How to Be Black by Baratunde R. Thurston My rating: 5 of 5 stars I won this book at a conference a few years back (Baratunde was one of the keynote speakers) and I finally had a chance to read it.  For someone who didn't spend all of my formative years in the US, I think the subject is approached in a humorous and approachable manner. Heck, in some segments,

The Last Best Hope by Una McCormackMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a prequel novel that takes place before the first season of Star Trek: Picard.  The story shows us the other side of the preparations to save Romulans (and Remans?) from their fates which are doomed due to the Romulan Star going supernova.  I was hoping for some more congruence between the ST09 Countdown comics

Assassin's Creed: Revelations by Oliver BowdenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a good ending to the Ezio storyline (and it wrapped up the Altair line as well). It follows the events of the game with the same name, but I think the author adds some more details to fill out the story. I like that they've also added the events of the short film "embers" in this book, but again - lack of modern-day

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade by Oliver BowdenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I actually enjoyed this one more than the previous two in the series. This book follows the story of Altair through the events of the first Assassin's Creed, as well as the follow-up game Assassin's Creed Bloodlines (for the PSP). The thing I appreciated about this novel is that it fills in Altair's story between

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance by Oliver BowdenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Not a bad adaptation of Assassin's Creed 2. It's been over 10 years since I played the game, so this was a fair memory jogging device of things that occurred in Ezio's timeline in that second game. The writing wasn't bad, the main characters we good, and (if you're like me) you were reminded of some of the happenings

Blended Learning: Research Perspectives, Volume 2 by Anthony G. PiccianoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting read. It's the next volume in the series on Blended learning.  This one was easier to find, but I still got it via ILL - same research project as I mentioned in my blog post yesterday.  I've often wondered why books like this exist in this day and age. Each chapter is basically

Blended Learning: Research Perspectives Vol. 1 by Anthony G. PiccianoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Not a bad read if you want some historical info on Blended learning.  I had a hard time finding this book, so I got it via interlibrary loan. It may seem a little dated, but I think it's useful for setting the scene for Blended learning.  I went through this with a specific research topic

Star Trek: Discovery: The Enterprise War by John Jackson MillerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I rather enjoyed a glimpse into what happened to the Enterprise during the year that they missed in the Klingon War. They were involved in another war, albeit, without really wanting to be in it. There were quite a few moments where I said: "oh man, I wish I could see this on-screen!" This novel also fills

Greek America At Work by Dan GeorgakasMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I came across this short book as a reference on a Greek website. It was actually quite informative as a short introduction to Greek migration to North America (specifically focusing on migration to the USA). It's obviously not comprehensive, but it should be a must-read for Greek Americans. View all my reviews

Every year some social sites tend to a year in review with data from your activity on the networks.  This year is no different.  I thought I'd post some of the data that came my way.   Today I have some data from Goodreads. I always choose a low number of books to read each year.  I'd much meet and exceed my goal rather than not reach anything.  My goal this past year

Star Trek: The Q Conflict by Scott TiptonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This issue of IDW's star trek comics brought together 4 supernatural beings (Q, and a 3 from the TOS era) as well as the crews of 4 series (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY). The supernatural beings are warring. What VOY taught us is that extradimensional wars affect our universe. So... the superbeings decide to let humans complete tasks

Auberon: An Expanse Novella by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars An interesting, short, novella about the newly minted governor of Auberon - Auberon being the breadbasket for the Laconian empire (sort of a replacement for Ganymede). I'd love to learn more about the characters in this book, both the "mafia" and the government side. I liked the saying near the end which was an offshoot

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Another fast-paced installment of the series (hard to believe that there is only one more left!!!). This one jumps a bit into the future with a slightly older crew, with different responsibilities. Some of our crew die, and some make miraculous comebacks! The bringing together of former crew members reminded me a bit of Star Trek

TNG/DS9: Divided We Fall by John J. OrdoverMy rating: 5 of 5 stars The art style is definitely of its period in comic books, but the story was rather enjoyable. It gives us a look within Trill society, and what happens when the unjoined Trill look upon the worm-trills as parasitic and controlling of a society (definitely some stargate overtones here). It would be interesting to get

Star Trek Prometheus: In the Heart of Chaos by Christian HumbergMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Overall, not a bad story. The crew is likable and they could easily be an on-screen crew if this story is adapted for television. I wish we saw more of the EMH in this story. My only critique is that the plot feels like something that was done in Prey. Not the same details, but the overall plot. This

The Hall of Heroes by John Jackson MillerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars The exciting conclusion to the trilogy. Too bad most of the unsung perished, but given the events of this story it's nice to see that the Klingon Empire is reconsidering its views on what it means to be discommendated. Now to go back and fill in the story with the reboot series...at some point :-) View all my reviews

Star Trek Prometheus: The Root of All Rage by Christian HumbergMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Well, the twist at the end of the book was not something I was expecting. Interesting! Looking forward to the third book. I still find the pronunciation in the audiobook version a bit silly. Trek names of places and things (like Khitomer, VGER, and Roktajino) are butchered. Overall a good read View

