Scraping and Republishing Full Content from Other Blogs

A blog called “literacyintheclassroom.com” seems to be scraping the full content of my blog and republishing on their site. If this post shows up on literacyintheclassroom, we can assume a bot is mindlessly reposting whatever it finds on my site, which seriously calls into question what real value literacyintheclassroom offers. If this post does not…

iPad Usability: Year One Jakob Nielsens Alertbox

A year after our first usability study of iPad apps, it’s nice to see that iPad user interfaces have become decidedly less wacky. It’s even better to see good uptake of several of our recommendations from last year, including apps with: back buttons, broader use of search, homepages, and direct access to articles by touching…

Its Not the Technology, Stupid! Response to NYT “Twitter Trap” | HASTAC

The industrial age worked hard to separate “work” from “home.”  Everything about the common or public schools started in the mid-nineteenth century reinforced that division:  from the school bell ringing for each child at the same time of day, of each child entering school at age 6 whether they were ready or not, about sitting…

WordPress duplicate images driving me crazy

I’m using the Atahualpa Theme with WPTouch Pro. When I view pages with my iPad, I get a strange double image. Similar:StoryNexus: building your own adventure gamesIf you’re a veteran gamer you’ll remembe…CybercultureStill More FaceTime FunI realize that video-chatting teenagers …MediaWhy is Elon Musk attacking Wikipedia? Because its very existence offends him So, the sight of…

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:Furious Trump orders officials to boycott correspondents' dinnerTrump spent the morning insulting the ne…CultureDarmok (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 2) Picard of the Federation, His Metapho…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureSchool ditches rules and loses bulliesSwanson…

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:With actor Ken Bolden, who appears in Quantum Theatre's gripping (and hilarious, and shock… Mix the paranoia of 1984, the absurd…CultureIt's such a privilege to introduce these young people to Shakespeare's body of work.After starting my 200-level “Shakespeare…AcademiaIs it…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:Geometry and color maps for wooden desk tray. #Blender3D #practiceThe blue image is a “normal map,” which …AestheticsStarting my “Writing about Literature” class by having students react to a John Donne sonn…PersonalMy colleague Dr. Cusick bakes Irish soda bread every…

“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:In March, 2002, I was blogging about…In March, 2002, I was blogging about …BusinessDr. Seuss Racism Controversy: A Dr. Seuss Expert Unpacks the Author's History With Racism,…Nobody is banning,…

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:Journalists prefer plain language.AestheticsResearch Before Google Books (from 2006)Me: It took a few days for the spool of …AcademiaLawyers who won Happy…