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:Ian Bogost Has Won a HuffPo Badge for his Anti-Gamification Comment on HuffPo Daniel Donahoo: Gamification in Educ…AmusingNational Mall site approved for memorial to fallen journalists Federal officials have approved a site…CultureThe YouTubers who…

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:1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell's 1984Long before the Apple ad, and Michael Ra…CultureBig Calculator: How Texas Instruments Monopolized Math ClassMy math education predated the widesprea…BusinessFriday night. What am I doing? #partylikeaprofAcademiaAcademic study concludes that teaching kids…

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:Author of 80s classic The Hobbit didn't know game was a hit The Hobbit stood out from the advent…CybercultureThe karyotype of Pimelodella cristata (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) from Central Amazon ba…Some scholarly journals have a more rigo…AcademiaTime in AP Style: The exact…

Seussical: Stage Right Homeschool Production

My 13yo was Horton the Elephant and my 9yo was the Sour Kangaroo (with attitude). Similar:Sold out show today. Carolyn gets tomorrow off, then a final week.PersonalOpening night! So great to see live local theatre.PersonalComing of Age (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 18)Rewatching ST:TNG A character-heavy e…MediaAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #design…

“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:Save our children from the Grammar TribeSimilarly, “dived” is the traditional pa…CultureIn Which I Bow Before the Mistress of Teen SnarkThe Girl: I’m sorry I’m being so… Me:…CultureNerdy Rainbow…

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:Ultimate Infographic Design Guide + Design Tricks – VenngageThis website is selling something. You c…AestheticsGambit Part 2 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7,…

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:My undergraduate connects the Leontes/Polixenes conflict in The Winter's Tale to a pro wre…Today’s class on The Winter’s Tale was v…DramaHalf a Life (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 22) Lwaxana Meets CogsworthRewatching ST:TNG The teaser sets up an…CultureThe ‘Liar’s Dividend’ is…