Open Source in EducationVarious, via KairosNews) KairosNews has a few good links to articles about the open source movement. “Open Source and Education: A Sea Change?” is a roundup of links to recent “rumblings” on open-source content. Most exciting is the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s report on a multi-million-dollar effort to create an open-source course-management…
Do not use profanity. Be very careful when discussing financial or business affairs. Avoid any mention of your private parts. Do not offer any guarantees, or refer to checks that may or may not be in the mail. | Refrain from describing anything or anybody as “free.” Abstain from the exuberant use of punctuation marks.…
[T]he typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers… —New study shatters Internet ‘geek’ image (CNN) Too bad that the folks…
Would it make sense to create a group blog devoted to teaching English language and literature, one where ideas could be exchanged, resources shared, pointers to already existing sites posted, websites collaboratively created? Consider these questions: What have you created that you’d like to share with others? What have you found on the web that…
—WebWord Returning Soon! (WebWord) John S. Rhodes, whose WebWord.com has been down for several months, is planning to bring it back early in 2004. Hurrah! Similar:In November 2001 I was blogging aboutIn November 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingLet's conſider ſome ſurpriſing old type: "Did you ever hear ſuch a wind-ſucker, as this?"I ſhall always treaſure…
—Virtual Punchcard Server (Facade.com) I found this and a great Tongue Twister Database (if by “database” you mean “long list”) via J-Walk Weblog. Similar:Google Trends: blog, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook (2004-2012)I rather expected this — popularity of …Current_EventsCriminal Code: Procedural Logic and Rhetorical Excess in VideogamesGreat example of the application of well…CultureI can’t fix this broken world…
Sites are getting better at using minimalist design, maintaining archives, and offering comprehensive services. However, these advances entail their own usability problems, as several prominent mistakes from 2003 show. —Jakob Nielsen —Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Alertbox) Usually Nielsen’s blurbs are more informative… the “summary” on his site reads more like a marketing tease.…
Same color palette: greens, blues, and reds on a synthetic base of white. Same kinds of curves and contours, same balance and proportions. Whereas once upon a time toothbrushes were made from a single plastic cast, contemporary models, like contemporary athletic shoes, are built up out of inscrutable deposits of layers and sediment that speak…
In my opinion, Google today is far from the great search engine it was in those far-off days, yet I still use it. Even knowing that it indexes only a small proportion of the web using a technique that too often gives precedence to pages that lack authority or coherence, that it is skewed by…
If there’s a problem with PowerPoint, it’s not that it makes you dumb, it’s that Microsoft has never taken the time to show us how it can make you smart. —Mike Gunderloy —PowerPoint Doesn’t Make You Dumb (ADT Mag) Enough people responded ethusiastically to the NY Times article dissing PowerPoint that I thought it worthwhile to…
Weblog TweakingJerz’s Literacy Weblog) I’ve made a few very minor tweaks to the blog, as I re-familiarize myself with JSP. Will is planning on making some changes to the site soon, and I want to be up to speed so I can more fully understand what he’s accomplished for me. The underlying code that he…
No matter how digital the electronics got, the companies that made the gadgets were still stovepiped; suites of devices worked in perfect harmony – as long as they all wore the same corporate logo. If you managed to force a Sony receiver to work with a Panasonic TV, you lived in a rat’s nest of…
Users are berated and insulted for not having consulted the documentation, but, in many cases, the user can hardly be blamed. The documentation is shoddy, incomplete, and badly organized, if it’s present at all. Exceptions are becoming rarer and rarer.| As documentation decreases in quality, users stop turning to it. As users stop turning to…
[Nothing to quote — which is ironic, considering the page is about literacy.] —America’s Most Literate Cities (U Wisconsin, Whitewater) An interesting find, from my student Julie Young. The website itself is an abomination — all these words are images, so you can’t copy and paste, a search engine won’t be able to find it because…
—News-Images.com Pretty self-explanatory — like Google News but for people who don’t want to read. Found on Slashdot. Similar:When you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a brick wall.AmusingWhat’s Wrong With Being From the South? Just Ask an Academic in the NorthAs an American studying in Toronto durin…AcademiaNew Voices…
Reading the news on a computer may soon be passe. Internet-enabled mobile phones and hybrid devices are fueling the next wave of change, and journalists need to know how to deliver content to these devices. —Vivek Shankar —Reporters, readers get new ways to publish and readOnline News Association) This is some light, friendly PR-style coverage…
There is clearly a need for CSS to be taken seriously by graphic artists. The Zen Garden aims to excite, inspire, and encourage participation. To begin, view some of the existing designs in the list. Clicking on any one will load the style sheet into this very page. The code remains the same, the only…
Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Communication, and Culture (LCC) will offer a Ph.D. in Digital Media, starting fall 2004. The program, one of the first of its kind worldwide, is aimed at educating research-oriented theorist/practitioners who will bring the traditions of the humanities and arts to the design of digital media. Graduates of the program…
The PDA is Dead… Long Live the PDA!Literacy Weblog) The Palm has changed a lot in six years. When I bought mine in 1997 (or was it early 1998?) it was called a “Pilot.” Similar:Look at the adorable little tape casette. Adventure International / Scott Adams Inc. spoke…GamesA.I. Is Getting More Powerful, but Its Hallucinations…
—There is no website configured at this address (Google?!) Aahhh! Somebody tell me there’s a virus on my computer! I don’t want to believe this… I noticed it at about 1:20 am EST. Similar:Jimmy Maher's Appreciation of Infocom's Classic Sherlock Text AdventureI learned a lot while reading this enjoy…BusinessFCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules For 'Open Internet'Verizon…