Fighting Fire with Fire by Christian HumbergMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An enjoyable story featuring the voyages of the USS Prometheus (as seen on ST: Voyager). The story sounds a bit familiar (Prey, and Star Trek Online) in that some third party is working behind the scenes to attack the federation and the klingon empire, but just go with it. It was a good first novel. The only complaint is

Mind Meld: Micro Collaboration Between E Learning Designers And Instructor Experts by Jon D. AlecksonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars A bit conflicted about this book. On the one hand there are some elements of sage advice in here, but the book has a few failings for my liking:1. There is barely any cited evidence here (the references list is just 2 pages), and most 'evidence' seems to rely on anecdotes

The Jackal's Trick by John Jackson MillerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Hey! The unsung had been played all along by external forces! Well, I guess this is what you get when a society discommendates several generations of their citizens for whatever reason. Also, Kahless is alive because...he's Kahless ;-) A fun read. Looking forward to the third part. View all my reviews

Hell's Heart by John Jackson MillerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This book had me reacting out loud while I was listening to it. It was a rather interesting story of succession in the house of Krug (from Star Trek IV), and a rather interesting tale of discommendated, and what happens when the children of those who are no longer considered part of the community refuse to accept a system that is

Defiance:The Essential Guide by SyfyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I was reminded of this ebook while rewatching Defiance this summer. This was a "getting to know the world of Defiance" sort of book.  I think it mostly focused on the TV show, even though Defiance was originally envisioned as a transmedia type of franchise (with the eponymous MMO still running/limping along to this day). Too

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Jason SchreierMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I rather enjoyed this book. The video game industry has been getting a lot of attention lately, and this book contributes to shedding some light into the working practices of this billion dollar industry. While I am not familiar with some of the game, from

Λόγια της πλώρης by Andreas KarkavitsasMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Μια συλλογή από μικρές ιστορίες που έχουν ως θέμα την θάλασσα, και την ζωή βγάζοντας το ψωμί σου από την θάλασσα. Αν και η γλώσσα είναι εντυπωσιακή και όμορφη, που μου θύμησε

Star Trek: Discovery: The Way to the Stars by Una McCormackMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Probably my favorite Discovery-era novel thus far.Some might say "oh, it's Just a Tilly story..." but I saw it as both a story about families, and a story about education. Tilly's mother basically wants to create a mini-me clone for herself, having Tilly follow her footsteps into the diplomatic core, without

Desperate Hours by David MackMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting story set one year before the "vulcan hello" pilot for the series. It includes the Enterprise and Pike (and Spock). Having seen Anson Mount as Pike really helps visualize this story in my mind's eye. There are some inconsistencies with the series - e.g., Saru's planet referred to "Kelpia" instead of "Kaminar" and getting the

Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many by Michael A. MartinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an interesting read, and it definitely adds some more context to STO's Undine arc (which made the Undine Infiltration in the game make much more sense. The book is told from the lens of Jake Sisko who is interviewing many well-known (and not so well-known) characters in the Star Trek universe about

Patterns of Interference by Christopher L. BennettMy rating: 5 of 5 stars What bums me out the most about this book is that there is no "Star Trek Enterprise will continue..." at the end of the book. I wonder if this series will come back in the future.Anyway - even if it is the last book to come out (certainly hope not), this was a rather fun book to read. I was hoping that Trip would come

Live by the Code by Christopher L. BennettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars A good conclusion to the "ware saga" (or so it seems). Of note in this book, we see Archer coming around to the Vulcan's "logic" of non-interference (aka, the "prime directive") based on the events that happened with the Saurians. We also see Trip seriously looking to take down Section 31 (which we know doesn't happen

Uncertain Logic by Christopher L. BennettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This novel continues with the parade of worlds that are joining the federation: in this book we see the Deltans, and we continue an exploration of those "Ware" space stations which we originally saw on screen in Enterprise. Meanwhile on Vulcan the Kirshara is stolen and people try to use it to overthrow the new Vulcan government.

Tower of Babel by Christopher L. BennettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a good continuation of the first book in the series. Here the federation is encouraging the aligned systems of Rigel to join the federation. I always thought that the Rigelians were a homogenous society, but apparently not. Also interesting that they were currently ruled by mobster families. Overall an interesting story,

A Choice of Futures by Christopher L. BennettMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a good start to the Rise of the Federation series. There is an interesting description of where the TOS uniform colors came from, an overview of what's happening to the fleet, the growing pains of getting different alien peoples to work together, and so on. On top of that, the federation is already being seen as

The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm by Michael A. MartinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars A satisfying end to the Earth-Romulan war. When all is said and done Trip is still out in the shadows, Archer is now a commodore, and the Vulcans, Telaraties, and Andorians finally came back to the table. Archer is hinted at becoming president of the Federation one day. There was also a nice little epilogue years

