Are$we$having$ FUN,$yet?$
If!not,!wait!until!you! devo ur!this!issue!of! VEJ!!I!love!this picture! of!the!“Dancing! Pandas”!in!WoW!– and! there!are!so!many! more!great!photos!in! this!issue!of!VEJ.!As! editor!of!VEJ!I!have!had! the!opportunity!to!read!every!word!and!check!out!every!link!– and!I!can’t!begin! to!tell!you!how!much!I!have!learned!from!this!issue.!This!is by!far!our!BEST!and! most!fun!issue!yet!!!Could!it!have!something!to!do!with!PLAY?!
In#This#Issue • Reflections!by!Lowly!High!Grand Poobah!BJ!Gearbox
• Kids!Connecting!With!Games
• VWBPE!2013!– Save!The!Date
• Capturing!Our!Best!Fiero!Moments!
• VEJ!Readers!Choice!Favorite!Games
My!greatest!learning!from!this!issue!is!grounded!(or!should!I!say!heightened)!by! observing!and!learning!about!Fiero!Moments!.!.!.!a!term!I!didn’t!know!until!we! began!to!plan!this!issue!of!VEJ.!I!actually!used!it!with!administrators!at!our!New! Leader’s!Academy!for!the!Connecticut!Association!of!Schools a!couple!of!weeks! ago,!when!I!asked!principals!to!share!their!(rl)!Fiero!Moments.!My favorite!was! when!one!administrator!said!it!happened!when!her!son!was!able!to!read!his!first! book!to!her!!We!all!got!goose!bumps!!Be!sure!to!listen!to!how!Jane!McGonigal defines!Fiero,!and!then!make!your!own!Fiero!Moments!and!share!them!with!us! on!the!VEJ!flickr!page.
Be!sure!to!check!out!our!Reader’s!Choice!Favorite!Games,!the!interview!with!Kae! Novak,!aka,!Kavon!Zenovka!(sl),!the!amazing MachinEVO!videos,!joining!a!guild,! weekly!tweetchats,!and!much,!much!more!
My!favorite,!part!of!this!issue,!however,!is!being! On#Walkabout with!Cyrus!Hush.! The!Blake!Sea!is!amazing!!Riding!the!dolphin!was!fun.!Sitting!at!the!pool!bar!on! the!Galaxy,!SL’s!largest!cruise!ship!made!me!forget!the!rl!2013!blizzard!in! Connecticut!– at!least!for!a!little!while.!Watching!the!planes!land!and!take!off!at! the!Hollywood!airport!made!me!want!to!go!find!an!sl!plane!to!fly.!!Exploring!all!of! the!little!doors!at!Bearskin!Neck!captivated!me!for!hours.!But,!I!had!the!most!fun! running!along!the!country!roads!absorbing!the!Scandinavian!culture!at!the! Norway!Fjord.!!As!Roxie!(sl)!was!running,!Rosie!(rl),!however,!was!wishing!she! could!map!this!course!at!IFIT!www.ifit.com and!run!right!along!with!Roxie!on!her! incline!trainer.!Now,!that!would!be!a!great!way!for!both!of!us!to!get!our!GAME! ON!– simultaneously!in!rl!and!sl!!So!will!it!happen?!After!listening!to!Pathfinder! John!Lester!at!the!February!ISTE!SIGVE!Speaker!Series!– it!is!probably!coming! sooner!than!we!think!– either!with!our!google!goggles!or!something!even!more! powerful.!Speaking!for!both!of!us,!we!(Roxie!and!Rosie)!can’t!wait!
Whether!you!are!a!diehard!can’t!wait!for!the!next!Fiero!Moment!Gamer!or! someone!thinking!about!taking!the!plunge,!the!Gaming!Trailblazers!have!given! us!a!lot!to!chew!on!in!this!issue!!!Make!sure!that!you!take!the!time!to!visit!the! websites,!use!the!url’s!to!check!out!the!sl!hot!spots,!and!explore!the!numerous! resources!in!this!issue!of!VEJ!and!linked!to!VEJ.!There!is!sooooo!much!here!!A! HUGE!THANKS!to!all!of!our!contributors!
And,!most!of!all,!CONGRATULATIONS!to!ISTE!SIGVE!for!being!named!one!of!the! top!5!BEST!SOCIAL!NETWORKS!at!the!2012!Edublog!Awards.! CONGRATULATIONS!to!our!friends!and!colleagues!who!also!were!nominated! and/or!became!finalists!
Enjoy!and!VEJ!– OUT!OF!THIS!WORLD! Keep!smiling!!
