Ericast 140 - Your 'Internet Hug'

What a fun episode. Fun, fun, fun. That's all I'm sayin'.

Okay, I'll say one more thing: I swear I didn't know how this podcast was going to come together as I built it. Didn't have a clue about the undertones of popcorn and Chloe that run throughout. Amazing. And it all started with an outtake...

While I'm at it, the not-yet-official site I'm experimenting with is flavors.me/emlarson, so check it out and tell me what you think about the concept overall and the two different competing "lifestream" versions that I'm toying with. (Its RSS imports do seem to lag, which is frustratingly odd...

And don't forget the "Is Technology Making Your Students Stupid?" article:

A. There's a study called "The Laptop and the Lecture" that divided a class into two sets. One-half of the students could use their laptops in a classroom while listening to a lecture. They were free to surf the Web. And the other half had to keep their laptops closed. And then there was a test of comprehension. And the students who used their laptops scored significantly lower on the comprehension test for how well they could remember the content of the lecture. An interesting twist was that students who visited sites relevant to the content of the lecture actually did even worse on the test than students who browsed unrelated sites. It indicates that, even if you think that allowing students to look at other information relevant to what they're being taught might enhance their learning, it actually appears to have the opposite effect.

Never heard of a Google Jockey? There you go; a new term for you!

And, while I'm at it... famous assasinated World War I figure of the podcast is Archduke Ferdinand, and I stand by my assertion that the causes of World War II are more complicated than the simple answer of "Hitler."

On that cheerful note... 206-339-3742 or e-mail to me (eric) at emlarson.com to add to the conversation!