Handbook of Narrative Inquiry: Mapping a Methodology by D. Jean ClandininMy rating: 5 of 5 stars While I didn't read this book cover-to-cover I did find quite a few chapters quite useful in thinking about and designing my narrative inquiry project. View all my reviews

The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing by Michael A. MartinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This book continues on from the previous couple of novels and explores the first year of the Romulan war. Archer becomes a Commodore (interesting how they say it's an archaic title, but still used, perhaps foreshadowing the change of the rank name around TNG). Trip's alive (yay); there are heavy losses

Kobayashi Maru by Michael A. MartinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I actually liked this book more than I thought I would. The description from Memory Alpha is "Captain Jonathan Archer's Enterprise and Captain Erika Hernandez' Columbia become embroiled in the shocking events that became the infamous Starfleet Academy no-win scenario." I always took the Kobayashi Maru to be a theoretical simulation

The Good That Men Do by Andy MangelsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Quite an enjoyable read. I would have loved to have seen this on-screen. Section 31, Romulan mystery, spycraft, and Trip is alive and spying on the Romulan Empire as a section 31 operative. The pacing of this novel was pretty good. I didn't feel lost, or bored, or wondering "what the heck is going on now?" Need an adaptation for

Star Trek Phase II: The Making of the Lost Series by Judith Reeves-Stevens My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not really "finished" with this book since it seems more like a reference book, but I did skim through it and found it interesting (as a library borrowing I didn't have a ton of time with it). This seems like one of those books to own for any trek fan ;-) View all

Star Trek: Discovery: The Light of Kahless by Kirsten BeyerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Not a bad comic, and one that brings forth a bit of prequel mythos into Star Trek Discovery. In this one we see the origins of the Sacrophagus ship, and T'Kuvma and Voq themselves, and other Klingons who are acting...dishonorably...to say the least. I am wondering if there will be any references to this

Narrative Inquiry: A Dynamic Approach by Colette DaiuteMy rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. Not a bad book, and not bad in structuring a methodology for researching a narrative inquiry. The approach given, however, makes me a little perplexed as to what separates this type of narrative inquiry from something like Discourse Analysis. View all my reviews

Artemis by Andy WeirMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Since I liked the Martian, I decided to follow it up with Artemis.  I wasn't sure if this was going to be a sequel, or something totally different.  Basically: Moon smuggler, on a moon base, fitting the "young professional" category of employee tries something new. Royally messes up but survives. Walks away an entrepreneur.Fun novel.

The Martian by Andy WeirMy rating: 5 of 5 stars After a lot of hype I decided to read this book. It was quite a fun book to read. MacGyver, on Mars, becomes a potato farmer to survive until he can get rescued. Snarky MacGyver on Mars - which makes it more fun. Now that I've read this I do want to see the movie version, just as a comparison.View all my reviews

Rosetta by Dave SternMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Back to Star Trek novel reading.  This was the last novel before the 'relaunch' of the enterprise series. Not a bad story - plus brownie points for some contemporary linguistics peppered in. That said, it felt a bit slow to begin (so much so that I lost the plot a bit while listening to it via TTS).View all my reviews

Titan: Fortune of War by David MackMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Pretty interesting adventure. I had completely forgotten about the Husnock and needed to look them up on Memory Alpha. In many respects it reminded me a lot of the hunt for Alteran, or even Goauld tech in Stargate once the Goauld had fallen. He who controls the powerful ancient tech controls the galaxy.  I wonder what the next

Engaging in Narrative Inquiry by D. Jean ClandininMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Informative. Worthwhile reading if you're interested in Narrative Inquiry as a research method. I read this book after the book I posted about yesterday.  This book seemed to go a little more in-depth as to the how-to of a narrative inquiry but it's still not a recipe.  Time to read another book.  One

Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research by D. Jean ClandininMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This isn't a book where you are told how to do Narrative Inquiry in a step-by-step manner. That said, it's probably the best book to introduce you to Narrative Inquiry because it's about what Narrative Inquirers do, and the forms that takes. It really helped frame the research approach

When Someone You Love Suffers from Posttraumatic Stress: What to Expect and What You Can Do by Claudia ZayfertMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Quite an enlightening book. Definitely a worthwhile read.View all my reviews

I had forgotten to have a look at the nice infographic that Goodreads prepares for its users at the end of each year. I read more than I intended to, even though quite a few are comics ;-)

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Woah! Will this universe ever know peace? Jump forward 20 years, Duarte is back, he is now emperor or some sh*t like that (I know, high council Duarte, just go with me). He is part protomolecule. He sends his protomolecule technology fleet to colonize the remaining human colonies. Just as Holden "retires" and sells the ship to

Strange Dogs by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I wasn't sure what to make of this at the start of the novella, but it's an interesting point of view. Seeing the exploratory expedition on a ring world turn into a new home through the eyes of a child. This novella also points to certain protomolecule properties that I am not sure we've seen yet.  I do wonder how these will play

Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Well, Earth and Mars aren't doing so well. the "Free Navy" has taken over the Rocinante crew is back at it, saving this corner of the galaxy. Some quick thoughts:Anderson dying as a result of system shock during high burn. Plausible, but seems like a rather small way for the "butcher of Anderson station" to go.New alliance forming

Chariots of The Gods by Erich von DänikenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I feel a bit weird giving it 4 stars given the subject matter, but the book was rather entertaining, and not as 'out there' as Ancient Aliens as I expected - the TV show has gotten even more out there over the years. "by why?"  or "ancient astronaut theorists say 'yes'" beg for a drinking game. If you read this book

The Vital Abyss by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars An interesting short story from the perspective of a protogen researcher. All throughout I was trying to figure out if this is someone who will be (or was) in one of the main novels, or if it's just world building and expansion (no pun intended). In the end (once I was done reading) I read through the summary on the wiki and I had

Nemesis Games by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars And here I thought that this was going to be a 'simple' version of: crew goes on holiday while the ship is in dry dock so that they can take care of personal stuff (and of course learn some personal stuff from the past). Did that happen? Of course, but around half-way ... BAM! all hell breaks loose! The final line of the previous

Cibola Burn by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting continuation of the series. We've now moved onto a more colonial part of the adventure (new worlds to explore an colonize), and all the perils that come with it. I do wonder if we'll find out what happened to the old civilization that built the portal system and the protomolecule. Part of this book reminded me a lot of the

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Interesting story as it has unfolded. The thing I don't get is this: are these gates to other galaxies (think Stargate with the Ori supergates)? other parallel dimension (sort of like sliders)? or just other dimensions period? Seems like there is plenty of work for the crew of the Rocinante to go around after this book ;-)  A

Star Trek: Waypoint #6 by Gabriel HardmanMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting collection of short stories from the Star Trek Universe. I think my two favorites were Naomi Wildman's comic, and the Phase II era stories. Reading the stories in this anthology made me wonder if we'll see any Phase II era stories pop up in the future.  It might be an interesting look in an alternate era.View

Airship Enterprise: The Infernal Machine by Brian DenhamMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This was something that had come across kickstarter a while back (before I really looked at kickstarter). It is an interesting take on Star Trek through a steampunk lens. I am not all that interested in steampunk as a genre but this wasn't a bad story. I think for Trek fans you'll find enough to keep you going,

Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues #4 by Erik BurnhamMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This comic book series wasn't that bad but it really felt sort of like a rehash of the movie in the setup. I wonder if this was meant to be a reboot, or kickstart, of a Galaxy Quest series of comics, and they just didn't get the response that they needed to continue to create new materials in this universe.

Z Nation #6 by Craig EnglerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was an interesting side story to the Z-Nation series. The writers somehow managed to make this universe more disturbing with zombie cows, zombie whales, and cruise director that takes over a cruise ship and enslaves the passengers. One of the things that isn't really addressed in most zombie shows and movies is whether or not the virus

Thinking Collaboratively: Learning in a Community of Inquiry by D. Randy GarrisonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book to read, especially the section on Leadership as it connects to the community of inquiry framework. When the CoI was recommended to me (for my dissertation), I didn't really think a ton about it because the only context that I had encountered it in was classroom communities. 

Gods of Risk by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Another book I read over the summer but I didn't have a ton of time to write about. A nice, short, interlude between books where we see what life on Mars is (sort) of like, and how badass Bobbie Draper is ;-) I don't recall seeing this 'on-screen' on the TV show, but maybe this is something that's going to be shown before season 4.

Caliban's War by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars It's been a while since I read this, but I haven't had a ton of time to write about it!  This was a good continuation to the first novel. I held off to read this until I thought the TV show had covered it, but I think I shouldn't have. This book pretty much corresponds to the second season of the expanse TV, which really amazes

E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Community of Inquiry Framework for Research and Practice by D Randy GarrisonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars A nice, short, overview of the community of inquiry framework for those who are new to it. The book basically breaks down to 1/2 being about the CoI (discussing each part in details, and encompassing recent research), and 1/2 being application. It was an

24: Legacy - Rules of Engagement #5 by Christopher FarnsworthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An enjoyable prequel to the TV series 24: Legacy. I guess I should have read this before seeing the show :-) The five part series of comics (reviewing the last one, but it really covers all of them) is the story of the protagonist of the show, jumping back in time to two times in his life (one as a drug

Learning Together Online: Research on Asynchronous Learning Networks by Starr Roxanne HiltzMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Not very many people talk about ALNs (asynchronous learning networks) these days. Even the journal for ALNs has been renamed to "Online Learning". Still, this was an interesting historical dive which provided some interesting background on early online learning which still

Star Trek: Captain's Log by David TiptonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy reading stories about secondary captains (Jelico, Sulu, Hariman), i.e. those not seen on screen for very long - but these were actually quite good short stories. I wouldn't mind having more Hariman or Jelico stories come our way! It was also interesting to see the excelsior class go from brand

Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research by John W. CreswellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars A good primer on mixed methods research. I wish I had made this part of my original reading list last summer when I was conceiving of my (current version for my) dissertation proposal plan.  Mixed methods fits well with one of the reasons  I am using case study research as my approach. 

Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community by Rena M. PalloffMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting book. It's more geared toward practitioners than researchers. I'd recommend this as a a design "cookbook" companion. The thing that has really struck me with this book is that the authors use the term 'collaboration' to refer to anything that involves multiple people working together. 

Learning Together: Peer Tutoring in Higher Education by Nancy FalchikovMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Not a bad book. "Tutoring" in this book means anything between an the work that an "more knowledgeable other" (Vygotsky) does, to teaching assistants. There is quite a broad range to work with, and an interesting book to consult when thinking both about course design and program-level design.

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon - The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World by Steven L. KentMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Not a bad book. I always expect something with the word "ultimate" in the title to be the one definitive source for all things for that topic, but that isn't always the case. Lots of good early history of companies (Coleco

Star Trek Romulans Schism - 2009 by John ByrneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting short story with Koloth and Kor as some of the main cast (along with the original "#1") about the federation and a cloaking device, and a feud of a romulan with Kirk that leads to the dissolution (some might say "schism" ;-) ) between the romulan and klingon empires. Now...why do the Klingons have an emperor

Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning by David W. JohnsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book looking at individual, competitive, and collaborative learning. The framing of the book is more K-12, but I can see applications to higher education. Definitely worth at least a quick look through both by instructors and instructional designers.

Lower Ed: How For-Profit Colleges Deepen Inequality in America by Tressie McMillan CottomMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book to read. While most of what was in this book wasn't really news for me, it was helpful to add some additional context to the "Lower Ed" field. I think this is a worthwhile read for high school students thinking about college, and for college graduates thinking

Engaging Students Through Social Media: Evidence-Based Practices for Use in Student Affairs by Reynol JuncoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this up when it first came out, and I have thumbed through specific sections over the years (as needed for work), but this is the first time I've read from cover-to-cover. While some technologies may be dead already (I'm looking at you, vine!) this

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by Mark A. AltmanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting read for the history of TNG through the Kelvin-timeline movies. There was also a little bi in here about pop-culture influences of Star Trek, and a nod to fan films. For the first book

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Best Practices and Principles for Instructors by Kara L. OrvisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting book to read if you're interested in CSCL. It may be a tad bit dated at this point, but some core (or historical) materials are of value. For me specifically - and my EdD research, there were some interesting points to be made about CSCL. I don't

Moocs: Design, Use and Business Models by Jean-Charles PomerolMy rating: 3 of 5 stars It was not a bad book, but some of the factual errors (or perhaps interpretations of what was reported in the book were not in accordance with my own readings on MOOCing). That said, the book focuses a lot on xMOOCs (not a big surprise, most books seem to be doing this), and the book is focused on higher

Moocs, High Technology, and Higher Learning by Robert A. RhoadsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars The book states that its aim was to provide a balance between both sides of the MOOC debate (both the overly positive, and the overly critical), and I think it has accomplished that. For anyone new to MOOCs, and interested in a brief history of MOOCs, it's a worthwhile read. For me it didn't provide a

MOOCs by Jonathan HaberMy rating: 4 of 5 stars While the book is a bit out of date (MOOCs have moved along since it was published) I still found it to be a good introduction to the phenomenon of the (albeit without really looking too in-depth at research done in MOOCs).I did have an opportunity to hear the author speak back in 2012 (?) at the Campus Technology conference in Boston. At the

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years by Edward GrossMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting look at the genesis of Star Trek, from before there was even Star Trek, through The Animated Series, through a few aborted concepts, to Star Trek VI. Told through the words of the people involved in the series, so there are multiple

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael WolffMy rating: 4 of 5 stars By the grace of covfefe! I am done! Well...this was an interesting book to read. Yes, it probably lacks the regular fixin's of a biography, but it was quite enlightening to get an inside look at the cast of characters in the current presidency. If you are familiar with Star Trek's mirror universe...the way

The Secret History of Star Wars by Michael KaminskiMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an interesting book to read. I am much more of a Star Trek person than a Star Wars person, but it was interesting to see how the sausage was made. The key question that came to mind as I was listening to all the revisionist history of this franchise is this: Who really owns (in an intellectual non-commercial

To Mooc or Not to Mooc: How Can Online Learning Help to Build the Future of Higher Education? by Sarah PorterMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I've gone back and forth deciding whether to give this book 2 stars or 1 star. The book wasn't awful, but it was really not all that great. It is a very high level view of MOOCs, written partly as use-cases, and the audience tends to be university administration

Star Trek: TNG: Mirror Broken #5 by Scott TiptonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars The six comic arc for this story was quite an interesting "pilot episode" for a Next Generation Mirror Universe crew. Picard starts from the Stargaze and...ummm...earns (?) his way onto commanding the I.S.S. Enterprise. This was an interesting glimpse into the Terran Empire at the time of the Next Generation, but it

