Balloon Boy Dad: "Absolutely No Hoax"

When Heene appeared, he instead simply displayed a box into which he invited the media to submit questions, to be answered this evening. —CBS Well, he’s managed to extend his fame by another 15 minutes. Similar:Yes Virginia the Musical coming to ConnellsvilleCarolyn Jerz may be only 11 but is alrea…Current_EventsFake News Can Be Deadly. Here's…

Alright, already! Sheesh.

  Similar:This long-nelected CD-ROM case tucked away behind my monitor holds almost as many portable…Personal“Thank you for being kind.” —Friday afternoon email from a student who’d been a little sal…PersonalThe girl is intrigued by the plot twists in _The Mayor of Casterbridge_.PersonalMidterm Grades Submitted.AcademiaTwitter is testing a tool for reporting fake & offensive contentIt’s risky…

The End of the Email Era

When people can more easily fire off all sorts of messages–from updates about their breakfast to questions about the evening’s plans–being able to figure out which messages are truly important, or even which warrant a response, can be difficult. Information overload can lead some people to tune out messages altogether. Such noise makes us even…

The first action heroine

In the figure of the coltish, resolute Sigourney Weaver, Alien may just be the film that overhauled the old, unreconstructed horror genre and dared to put a woman centre-stage. Because make no mistake: a horror movie is what Alien is. “It’s basically a haunted house film,” explains the critic David Thomson. “The only difference is…

Tips on Writing a Literary Book Review

I’ve asked students in my “Writing about Literature” class to write a book review, in order to establish a connection to the literary world outside the classroom. The Purdue Online Writing Lab has a brief handout, Writing a Book Review, which begins by explaining the difference between a “book report” (written for the teacher who…

Alice and Kev

Robin Burkinshaw has finished Alice and Kev, an interesting exercise in computer-assisted storytelling, using screen shots from The Sims 3 to tell the story of a homeless father and daughter. Originally the story was told serially, with a few posts a week; then there were a few very long gaps, but the story is finished…

Insidious pedagogy: How course managment systems impact teaching

Course management systems (CMSs), used throughout colleges and universities for presenting online or technology-enhanced classes, are not pedagogically neutral shells for course content. They influence pedagogy by presenting default formats designed to guide the instructor toward creating a course in a certain way. This is particularly true of integrated systems (such as Blackboard/WebCT), but is…

The Simpsons on Classroom Technology

Full episode. “Text ‘uncle’! Text ‘uncle’!!” “But why talk… when I could text?” “That text was totally worth the 15 cents it cost to receive it!” “Then Zach Skyped us, liveblogged our spelling bee, and friended us on Facebook!”“Faculty lounge talk out in the halls?” Similar:The Benefits of No-Tech Note TakingI quibble with The Chronicle…

Walkthrough (Zork Funk)

Walkthrough pifieErrol Download this MP3 Directly Similar:Cave Gave Game: Subterranean Space as Videogame Place | Electronic Book ReviewElectronic Book Review just published an…AcademiaPrototypes in Technical Writing: What are They?Many a high school student has muddled t…AcademiaI played hooky from work to see Wild Robot with my familyI played hooky to go see Wild Robot this…AestheticsCanadians…

The Fiction Generator

All kinds of awesome metatronics going on here. Similar:Why Photojournalism Matters World Series: Chicago Tribune & th…AestheticsMerchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytimeDramaCNN's Chris Cillizza on Trump's definition of "Fake News"Here’s some excellent analysis of Trump’…CultureMore Evidence That, to Trump, "Fake News" Means Critical NewsNothing really new here, just calling at…Current_EventsStop Using 'Poet Voice'This…