Education
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University of Leicester: vision of the future
The term imagineering is one that I personally hate, but I can't think of a better term than that for this video from the University of Leicester and TwoFour Learning.They are presenting themselves in Second Life, and their vision for how and why Second Life will, in their professional opinions, become as commonplace a learning environment as the lecture theatre currently is over the next few years. (Oh, and in the interests of disclosure, I have some stuff on their island, and you can see it in the video if you watch really closely, albeit in the background.) if you would like to see more of Media Zoo it can be found here.
California school district getting 1,000 Asus Eee PCs
Students in California's Fresno Unified school district have a little something to be excited about this week, as officials have just invested $650,000 in 1,000 Asus Eee PCs, set for classroom deployment over the next few weeks. The concept is to use the miniscule laptops alongside good, old-fashioned textbooks, with each student being given the chance to create a "digital portfolio" of essays, drawings, and whatever else they can get away with. The computers will remain in roughly 60 classrooms, and will be shared by students -- but some worry they'll hinder the learning process by distracting pupils. Says Stephen Lewis, a geology professor at California State University, Fresno, "Teaching and learning is a person-to-person business. Are we moving toward a remote-control classroom?" We're not sure what he means by that... then again, we drifted off half-way through his statement to watch a video of that dog on a skateboard.
Academic research on Second Life
Although you may not realise it, Second Life has a huge group of educators active within it, many of whom have been active for some time. The process of writing academic papers however, is long and sometimes painful. We are starting to see these papers appearing dotted around the place: Jennings and Collins (download the paper as PDF) survey some 170 institutions with a presence in Second Life. Kamel Boulos et al look at Second Life as a tool for health and medical education and its implications for librarians in these areas (abstract only - full article with subscription or single payment). There will, doubtless, be many of more these to come, and there are probably a few I've missed already - but we are starting to see Second Life enter the academic mainstream: not only in use by many institutions around the world, but appearing in peer-reviewed journals as well as at conferences. I'm too much the academic not to cite properly:Jennings, Nancy, and Chris Collins. (2007) ??Virtual or Virtually U: Educational Institutions in Second Life.?? International Journal of Social Sciences, 2(3), 180-187Maged N. Kamel Boulos, Lee Hetherington, Steve Wheeler (2007) Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education . Health Information and Libraries Journal 24 (4), 233–245.[Thanks to MB Chevalier and Chris Collins for the tips]
German school licenses Crysis engine for courses
The engine behind Crysis is the current king-of-the-hill in the constant battle for technical superiority in games. So when the German Hochschule Darmstadt school reaches an agreement to license Crytek Studios' CryEngine 2 for their game development courses, it's a major coup.In addition to gaining access to the high-end middleware engine, students at Hochschule Darmstadt will have access to the Crytek team itself. Crytek will host lectures on using the engine, as well as on general topics such as design and conceptualizing. CryEngine 2 will be utilized for far more than simply game development: Hochschule Darmstadt hopes to use the technology in animation, video production, and sound design courses as well. It's a tremendous opportunity for students to be able to work with teams and technology of a AAA title, but does the highest-calibur technology necessarily give these students anything new to bring to the table?
More evidence: MMOs are good for you
Some believe video games dumb us down. Dr. Constance Steinkuehler isn't one of them. She's an assistant professor of Educational Communication & Technology, and she spoke at Future Play 2007, a conference on future trends in the gaming industry. In her presentation she suggested that MMOs actually improve our mental performance for both verbal and scientific tasks.Fan fiction, forum arguments about which class does more l33t DPS, and complex social groups all keep our minds active, and these things could be educational tools for children. Even the oft-criticized MMO shorthand was shown in her talk to be more complex than one might first assume.Steinkuehler also talked a bit about the roles that friendships in MMOs play in peoples' lives. She runs a gaming club for at-risk kids and hopes to use video games and teamwork to help them overcome their academic troubles. Sadly, we couldn't find a transcript of the presentation, but Gamasutra wrote up a good summary.
