Storytelling: Video games’ next killer app

A decent introduction, with rich links. Nothing really new, though. The problem, as experts like Ultima creator Richard Garriott and Infocom veteran Steve Meretzky explain in a recent documentary, is that gaming is a relatively young field. Game makers still haven’t mastered their craft the way artists, playwrights and filmmakers have. When compared to more…

Serious Games SIG

A note on the conference room door says the Serious Games SIG will be meeting at the Bedford party. I was actually kind of looking forward to attending the SIG instead of the party. Oh, well. Similar:My big brother and my son facing off at chess. I am outclassed!  GamesThat time three-year-old me spotted a…

Crossing Our C’s: New Media Communication, Composition and Creative Writing

Here are my rough notes, almost liveblogged (posted when I passed through the lobby and had momentary access to WiFi). Laura K. Smith, journalism; TV news background and PR. English and communication arts program. Journalism and j-education going through turmoil as the profession changes in life-altering ways. Technology, convergence, multi platform; changes in our revenue…

Designing Education: What Video Game Designers and Rhetoricians Can Learn From Each Other

Overheard as people settle in… “Are we ARGing or LARPing?” These are my rough notes, very lightly edited. Looks like 50 or 60 people — a good crowd. Liz Losh and Bonnie Lenore Kyburz are presenting in separate panels elsewhere… I hope somebody’s blogging there. Chair Matt Davis Samantha Blackmon Designing Education: What Video Game…

Rubrics, Peer Response, and Student Self-Assessment

These are very rough notes; not liveblogged, but posted as I walked through the lobby and got a free wifi connection. SRO Scott Geisel, “Analytical Steps toward Creating Self-Sufficient Writers: Rubrics, Peer Response, and Self Assessment” (Comp and business writing.) There isn’t much research into peer review. Cindy Selfe: “I can’t believe we’re still asking…

Story of the Week; Contextualizing Bartleby

Just stumbled across the wonderful “Story of the Week” web page, from the Library of America (publishers of the ubiquitous black-with-a-red-white-and-blue-ribbon classics). The current run of baseball-themed stories aren’t really my thing, but the archives go back to 2009. Further exploration of the site led to this thoughtful response to “Bartleby the Scrivener,” a precursor…

Still More FaceTime Fun

I realize that video-chatting teenagers everywhere already know this, but last night, while holing up in my hotel and preparing for the Conference on College Composition and Communication, I checked in with my family by video call. My wife, who usually doesn’t really care for computers at all, was interested enough to hang around for…

Where’s my gravity gun?

At the Mariott Marquis in Atlanta. A citadel of formed concrete. I’m in a Half Life 2 state of mind. Your browser does not support the video tag Similar:'Arrival' Is Smart, Stylish Sci-Fi About Language, Not Laser BeamsThe premise sounds quite interesting. Re…CultureThe eagles in Lord of the Rings are a plot hole, but also…

Tech Woes

I wore out my key to the media cabinet. It snapped right off in the lock. Similar:Mars Is a Hellhole: Colonizing the red planet is a ridiculous way to help humanity.Some of Elon Musk’s stunts have caught m…BusinessWithout ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have to be good.…

J.K. Rowling Is Now Considering Harry Potter e-Books

The move would transform the electronic market and add to Rowling’s already impressive net worth. J.K. Rowling is considering releasing digital versions of her lucrative Harry Potter books. Though she has declined eBook deals for years, her agent Neil Blair now says, “The e-book format is now something that is being actively considered,” according to the…

YouTube – Complete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris

via YouTube – Complete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris. Similar:Writing That Demonstrates Thinking Ability While reflecting on my semester for …HomeMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignThe Dadliest DecadeThe eighties, at least, were drenched in…HomeI can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in Nov 2000 …BusinessSchadendrücke: Click-shameHomeA…

iPad vs. Netbook for a 1:1 | EdReach

Here’s an interesting reflection — are iPads worth the extra cost, when compared to netbooks? EdReach says no. (More on that later.) At Seton Hill, students get a very nice MacBook (and they trade up after two years), as well as an iPad. It’s been great being at a university that is so supportive of…

YouTube – Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911

Okay, this one was cute, too.  Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911. Similar:Bird flight simulator. The boy goes for altitude and distance, the girl does stunts.In the bird-flight simulator at the Pitt…CybercultureChoose wisely… you have the power to turn this wrap into a sandwich or a candy bar… or…AestheticsOut of the Zuckersphere, (back) into the…

Gmail Motion BETA

One of the better April 1 gags I’ve seen in a while. Love the “lick a stamp and place it down” gesture. Gmail Motion BETA. Similar:Shakespeare’s Choose-Your-Own AdventureIf meeting three strange ladies in the s…AmusingPlagiarism Today Plagiarized in a Plagiarism Atonement EssayJonathan Bailey writes: In short, Bello…BooksPassage: a Gamma256 video game by Jason RohrerGrand Text Auto…