tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105986682024-03-07T23:04:49.263-05:00Textual Coordination: Blogging Writing Technologies & ProcessesI study mediated writing processes -- how people use stuff like software and Post-It notes while writing. This blog is a junk-drawer for ideas related to my research. Learn more in my <a href="http://textualcoordination.blogspot.com/2005/02/academic-para-site.html">first post</a>.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-24580211511034802572010-11-04T17:39:00.000-05:002010-11-04T17:39:41.292-05:00Ambiguous Hashtag (which, incidentally, will be the name of my next band)I got the meme wrong. A friend on Twitter used the <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23tweetyoursixteenyearoldself">#tweetyoursixteenyearoldself</a> hashtag. Wanting to play along, I <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/slatts/status/29691467379">posted</a>,<br />
<blockquote>In basement, drumming along to tape 2, side 2 of Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. #tweetyoursixteenyearoldself </blockquote>See, I read it as "tweetASyoursixteenyearoldsef" so there I am tweeting something I'd likely have been doing at the that age. Apparently the meme is more "tweetTOyoursixteenyearoldself" so I should have said something more along the lines of "Hey, you should listen to something other than classic and prog rock, there's a lot of other good music out there." Most of the posts are advice about lightening up, avoiding the mistakes of youth, etc. But I like my take on the meme better. :)Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-10338332859051909342010-10-01T18:46:00.000-05:002010-10-01T18:46:29.893-05:00What it takes to complete a textbook request form...<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well in advance of each new semester, faculty members are asked to indicate what textbooks students will be required to purchase. A surprising amount of texts need to be coordinated to fill in a textbook request form. For mine, just submitted, it was:</div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>Email transmitting the new form</li>
<li>New textbook request form: the document I'm "writing"</li>
<li>Last semester's textbook request form: to copy/pasting textbook info</li>
<li>Publisher's website: to see if a new edition will be available</li>
<li>Amazon pages (3): to gauge cost to students</li>
<li>University Class Schedule: to check section numbers, course cap </li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, and I ended up having to email the publisher rep to ask about the new edition's ISBN. To inform her of the spring semester start date, I had to look that up as well (USFP website). We had a few additional exchanges about an an electronic exam copy, which would require re-setting my password on the publisher's "for faculty" access. Then I emailed the admin assistant back.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, in total, 16 documents were needed to write a little under 100 words in a new form and transmit that form back to the admin assistant.</span></div>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-61005404835470955842009-03-10T19:23:00.004-05:002009-03-10T19:29:06.466-05:004Cs Presentation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www1.ncte.org/cccc/program/speakers/?pid=5841"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae_v40zrpUZkwcRxYEHi8fePsdLuI-buCFf5rB0As3P_dY4bP_LUgg8PcrNxx7-bCcHHY7b2jY0dz91NkEjIY8Vj51hblOnV3D645lobcq1V10AcXg2vLF60D55Oc6x9Ncj6W/s320/slattery_CCCC2009_poster.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311720263096239506" border="0" /></a>Saturday, March 14, 2:00-3:15 p.m.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">O.14 Plagiarism and Intellectual Property</span><br />Franciscan C, Ballroom Level<br /><br />Chair: Gail Offen-Brown, University of California, Berkeley<br /><br />Speakers: Patricia Ackerman, Kansas State at Salina, “Navigating the High Seas of Academic Integrity in College Writing Centers”<br /><br />Frank Gaughan, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, “Cheat.com: Plagiarism, Technology, and the End(s) of Education”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shaun Slattery, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, “Beyond Binaries: Teaching Intellectual Property in the Writing Classroom”</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-80822439091745473052008-12-15T18:00:00.002-05:002008-12-15T18:05:33.086-05:00IT wishI often find myself re-naming files, making them more meaningful to me to aid in retrieval later. Sometimes, this causes problems, especially when trying to coordinate work with others or because the file has effectively been given different names.