National Distance Learning Week at ISTE in Second Life
Second Life is just a game? This week the USA is celebrating National Distance Learning Week. Educators from a huge range of subjects and most countries in the world use Second Life for both distance and blended learning. In case the term is unfamiliar, blended learning is when you see students face-to-face and use Second Life as part of the learning experience with students you see both ways.As part of their activities in support of this the Internatioal Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is hosting a seminar in Second Life at the ISTE auditorium at 6pm SLT on Wednesday 14th November. Full details below the fold.
Nanotechnology challenge in Second Life
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is running the NanoLands Challenge in Second Life.The contest is design and build an exciting exhibit about nanotechnology in Second Life, on their NanoLands Island. There are full criteria available here, the attractive part: cash prizes of US$400 and 700 for successful entries. There is no closing date for this contest, they will simply assess each suggestion against the criteria and offer space and money to successful applicants until the money is all gone.[Information about this contest was sent to us by a variety of means, including directly from Troy McLuhan and via Nanowerk.]
Apple customizing MacBooks for K-12?
Here's an interesting little tidbit. Apparently Apple has just landed large contracts to supply MacBooks to local school districts in Kansas City and southwest Louisiana. What's interesting though is that Apple is apparently customizing these MacBooks to meet various security requirements of the districts. The Kansas City Star notes that each of the computers has a sticker "clearly identifying them as the property of the Kansas City, Kan., public schools... [which] will not come off without virtually destroying the laptop." Furthermore, each computer will apparently have a GPS tracker and even "a remote device to destroy the hard drive" if stolen. One wonders whether Apple might eventually make these sort of security features available to the general public.Update: Re-reading the article, It's not clear whether the modifications are being doing by Apple or by some third-party after purchase.[via MacVolPlace]
Researching consumption in Second Life
The University of California, Riverside, Sloan Center for Internet Retailing will be opening a two-sim island in Second Life to study consumer behaviour in virtual worlds.They will use this space to create a "live-work-play" environment for their subjects on one island, whilst the other will offer space for observers and interested parties. More details can be found in one of their forum posts. Whilst one has to wonder just how they will test all aspects of virtual world consumerism in such a limited space, I am sure it will be of interest to many. If you would like to know more about this project their website is available here, with blogs by author and fora.(Via Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, UCR)
Griefers can add value to a class
Koin 6 News is carrying an article by Elizabeth Weiss McGolerick about griefing in educational settings in Second Life. The article may surprise some - it quite carefully points out that you get the equivalent to griefers in real classes, where you exclude them from class and usually you exclude them from your Second Life classes too, or move the class since that is simple where the land owner has neglected to give you rights to exclude others.The piece discusses turning the situation into something teachable, the fact that no physical harm can be done, and goes on to discuss, accurately, the "Big 6" ways to get banned from Second Life. In the interests of disclosure, I work with 2 of the teachers interviewed through Literature Alive!(Via SLReports)
Librarians who play World of Warcraft
Apparently the great WoW Ladies LJ community is full of librarians (who knew?), and they've pointed to this interesting article about a panel that includes a short presentation about World of Warcraft, and how libraries can benefit from providing resources about the game. Their numbers are a little off, in terms of players and how much they pay per month, but their reasoning is right on-- there are lots of reading resources online about the game (*ahem*, that's us!), and sites like WoWWiki and even GameFAQs (fine, laugh if you want) can be perfect for getting people who don't usually do much writing to try putting their thoughts into words on a page.I'm usually iffy on using games for education, because usually the people trying to do it don't have the first clue about what games really are. But something like this-- asking a beginning writer to use their game knowledge to make a guide or analyze gameplay-- seems much more well-founded and beneficial. And if all these librarians are part of the nine million people who play WoW, then this definitely seems like a great idea-- use common ground to help teach reading and learning skills.Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean WoW Insider should be bookmarked on every library computer (although, now that it's been mentioned...). But it's cool to see librarians using their knowledge of Azeroth to help teach real-world skills.
