The Writing On The Wall

Good penmanship is more than just a quaint skill. A new study shows that it's a key part of learning.

By Raina Kelley | NEWSWEEK | Nov 12, 2007 Issue

clipped from www.newsweek.com Many educators say yes, for reasons having nothing to do with thank-you notes. Handwriting is important because research shows that when children are taught how to do it, they are also being taught how to learn and how to express themselves. A new study to be released this month by Vanderbilt University professor Steve Graham finds that a majority of primary-school teachers believe that students with fluent handwriting produced written assignments that were superior in quantity and quality and resulted in higher grades—aside from being easier to read. The College Board recognized this in 2005 when it added a handwritten essay to the SAT—an effort to reverse the de-emphasis on handwriting and composition that may be adversely affecting children's learning all the way through high school and beyond. Emily Knapton, director of program development at Handwriting Without Tears, believes that "when kids struggle with handwriting, it filters into all their academics.

World Usability Day

Think of this day next time you try to figure out the self-checkout aisle!

clipped from www.worldusabilityday.org "Making Life Easy!" World Usability Day was founded to ensure that the services and products important to life are easier to access and simpler to use. The focus for World Usability Day 2007 -- November 8, 2007 -- is healthcare. Whether it's new medical devices or technologies; drug research, approval, or delivery; patient forms or medical record sharing; emergency disaster planning; increasing the functionality of hospitals; or everyday healthcare delivery, EVERYONE is affected by usability in healthcare.

JibJab Animations Starring You!

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!The masters of pixel-based puppeteering have made it easy for us to insert unsuspecting loved ones into hilarious productions.

(This is my wife and myself dancing very similarly to how we perform at weddings!)

10 Ways to Improve Your Press Releases

These helpful tips are great for drafting many other communication tools, too. Brochures. Take-aways. Instructions for your kids.

clipped from www.visualthesaurus.com There are many voices calling for the death of the press release. What is needed is not execution but reform. I wrote a moby-post on my blog listing 62 Ways to Improve Your Press Release. Here are ten suggestions that relate to the process of writing (other tips deal with managing the process and alternatives to press releases):

Sunny Side of the Brain

clipped from features.us.reuters.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Imagine receiving a big chunk of cash in the future. Or winning a prize. Chances are, such optimistic thoughts are coming from two places in the brain that play an important role in enabling people to, as the old song says, accentuate the positive, New York University scientists said Wednesday. Pinpointing the brain regions involved in optimism and positive thinking about the future, the researchers said, may also have shed light on what might be going wrong in people with depression. The researchers used sophisticated brain imaging to track brain activity in 15 young adults -- seven men and eight women -- while they asked them imagine future scenarios. They included getting a lot of money, winning an award, going to a birthday party or ball game or the zoo, being lied to, the end of a romantic relationship, going to a funeral and others.

Animator vs. Animation

Artist's Comments:

An animator faces his own animation in deadly combat. The battlefield? The Flash interface itself. A stick figure is created by an animator with the intent to torture. The stick figure drawn by the animator will be using everything he can find - the brush tool, the eraser tool - to get back at his tormentor. It's resourcefulness versus power. Who will win? You can find out yourself. -- This took three long months.. i think it's worth it.

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

Dwell's Design Leader: Ken Isaacs

From the Dwell Magazine Design Leaders video series.

Architect Ken Isaacs reflects on the innovative projects that defined his career, from the Shoebox House to the Knowledge Box.

Pop!Tech 2007: Crutch Master

Bill Shannon | Shannon Arts

Here’s a partial list of attributes you must possess to be Bill Shannon: a sense of wonder, a curiosity about what it means to be human, a skateboard, an interest in furthering the dialectic of art in performance, several hundred thousand YouTube hits, discipline, rocker-bottom crutches, a hip-hop soundtrack, and the remnants of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. Bill’s work is based on street performance, club culture, and the fine arts. His performance and video work have been presented nationally and internationally over the past ten years at numerous venues, festivals, and events. He has exhibited at the Tate Liverpool Museum and has choreographed specific elements of Cirque du Soleil’s production of Varekai. Bill’s work can be described as part break dancing, part social experiment. “I create performances that stand in for real life,” he says. “I need to do this because in real life, I often experience genuine acts of Good Samaritanism as obstacles.”

