“Education is not a hobby to be slotted into a lifestyle. Without care in the construction of curriculum, the fun and flexibility of sonic mobility will crush the discipline required for motivated learning.”(Nebula, 4, 1, March 2007, pp. 19-30).

“We hope something new comes through in these statements, and that they will perhaps suggest more creative ways of approaching the kind of debate that has been generated around “the recent events” they relate to. “

An excellent essay by Greenblatt, particularly effective in linking contemporary politics and Shakespeare through the tale of Bill Clinton’s specific take on Macbeth. (New York Review of Books, 54, 6, April 12, 2007).

“UK Teachers are calling for much tougher restrictions to protect staff from “cyber bullying” by pupils.”

“Forget handwritten notes passed around class, terse phone calls and SMS – MySpace is now the tool of choice for teens looking to give their lovers the flick.”

A new MySpace launched and house drama with 80 x 90 second episodes, each having a 12-hour exclusive launch on MySpace before appearing elsewhere.

“Because networked publics provide a space for teens to gather and share their lives, it is not surprising that the intimate acts that must be made visible take place here. While the online publicness of teen relationships horrifies many adults,…”

NASA’s April Fools picture of the day: “Americans Defeat Russians in First Space Quidditch Match”

“… a nifty new tool called bFree that takes the contents of a Blackboard course and creates a free-standing website out of it. While one wonders how it handles the parts of a course that really shouldn’t be on the open Web …”

“Breaking with established practice, the EMI Group announced today that the record label’s digital catalog would go on sale over the Internet without built-in copy restrictions.”

YouTube’s news and politics editor Steve Grove asks Phil de Vellis questions about the “Vote Different” ad and the future of online video.

PoliticsTV.com has the first interview the 1984 Mash Up Creator, Phil de Vellis. Lots of interesting things about the future of politics in here. 🙂 [Via Jill]

An interesting Stop Cyberbullying Day Flickr photo post bySherri Jackson/Lasadh, whose Flickr photo was plagiarised and used as as the template for one of the images Kathy Sierra uses to illustrate the threats made against her.

One of Google’s better April Fools hoaxes: GMail Paper … your Gmail printed for free, with targeted, printed ads.

“… a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.”

A list of all the April Fools hijinx from across the interwebs…

Nifty tool for adding all sorts of effects (from slideshows to frames, etc.) to Flickr photos and sets.

Yes, yes, Justin.tv is all Justin, all the time. One man and a bloody camera attached somewere to his person, streaming video 24/7. Supposedly nothing edited out. Reality tv online … just what we needed.

Yes, older people like videogames, too. (Is this really news?)

The Lonelygirl15 Youtube/videblogging sensation has entered the world of product placement, starting with Hershey’s gum.

Jib Jab return with a funny little animation which – all too accurately – maps the demise of ‘The News’ in the US (and is easily extrapolatable elsewhere…).

Watch politics through the eyes of participatory culture and collective creativity …

Georgia Tech, Professor Jim Foleyhas been testing whether students listening to face to face lectures, or reviewing lectures on laptops/iPods learn better. Using class test results, the laptop/iPod group seem to perform 10% better.

Death (and other) threats made against blogger Kathy Sierra are just revolting and cruel. (Nor do they appear random, but rather concerted and deliberate, which is all the more disturbing.)

Ross Mayfield responds to the threats against Kathy Sierra soberly, sharing the concern many of us feel, but also pointing out this isn’t an argument against free speech and anonymity per se.

Scoble: “I’m physically ill after reading what happened to Kathy Sierra. Maryam and several others here at PodTech asked me about it and are concerned since the same sites that are attacking Kathy also mentioned me and Maryam.”

danah boyd talks about the threats and hate spech against Kathy Sierra and calls a spade very much a spade. she also (bravely) recounts similar experiences from her past.

BBC News picks up on the threats: “Prominent blogger Kathy Sierra has called on the blogosphere to combat the culture of abuse online. It follows a series of death threats which have forced her to cancel a public appearance and suspend her blog.”

Frank Paynter’s apology to Kathy Sierra for his part in MeanKids (and Kathy’s responses).

Doc Searls tries to take a snapshot of the threats against Kathy Sierra, the causes, the people and offers a few words as to why their take anarchy isn’t so useful.