I was on GoodReads the other day updating my reading progress when I saw this bizarre book recommendation.  I wonder if this is society's commentary on MOOCs :p

Invasion of the MOOCs: The Promise and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses by Steven D. KrauseMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an interesting collection of essays by people (who I think) met through an xMOOC (EDCMOOC) and decided to put their experiences together. It was interesting to take a slice of MOOC history and read some initial reactions to this phenomenon. Although, calling EDCMOOC

Prepare to Meet Thy Doom: And More True Gaming Stories by David KushnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an interesting collection of short stories on video games. It is by no means comprehensive, but it was interesting to read nevertheless. It's a good, short, read for people interested in video games and how they impact (and are impacted by) society. I think this book spent a little too

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David KushnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book about the people and the company that brought you Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. As a kid I was introduced to these through shareware disks bought at the local Staples office store. It's interesting to hear what happened both before and after my introduction to

MOOCs and Educational Challenges around Asia and Europe by Bowon KimMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an interesting overview of MOOC (and some about OER) initiatives in selected Asian countries. It's interesting to see the role that MOOCs and OER take on in different contexts. I did find some issues with some chapters (naming things MOOCs which aren't really MOOCs), but I guess this was

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal NewportMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I've gone back and forth with this book. While listening to it some parts were just 2-stars and others were 4-stars. Perhaps the 4-star part was confirmation bias on my part. That said, some things in this book are just causes to roll your eyes, and other parts make a ton of sense. Over the

The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building by David J. PetersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars While I don't see myself conlanging any time soon, this was quite a fun read (and a pretty good book if you are interested in linguistics but don't know where to start!) There were quite a few examples from Game of Thrones (which I guess is the most

Networked Communities: Strategies for Digital Collaboration by Sylvie AlbertMy rating: 2 of 5 stars It was an OK book. Definitely focuses more on the organizational and managerial aspects of networked communities (which aren't of much use to me at the moment).  There were some interesting nuggets of information buried throughout the book if you looked carefully enough.  I am kind

Group Cognition: Computer Support for Building Collaborative Knowledge by Gerry StahlMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Enlightening but I thought it was a bit imbalanced. The theoretical pieces of the book were very interesting (and dense). I tried getting through these chapters in a manner of days and I don't think I got everything (or at least things seem a little fuzzy at the moment).  That

E-Research Collaboration by Murugan AnandarajanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting collection of works on collaboration (if my highlights are anything to go by). There were a few elements in this book that deserve attention in my literature review.  The case studies that are presented don't help a ton in my contexts as they tend to be not related to the topic of collaboration as

Collaboration Uncovered: The Forgotten, the Assumed, and the Unexamined in Collaborative Education by Merle RichardsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Quite an interesting collection of perspectives (and stories) about person-to-person collaboration in higher education. I think that you are looking for a book that deals with collaboration at the lower levels (i.e. not institution-to-institution) this

Collaboration and Networking in Education by Daniel MuijsMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting book on collaboration in education. I was expecting it to focus more on the specific of collaboration, and less on the inter-organizational aspects. As such I found it to be a bit high level for my purposes. Still, this was an interesting book to read, even if I did end up skimming through sections

The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary by Eric S. RaymondMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Quite an interesting collection of essays on open source programming and culture. GoodReads tells me I've read this before, but I wonder if I just read the essay with the same name rather than the whole book (I didn't remember it, or perhaps I see it

Legacies: Book #3: Purgatory's Key by Dayton WardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was the third in the "legacies" trilogy that I started reading this past summer. Fun book. I wouldn't say that the TOS crew is "my" crew (was introduced to Star Trek with TNG), but it was a fun novel to listen to (audiobook format), and it does give a bit more background into "number 1" (Majel Barrett's character

Collaboration 2.0: Technology and Best Practices for Successful Collaboration in a Web 2.0 World by David ColemanMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Not a bad read. The technology bit is a little outdated by this point. I think there is some good stuff here, if you ignore the technology. For a book that says that technology and process need to go hand-in-hand, it sure does focus on technology a

Best Defense by David MackMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting continuation of Captain-to-Captain. I was unaware McCoy had any kids. Fascinating - as Spock would say. I find this alternate universe quite interesting. No hunger, no pain, no being tired...is it all in their minds?  I know that Star Trek has explored the mirror universe (well, they just scratched the surface), but it would

42 Rules for Successful Collaboration (2nd Edition): A Practical Approach to Working with People, Processes and Technology by David ColemanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I guess I forgot to check off this book as read a few days ago. The book was OK, and it was a fairly fast book to read, not weighed down by disciplinary jargon. That said, some of the rules are quite helpful, whereas others

Collaboration in Distance Education: International Case Studies by Louise MoranMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Even though it's a little dated at this point, it was an interesting view into cross-organizational collaborations in distance education. I started reading this thinking that it was more about person-to-person collaboration, not necessarily institution-to-institution initiatives. 

