Author Archives: Sheldon Sax

The monk’ s taking pictures by Gary Margolis

The monk’ s taking pictures

of what he made, this sand
painting in the lobby
of our library. We’re standing,
waiting for what will happen

to his million colored grains.
One of Buddha’s born designs.
He’ll sweep into his hand,
to let his prayers sift back

into Compassion’s vase.
I thought I was only here
to browse, to take out a book,
this late Sunday afternoon.

And not to walk by
and stop. To want
to hold what he was holding
for the mean time. Our invisible

hour glass. When a woman
nearby asked if he felt sad
letting go of what he made
(all that beautiful mind)

he didn’t quite say No.
Said. It’s natural, like death.
instead. Dismantling what
it took to free this kind

of love-making. What I found
myself doing as quietly
as I could, taking a picture, too,
for another time.

Thanks to LIS – Spring Student Symposium

Beacuse LIS is such a large and multi-faceted organization, we are not always aware of what various parts of the organizaton do. I thought it might be useful to describe LIS’s critical role in supporting the Spring Student Symposium on April 14-15. As a member of the planning committee, I would like to thank the many LIS staff and student workers who made the event run so smoothly. If I’ve neglected to mention someone who participated, my apologies.

Over the last few years, the symposium has grown from a small number of science students presenting posters of their research to a College-wide event celebrating the academic research that permeates the entire curriculum.  This spring, for the first time, the symposium included evening events celebrating the arts and humanities. Also, this year, the Spring Preview program  for accepted students and their parents, run by Admissions,  coincided with the Symposium enabling these students and their families to attend Symposium  events. In short, this was a very high profile event both within and beyond the College. Making the technology run smoothly was a challenge that LIS met most successfully. Continue reading →

Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures

Submitted by Shel Sax

This is a recently completed three-year collaborative project funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, the digital youth project explores how kids use digital media in their everyday lives.

Digital Youth Media has the complete report as a white paper and a two page summary in pdf format. If you’ve wondered how today’s youth are using digital media, It is interesting reading.