IFVP & Pop!Tech

There is a whole lot of stuff going on this week in the realm of sharing big ideas and visual learning.

First, the International Forum of Visual Practitioners is gathered in Santa Fe, New Mexico to share insight, technology and techniques of graphic recording and facilitation.

So a big shout out to members of our network who are in attendance!

Second, there is a lots of mindblowing stuff being presented in Camden, Maine at Pop!Tech.

www.flickr.com

This year, the three-day big-ideas bonanza traverses "The Human Impact," digging deep into "some of the many ways human beings impact - and are impacted by - the world and each other." A rich and diverse group of speakers discusses each topic, from exploring the core source of ideas to the implementations and actual realization of ideas, and ultimately, how new and novel ideas and bottom-up thinking can and will change the world we live in.

Topics include the health of the world's oceans, mapping emotions, the pursuit of happiness, plus remarkable social innovations in lighting, health care and sustainable cities (in China!).

As "house artist", I am perched in the box seat (stage left) working in a mobile painting studio, and producing a painting for each presenter. You can see a Flickr slideshow fo the behind the scenes action here.

Most interesting, you can see real-time videos uploaded by participants using Nokia video phones here. Inclduing a tour of the secret Alphachimp Mobile Paint Studio set up in the Camden Opera House. see video >>

You can peruse all the videos being uploaded by the intriguing characters who make up the sudience and speakers at this incredible event here.

By far, the best on-line capture is being done by bloggers like Ethan Zuckerman.

Photographer Chris Jordan Says "Stats Ain't Cutting It"

clipped from www.treehugger.com Chris Jordan with an image depicting 8 million toothpicks, equal to the number of trees harvested in the US every month to make the paper for mail order catalogs. Coming atcha from Pop!Tech. Catch it live -- hundreds of brainiacs eagerly consuming world-changing ideas over three days in Camden, Maine. Seattle-based photographer and photographic artist Chris Jordan gave a great presentation today. He's vibrant, well-spoken and, despite saying all sorts of do-gooder stuff, still somehow comes across as cool. We think he rules and we've covered his stuff here and here, but let's give you a few highlights from his talk.

Or you can see his interview of the master of social probation--and candidate for president--Steven Cobert. see interview >>

Pop!Tech Live

clipped from www.core77.com This year, the three-day big-ideas bonanza will traverse "The Human Impact," digging deep into "some of the many ways human beings impact - and are impacted by - the world and each other." A rich and diverse group of speakers will discuss the topic, from exploring the core source of ideas to the implementations and actual realization of ideas, and ultimately, how new and novel ideas and bottom-up thinking can and will change the world we live in. We'll be tapping our keys furiously alongside other live-blogging sites BoingBoing, TreeHugger, NextBillion, and AM Global, with international coverage in native languages by Tiagodoria (Portuguese), Jacky Peng (Chinese), Medeamaterial (Spanish), Global Voices Online (Arabic), This Iranian American Life (Farsi), and Jikimboe (Swahili). On top of blog coverage-o-plenty, you can sign up to watch and participate in Pop!Tech, streaming live, wherever you are, hanging out in your underwear, given you have a decent connection.

