• Throwback Thursday: The Family Inn

    by  • April 17, 2014 • 0 Comments

    The Olde Bryan InnFrom my parents:
    Our trip to Albany and Saratoga Springs yielded yet another family connection. William Billinghurst married Julia Bryan. Julia’s father came from Massachusetts and settled in the Mendon/Pittsford area (we’re talking late 1700s early 1800s). His brother Alexander went to Saratoga Springs and settled, opening an inn for travelers. The Olde Bryan Inn still stands and we had dinner there (great food if you ever find yourself in Saratoga Springs). In 1832 a stone building was built around the original log cabin inn by son John Bryan and it remained a family home until the early 1900s. Alexander was a hero of the Revolution, credited with spying on the British and warning the Americans of the attack at Saratoga, leading to the American victory there. Alexander is your 1st cousin 8 times removed.

    On the next Tech Talk: Liz Lawley on Playful Pedagogy

    by  • April 15, 2014 • 0 Comments

    Liz LawleyResearch on games and learning have shown us that games can be powerful tools for learning–providing players with the opportunity to learn from and even celebrate failures as part of the natural learning process in a challenging environment. How can universities take advantage of the power of games and game mechanics? It’s not as simple as dropping in badges and leaderboards. Professor Liz Lawley, who teaches in the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Games & Media as well as directing RIT’s Lab for Social Computing, will talk about Just Press Play, a “game layer for undergraduate engagement” that she and her colleagues have designed to enrich the learning environment for undergraduate students. After three years of iterative development and testing, her group will be releasing the software underlying Just Press Play under an open source license at the end of this academic year.

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    This episode will be broadcast live on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at 10am CT. Register @ http://nlc.nebraska.gov/scripts/calendar/eventshow.asp?ProgID=13024.

    Margaret Atwood

    by  • April 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

    Here are my photos and videos from the amazing Margaret Atwood event put on yesterday by the Omaha Public Library. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this event a reality.

    RIP Ubuntu One

    by  • April 12, 2014 • 1 Comment

    Hi, We are writing to you to notify you that we will be shutting down the Ubuntu One file services, effective 1 June 2014. This email gives information about the closure and what you should expect during the shutdown process. As of today, it will no longer be possible to purchase storage or music from the Ubuntu One...

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