Metropolis Magazine:

some cool ones

Don Norman’s jnd.org / Simplicity Is Highly Overrated:

as I’ve been known to say about simplicity… “it prevents people from thinking”, which it does. If something is so simple that you don’t have to think about it, to learn about it, then that thing loses a certain value to many people as Norman indicates. What he does not indicate because he is within the realms of efficiency… is that people do like challenges, they like to be tried and to learn from those challenges in certain circumstances. If we build everything with a mind toward simplicity with the “Don’t Make Me Think” attitude…. is the moral equivalent to, “Be a machine”

It’s just hardware!:
It’s just hardware, it will not change education, it will not make our students smarter, it will not make our lives easier unless we are willing to take a long deep look into our systems and change the way we do things. We are talking about a pedagogical shift in the way learning happens, in the way classrooms are set up, and the way we view our students in this new digital world.

It’s just hardware.
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it is just hardware… but the students are not using the the same as they might use a book, or a plow, or a tractor, or an elevator. it is a connection machine, somewhat like the book, but closer to the library, the real library, where you go in and talk to people, meet people with similar interests, ask for help, receive it, etc. etc. It is always there, always open, and usually not disfunctional, but yeah… sometimes it is.

GOP & Higher Education: “It’s about training a docile work force.” No. 1.28.2006. 19.:
“It’s not about liberal education and critical thinking,” says Dennis Baron, a former columnist for the Chronicle of Higher Education and commentator on education policy. “It’s about training a docile work force.”
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yep, that is basically what it is about…

Top 10 Online Databases for General Research « FMU Online:
When writing papers for school, it’s always good to start your research online. Many academic journals publish their articles online—which can give you a head start on research prior to heading to your local library.

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it is not always good to start online…. but these are good references to some extent.