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'd like to be able to add a variety of meta-data to files, such as project name(s), participant names, importance level, and topic tags. </span><br /><br />I've got a couple hacks to get at this functionality. Often I'll create shortcuts to files that live in various folders, effectively enabling the file to be invoked in varying project-based contexts.<br /><br />Solutions, thoughts, additional hacks? Please comment...Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-27797301062051579792008-10-07T15:25:00.003-05:002008-10-07T15:52:36.714-05:00A word for thatThanks to <a href="http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html">AWAD</a>, I now know there's a word for the back-borrowing of design features. Their entry puts it best:<br /><h3> </h3><blockquote><h3><a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/skeuomorph.html">skeuomorph</a> </h3> <div style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-weight: bold;">PRONUNCIATION:</div> (SKYOO-uh-morf) <a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/skeuomorph.mp3"><img src="http://wordsmith.org/words/images/sound-icon.png" alt="" width="32" align="middle" border="0" height="24" /></a> <p> </p><div style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-weight: bold;">MEANING:</div> <i>noun:</i> A design feature copied from a similar artifact in another material, even when not functionally necessary. For example, the click sound of a shutter in an analog camera that is now reproduced in a digital camera by playing a sound clip. <br /><br /> <div style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-weight: bold;">ETYMOLOGY:</div> From Greek skeuos (vessel, implement) + -morph (form).<br /><br /> <div style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-weight: bold;">NOTES:</div> A skeuomorph can be employed for various purposes. Since people are used to the click sound of a camera as feedback that the picture has been taken, it is now artificially-produced in digital cameras. Other examples are copper cladding on a zinc penny (for familiarity) and wood finish on a plastic product (for a more expensive look). </blockquote>As a word nerd, I particularly dig the etymology, but the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph">W'pedia entry</a> gives a more thorough description and several other examples.<br /><br />I enjoy the tension between utility and familiarity. Sometimes the skeuomorph is superfluous, merely decorative -- a designerly harkening back to the design that informed it. Other times, there's a usability component -- the copper coat on a zinc penny, while not technically necessary, would seem to prevent a lot of errors. And I know some users who find it helpful to hear their digital camera "click".<br /><br />And I am SO going to incorporate a skeuomorphs-hunt activity in my New Media Studies classes! If you think of any, please comment.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-29674496345725165902008-06-25T16:44:00.003-05:002008-06-25T16:50:25.306-05:00News on the Digital DivideFrom the <a href="http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/newsservice/NS_details.php?release=080619_3591&page=NS">press release</a> reporting on a University of Minnesota study of Internet use among high school students:<br /><blockquote>First-of-its-kind study at the University of Minnesota uncovers the educational benefits of social networking sites<br /><br />Study also finds that low-income students, contrary to recent studies, are in many ways just as technologically savvy as their counterparts </blockquote>(But a brief Baltimore Sun <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.letters02j0jun02,0,7657670.story">article</a> on broadband subscription is less optimistic.)Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-13414709552769079112008-06-23T17:41:00.003-05:002008-12-08T22:33:05.262-05:00Narcissistic Text AnalysisHere’s a word-frequency cloud of <a href="http://condor.depaul.edu/%7Esslatte1/publications/Slattery_dissertation.pdf">my dissertation</a> courtesy of <a href="http://wordle.net/">Wordle.net</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFeg4MumDf-6JVyd_x7PhWWQ73MJblLzb0GAZte0KNUWQ0nkNSbLcvgjw-mbpbtM62CB9YRWg2bFHenxcqcUjhBu49TJwdsoG-bcVAuP3D7b6lPNoj-HDglansyMT8MdKr7dP/s1600-h/diss_cloud.PNG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFeg4MumDf-6JVyd_x7PhWWQ73MJblLzb0GAZte0KNUWQ0nkNSbLcvgjw-mbpbtM62CB9YRWg2bFHenxcqcUjhBu49TJwdsoG-bcVAuP3D7b6lPNoj-HDglansyMT8MdKr7dP/s400/diss_cloud.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215211645929928850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-75843809991776055352008-06-03T11:35:00.002-05:002008-06-03T12:01:36.225-05:00Tools of the TradeLove, love, loooove Chicago's <a href="http://www.threadless.com/">Threadless</a> Tee's. Like this one in particular:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.threadless.com//product/805/zoom.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://media.threadless.com//product/805/zoom.