The angry, polarized state of American politics came up a lot in the news media over the weekend as we all tried to make sense of Saturday's tragic shooting in Arizona (e.g., here's a view from Europe). So when I happened to watch Brene Brown's 20-minute TED talk last night about "The Power of Vulnerability," I was surprised and grateful for her reference to politics at the end. It was a big ah-ha … [Read more...] about After a tragic shooting, help from a social work researcher
Archives for January 2011
Student multitasking: Erase or embrace?
First, before I get into multitasking as promised in my last post, a public service announcement: Read From Fear to Facebook: One School's Journey, by middle school administrator Matt Levinson. I wish it could be required reading for every parent, teacher, administrator, district official, school board member, and employee of every state and federal education department in the country! It's not … [Read more...] about Student multitasking: Erase or embrace?
Thoughts for a new year (in the digital age)
Why isn't it good for us to be subjecting ourselves to the constant realtime stream of lightly fact-checked "news," talking heads, and the social drama of school or work? Not so much because of findings like those reported this week in The Telegraph, after all media (including radio and TV, not just Facebook and cellphones) were taken away from volunteers for 24 hours – findings that are … [Read more...] about Thoughts for a new year (in the digital age)
Today’s engine of innovation: Videogames, not military
Remember the military-industrial complex? Now it's the entertainment-industrial complex. For centuries the military drove tech innovation; now videogaming does, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary by author and former hedge-fund manager Andy Kessler. "That's right – every time someone fires up a videogame like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft, the state of the art in technology … [Read more...] about Today’s engine of innovation: Videogames, not military
Attorneys sanctioned for cyberbullying
I hope no parent thinks cyberbullying is just "kid stuff." Before we can really expect our children to put a stop to it, we adults will have to stop modeling social aggression ourselves! Case in point (no pun intended): "Two Florida lawyers who called each other a 'retard' and 'scum sucking loser' in escalating email insults [over six months] have been sanctioned by the state supreme court," the … [Read more...] about Attorneys sanctioned for cyberbullying