UK secondary school tests RFID embedded uniforms
Hungerhill School, a secondary school in Doncaster, South Yorkshire is running a trial that involves tagging the uniforms of pupils with RFID tags. The tags pull up data including academic performance, the child's current location, and can even deny access to certain restricted areas -- behind the bike shed, perhaps? The trial has raised the usual questions of privacy and human rights, although since the trial is voluntary and provides convenience by auto-registering pupils, the current iteration of the trial isn't a particularly great violation. Call us when kids get tags from birth, then we'll take to the streets: but probably only because ours missed out. We'll take our tongue out of our cheek now.[Via Picture Phoning]
Circuit City steps up to educate customers about DTV cutover
It'd be too easy to just mark off Best Buy's earlier announcement regarding its decision to no longer sell analog TVs as a simple coincidence, but whatever the case, Circuit City is hitting back to let the whole world know that it cares, too. Aside from confirming that it plans on participating in the NTIA Converter Box Coupon Program, it also announced that it would be "incorporating DTV transition reminders and messages into the closed circuit videos that run on its TVs," include cutover advisory information in its advertising supplements, install store signage to inform customers of the impending change and train employees to be well-versed on the whole matter. Stay sharp, though, we can just hear the PSAs turning into sales pitches now.
BenQ rolls out MP612 / MP612c projectors for the office, classroom
We suppose a pair of higher-end business projectors just weren't enough for one day, so BenQ has apparently decided to offer up even more options for those satisfied with an 800 x 600 (SVGA) resolution. Sure, the MP612 and MP612c both sport a less than flattering native res, but they do offer up a 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 2,500 / 2,200 ANSI lumens, respectively. These DLP units also boast a lamp that lasts some 4,000 hours when used in economy mode, and the whisper quiet operation should prevent you from having to yell over it when brushing over those mid-term review slides. As for inputs, you'll find VGA in / out, S-Video, composite and a stereo mini jack, and the built-in speakers remove the need for external drivers to hear those oh-so-necessary blips and bleeps. No word on pricing just yet, but the duo should be available worldwide later this month.
The good, bad and ugly of attending game schools
"Want to play the world's greatest game? Well, you can't, because you haven't made it yet!"Every time one of those commercials come on, tempting impressionable youth into delusions of game design grandeur and luring them into less-than-stellar colleges focused on game development skills, we cringe. Badly. To the point where our significant others wonder if we're developing some kind of chemical imbalance. Are these game-centric universities worth the money?The experts over at GameCareerGuide lay out the various advantages and disadvantages of attending a game school (as opposed to a more traditional university). While leaving their final opinion ambiguous, the article does a great job of preparing up-and-coming bright minds about the ramifications of their educational decision. We're not going to give any sagacious advice, either, but we will recommend anyone considering a game development school to attend one near a cluster of development studios so that you can benefit from a co-op work program and do some beneficial networking.
Planbook: Lesson planning for teachers, Mac style
In an education world where parents make all the decisions and administration knows less about teaching than the students, teachers can use all the help they get. While I wait for Assistants R Us to open in the Denver area so I can take some of the burden off my wife's high school English-teaching shoulders, educators of all kinds might be able to take some solace in Planbook from Hellmansoft. Designed and developed by Jeff Hellman, a 9th grade physics and science teacher, Planbook aims to do away with the clunky ways of writing lesson plans with paper by providing tools to plan, attach files, print, publish and search the digital way. Teachers can plan out lessons for one or multiple classes for the week, month or year, attach files the students will need for homework and publish it all to the web via FTP or to a local folder. Students, parents and administrators alike can then view the site, the daily lessons and download the files at their leisure. Still need paper versions? No sweat - Planbook can print out customized reports for students and administrators, great for handing out or posting in class.Since I am the farthest thing from a teacher, my wife graciously offered to give this software a whirl and share her thoughts. To be honest, after a minute or two of poking around, she was absolutely thrilled. She was impressed with Planbook's feature set and how easy it was to start writing plans for multiple classes. She loved the publish-to-web idea since her school already provides some digital records for parents to check from home, but I am sad to report that there was one killer deal-breaker that took the bounce out of my wife's step - Planbook is Mac-only. Now my wife is a Mac user through and through, but her school lives in the Windows world making Planbook ineligible for consideration.[Update: Jeff Hellman stopped by to comment that he's one step ahead of me; he actually is working on a Windows version and hopes to enter beta this weekend. This could certainly boost Planbook's appeal in Windows and mixed-OS environment and for teachers who live on both sides of that fence between the home and office.]If you or your teaching friends are fortunate enough to work on the Mac side at school, I (via my wife) definitely recommend you take a look at Planbook. Even as a 1.0 product it sounds like Hellman has hit most of the large nails right on the head, and more interest and support can only make a good product get better over time. Check out the Planbook site for more information, including an example published Planbook, as well as IM support and a Yahoo! Groups link. Individual licenses are $30, while volume licenses begins at up to 10 teachers for $100, going all the way up to 65+ teachers for $300. As a bonus, the volume license allows teachers to use Planbook on both their home and work computers.
