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:Exodus From an Elsevier Neuroscience JournalOne of the world’s largest…

Walkthrough (Zork Funk)

Walkthrough pifieErrol Download this MP3 Directly Similar:Defiant (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 9) Riker visits DS9, and it's he who's …Rewatching ST:DS9 After an overworked…EmpathyWhy Twitter’s Dying (And What You Can Learn From It)Someone who thought Twitter was da bomb,…BusinessAmazing McDonald's "Maestro Burger" CommercialJaw-dropping. So creative and joyful. …AestheticsThe Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet…

The Fiction Generator

All kinds of awesome metatronics going on here. Similar:See How Vaccines Can Make the Difference in Delta Variant’s ImpactHere’s a great NYT “interactive” story t…DesignThe AI Mirror Test: Why Even the Smartest People Keep Falling ShortWhat is important to remember is that ch…CultureEnjoyed watching the restored version of the hugely influential 1927 sci-fi movie #Metropo…Enjoyed…

Federal Judge Rules Video Games are Protected "Expressive Works"

On Wednesday, a federal district court in Los Angeles dismissed Brown’s claim against Electronic Arts for the use of his image in its Madden NFL series. Judge Florence Marie-Cooper essentially found that video games are “expressive works, akin to an expressive painting that depicts celebrity athletes of past and present in a realistic sporting environment.”…

Online Books, Poems, Short Stories – Read Print Library

A good collection, on a well-designed page. www.readprint.com Thanks for the suggestion, Josh. Similar:NASA's Perseverance lander brought some Easter eggs with it to MarsIt’s a bit of a stretch to call this Ted…AwesomeThe Secret Power Of Black TwitterA recent Pew study (Smartphone Ownership…CybercultureDetailed Articulation of Feet in Unity3DI’m following a lot of tutorials, and co…AestheticsCaptain…

The 15th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition

>get text games Similar:Taking Harassment Seriously Requires Serious DistinctionsEditor and columnist Jonah Goldberg ques…CultureThe State Of Media EmploymentThis is why I require my “new media jour…Business‘Not good, not nice’: At Florida rally, Trump says China has ‘targeted our farmers’They weren’t the most newsworthy part of…Current_EventsAll those fights over late-ar­riv­ing mail bal­lots were much ado about…

Everyone Appreciates a Little Boost

I just got a phone call from the parent of a prospective student I spoke with on a campus visit over the summer.  The student has decided to come to Seton Hill, and the parent told me that the time I spent talking with the family over the summer was a major factor. (I’m sure…

Clockwords – Unique Word Game

A fun, free steampunk word game. Too bad I have to work today… Similar:‘There’s a certain madness to it’ … fans await new chord in John Cage gig with 616 years l…The organ composition is called “As Slow…AestheticsThe disinformation system that Trump unleashed will outlast him. Here’s what reality-based… Highlights from a column by Margaret…

Transcendentalism Today: Echoes of Walden, online and in the classroom

Our students are transcendentalists, but they don’t know it. Speaking metaphorically, Thoreau writes “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.”  Rather than treating children as wild creatures that needed to be tamed and civilized, Thoreau seesorder and meaning in nature, which is threatened, worn down, and buried by civilization.…