Coaching the Alpha Male

By Kate Ludeman & Eddie Erlandson | May 1, 2004

The best treatise on taming the successful, chest-beating leader we all love to fear!

clipped from harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu Highly intelligent, confident, and successful, alpha males represent about 70% of all senior executives. Natural leaders, they willingly take on levels of responsibility most rational people would find overwhelming. But many of their quintessential strengths can also make alphas difficult to work with. Their self-confidence can appear domineering. Their high expectations can make them excessively critical. Their unemotional style can keep them from inspiring their teams. That's why alphas need coaching to broaden their interpersonal tool kits while preserving their strengths. Drawing from their experience coaching more than 1,000 senior executives, the authors outline an approach tailored specifically for the alpha. Coaches get the alpha's attention by inundating him with data from 360-degree feedback presented in ways he will find compelling.Such an assessment is a wake-up call for most alphas, providing undeniable proof that their behavior doesn't work nearly as well as they think it does. That paves the way for a genuine commitment to change. To change, the alpha must admit vulnerability, accept accountability not just for his own work but for others', connect with his underlying emotions, learn to motivate through a balance of criticism and validation, and become aware of unproductive behavior patterns. The goal of executive coaching is not simply to treat the alpha as an individual problem, but to improve the entire team dynamic.

Freelancers Need Universal Health Care Too

Words By Daniel Brook | Illustrations By Ted McGrath

clipped from www.goodmagazine.com As heartening as it is to see universal health care back on the national agenda, it’s puzzling that when the presidential candidates talk about their health-care proposals, they only talk about poor kids and Wal-Mart workers. This doesn’t square with my experience of the health-care crisis. I know plenty of people who are sweating health-care coverage. None of them are poor kids. And they don’t work at Wal-Mart. The people I know who are worried sick about coverage work for themselves, many in creative fields. Most of these freelancers and entrepreneurs are in the cross hairs of our health-care crisis—and you wouldn’t know it from watching the presidential campaign. As a freelance writer, I buy my own insurance. My premium went up 25 percent this year and I didn’t even get the pleasure of taking up smoking or skydiving. FULL ARTICLE >>

The Selfless Gene

by Olivia Judson | October 2007 | Atlantic Monthly

It’s easy to see how evolution can account for the dark streaks in human nature—the violence, treachery, and cruelty. But how does it produce kindness, generosity, and heroism?

(This is a nice call-and-response to Richard Dawkins' 1976 book on adaptation and natural selection, The Selfish Gene.)

clipped from www.theatlantic.com How does a propensity for self-sacrifice evolve? And what about the myriad lesser acts of daily kindness—helping a little old lady across the street, giving up a seat on the subway, returning a wallet that’s been lost? Are these impulses as primal as ferocity, lust, and greed? Or are they just a thin veneer over a savage nature? Answers come from creatures as diverse as amoebas and baboons, but the story starts in the county of Kent, in southern England.

MissingLink: Beyond an Event's Home Page

The browser-based software for graphic facilitators was profiled by MeetingSource (http://www.meetingsource.com), a website for meeting planners to search for tools, destinations, facilities, and industry events.

clipped from travmar.com “Everybody remembers how they felt during the meeting, but the actual content is often lost,” said Peter Durand, Alphachimp Studio of Pittsburgh. "I said in frustration that there has to be an easy way to use browser based software to document what is going on at events and capture the inspiration.” Enter Jason Simmons at gradientlabs.com of Pittsburgh, a software developer with experience in building online applications. The result is MissingLink. This browser-based software allows you to manage events; organize breakout teams; track participant profile information; and upload content like images, files, white boards, flip charts, audio-visual and even video. “We were not able to find anything like this," Durand said, "so we have been building this over the last two years. At the very least it gives that one spot where everyone can find what they are looking for.”

Alphachimp is a Katalyst!

Alphachimp graphic facilitator, Jim Nuttle, got a great shout out from speaker, author and agent for social change, Kevin Carroll.

clipped from www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com Novel Graphics October 09, 2007 | Posted by KC These amazing drawings of my presentation were done by a graphic facilitator, Jim Nuttle from Alphachimp Studio, Inc. He was a member of a team of artists who captured the entire Nursing Leadership Congress (in Chicago, IL) sponsored by McKesson Corporation, via illustration. Jim & the Alphachimp team created a wonderful way for the attendees to view their work/ideas in a much more dynamic manner - much better than reviewing "traditional" meeting notes. What an ARTIST! (Thanks for getting my "right" side too, Jim!) What's your Red Rubber Ball?!

