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

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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

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What is it like to learn programming with Scratch?

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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:Checking sources back in 2006 involved using this *steampunk* contraption.Research Before Google Books AcademiaThe Google Classroom TeaseJoshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed: “Google Cl…AcademiaReading should not carry a health warningThis is probably the first time in histo…AcademiaDigital literacy is different…

10 Vintage Apple Ads That Time Forgot [VIDEOS]

Awful, awful Apple TV ads. Similar:Shades of Gray (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Two Episode 22) Forgettable low-budget clipshowRewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaStandardized-test robo-graders flunk“According to professor of theory of kno…Academia"We Need to Be More Vigilant With What We Trust From the Internet." –Fake PresidentFrom Buzzfeed: Sitting before the Sta…CybercultureTechnology won’t fix America’s neediest schools. It…

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:Twitter Cheat Sheet…

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…