Carlos Slim to hook Mexico up with 'millions' of laptops
Carlos Slim, who is (debatably) the richest man on the face of the planet, has recently pledged to do some good with all that fundage, and we'd say that donating "250,000 low-cost laptops to children by the end of the year and as many as one million in 2008" is a fine start. Noting "digital education" as the key for turning much of Mexico around, he is aiming to "initially put the laptops in libraries and schools" and hand them out to students afterwards. Moreover, he suggested that his company (Telmex) would be there to help set up wireless networks for the machines to connect to, and as if these plans were enormous enough, he's also looking to establish "early stimulation" preschools within four years to give "poor children training at a young age in math, language, and computers."[Via Wired]
Lab admin's secret weapon: Tips & Tricks for Mac Management
If you're the person responsible for Mac support in a big, cross-platform shop, it can sometimes feel like you're alone in the Windows wilderness. Established communities like AFP548.com (port 548 is reserved for the AppleShare Filing Protocol, hence the name) and MacEnterprise.org are critical resources for anyone who rides herd on a pride of Macs in a business or educational environment. Hidden away among the postings and troubleshooting info are some true gems, including Apple engineer John DeTroye's "Tips and Tricks for Mac Management" PDF handbook. If you're trying to do anything with Workgroup Manager, you need this concise 116-page document, and you need it now.JohnD's guide for workgroup and preference management -- particularly for implementing Portable Home Folders, where user data is cached and synchronized to a fileserver -- is so vital, it's linked from Apple's knowledge base article on Mac Manager. Along with Mike Bombich's deployment tips page and AFP548's AD/OD integration guide, it needs to be in the virtual library of every Mac manager. You can download the current version of the Tips and Tricks PDF here.
Coming in December: WolfQuest
You'll have to indulge me in a little nostalgia here. Some of my earliest Apple memories are of crowding around an Apple II playing Oregon Trail. I couldn't help but think of that when I saw that our gaming blog brothers at Joystiq have uncovered an exciting new "edutaiment" title coming in December. Called WolfQuest, this wolf "simulator" is being created by the Minnesota Zoo to allow me (er, I mean, kids) to live out the dream of being a wolf on the great plains. If the pricelessly corny preview video is to be believed, the Minnesota Zoo and Eduweb will apparently achieve something beyond EA's capacity: cross-platform network play with simultaneous release on Mac and PC.Alas this lupine sim won't be out until December 2007, but now you really have something to look forward to this Christmas. And by the way, if you want to relive those Oregon Trail days, it's possible in a Dashboard widget.
Library lures potential readers with video games
Beware, bibliophobes! Nefarious librarians are luring gamers into their hallowed halls with promises of Guitar Hero goodness. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports that a public library in Humboldt, Iowa is using Guitar Hero as a hook to get teens interested in reading. Gaming aficionados from local schools were invited to the library to play the rhythm music game, and peers from the library's Teen Advisory Board used the opportunity to encourage reading as an enjoyable past-time. Books? Enjoyable? Who knew?[Via GamePolitics]