Rosie!Vojtek,!aka!Roxie!Neiro!!(sl)
• XP!with!Machinima!for!FX!in Learning
• Language!Learning!Through Machinima!Play
• One!Billion!Rising!SL
• Minecraft,!Math!Mage,!and!Mobile
• #gamemooc:!Game!Based Tweetchat
• Calling!All!Visioneers!
• Fairy!Tales!Do!Come!True
• Creating!Texture!Packs
• SIGVE!Speaker!Series
• G.A.M.E.!ON!!An!Interview!with Kavon!Zenovka!(sl)
• Introduction!to!a!WoW!Guild
• Peterson!Schools!Get!Serious!About Playing!Games
• Second!Life!Physics!Lab
• Lights,!Camera,!Nominations: SIGVE!at!the!Eddies
• Educational!Games!for!Social!and Environmental!Causes
• Virtual!Pioneers!2012!.!.!.!It!Was!A Very!Good!Year
• Learning!With!Friends!In!Second Life
• Achieving!Fiero!Moments!in!Virtual Collegial!Communities
• Walkabout!– The!Blake!Sea!
• Inevitable!Betrayal:!An!Educator’s Guild
• A!Digital!Game!Based!Learning MOOC
• The!Games!M.O.O.C.!Now!&!Then
To!Read!VEJ!online!visit:! http://www.virtualeducationjournal.com/ For!more!information!about!ISTE!SIGVE!or! to!join!the!fun,!visit:! http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net/ Follow!us!on!Twitter!@VEJournal!or! #VEJournal!
Reflections# BJ#Gearbox#(sl),#Bob#Vojtek#(rl)
The!cover!story!on!the!March!2013!issue!of!Atlantic!Monthly!is!titled! "The!Robot!Will!See!You!Now."! In!it,!Jonathan!Cohn!explains,!"IBM's! Watson the!same!machine!that!beat!Ken!Jennings!at!Jeopardy is!now! churning!through!case!histories!at!Memorial!SloankKettering,!learning! to!make!diagnoses!and!treatment!recommendations.!This!is!one!in!a! series!of!developments!suggesting!that!technology!may!be!about!to! disrupt!health!care!in!the!same!way!it!has!disrupted!so!many!other! industries.!Are!doctors!necessary?!Just!how!far!might!the!automation!of! medicine!go?"
I!admit!that!this!is!my!bias,!however!our!insatiable!drive!to!implement! STEM!education!is!missing!a!critical!element,!maybe!two.!One!that!I! have!been!ranting!about!since!I!heard!the!term...!That!is,!it!is missing!the! letter,!"A,"!for!the!Arts!– creating!STEAM.
If!we!blindly pursue!STEM,!without!the!arts!and!the!creativity!and! innovation!inherent!in!the!arts,!we!have!a!strong!tendency!to!do!the! “easy”!version!of!STEM.!Meaning,!that!we concentrate!on!only the! knowledge!and!skills!that!are!rote,!easily!memorized, and fall!within!the! realm!of!tasks!that!IBM's!Watson!excels doing.!
The!second!element,!one!that!I!can't!append!the!acronym!easily!to! accommodate,!is!gaming,!which!is!the!focus!of!this!issue!of!VEJ.!I!can't! simply!add!a!"G"!to!STEAM!creating!STEAMG!– that!doesn't!work! So,! the!point!isn't!creating!the!perfect!acronym,!the!point!is, that!the! benefits!gained!by!game!play!are!missing.
Gamers!say!that!there!are!significant!benefits!to!playing!games.!As!you! read!the!articles!in!this!issue of!VEJ, consider!the underlying!elements! that!can!inform!teaching!and!learning,!guide!participants,!draw!them!in! to!an!immersive!experience,!and teach!skills!not!easily!replicated!in!the! traditional!classroom.
As!we!continue!to!describe!the!knowledge,!skills,!and!abilities!of!the!21st century!worker!(that!would!be!us!for!the!last!13!years)!I!hear!parallel! voices…!those!of!business!and!industry!and!what!they!consider!to!be! necessary!abilities!for!employees!of!the!future!and!the!descriptions!of! the!learning!that!takes!place!in!online!gaming.! For example, employers of!the!future!are!going!to!need!people to be!able!to!work as a!high! performing!team!rather!than!a!group!of!individuals!working!on!a!task.! Gaming!offers!that!!Plus!the!online!team!of!gamers!could!as!easily!be! sitting!around!a!large!table!in!Second!Life!as!they!could!be!dispersed! across!the!globe.!Where!can!you!replicate!that!in!the!typical!classroom! today?!