Anthropologists help U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq

By David Rohde | Published: October 4, 2007

clipped from www.iht.com SHABAK VALLEY, Afghanistan: In this isolated Taliban stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, American paratroopers are fielding what they consider a crucial new weapon in counterinsurgency operations here: a demure civilian anthropologist named Tracy. Colonel Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division unit working with anthropologists here, said the unit's combat operations had been reduced by 60 percent since the anthropologists arrived this spring. He said the focus had shifted from combat to improving security, health care and education for the population. Yet criticism is emerging in academia. Citing the past misuse of social sciences in counterinsurgency campaigns, some denounce the program as "mercenary anthropology" that exploits social science for political gain. Opponents fear that, whatever their intention, the scholars who work with the military could inadvertently cause all anthropologists to be viewed as intelligence gatherers for the U.S. military.

Facebook's role in helping Myanmar protesters

Internet a battleground in protests against Myanmar's repressive regime

If you are a member of Facebook, you can read about the protests at the public group: Myanmar (Burma) Uprising: Worldwide support

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com LONDON - An Internet group backing the monk-led protests in Myanmar has attracted more than 100,000 members in less than 10 days as Internet users around the world try to harness the power of the Web to support the protest movement. The Internet has been a key battleground in the wave of protests that erupted a month ago against Myanmar's repressive regime. Authorities have cut off the country's two Internet service providers in a bid to stop accounts and images of the protests, and the military crackdown, reaching the outside world. The Myanmar government's tight media restrictions mean "citizen journalist" accounts have been vital for journalists trying to track the events of recent days. Reporters have relied on social networking sites like Facebook and blogs like that of London-based Burmese blogger Ko Htike for firsthand accounts and images.

Fast Comapany's 2007 Masters of Design

clipped from www.fastcompany.com Innovation and inspiration. Management and creativity. This is our fourth annual report on the intersection of business and design. Online we feature a video interview with Yves Behar and a video tour of R/GA's best interactive work. Yves Behar Not long ago, Yves Béhar was a self-described "slumlord" to cover his rent. Now he's a superstar. Bob Greenberg The phrase "interactive advertising" is everywhere. Bob Greenberg actually makes it. Sam Lucente Sam Lucente's business is corporate design. Persuasion is his game.

Blurb: As reviewed by Kevin Kelly

Kevin is a film buff, Senior Maverick for WIRED, photographer and self-proclaimed Geek Dad.

With and without kids, he has traveled the globe (Afghanistan, Vietnam, China, Europe); he has launched publications (The Whole Earth Catalog, Wired); and, he continues to redefine how we think about technology and biology (Out of Control, Encyclopedia of Life, The Long Now Foundation ). And, in case you haven't guessed, he's one of my heroes.

He is also an avid self-publisher of personal projects.

Check out his reviews of the various on-line in the blooming print-on-demand market.

clipped from www.kk.org My recommendation for the best personal color book printer is Blurb. Blurb produces color books very similar to the iPhoto books you can order from Apple. Using iPhoto Books is slightly easier than using Blurb's software, particularly if all your photos happen to already be in iPhoto, but it works well enough. The idea is that you can drag images (photos or illustrations) into template book pages, add text or captions where you want to, then hit a button and have the finished book mailed to you. (all these systems work with PCs and Macs) The results from both Apple and Blurb are marvelous. In fact, these books are astounding. That's because they both use the same back-room engine, the HP Indigo 5000 (as do the other color book makers like Snapfish and MyPublisher). The Indigio is essentially a high-speed, high-quality liquid-toner printer that will print your photo book several pages across. Blurb Photobook $19 base price Available from Blurb Blurb's How to Make a Book