Lintels and chimneys for low-poly buildings in a #medievaltheater simulation project. #mysteryplay #blender3d #unity3d

Google, AI Announcements, and the Future of Learning

Glenda Morgan does not sound that impressed with Google’s latest promises about AI and education. [T]hus far I am unconvinced that the kinds of tutoring currently offered via AI matches the concept of watching a student’s thought processes and identifying the core issues they aren’t understanding. Instead, AI tutoring today seems to consist of breaking…

Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis

When scholars of journalism study the effects of the shrinking press corps, they usually focus on how it hurts civil society. Vast swaths of the country are at risk of becoming “news deserts,” with limited access to reliable local journalism. This state of affairs makes it harder for people to make educated decisions and is…

Not bad for a couple hours of work. #blender3d #blender3dart #steampunk #neovictorian

Not bad for a couple hours of work. #blender3d #blender3dart #steampunk #neovictorian I painstakingly created every knob and switch as a 3D object two summers ago. Now I can slap these textures anywhere.

“Gen Zers know the difference between rock-solid news and AI-generated memes. They just don’t care.”

Over the past couple of years, researchers at Jigsaw, a Google subsidiary that focuses on online politics and polarization, have been studying how Gen Zers digest and metabolize what they see online. The researchers were hoping that their work would provide one of the first in-depth, ethnographic studies of Gen Z’s “information literacy.” But the…

Paramount Erases Archives of MTV Website, Wipes Music, Culture History After 30 Plus Years

I was never really a fan of MTV, I assume because I grew up without cable TV as a teenager in the 80s, and because I was very busy with grad school and starting a family in the 90s. I didn’t really feel like I had much in common with my “Gen X” cohort (most…

A journalist shot by police while covering the 2020 protests is dying of her injuries

Cops gotta cop, and that means keeping pesky journalists under control. Tirado was 38 in May 2020 when she drove from Nashville, Tenn., to Minneapolis to cover the unrest unfolding after the murder of George Floyd. He died when a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. The city became an epicenter…

Modular support craft from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my now adult children. #blender3d #blender3dart #design #aesthetics

Choice of the Journo: A Branching-path Phone-friendly Role-playing Simulation for Journalism 101

How can a nostalgic, branching-path story-game encourage my 100-level journalism students take risks and learn from their mistakes? Using the ChoiceScript programming language, which features a robust stats system that can remember and respond to player choices, I coded up a “writing your first news story for the student paper” scenario, which unfolds as a…

Memo to faculty: AI is not your friend (opinion)

I was approached on LinkedIn with the opportunity to work to help train an AI, for an hourly wage that’s much higher than I would get for teaching an extra class at my university. I thought about it. I told myself it would help me do my job better if I have a clear sense…

Support the humans who make art in your community. Death of a Salesman. #wirerecorderlife #fountainpenlife #howdotheywhipcheese #nobodydastblamethisman #bernardwormrising

Beautiful set. Support the humans who do arts in your community (instead of settling for AI sludge.)

Vibing to a park saxophonist as I code for an upcoming conference presentation, and wait to see The Coffin Maker. A neighbor is sending some distinctly fruity smoke my way.

Details for a modular mid-range scoutship, from the #steampunk #neovictorian bedtime stories I used to tell my now-adult children. #blender3d

Proper commenting is an important part of coding any project, especially in an educational context. #ChoiceScript #journalism

My basement dehumidifier was flashing an error code. YouTube had a tutorial with a possible fix. The thing is running now. Waiting to see whether the error returns.

Charles Schulz’s Letter About Democracy, Discovered 50 Years Later | KQED

Joel Lipton, 10 years old at the time, wrote to Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz. Fast-forward to this past February, when Lipton and his wife were cleaning out their closet. […] “Dear Joel,” the letter reads. “I think it is more difficult these days to define what makes a good citizen then it has ever been…

That Much-Despised Apple Ad Could Be More Disturbing Than It Looks

Apple has apologized, but like writer Peter C. Baker, I’m not quite ready to let go of that really horrifying ad depicting a roomful of beautifully displayed musical instruments, sound gear, art supplies, and even toys being slowly squashed by a huge hydraulic press (ostensibly to highlight the creative potential of the latest iPad). Picture…

Delightfully geeky news story about a legal kerfuffle over typefaces

I’m very amused at this nerdy news story about some tension between a judge who asks for legible documents and a lawyer who files documents with flasher typography. While I recognize that language changes and the distinction between “font” and “typeface” is unimportant to the general public, I teach my journalism students that historically…

This friendly gangster was parked at WalMart in Johnstown yesterday.