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:Started Making a Journalism Game in TwineFor a long time, I’ve thought about crea…GamesPaparazzi-proof clothing that's embedded with reflective glassThis article featuring reflective clothi…BusinessMeet Our Advisor: Dennis Jerz “Journalism is an imperfect human ac…AcademiaHacking the Attention EconomyThe…

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:Stapler jam during a midterm exam.My years of watching MacGyver definitely…AcademiaEncyclopedia Smithsonian: Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812 When he saw “by the dawn’s early light…AestheticsiMovie Glitch: Unplug Removable Media before Using iMovieI spent a few hours today…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:The Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son once methodically s…AmusingSalesman at Pittsburgh Public Theatre. PersonalMy college writing students are out making short videos responding to a prompt.While my students are out of the room…

“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:Stem subject snobbery: a student’s view on why arts subjects matterWhile everyone complains about the subje…AestheticsEdgar Allan Poe Was a Broke-Ass Freelancer – The MillionsHis despair is only part…

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:A trend story about millennials, by The New York Times“When it comes down to it, life is reall…AmusingThe woman and the car:…

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:Ethics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 16) Leaky cargo barrel-1, Worf-0.Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is paralyzed i…CulturePower Play (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 15) Troi, Data and O'Brien Take Host…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise foll…CultureFormer Setonian editor-in-chief Amanda Cochran visits my journalism…

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…