“I get it,” the professor for my short-story course said, going over the syllabus on the first day of class. She was referring to her cellphone policy, which is basically a have-some-sort-of-decorum-I-beg-you rule. She asks us to be polite and use our good judgement. “This is second nature to you guys,” she said, holding an […] … learn more→

This is not so much in response to Mary Flanagan’s essay, “The Classroom as Arcade,” recently published by Inside Higher Ed, which features a vivid observation of a student in class who “check[ed] out from a class he likes” to play a role-playing game on an electronic device while others “openly engaged with their Facebook […] … learn more→

Don’t read technology blogs? Then a new innovation in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMPORGs) may be passing you by. Perhaps, like me, such games have never been of much interest to you. Or perhaps they haven’t been able to hold your sustained attention. So why should you care now? Because, as I have discovered […] … learn more→

It’s early morning, you’re preparing for the day ahead and thinking about life’s important conundrums. Is there enough muesli left for the week? Do you have enough time to catch the bus? Are you going to meet that looming deadline at work? How are we going to continue improving electronic technology beyond today’s generation? OK, […] … learn more→

As more companies start providing computing services, look for ways to sell their products and services to consumers, the delivery of computing and storage capacity is expanding like a storm on the horizon. It\’s no longer a service reserved for the government, big businesses and smartphone elites. In fact, colleges and even elementary and secondary […] … learn more→

It’s very clear that the computer and the Internet are revolutionizing almost everything that we do. From shopping to entertainment, newsgathering and dissemination, and on to education, almost all of the services and things we used to be able to do only in “real life” we now are able to do virtually. There is a […] … learn more→

The Chinese agricultural success story is not only distorted, but it is being misapplied in Africa. As Sub-Saharan Africa grapples with high food prices in some regions and famine in others, many experts argue that increasing food production through a program of hybrid seeds and chemical inputs is the way to go. This approach, marketed […] … learn more→

According to Friday’s edition of the Huffington Post (dated 10.28.2011), I noticed an article written by L. Graves describing potential changes to be made with existing stimulus funding and its loans.  It turns out that Washington D.C. and the White House are in the process of fully reviewing, monitoring and controlling financing that have been […] … learn more→

Technology can be a tricky thing to handle. You might know how to make iPads, but that does not necessarily mean that you know how to use them. Universities are another case: they are the primary source of technological innovation but less good at making the leap to apply it to what they do best […] … learn more→

An initiative aimed at ensuring South Yorkshire leads the way in supporting women to succeed in science, engineering and technology, was launched recently at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Research Manufacturing Centre (AMRC). Female engineers, universities and businesses gathered at the event which marked the South Yorkshire launch of the Smith Institute report, which highlights […] … learn more→