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/product/805/Tools_Of_The_Trade">http://www.threadless.com/product/805/Tools_Of_The_Trade</a></span>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-9173652699724240372008-05-30T16:59:00.002-05:002008-06-02T17:00:08.231-05:00Podcast InterviewI was interviewed by Craig Roth, Service Director for Collaboration and Content Strategies for <a href="http://www.burtongroup.com/">Burton Group</a>, about technology and writing processes. Check it out:<br /><br /><a href="http://podcast.burtongroup.com/ip//2008/05/content-autho-1.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Content Authoring and Enterprise 2.0</span></a>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-41413406257838361842008-05-30T16:35:00.005-05:002008-12-08T22:33:05.539-05:00I can see the handwriting on the... handThere are several Flickr groups dedicated to writing on one's body(and <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/414865@N25/">wrists</a>!) <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/drawonme/">temporarily</a> or <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/wordsonskin/">per</a>m<a href="http://flickr.com/groups/bodytype/">ane</a>n<a href="http://flickr.com/groups/dermatographic-urticaria/">tly</a>. I'm always interested in notes, scribblings, lists, and temporary texts, though I've never been one to write on my hands. Here's an <a href="http://www.worldwidefred.com/todotattoo.htm">interesting product</a> for those so inclined...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-Kina3MdIO2F7H5NQ96SSB0Pi2tUZ6SHZTca55HCTb3icqPDbp9L70IH5mRW6Yx1IWZ-ZyGSSnpg8JsU4KbtElnvI3ERi95K-5UdnoZ8KUR7DjHKzyxgTcsRqGQd18zBLjR_/s1600-h/todotattoo_648.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-Kina3MdIO2F7H5NQ96SSB0Pi2tUZ6SHZTca55HCTb3icqPDbp9L70IH5mRW6Yx1IWZ-ZyGSSnpg8JsU4KbtElnvI3ERi95K-5UdnoZ8KUR7DjHKzyxgTcsRqGQd18zBLjR_/s400/todotattoo_648.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206293087782631762" border="0" /></a><br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/24/todo-list-temporary.html">BoingBoing</a>]Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-61277791967383613272008-05-12T17:26:00.003-05:002008-05-19T20:16:39.515-05:00texting the videoI'm geeked about this video:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6kxDxLAjkO8&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6kxDxLAjkO8&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />From <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/05/12/again-and-again-the.html">BoingBoing Gadget</a>,<br /><blockquote>Digital filmmaker Dennis Liu has produced a video for the <a href="http://www.thebirdandthebee.com/">The Bird and the Bee</a>'s lovely single "Again and Again," in which the lyrics, melody and vocals unspool in surprising ways across his Mac's desktop in a beautiful visual harmony... ending in an artfully delightful pimping of the band in question that makes buying the track on iTunes almost hypnotically compulsory.</blockquote>What amazes me is the seductive familiarity of the applications streaming across the screen. How it highlights the "you can do it"-ness of new media, plays with the many creation/editing/publishing tools we have, literally at our fingertips. I dig how it includes dialog boxes and mundane widgets like calendars, virtual post-its, and clocks along with text/image/video editing software. I like that includes drop-down menus, audio visualizations and screen savers. I like, I like, I like! (I'm also a <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=11931628&blogID=250146265&Mytoken=28059FCC-B09A-4B24-AF23AB801D64AD5964960305">sucker</a> for the twee pop.)Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-91491362859296331872008-04-21T20:16:00.003-05:002008-04-21T20:32:09.378-05:00Passive vs. Active ResearchI spend a lot of time thinking about how the presence of computers (& Internet access) can and ought to change classroom practices. I had <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">not </span>thought about how the Internet might change comedic <a href="http://rhetoric.byu.edu/canons/Invention.htm">invention</a>. Reading <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/132796/output/print">this</a> Newsweek interview with my favorite comic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Izzard">Eddie</a> <a href="http://www.eddieizzard.com/home.izz">Izzard</a> changed that:<br /><strong></strong><blockquote><strong>You mentioned Wikipedia. Has technology made you a better or a different comic than you otherwise would have been?</strong> <br />I think a different comic. I never used to research anything. I used to let research come to me. I used to sit there watching telly, and a program about sharks came on and then I'd know about sharks. Now you can say, "Sharks, how do they work?" Then you go online and find out that they haven't evolved in 2 million years—which means they're very happy where they are just killing and killing. Also I can do gigs and just advertise on the Internet. In fact most of this tour was just put out on the Internet first.