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:Author of 80s classic The Hobbit didn't know game was a hit The Hobbit stood out from the advent…CybercultureAn Hour of Monastic Silence in Media Studies Class (plus an awesome drum solo)I announced that my 300-level Media and…

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:It's “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” 111th birthdayInteresting introduction to the history …BooksStar Wars' Original, Scum-Caked BrillianceThe B-movie shoddiness of actors and aes…AestheticsNovel defined: a term used by some students to mean “any text we study in English class”AcademiaHow it feels…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:Another 40sq cm chunk of a #steampunk control panel. I'll do three more variations followi…AestheticsVibing to a park saxophonist as I code for an upcoming conference presentation, and wait t…Vibing to a park saxophonist as I code f…PersonalPict Classic Theatre…

“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:What Miley Cyrus Did Was Disgusting — But Not For the Reasons You Think | Anne TheriaultI still have not seen the “performance” …AcademiaIn December 2000, I was blogging…

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:Pagers, Pay Phones, and Dialup: How We Communicated on 9/11For much of the day, those aboard Air Fo…CultureHard Time #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch…

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:Headlines: Why editors matter in journalism.Headlines are important. (Send an editor…AmusingMe waiting for students to drop by during office hours. AcademiaDissecting a Frog: How to Write a Humor PieceAnalyzing humor, as E.B. White famously …AmusingGirl Moved To Tears By Of Mice And…

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…