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:Fall 2021 Grades Submitted Mission accomplished.AcademiaHow the printing press changed “you”: when reading changed, so did writingThis was before the printing press, so b…BooksThe Rise of "Synthespians"”Mr. Serkis is the human actor behind th…ArtThe Duolingo owl has…

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:Trees (an "Interpretive Travesty")A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed Ag…AestheticsLessons from the Covington Catholic FlashpointMy social media network includes people …CultureImagine all the people. Just reading their damned syllabus.These are not the rhetorical choices I w…AcademiaI felt a…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:My 11yo, of the opening chapters of a YA novel with an orphan heroineMy 11yo, of the opening chapters of a YA…BooksDaughter Carolyn plays Cherry in Prime Stage's production of The Outsiders (Mar 6-15)My daughter Carolyn plays Cherry in Prim…BooksAfter…

“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:Apology of Socrates, By PlatoAristotle classified Plato’s work, repre…AestheticsThat’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.AestheticsJoe Biden gives the media a desperately needed lesson about…

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:Adding a little Middle-Earth drama to a photo shoot.The girl was concerned she wasn’t nerdy …AestheticsA #neovictorian master status display board for…

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:Oh No, Performers Coming Into AudiencePITTSBURGH—Audience members at the Bened…AmusingThe Defector (ST:TNG Rewatch; Season Three, Episode 10) Cold War Brinksmanship, via Shakes…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…CultureTeaching Snapshot: First Amendment FreedomsAcademiaUnemployment rates for recent college grads: Overall, 5.8%; Computer science, 6.1%; Comput…The…

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…