When!I!think!about!embracing!gaming!as!a!legitimate!exercise!in! learning,!I!wonder!how!long!it!may!take…!and!why. I!harken!back!to!old! phrases!describing!the!inclusion!of!other!technologies!for!the!classroom.! One!often!quoted!statement,!“It!took!20!years!to!get!the!overhead! projector!out!of!the!bowling!alleys!and!into!the!classroom.”!I!came! across!other!zinger!phrases!that!may!or!may!not!have!equal!validity.!
Such!as,!“there!hasn't!been!a!significant!change!in!how!we!teach!since! 1455.”!!A!reference!to!that!Gutenberg!thing,!I!presume.
As!a!final!anecdote,!I!had!a!student!in!one!of!my!classes!that,!as!a!junior! in!high!school,!seldom!if!ever, completed!homework.!I!just!couldn’t!seem! to!find!a “hook”!to!get!him!interested.!
Then,!he!was!absent!for!three!days.!Even!though!he!seldom!participated! in!class,!he!was rarely!absent.!When!he!returned,!I!asked!him,! “How!are! you!doing?”!
He!replied,!“I’m!feeling!better,!I!just!had!to!rest.”!
“Oh?”!I!said.!
“Yeah,!Civilization [new!version!of!the!game]!came!out,!and!I!played!for! 26!hours!straight.”
So!when!a!student,!not!engaged!in!school!can!spend!26!hours!straight! advancing!through!a!game,!what!is!it!that!the!game!developers know that!we!don’t?!What!do!we,!as!educators!need!to!learn? How!can! teachers!engage students!in!the same!way!that!game!developers engage! students?!Can!it!be!as!simple!as!bringing!the!games!into!the!classrooms?! Or,!is!there!more?
Read!through!this!issue!of!VEJ!and!help!us!have!a!dialogue!about!how! we!can!leverage!games!in!education.!Join!us!at!ISTE!SIGVE!Office!Hours! every!Tuesday!night!at!5:00!pm!slt!at!ISTE!Headquarters to!continue! this!discussion. Hope!to!see!you!there!
Kids!Connecting!with!Games!and!Virtual!Environments By!GridJumper!(SL),!Tanya!Martin!(RL)
Using!Google!Hangout,!Second!LIfe,!YouTube,!and!a!sampling!of!five! kid!friendly!games,!educators!met!in!Second!Life!at!the!SIGVE!Diner as! well!as!on!the!GameMooc!YouTube channel!to!watch!the!live!stream (recorded!on!December!11,!2012)!and!to!chat!and!forward!questions! to!the!presenters,!six!boys!and!girls!aged!8!to!17.!
Each!child!selected!an!online!game!and!took!turns!showing!and! explaining!the!game!selected.! The!digital!literacy!the!youngsters! displayed!was!a!demonstration!of!what!they!have!been!taught!and! have!learned!independently.! Parents!were!present,!but!the!hour!was! for!the!children!to!tell!their!story!and!they!did!so!eloquently,!without! a!script,!and!with!enthusiasm.!
Connected Hour attendees in the SIGVE Diner at ISTE-SIGVE Island on Second Life watching, listening and discussing as the Kids presented some of their favorite games.
Educators!asked!questions!and!the!children!had!no!problem! answering!and!continuing!with!the!demonstration.! Each!child!had! one!remote!practice!session!to!ensure!that!the!technology!was! working!on!each!home!computer.!The!ease!in!simultaneously!using! the!game!of!choice!and!Google!Hangout!as!well!as!audio!technology! (headphones!or!speakers)!was!evident.! Parents!were!present,!but!for! the!most!part!silent!and!we!later!learned!that!they!were!learning! about!their!children!and!about!the!games!that!other!children!played.!
I’ll!discuss!what!happened!behind!the!scenes,!as!you!can!see!the! unedited!version!of!the!broadcast!for!yourself!on!the!Game!MOOC! YouTube channel.!!
The!youngsters!in!the!broadcast!represented: 4!families,!both! genders, 5!age!groups,!3!states,!and!2!time!zones.!!They!did!not!know! each other,!with!exception!of!two!sets!of!siblings.!!Each!child!selected! the!game!they!wanted!to!share,!with!some!changes!to!a!second!choice! because!of!technical!issues!with!the!first.!!Each!child!expressed! excitement!in!sharing!with!no!request!of!“what!do!I!get!for!doing! this?”!!