</blockquote>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-84952039705772371652008-04-17T14:12:00.003-05:002008-04-17T14:34:17.344-05:00Non sequiturI just got a catalog for <a href="http://www.levenger.com/">Levenger</a>. As someone with a penchant for office supplies, I enjoyed perusing the pages of fancy pens, desk accessories, and their analog-cool <a href="http://www.levenger.com/POPUPS/HowTo.asp?PageID=4493">note cards-organization system</a> (the <a href="http://www.franklincovey.com/fc/get_organized">FranklinCovey</a>'esque descendant of the <a href="http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda">hipster pda</a>). But it was their <a href="http://www.levenger.com/pagetemplates/navigation/Preview.asp?Params=category=322-323%7Clevel=2-3%7CSortMethod=0%7Cpagecount=%7CView=All">pads of specialized paper</a> -- or more specifically, their argument for its benefits -- that was blog-worthy. Seems interruption (<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4958831">1</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/magazine/16guru.html">2</a>, <a href="http://knowledgeforward.wordpress.com/category/interruption-science/">3</a>, <a href="http://textualcoordination.blogspot.com/2008/03/cory-doctorow-on-interruptive-media.html">4</a>) is being invoked to shill paper.<br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why Levenger paper may help you think better</span><br /><br />How tempting it is online to switch from email to spreadsheet to Internet to document, each time interrupting your flow of thought. Paper, on the other hand, has a way of grounding you, even as your thoughts race across the page. Focusing on the paper in front of you—especially well-designed, high-quality stock—can give you more time to stay with your thoughts.<br /><br />Try the paper method for at least some of your note-taking and see what—and how—you think. It may lead you in new direction.</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>The paper is cool; it's the argument I don't buy.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-5360812960446963582008-03-27T17:22:00.003-05:002008-03-27T17:38:06.966-05:00Cory Doctorow on Interruptive Media<span class="gray header biggest"></span><a href="http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=479&doc_id=149350&">The Pleasures of Uninterrupted Communication</a><br /><blockquote><span class="bigsmalltallline"><span>I love communicating too much to be interrupted. Whether I'm writing an essay or a novel, composing an email, or chattering with someone by voice, the last thing I want is to be given a jolt of useless adrenaline every time something new lands in my queue... </span></span><span class="bigsmalltallline"><span>The mature information worker is someone who can manage his queues effectively.</span></span></blockquote>Would that I were so disciplined. But he's right. Effective information work does take some personal habits and intervention in default settings. In addition to shutting down auto-alerts, I like non-distracting streaming audio that helps the time pass as I write -- mostly innocuous <a href="http://www.di.fm/">techno</a>.<br /><br />Here's a link to Clay <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Spinuzzi's</span> nice <a href="http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/search?q=interruption">summary of work on fragmentation</a>.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/27/interruptive-media-v.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">BoingBoing</span></a>]Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-59058301555233736552007-12-12T21:05:00.000-05:002007-12-12T21:11:55.375-05:00w00t!It's official. Gaming lexicon is becoming mainstream.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Merriam-Webster's word of '07: 'w00t'</span> [<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year"></a><a href="http://www.m-w.com/info/07words.htm">M-W</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Word-of-the-Year.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">NYT</a>]<br /><br />I've been using it in IMs for a while now, and if faculty are using it, it sure ain't street anymore.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-46111062113297160972007-11-26T21:58:00.000-05:002007-11-26T22:03:55.480-05:00<a href="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/reading_level.aspx"><img style="border: none;" src="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/readinglevel/img/genius.jpg" /></a><br /><br />[Caveat: no info on how "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_level#In_writing">reading level</a>" is ascertained]Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-29821753263455311902007-11-26T19:37:00.000-05:002008-12-08T22:33:05.879-05:00Personalized Sharpie Markers -- Want!