Raspberry Pi 3 released

Raspberry Pi 3 released

The Raspberry foundation released their newest model of the Raspberry Pi, the Raspberry Pi 3. It is faster than the 2 it replaces, and adds wifi and bluetooth, all for the same $35. The addition of wifi is a big deal. No longer will you have to use one of the USB ports for a…

Twitter’s missing manual

Twitter’s missing manual

I kind of fancy myself as a proficient Twitter user, but after reading through Eevee’s Twitter’s missing manual I realize that I’m still a neophyte. For example: There is one exception to the previous rule: if you’re replying to yourself, you don’t have to include your own @handle, even though clients include it by default. So if you…

All 176 issues of the science fiction magazine IF now available for free

All 176 issues of the science fiction magazine IF now available for free

You can now read the entirety of sci-fi magazine If for free According to BoingBoing, all 176 issues of If have been made available via the Internet Archive, including the ones edited by Hugo Award-winning Frederik Pohl. His greatest contribution to the magazine was, perhaps, the introduction of the “If-first” series, which showcased new authors. A number of…

If you’re not paying for the service, then you’re the product

If you’re not paying for the service, then you’re the product

The state of privacy in America from the Pew Research Center Fully 91% of adults agree or strongly agree that consumers have lost control of how personal information is collected and used by companies. So our online habits are being mined by companies, is that a bad thing? Arguments can go back and forth. For…

Not necessarily creation vs consumption… Maybe creation vs learning?

Not necessarily creation vs consumption… Maybe creation vs learning?

The Useless Agony of Going Offline – The New Yorker During the world’s longest weekend, it became clear to me that, when I’m using my phone or surfing the Internet, I am almost always learning something. I’m using Google to find out what types of plastic bottles are the worst for human health, or determining…

Creating 8-bit characters in Google Sheets for use in student creations

Creating 8-bit characters in Google Sheets for use in student creations

Teaching students to be good citizens and makers requires the knowledge of copyright and of the ability to create your own content. Drawing characters for comics, cartoons, Scratch, etc. can be difficult. Students want their work to look good, and when they can’t draw items that look good, they get discouraged. This past week I…

Write interactive fiction with Inklewriter

Write interactive fiction with Inklewriter

Inklewriter is an online service that allows the user to write interactive fiction. What is interactive fiction? In its simplest form you can think of interactive fiction as the old choose your own adventure books. Inklewriter lets you or your students create their own interactive fiction online. This could be used with students as they author…

Women at Bell Labs in 1967 and women going into the STEM fields today

Women at Bell Labs in 1967 and women going into the STEM fields today

Slashdot linked to an article at The Guardian where Lawrence ‘Larry’ Luckham to his camera to work one day in 1967. He brought a camera into work to capture a day in the life at a company churning out some of the biggest technological advances of the decade The article brought out some interesting theories on the state…