10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly

I have seen a lot of very talented people fail because they couldn’t, or didn’t, write. And some much less talented people (I see one in the mirror every morning) have done OK because they learned how to write. —Michael C. Munger, Chronicle Here’s a tip that does a good job explaining a concept I’m…

Banner Fail — Failblog.org

see more Epic Fails Similar:In journalism, nuances such as "sources tell us…" "reportedly…" "it appears…" "confi…I don’t click on headlines that use word…CultureAngry 10yo Edits the Paper Heart She Gave Her MotherAestheticsAnother NewsBreak.com Exclusive Exposes a Royal Family Lie #FakeNewsYou sheep who trust the lamestream fake …AmusingA certain potions instructor is done with everything after…

Turnitin.com technical support email?

A great usability strategy, keeping their website so free of clutter like the email address for technical support. Gotta save that valuable screen real estate for the links to the big PDF manuals that haven’t been updated since the upgrade. tiisupport@turnitin.com Once again, that email is technical support for turnitin.com. Just in case you want…

iTunes Sending Receipts to Wrong Email

My university set me up with a trial Mobile Me account, and on the set-up day when I created my iTunes account, I was told to type in the Mobile Me address, so I did.  I never used the service, though my receipts for iTunes purchases showed up there.  A year later when the service…

The Chariot

Similar:Lego faces are getting angrier, study findsThe headline is hype. How about “Lego fa…AestheticsStudent: “Just wanted to let you know that your class has benefited me outside of just lit…In my online class on literary dystopia,…AcademiaA trend story about millennials, by The New York Times“When it comes down to it, life is reall…AmusingifMUD IF discussion…

What is it like to learn programming with Scratch?

Let my students tell you. Similar:Facebook Should Pay All of UsThe trick is that most people think they…BusinessFacebook’s Instant Articles restore subscription options they previously strippedThe ability to serve content faster than…BusinessThe super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypse This was probably the wealthiest, most…BusinessFor some reason, I saw a bump in traffic…

Are standardized tests biased against students who don't give a sh*t?

Beware… Salty language. In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don’t Give A Shit? Similar:How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expertKids who got low scores, I was told, got…CultureA new study shows that students learn way more effectively from print textbooks than scree…Saving this for next term’s…

10 Vintage Apple Ads That Time Forgot [VIDEOS]

Awful, awful Apple TV ads. Similar:Portraits of my 11yo: Pretty, Goofy, and Pretty GoofyAmusingYour verbs have been lost and will be invisible until sentence author revision.The marketers and programmers at Google’…CybercultureBrought my in-progress #blender3d project into the #unity3d gaming engine. Plenty of frust… AestheticsA new study shows that students learn way more effectively from print…

Scratch Stats

Scratch is a kid-friendly programming sandbox, designed by MIT in order to introduce kids to computer science concepts. I’ve been using it with my own children for a couple years, and am currently using it as a gentle introduction to development, for an upper-level class designed for the “New Media Journalism” program. Similar:Schiller schools internet…

The Poynter Institute's Seminars

 I’m teaching a “New Media Projects” course, which aims to explore the connections between communication with words (linear, narrative) and communication with programming (interactive, procedural). Out in the wider world, The Poynter Institute hosted this session this week. I’m glad to see the profession moving beyond digital cameras and blogging. Programming for Journalists / Journalism…