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlriJiiAeGU08JgYZNHW5lpinFCoX4v54YqT3BKrHgVIMt1RURbq2826brdFctEjTeaMQMlpha6Wb7bUwWa7CRwtRCa0mZoPKiviv7FvahHf4h7Bp0WiS47WCwNRhn-dkby7V/s1600-h/sharpie_custom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlriJiiAeGU08JgYZNHW5lpinFCoX4v54YqT3BKrHgVIMt1RURbq2826brdFctEjTeaMQMlpha6Wb7bUwWa7CRwtRCa0mZoPKiviv7FvahHf4h7Bp0WiS47WCwNRhn-dkby7V/s400/sharpie_custom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137313737991804546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.mysharpie.com/">Product page</a> [via <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/26/personalized-my-shar.html">BoingBoing</a>]Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-1133900579187740272007-09-18T18:43:00.000-05:002007-09-20T14:45:45.132-05:00Before there was 1337 speak...An <a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/04/17/old-words-get-new-meaning-in-queer-trade-lingoes/">interesting post</a> on the jargon of various trades at the <a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/">Modern Mechanix</a> blog, "<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">OLD WORDS GET NEW MEANING IN Queer Trade Lingoes</span>" from the February, 1933, Popular Science. The section on "Ham Jargon"bears some resemblance to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet">1337 speak</a>, for similar reasons of efficiency.<br /><blockquote>Since his language is generally talked via the air in dots and dashes, he has been driven to cut everything clown to the “bones. “Old man” becomes OM; “young lady,” YL; “nothing doing,” XD; “see you later,” CUL; and “fine business,” FB.</blockquote>I'm <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">totally </span>going to start using "FB" in my chats.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/04/17/old-words-get-new-meaning-in-queer-trade-lingoes/"></a></div>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-8836700899301974522007-09-17T12:16:00.000-05:002007-09-17T12:18:17.268-05:00dudes, I need professor adviceQuestion from friend via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Are we confirming or ignoring friend requests from our students?</span><br /><br />My response:<br /><blockquote>Because I teach about writing, new media, online culture, and professional communication, I see Facebook as an extension of my teaching. I accept student friend requests because participating online like this is part of my pedagogy. Therefore, I seek to model good, professional, ethical online participation and "friending" them and allowing them to see how I manage my online identity as *part* of my professional identity is in my teaching perview. For those who teach in other areas, the purpose and boundaries are less clear. It's up to you. If you do deny them, however, I'd include an explanatory note that you are using Facebook for personal reasons and I'd change my settings so only friends can see your content. I think we're either all in or we have to use social networking spaces privately.</blockquote>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-50888664775339259392007-07-20T15:41:00.000-05:002007-07-20T15:48:18.213-05:00WinTabber -- at long lastMy students frequently hear me rant about technologies I dislike. One of my longest-standing complaints is that Windows won't give me control over the order in which programs appear in the task bar at the bottom of the screen. For some reason, the order of that workspace is important to me, but I can't drag the tabs to order them as I would have them. To get the order I so desperately crave, I tend to open programs in a particular sequence -- but you're out of luck if you want to move anything.<br /><br />A former student emailed me a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/software/featured-windows-download/add-tabs-to-any-program-with-wintabber-277478.php">Lifehacker post</a> about <a href="http://wintabber.com/">WinTabber</a> to let me know there was a solution.<br /><br />Is it bad that my techno-rants are so vitriolic that former students send me emails about them?Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-40730211861884831722007-06-10T18:48:00.000-05:002007-06-10T19:01:54.453-05:00Firefox's "Restore Session"I've known for some time that Firefox is a brilliant tool. They've proved it once again in their recent upgrade with the new "Restore Session" functionality. Turns out I'm <a href="http://www.bennadel.com/blog/400-Bravo-To-FireFox-s-Restore-Session-Feature.htm">not the only one</a> who thinks so.<br /><br />When Firefox crashed while trying to open a .PDF (fellow blogger Ben's problem too), it gave me the option of restarting with all the previous tabs I had open. How <span style="font-style: italic;">useful</span>!