but …BusinessIt's a lie that having zero assignments to mark means I…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:On a little afternoon walk with my son.HealthCan't upload photos to Facebook from my MacBookI spent 30 minutes trying to upload abou…CybercultureiMovie Glitch: Unplug Removable Media before Using iMovieI spent a few hours today working on a v…CybercultureIn June, 2002,…

“Scary Things”: An Address to the Class of 2011 — The Goreletter — Michael Arnzen

Mike Arnzen posted his weird and wonderful address to graduation seniors. “Scary Things”: An Address to the Class of 2011 — The Goreletter — Michael Arnzen. Similar:Advice to a recent journalism graduate* The best stories are the ones you find…EthicsSaints and Poets, Maybe They Do SomeI wrote the following in 2004, when my s…DramaThat gut-wrenching…

Another Nerdy Lord of the Rings Post

I just got an email from Amazon saying that typos and omissions in my Kindle edition of The Lord of the Rings have been corrected, and I can opt to receive the updated edition for free. However, like a certain similarly magical gift that I’m sure we’re all thinking of right now, this boon comes…

Bacon Starry Night Meme

I’ve no idea where the “Bacon Starry Night” meme comes from. Other than Vincent Van Gogh, and bacon, of course. My wife asked whether there is a bacon “The Scream.”  Not yet, apparently. Similar:Just a #neovictorian avatar in spats and a tailcoat, checking out the back porch and bridg… AestheticsNo I didn’t exactly *plan* to…

The New York Times Makes The Nerdiest Correction Ever – Featured on BuzzFeed

The New York Times Makes The Nerdiest Correction Ever – Featured on BuzzFeed. Similar:When In Academia – WHEN A COLLEAGUE KEEPS TALKING ABOUT ‘DIGITAL HUMANITIES’:When In Academia – WHEN A COLLEAGUE KEEP…AmusingDo you remember Harry Monster counting with adorable little John-John? Watch this 2 min cl…https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/15…AmusingCNN Reports On The Promising Future of the Steubenville Rapists,…

Helping students engage with challenging texts

Based on the constructivist theory of learning suggesting that students make sense of new information by joining it with information they already have, his guidelines suggest that students begin with a quick pre-read, in which they underline words they don’t know but don’t stop reading until they reach the end. They then would follow up…

Hillary Clinton edited out of Situation Room photo by Hasidic newspaper

Take a look at the photo published above, famously snapped in the Situation Room as the U.S. raided Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. The astute viewer will notice that, like some sort of sexist version of Highlights magazine, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been Photoshopped out of the picture (not to mention Counterterrorism Director Audrey…