Teaching Crowds: Learning and Social Media by John DronMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I've had both a physical and a digital copy of this book for ages, but only really gone through select passages since I've had it. This time around I read through it cover to cover. It's interesting to read about sets, nets, groups, and collectives, and how they are instantiated using various technologies. I

Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach: 41 by Joseph A. MaxwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was quite a short book (in comparison to other methods books I've read) but it was quite good. It's definitely packed with good insight and things to make you think about what you want to consider when it comes to writing your research proposal. At the end of each chapter there are memoing

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Gorn Crisis by Kevin J. AndersonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an OK graphic novel. The watercolor inspired art direction didn't really do much for me. It wasn't bad, it just was not something that I was drawn to as compared to other comics I've read. The story was also mediocre. I was expecting more in-depth Gorn lore, and it seemed like a very throw-away

Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Method by Annette N. MarkhamMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting collection of researched essays on doing qualitative research on the internet. The book is setup in a Question prompt-response-responses to the response manner. In a sense it's a bit like a dialogue, or a panel discussion, but in written form.  It definitely gives you some food

Legacies: Book 1: Captain to Captain by Greg CoxMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Quite an interesting kick off to the 50th anniversary novel special (if you'd call it that). This story deals with characters that were seen in the original pilot (the one that was never picked up), with Number One (Majel Barrett's character) coming to Kirk's enterprise to take a piece of tech that allow s for interdimentional

The Art of Case Study Research by Robert E. (Earl) StakeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This book reads well, and its nice narrative (for the most part) style of writing really gives the reader a good overview of the Case Study method and how to research and write using this approach. It was fairly easy to read through, and it would be good to read this again as you embark on your case study. That

Advances in Research on Networked Learning by Peter GoodyearMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting exploration of Networked Learning - despite it being a little dated (from a technology point of view) the chapters are still relevant today in my opinion 😃. I actually came across a few good nuggets of information that I need to track down for my own dissertation work - serendipity strikes

Armada by Ernest ClineMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was looking forward to reading this book as soon as I discovered that it existed. I really liked "Ready Player One" and this book did not disappoint. The book has a ton of references to (mostly) 80s pop-culture and it indulges the conspiracy theorists that say that the government is preparing us for the imminent arrival of our alien foes.

Place-Based Spaces for Networked Learning by Lucia CarvalhoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book of cases in Networked Learning. It's fun to see some familiar researcher names pop-up where you don't expect them. This book seems like it has a well-rounded selection of case studies where Networked Learning and Space intersect. Good read, even though not all of the chapters really pertained

The Butcher of Anderson Station by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Quite an interesting background story for Fred. I don't remember if I saw this on the TV show, I guess I need to rewatch. Sets up an interesting juxtaposition between Earth/Mars and the Belters, and provides some history for the Belters. View all my reviews

Drive by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Interesting short novella about the person who developed the propulsion systems used in this universe (and who is mentioned in passing in the first novel). Pretty good for a world-building - I hope there is more later on talking about the history of this verse and how the belt became the belt. View all my reviews

The Architecture of Productive Learning Networks by Lucila CarvalhoMy rating: 3 of 5 starsI'd give it 3.5 stars if GoodReads would allow it. This is an interesting book on case studies (essentially) on how people have implemented Networked Learning in their various environments. Some examples might resonate with you, and others might be too alien. Overall I think it's a good idea book. Some chapters

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. CoreyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I started reading this series because I am a fan of the show. I am amazed at how faithful the TV show is to the book. Having seen Season 1 of the show I was not really surprised at the story, but I have to say that the book adds depth to the television series (some things don't translate). Looking forward to reading more of this

This past weekend's last week tonight (on the topic of the upcoming french elections) was pretty awesome. Love the film noir ending ;-).  I didn't remember that Babar married his cousin...

Analysing Networked Learning Practices In Higher Education And Continuing Professional Development by Lone Dirckinck-HolmfeldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Learned a lot on infrastructure and affordances in relation to Networked Learning. This was an interesting read, and my fourth book into this topic.  I still have a few more on my to-read list, but I am looking forward to them.  I

Exploring the Theory, Pedagogy and Practice of Networked Learning by Lone Dirckinck-HolmfeldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I liked this particular book on Networked Learning. It provided a nice balance between theory and actual practice. I think I am addicted to this Networked Learning thing.  I have a three more books on my to-read list on GoodReads, and I bookmarked the proceedings for

The Design, Experience and Practice of Networked Learning by Vivien HodgsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Continuing my reading into the presentation I want to do this April, and working on my readings for my dissertation proposal, here is this book.  This was quite interesting to read, and it definitely went by faster compared to another Networked Learning book I read recently. The edited

How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences by David R. KrathwohlMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Finished this - maybe a little later than I expected (the semester ended a month ago :p) but it's done. Overall not a bad book. It's easy to read and it provides a lot of food for thought in terms of what you should have in your

Couldn't escape the GoodRead year-end-review!I am generally very conservative when I set my reading goals each year because I tend to think of books as thick things that take a long time to get through.  However, as this year has proven again I've read more books than I expected.  If you notice, you'll see that it's a lot of comic books and star trek novels (audiobook or text-to-speech ebooks

