Quirk Classics #2: Book Trailer

A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. Similar:How to Annoy Your Parents (Smurfs, Tweety, Jar-Jar and Ewoks)   http://www.youtube.com/wat…AmusingIan Bogost Has Won a HuffPo Badge for his Anti-Gamification Comment on HuffPo Daniel Donahoo: Gamification in Educ…AmusingAdvent of Digital Humanities Will Make English Departments Pointless — New RepublicDon’t overreact to the headline, which i…AcademiaHow Not To Make…

Pronouns Must Agree in Number with Referents

Clearly by “Them” the sign means “dogs,” but the since the sign refers instead to “Your Dog,” so it was already in need of some attention even before this alteration took place. Via Bryan Alexander. Similar:Writing Tips for Critical Thinking  Critical Thinking Matters Pers…AcademiaVerizon's $4.4 billion deal for AOL sends AOL stock on a tearVerizon…

We Choose the Moon

A website will re-create the 1969 moon mission in real time (allowing for the 40-year time lag).  http://wechoosethemoon.org/ Similar:War via TikTok: Russia's new tool for propaganda machine “This is the way they go to war; it’s …Current_EventsGrumpy Gamer – Happy Birthday Monkey IslandI guess Monkey Island turns 25 this mont…CybercultureTwitterverse, are we grieving over coder…

Views: The Case of the Disappearing Liberal Arts College – Inside Higher Ed

The gradual, and almost invisible, transformation of many “liberal arts colleges” to more comprehensive institutions is similar to another gradual trend that has reshaped the composition and the work of the American academic profession. Over the past three decades, colleges and universities have replaced tenure-track faculty positions with part-time and full-time term-contract positions — a…

Google to launch operating system

A roundup of the initial reactions, via BBC: “One of Google’s major goals is to take Microsoft out, to systematically destroy their hold on the market,” said Mr Enderle. “Google wants to eliminate Microsoft and it’s a unique battle. The strategy is good. The big question is, will it work?” At the popular blog, TechCrunch,…

Steampunk Gears and Hearts

I tell my kids steampunk bedtime stories about the adventures of Captain Rod Gearhart and the Magnificent Blimpship. Since I also enjoy playing with Blender 3D, it seemed natural to make these clockwork heart decorations. (My wife offered detailed pointers to tweak the one on the right.) Similar:I have more to do than mark 99…

Coding as a General Education Requirement? Reflections on Inform 7 and Scratch.

At the recent Computers & Writing conference, I found myself, in the Q & A during several sessions, strongly advocating coding skills as a 21st-century core literacy.   (See Ian Bogost, Procedural Literacy. In the following reflection, I talk mostly about my use of Inform 7, but I also touch on Scratch.) Here at Seton Hill,…

The Difference Engine…a steampunk adventure

This bit of educational theatrical fun sounds awesome! Via. Travelling from past to future through a landscape of machines and ideas Walk the Plank and Thingumajig Theatre have created an interactive journey through the courtyard of Manchester’s Town Hall. The audience will help inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage find the clues to repair his Difference…

MI6 chief blows his cover as wife's Facebook account reveals family holidays, showbiz friends and links to David Irving | Mail Online

The Facebook epic fail isn’t just grist for the teen angst mill. It also affects the head of the British secret service. Via. The new head of MI6 has been left exposed by a major personal security breach after his wife published intimate photographs and family details on the Facebook website. Sir John Sawers is…

Let e-Readers Be e-Readers: Let's not turn them into all-purpose devices until we get the reading details right.

From a thoughtful review of the Kindle: The Kindle DX’s five-way joystick is quick, convenient, and expertly designed. (Plastic Logic’s touch screen really isn’t markedly better than using Amazon’s joy stick, but that’s because the touch options are fairly rudimentary.) The problem is the dearth of good places to direct the cursor. That’s a real…