<br /><br />Reading the <a href="http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore">Knowledge Base description</a>, I learned I can "Always restore sessions on start". Also useful. Because currently, each time I start Firefox, I open (in purposeful sequence):<br /><ul><li>A tab for streaming Internet radio (now playing: <a href="http://www.di.fm/">Digitally Imported</a> / Chillout)<br /></li><li>Gmail</li><li>Hotmail</li><li>Weather.com/Chicago<br /></li><li>school stuff (usually, *ugh*, Blackboard)</li><li>a Google page for various searching</li><li>whatever task I'm currently doing (1-, like, 20 tabs)<br /></li></ul>That's <span style="font-style: italic;">each time</span> I start Firefox. How smart to automate that process. Thanks F'Fox!Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-39313316186541453182007-02-13T18:49:00.000-05:002008-12-08T22:33:06.361-05:00Automated Self-promotionThe <a href="http://www.ncte.org/cccc/conv/">4Cs conference</a> is coming up... They wrote recently to tell me they had automatically generated <a href="http://www.ncte.org/cccc/program/speakers/?pid=20142">this announcement</a> to help me self-promote. So here we are...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQia8E4-X1f_G2JjoXYKBV4MTXUatPo32UtXnsTwutOjn6IzrHUsirUbur_PjllpChI1V0jqo6f7QpIMpjydeNOdF5gJK37gJWqh_42W10Ty3WzImUUwEtlDOHpg2Ths0YxZjM/s1600-h/slattery_4cs_announce.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQia8E4-X1f_G2JjoXYKBV4MTXUatPo32UtXnsTwutOjn6IzrHUsirUbur_PjllpChI1V0jqo6f7QpIMpjydeNOdF5gJK37gJWqh_42W10Ty3WzImUUwEtlDOHpg2Ths0YxZjM/s320/slattery_4cs_announce.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031171847699021378" border="0" /></a>Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-41781913728156024872007-01-24T17:52:00.000-05:002007-01-24T18:15:10.190-05:00GrammarSeveral recent discussions of grammar have highlighted for me people's concern for grammatical correctness. My Writing in the Professions class just read "The Politics of Grammar and Usage" in John Bean's <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Ideas-Professors-Integrating-Education/dp/0787902039">Engaging Ideas</a>. The recent <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/22/grammar.girl/index.html">CNN.com</a> coverage of the <a href="http://grammar.qdnow.com/">Grammar Girl</a> blog just came across the <a href="http://www.attw.org/">ATTW</a> listserv. A short article in last month's <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/start.html?pg=10">Wired</a> (scroll down) answers the question, "Chatting online is ruining my kids’ spelling and grammar. Should I stop them from doing it?" And I just learned that Purdue's <a href="http://owl.english.purdue.edu/">Online Writing Lab</a> is serving more pages than ever before.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-59718895218284252512006-12-15T10:14:00.000-05:002006-12-15T10:18:01.957-05:008-bit Post It FunAs often as I use Post-It Notes, it never <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">occurred</span> to me to do this:<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC_-Nx2CWR4"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC_-Nx2CWR4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC_-Nx2CWR4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />[*cough*cough* Need to clear the dust and cobwebs here. The <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">diss</span> is complete, so more posts soon!]Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10598668.post-64543823528195256312006-09-20T17:51:00.001-05:002006-09-20T17:51:14.181-05:00Ruled paper for writing Arabic<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaleissin/147639272/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/54/147639272_6941ae78f9_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" > <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaleissin/147639272/">Ruled paper for writing Arabic</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/kaleissin/">kaleissin</a>. </span></div>Learning to write on lined paper when we are very young tends to make those lines feel so Authoritative -- rigid, constant, unvarying.<br /><br />Different writing systems require different kinds of lines. The lines come <span style="font-style: italic;">after </span>the writing. But when they are given to us before we can write in order to help constrain our wobbly letters, they feel like they came before.<br /><br />On a related note, I've experimented with writing of a variety of kinds of paper -- ruled, college ruled, graph, engineering graph, blank... None of them have any effect on my writing. I write all over the damn page, draw diagrams wherever I please, send arrows careening 'round the page to connect thoughts. And there hasn't been a line invented yet that can constrain <span style="font-style: italic;">my</span> wobbly letters. My penmanship suggests mercury poisoning.Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984791643849983908noreply@blogger.com0