 This past week the rumor, or leak, is that the new Star Trek series (Discovery) will take place 100 years after Enterprise, and 10 years before the original series.  I've seen a lot of  "bah! humbug"-ing in the various facebook Trek groups I follow (mostly because of fan films).  It seems that most people would prefer something set in the post-Voyager and post-Nemesis era, which

While we still have a few more weeks left in 2015, and I probably will finish one more book (the one I have in progress and listening to during my commutes these days), this is a mostly accurate view of my 2015 reading list.  One year I made my goal to read 30 books in a year - failed it.  Since then I've decided to keep it simple and focus on reading a book a month.  If I go over that

Last week I was catching up with Continuum, a Canadian science fiction show about a future cop that finds her way to present-day Vancouver.What I didn't realize is that this was the final season, and I was actually watching the final episode, which for once was refreshing to not know what was coming. (yes, spoilers ahead). Stop reading, and go see this series.  It's worth watching.With the TV

Or...maybe back to the past? Going Retro?  Hmmm... Perhaps going retro is a more appropriate title.In any case, having played Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST and Halo Reach and liked the, I decided to read to 4 Halo Books. I read (or rather listened to) Halo Evolutions I, and the first trio of Halo Books (Fall of Reach, The Flood and First Strike)  in audiobook format (thank you library!). I enjoyed

This is a pretty interesting comic book (based on real events).  This is so nicely done that others need to pay attention to it!  It really showcases what you can do when you really utilize the medium you have to work with and break out of existing constraints (that are not necessarily your current medium's constraint)CIA : Operation Ajax for the iPad from Cognito Comics on Vimeo.

HyperCard - one of the tools used for creating HyperText fictionI came across this article on Slate the other day on the topic of HyperText books. I have to say that the idea intrigued me since for the "early life" of HyperText stories I was in Greece and I didn't have a computer, and for the latter part of their life (in the 90s anyway), I wasn't really interested in reading novels, much less so on

This past summer I borrowed quite a lot of books from my school's library. Since I am a staff member the loan period is quite generous, so I could take out a box full of books and have them due back in October. Pretty sweet. So I decided to look at my GoodReads list and get as many books as I could find at my school which has the generous loan period.  After reading quite a few books from

Over the weekend I took the opportunity of having nice weather to sit out in the sun and finish off the remainder sixty or so pages in Starship Troopers that I had started reading a few weeks ago.  I had watched the movie adaptation when it came out quite some time ago (1998?) as well as the two sequels to the movie: Starship Troopers Hero of the Federation and Starship Troopers Marauder. The

Having played a number of games that make reference to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, I decided that it would be a good idea to actually read the book that has served as some sort of inspiration for those games. This book is also seems to be a book that has won critical acclaim, so it seemed like a good idea to read it.  Thus I put this book on my Overdrive account (public library audiobooks) and

Last fall I won a pre-release copy of the book Half-Made World by Felix Gilman - this was through GoodReads.com. Sadly with all the homework and school reading I didn't really get to read the book right away.  Well, with school over I was able to finally pick up the book and read it. I thought that since I do not read a lot of fiction it would be a good change of pace for my reading habits.The

A long while ago I got a promotional copy of the 4-hour work week by Tim Ferriss on Audible.  Now that I have the audible app on my iPhone I had rediscovered that I had purchased (for nothing) this book and I thought I would give it a try.  My first encounter with this book was through a classmate's wall on Facebook - he had written a rave review of the book.  Personally, back then,

The other day I was curious to see if Overdrive had an iOS app that I could load on my iPod Touch or iPhone so I can take advantage of the service offerings of my local public library.  I often go to the library to get videos or books (and on occasion books on CD), but lately I haven't had much of an opportunity to browse the stacks - and quite honestly my academic library keeps me busy with academic

A while back I downloaded Free: The future of a radical price (by Chris Anderson) from Audible.  I'm pretty sure that it's probably still free (the eBook version was free for a while but probably not anymore). In any case, with the audible app, I've rediscovered by free purchase (which is probably in some backup disk somewhere), downloaded it and started reading it.I have to say that I really

A week or so ago I heard on one of the TWiT Podcasts that audible had an audible application for the iPhone out.  Now over the years I've bought many Free audible books. They go on sale, or there is a special promotion going on and the books are free. These are automatically downloaded and added to my iTunes library. I don't have them automatically synced however because I don't plan on listening

Well, actually I don't but that is the title of a book that I read recently that was quite a page turner. I first saw this book (I hate people) advertised somewhere online, I can't remember where, but the graphic did catch my eye. It shows a stick figure kicking over a water cooler. The saying does that you should not judge a book by its cover, but in this case the cover was a good indication of

I recently finished listening to Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter's Guide during my commutes from home to work and vice versa. I was never really a fan of business speak, crazy work such as paradigm shift, or leveraging my assets to build up a best of breed solution. While in business school I tried to avoid such BS, but I do have to admit that I have in a number of occasions (when