Information systems need to have information in order to run, but information underrepresents reality. Demand more from information than it can give, and you end up with monstrous designs. Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, for example, U.S. teachers are forced to choose between teaching general knowledge and “teaching to the test.” [...]
- It’s not done loading yet? – It’s gotta take time, we’re at Manual Arts not some suburban school.
First he raked until the grounds were spotless. Then, in a gesture pregnant with wabi-sabi overtones, he shook a tree trunk, causing a few leaves to fall. Wabi-sabi, as evidenced here, is clean but never too clean or sterile. (from here) Not a lot to add here, yet, other than the fact that I’m wondering [...]
I’ve embedded my slides for my AERA presentation, “Can You Hear Me Now?: Student Voice in the Battle For Cell Phone Use in a Less Than Receptive School” below. I’ve reused some of these slides for various presentations at this point and I feel ready to retire most of this for something newer on the [...]
I wanted to share a couple of recent videos that I’ve been rewatching. First, while I don’t agree with all of Jane McGonigal’s arguments, I’m genuinely excited by her recent TED talk. At this point, I am strongly aligned with the idea of connecting game play to real world change. You could do a lot [...]
Fascinated by the fact that San Quentin State Prison is on Yelp. Though it looks like this started out as a snarky joke, I’m loving the re-appropriation of the space for conversation about prison conditions and tourist mentality. In some ways I think having students look at review sites like Yelp as sites of civic [...]
Overall, I can say I was both impressed and pleased with the way the Digital Media and Learning Conference went. It was certainly one of the more exciting conferences I’ve dragged myself to in the past few years. I think the interdisciplinary nature of DML made for much richer conversations than the kinds I find [...]
I’m in the process of slowly weaving various conferences into my teaching/studying/dog-walking schedule. This Friday I’ll be participating in the Digital Media and Learning Conference in San Diego. I’m speaking as part of a session titled “Orality, Pedagogy, and New Media: How Children Develop Self-Awareness and Collective Consciousness.” I’m pasting the info below. Registration is [...]
I’ve been thinking about the viral videos that stuck with me over the year. They’ve become less of surprised hamsters and klutzy candid camera mishaps and adorable kittens doing crazy things. Instead, the videos I typically find myself drawn into are the videos of pastiche, remix, and co-authorship.* Underground MC, Nyle, for instance took an [...]
The current issue of XChange, published online by UCLA’s Center X is focused around “Media & Techno Literacies.” There are some tremendous resources up there for current teachers as well as plenty of readings to peruse. The “Rethinking MySpace” article I wrote a while ago can be found here along with a brief introduction about [...]