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The Archives
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01.22.08Reflective Architecture: The Prokovy Neva Thumb-Sucking TestReflective Architecture contributes less to an avatar's experience than buildings that give good camera, in Prokofy Neva's view, who recently outed me as part of the thumb-sucking set who have perhaps spent too much time 'gazing' and not enough time worrying about buildings that people can really live in: People readily adapt to immersive virtuality and live in it as if it is real, in a very simple way, and the lower the level of education, they easier they do this, without thumb-sucking about reflexivity. The architecture needs to have a comfort level that avatars can really live in, and not just gaze at, as ...
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01.21.08Forrester on Second Life: Employing MillenialsForrester argues that forward-thinking companies should explore virtual worlds now as a strategy for understanding how to attract, hire and retain the Millenials who will need to fill the empty job slots left by the Baby Boomers. Connie Moore, on the Forrester corporate blog argues that We also know definitively from our research that they learn differently. Millenials won't like to attend classroom training, and they won't even like taking online courses. Instead, Millenials want to learn on the job and have the systems teach them when help is needed. Corporations Need to Get with the Game Based on the idea that large ...
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01.15.08Exodus to the Virtual World: Policy, Fun, and an Alternative View of Castranova’s New BookExodus to the Virtual World is an intriguing, thought-provoking and in many ways brilliant book that is a wake-up call to the power of virtual worlds as the source of real world change and lessons for policy-makers. It also leaves me feeling queasy in its argument that the lessons of "fun" from virtual worlds should be a source of serious consideration by governments. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Castranova's arguments if taken to one logical extension are for the brainwashing of citizens through a system of rewards (working on the concept of bypassing emotion by working ...
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01.14.08Discovery Network (DEN) Hold’s WebEx Webinar on Second Life and Education‘Get a Life, a Second Life That Is!’ is a webinar aimed at educators who would like to learn more about Second Life and how this virtual world can contribute to your PLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network). The workshop is being held January 15th as a Webinar followed by discussions in world.
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01.11.08Serious Games and Blended Learning (Glitchy Link)Nice posting on a basic definition of blended learning with examples of approaches including within Second Life: In the strictest sense, blended learning is when an instructor combines two methods of delivery of instruction. However, this term most often applies to the use of technology on instruction. Over the last few years the use of online/ virtual technologies for learning, teaching and assessment has gradually expanded. Serious Games, of course, are often part of the "blending" process. Read full post at Future-Making Serious Games.
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01.11.08US Government Creates Virtual ChinaThanks to MMO Crunch for making note that the US Department of Defense is creating a sim that recreates China for supplementing current diplomatic training: Utilizing a team of programmers, 3D modelers, researchers, and educators, the US Department of Defense has begun building a virtual China within Second Life. Created on its own private island with the aid of photos and maps, the virtual world is being used as a supplement to current diplomatic training to educate US diplomats and other government employees about China’s history, geography, and even how to use Chinese ATM and Subway ticketing machines. More than just ...
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01.10.08Fireside Chat with San Francisco Mayor Sees Virtual Worlds as Collaborative LabOnly hours after being sworn in for his second term as mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsome joined Linden CEO Philip Rosedale in Second Life for a chat about how a virtual world can provide insight and imagination towards shaping real world governance and policy. This gives credence to the argument by Edward Castranova that a) there is a migration to virtual worlds and that b) if people migrate to a new country, the features of that country may be a source of lessons and policy for the "old world". (More about Castranova's book soon!) Massively kindly transcribed the chat and ...
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01.07.08IBM on the Importance of Second Life IntegrationTrailing slightly in my reading, but a blog post in November from IBM hits on one of three important points that will, in my opinion, determine Second Life's success for 2008. Says the IBM blogger: A lot of virtual world advocates (no few of them my IBM colleagues!) consider virtual worlds to be the overarching technology. Where it is to interact with other technologies they are to be incorporated in the virtual world. I see it more open. That virtual worlds is as often an embedded technology as it is an embedding technology. My competition entry above embedded aspects of Second Life ...
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01.05.08Papervision TutorialI realize PaperVision is slightly off the subject for discussions of the metaverse, unable at this time to support multiple AVs, but being able to create 3D environments on the Flash engine adds a lot to the Metaverse toolkit. I'm big on the belief that it's important not to get too tied to the language of virtual or synthetic worlds, because 3D content will be a parallel, mirror, or immersive adjunct and layer beside, between, on top of and beneath the Internet (and beyond). The evolving Metaverse will include overlays of virtual informaiton on the real world (HUDs in "RL" cars ...
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01.05.08Education in Virtual Worlds: A New SpringWhile corporations both struggle to find their place in virtual worlds and strengthen their control and reach, especially amongst children (see Disney's announcement of an investment up to $100 million in virtual worlds for kids) another trend is shaping up to be the one to watch for 2008, and that's the growing use of platforms like Croquet, Second Life and even the standby ActiveWorlds as forums for research and education. The Argument for Virtual Worlds in Words and Pictures Sarah Robbins put together a presentation that summarizes the benefits of virtual world platforms: [slideshare id=55539&doc=engagement-in-second-life-learning-5419&w=425] Her primary argument is for the use of virtual ...
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