Tagged: technology

From Education Week: Teaching Shakespeare with 21st Century Technology

As much as it helps to attend lectures, heed instruction, and explore themes we have not discovered ourselves but of whose salience we are assured nonetheless, the most enjoyment that Shakespeare has to offer can only be tapped through self-struggle. A kind in which the self not only struggles to develop with the help of […]

From NPR: Put Your Laptops Away

Jame Doubek at NPR aptly begins the title of his article with ‘Attention, Students,’ since that is what his subject primarily concerns. Why are some students more easily able to recall lecture material than others? It is tempting to think this might have something to do with anal-retention; that students who fastidiously take notes like […]

“It’s over, book… you’re an inferior technology”

An amusing comic strip, on how we choose to read: An interesting read may be our article From Scroll to Screen.

What is wrong with TED talks?

Do you like TED talks? Some address issues relevant to the Core, including literature, art, theater, music, education, and choice of curriculum. Many of the talks can be informative and inspiring. However, Benjamin Bratton, a theorist in philosophy, art and design, raises an important point in his TED talk, titled What’s Wrong With TED Talks? He tackles what […]

Vermeer & his photo-realism

Related to CC201’s study of Rembrandt is the mysterious work of Johannes Vermeer, another painter of the Dutch Golden Age. His photo-realism has been a topic of debate – how did he achieve it? Vanity Fair offers some recent speculation. Here is a sample: Despite occasional speculation over the years that an optical device somehow enabled […]

Citizen Science Project Identifies Species By Their Calls

CC106 delves into the current issues with biodiversity. Here is a sample from an article about exciting new technology that battles these issues: Global biodiversity is not doing so well these days, with many scientists even believing that we’re on the brink of the world’s sixth mass extinction. … Simply put: We just don’t know how […]

Losing Longhand?

In a post for the National Post, Andrew Coyne discusses the recent drop in students’ ability to write long-hand, and the potential harms that this could bring. Here is an extract: Typing is file retrieval, remembering where a letter is. With handwriting, you create the letters anew each time, using much more complex motor skills. […]

An Oddly Modern Antiquarian Bookshop

In an intriguing article for the New York Times, Jody Rosen discusses a fascinating but little-known bookstore called Monkey’s Paw, and gives ideas on how such businesses fit into today’s literary world. Here is an extract: “Life-Spark Stories for the Intelligent Young.” Attributed to the author “R. K.,” it tells the story of a “bright […]

Brad Leithauser: Why We Should Memorize

Core classes extensively explore poetry. Here is an essay on the topic of memorizing poetry – whether we should do it, and if so, why and how? An excerpt: Anyone equipped with a smartphone—many of my friends would never step outdoors without one—commands a range of poetry that beggars anything the brain can store. Let’s […]