enviable stuff

I could go on and rant about the inherent inelegance of storing two essential pieces of a file’s metadata, name and type, in a single field — shackling what Apple proclaims to be “the world’s most advanced operating system” to a metadata limitation of MS-DOS from 1981 — but there’s no use crying over spilled milk.

I am going to miss creator codes.

The fact that students today almost always write for an audience (something virtually no one in my generation did) gives them a different sense of what constitutes good writing. In interviews, they defined good prose as something that had an effect on the world. For them, writing is about persuading and organizing and debating, even if it's over something as quotidian as what movie to go see. The Stanford students were almost always less enthusiastic about their in-class writing because it had no audience but the professor: It didn't serve any purpose other than to get them a grade. As for those texting short-forms and smileys defiling serious academic writing? Another myth. When Lunsford examined the work of first-year students, she didn't find a single example of texting speak in an academic paper.

via Ewan Young and addicted to social networks: and they've never written so much - edublogs

The title of John’s talk by the way comes from Ivan Illich’s ‘Tools for Conviviality’. A copy of the text is here for you to read. John pointed out that he re-reads it regularly and some times he agrees, other times he disagrees with what Illich says. Conviviality, according to Illich is seen as individual freedom and personal interdependence, which sounds oppositional but in fact is exactly what education should be about too.

love the 'some times he agrees, other times he disagrees with what Illich says'

Hi,

I encourage pupils to take a photo, with their own phone, of the computer screen, workshop task, model or whatever they are working on to show their parents/guardians when they get home.

Nick

Nick (URL)

Great idea

Address Longitude and Latitude in Google Maps

Google maps does not show the Longitude and Latitude of an address you search. To get this information, enter this piece of JavaScript into you browsers address bar and hit enter:

javascript:void(prompt('',gApplication.getMap().getCenter()));

A little window will then pop-up displaying the Longitude and Latitude for you. Bingo!

[Editor's note: If you add this to your bookmarks toolbar, it's even easier to use. Just click it whenever you're on Google Maps. Hat tip to Phil Balchin.]

Very handy indeed

via @lizbdavis

What today's young people know is that knowing who you're writing for and why you're writing might be the most crucial factor of all.