When I first saw the tweets flowing about the iPad presentation I was skipping, I half-jokingly said what I’d rather have is a Timex/Sinclair 1000.
But it was a weird moment, because I then went and go a link to an image of the TS-1000 and it all came flooding back. It was a huge [...]
Jan
29
2010
29
2010
The iPad and the Timex/Sinclair 1000
Jan
27
2010
27
2010
Belated Realization About the Romance of Mobile Learning
I just realized that everything I said below about the Apple Tablet and newspapers applies almost directly to Higher Education and mobile learning.
I think it’s quite likely the reason that mobile learning is consistently overhyped, despite its obvious defects, is that implicit in the image of a student watching a lecture on his phone in [...]
Jan
27
2010
27
2010
The Real Reason That Newspapers Think the Apple iPad Will Save Them
It’s really amusing to watch newspapers and magazines talk about how the Apple Tablet will save them. Here’s an fun example:
Should Steve Jobs introduce Apple’s tablet (the iPad, iSlate, iTablet, or perhaps iBook) at the company’s press event on Wednesday, the device will likely contain a number of features: users will be able to play [...]
Jan
22
2010
22
2010
The Internet is a Human Rights Issue Except When It's Not
Hillary Clinton, yesterday:
In a sweeping, pointed address that dealt with the Internet as a force for both liberation and repression, Mrs. Clinton said: “Those who disrupt the free flow of information in our society or any other pose a threat to our economy, our government and our civil society. Countries or individuals that engage in [...]
Jan
13
2010
13
2010
Artificial Scarcities
A good friend of mine asked me what I thought of the Lanier article in the NYT. Well, first reaction is that I’m sick of this media narrative:
“Person X was once part of the Digerati. Now they have have turned against it! The fact that they were for it before and are now against it [...]
Jan
13
2010
13
2010
Writing to Top Desired Skills in AAC&U Report
The newest AAC&U employer poll will be released next week, and the AAC&U has said that written and oral communication will, for the first time, surpass collaboration as the skill most desired by employers.
What I would love to see teased out, though, is what kind of writing employers (and students!) want. I’ve never been docked at [...]
Jan
8
2010
8
2010
Stealing Whuffie
Just a short thought from the car-ride to work today.
If we are moving to a reputation based economy, where one’s ability to make a living is based on their network reputation, stealing attribution is a far greater crime than stealing intellectual property. The newspaper reporter who does not link to the blog that actually broke [...]
Jan
7
2010
7
2010
PLN and Media Literacy at Age 10: What's There (and What's Not)
I thought I’d put this up a year ago, but it looks like I never did.
Basically I filmed my daughter talking about this game Castle Crashers she plays and how she uses the web to figure things out about it.
A bit of background — Castle Crashers is a side-scrolling beat-em-up game that is playable in [...]
Jan
6
2010
6
2010
The Mystery of Self-Esteem Part II
Thinking about the Murder Mystery study (below) and technology… and maybe about self-esteem in general.
We knock the focus on self-esteem now, because we confuse it with the specific practice of telling kids that they are smart at every opportunity and expecting that to make them smarter. So what passes for debate on “The Self-Esteem Question” is really [...]
Jan
4
2010
4
2010
Self-esteem and Murder Mystery Resolutions
Fascinating psychological study:
To investigate determinants of mystery enjoyment, a short story was manipulated to produce different levels of uncertainty regarding two suspects’ criminal involvement (low vs. high uncertainty) and to create different resolution types (denouement, confirmation, and surprise). Participants’ (N = 84) reactions and enjoyment were ascertained via questionnaires after [...]