Top-down grading by the prof turns learning (which should be a deep pleasure, setting up for a lifetime of curiosity) into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? how do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need…
I remember some years ago reading an article that used a similar strategy to describe exactly what it would feel like to stand on Mars. One of things Ford wasn’t ready for is the weird smell. “From the [spacewalks] there really is a distinct smell of space when they come back in,” Ford said from…
In many ways, the Times’ blogs are no different from anyone else’s. But there’s one organizational trick they employ very effectively: Division of Labor. Times bloggers don’t work on their own. They don’t handle every aspect of their blogs. Who does what is divided up to bring specific expertise to bear on different parts of…
“Just make sure that you spell everything wrong and swear a lot.” Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids Similar:Nested (procedurally generated game of expanding drop-down lists)A text game that you play by opening fol…AwesomeWithout ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have to be good. It…
The economic reality of working in journalism in the present economy: good people are losing their jobs. For the past several years, largely as a result of free news and classifieds on the Internet, ad revenues and circulation have been sinking for newspapers nationwide. Sun management and their bosses at the Chicago-based Tribune Company, which owns the paper, have…
Clever DVD Verdict review (written by recent SHU graduate Mike Rubino) DM: You pick up Dungeons & Dragons: The Animated Series, and find that it is lighter than expected. Your nostalgia level receives a +5 for the next nine hours and 54 minutes. (Thanks for the link, Josh.) Similar:The Pope's Prayer for Countering "Fake News"Today…
“The more dependent we allow ourselves to become to something like Facebook — and Facebook does everything in its power to make you more dependent — the more Facebook can and does abuse us,” Harmsen explained by indignant e-mail. “It is not ‘your’ Facebook profile. It is Facebook’s profile about you.” — Virginia Heffernan, New…
In 1970, the gap between shows featuring magic and shows featuring more science-based themes is fairly wide, which may be related to the relative cost of producing the different types of shows; Captain Kirk required pricey sets and a makeup crew while Samantha Stevens just needed a film editor and the ability to wiggle her…
If this were a Monday, I might have had my “News Writing” students watch it during class, since many of them are education majors (and a fair number of them admitted they were only in the class because their teaching certificate program requires the course). This is the first time an American president has spoken…
As US newspaper publishers mull charging readers on the Web, a Pennsylvania daily announced plans on Monday to put some content behind a pay wall. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said “PG+” would be a “members-only website with interactive features and exclusive content” available to subscribers for 36 dollars a year or for 3.99 dollars a month.…
Is your Spidey-sense tingling? Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men.–BBC Similar:What About “The Breakfast Club”?I made three movies with John Hughes; wh…CultureMaking Interactive Fiction Mainstream: ReadersJon Ingold describes the gamelike storyt…AestheticsMy undergraduate connects the Leontes/Polixenes conflict in The Winter's Tale to a pro wre…Today’s class on…
A technology win from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Rather and Potter emptied the victim’s pockets of his cell phone and wallet and told the victim to “get out of here,” police said. The victim ran off while Rather and Potter headed toward Fifth Avenue, police said. When officers showed up at the victim’s home, he was…
Listen to a short news broadcast, such as the NPR Hourly News Summary. These stories will typically include audio clips from newsmakers, and perhaps the noise of crowds or nature. But we’re just focusing on the sound of the radio journalist’s voice. Don’t try to sound like “an announcer.” Forget the barking style of voice that radio announcers always…
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[L]ast fall, for the first time in 15 years, Ms. McNeill, 42, did not assign “Mockingbird” — or any novel. Instead she turned over all the decisions about which books to read to the students in her seventh- and eighth-grade English classes at Jonesboro Middle School in this south Atlanta suburb. Among their choices: James…
I’ve long been annoyed by the fact that Verizon hijacks my URL typos and sends me to its own lame search service. The opt-out instructions are designed to look pretty ominous, so I decided I’d call Verizon customer support, and have them do a remote connect to my computer and perform the procedure for me.…
Dude! Your shirt looks just like the blue walkway and the brown sand! How do you do that? From the MailOnline, via. Similar:The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows The researchers found that participants…AcademiaMr. Spock, weren't you wearing blue and black a minute ago?AmusingThe 1931 Histomap: The entire history of the world…
OMG! The prez is in ur internet, killin ur freedomz! The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the…
Tonight on Channel 4 Action News at 11, Seton Hill University students reflecting on what they learned by watching a half hour of local Channel 4 Action TV News. We go now to Channel 4 Action News at 11 reporter Dennis Jerz, with this live Channel 4 Action News at 11 report. I had my…
A couple days ago, I posted to Twitter about hearing a strange whining noise, which didn’t seem to change in volume when I moved inside or outside. Later I realized it was my voice recorder in my fanny pack. So this story hit home with me. Ominous Music Heard Throughout U.S. Sends Nation Into Panic…