During!the!event!each!child!patiently!waited!and!internal!chat! reflected!the!fact!that!either!the!kids!and/or!their!parents!were!being! attentive!to!the!speaker.!!After!the!event!I!received!feedback!mostly! from!the!parents.!!Parents!reported!that!their!children!had!fun!and! expressed!positive!thoughts!about!the!event.!!The!kids!all!had!some! sort!of!comment!about!the!other!presentations;!!“I!play!that!game!too,! I’m!on!level!___”,!“I!want!to!try!that”,!“He!sure!is!smart.” Parents!noted! not!only!on!the!content!but!the!manner!in!which!the!kids!presented. They!commented!on!public!speaking!and!the!varying!abilities!of!the! children!to!be!articulate.!Each!parent!expressed!that!they!learned! something!about!their!children.!!The!overwhelming!idea!expressed! was!that!it!was!fun!!
This!broadcast!made!it!clear!that!the!child!viewpoint!is!an!important! one.! They!will!tell!you!what!they!like!and!why!as!well!as!what!they! don’t!like!and!why!not.! Only!one!of!the!games!First!in!Math,!was!a! game!used!as!an!extension!to!school.!The!rest!of!the!games!Club! Penguin,!Poptropica,!Wizard!101,!and!Kerbal!Space!Program are!
games!these!children!access!at!home!for!fun.! As!you!listen!to!the! enthusiasm!in!the!child!voices!it!becomes!obvious!that!learning!while! playing!is!fun.!
[ISTE’s#SIGVE#(third#Connected#Hour#was#conducted#in#December#and# was#co hosted#by#G.A.M.E.#(Gamers#Advancing#Meaningful# Education).# You#can#view#the#entire#unedited#broadcast#on# Youtube.# Connected#Educator#Team:#Tanya#Martin,#Kae#Novak,#Andrew# Wheelock,#Chris#Luchs#and#Vasili#Giannoutsos]
As noted by Anderson (1933), “we perceive life as drama, and our major issues involve the definition of personal roles and the fabrication of stories that give purpose and shape to social existence. Public happenings have the quality of scenes created for public consumption”.
This year’s theme, “Beyond the Stage”, challenges educators to look at education as performance art. A tapestry of who we are, those we connect with, and education as a social narrative that defines our ability to create knowledge through innovation. The virtual frontier provides new tools and techniques to redefine not just those traditional narratives for a new age, but to change the relationship between the stage and the audience.
There are many stories we want to hear about. Diversification in use of technologies; the psychology of presence and how it impacts on learning; engagement of students as both a creative part of the learning process and consumer. There are a thousand and one stories. Bring them all –share them all – beyond the stage.
Call for proposals coming soon –watch this space for more details.
What is Fiero? Gaming expert, Jane McGonigal, shouts enthusiastically waving her hands and jumping up and down screaming FIERO to describe a Fiero Moment in a 10 second YouTube clip.
When Kae Novak was presenting at a Teaching with Technology conference, she asked this same question.
One of the instructors who speaks Italian, stood up from her seat and raised her arm fist clinched and said, “Pride!”
Yes, fiero is Italian for pride.
At this point you may have images of when a soccer team scores a goal or a football team makes a touchdown, but it is more than winning.
Kae Novak describes Fiero as, “It is that sense of accomplishment you receive when you have overcome an obstacle, solved a puzzle, or finished a challenge.” For example, listen to Kae Novak discuss “Fun, Flow and Fiero.”
So it may be building a house in Minecraft or even taking out your first spaceship in EVE Online.
We!asked!our!readers!to!share!with!us!their!Fiero!moments.!Here!are!some!of!our! favorites!!ENJOY!
Trish$Cloud Gridjumper$(Tanya$Martin)$captured
Our!readers!told!us!over!and!over!that!they!didn’t!have!pictures!of!their! greatest!Fiero!moments!because!they!were!either!too!excited!in!the! moment,!the!moment!happened!so!quickly,!or!they!just!didn’t!think! about!taking!a!picture!until!it!was!too!late.!There!is!no!way!to!go!back! and!get!the!picture!once!the!moment!is!gone.!
So,!here!are!some!of!the!great!Fiero!moments!that!are!somewhere!lost! in!virtual!space!but!live!on!in!the!player’s!minds!.!.!.!and!if!a!picture! paints!1,000!words,!these!few!words!may!help!you!paint!your!own! picture!of!the!moments!that!keep!gamers!craving!more!
" The$first$time$the$machines$"clicked"$in$Glitch33all$the$sudden$I$ understood$the$order$in$which$things$had$to$be$created$and$ ended$up$building$a$second story$onto$my$house$that$night.$:)$$ By$Aevalle.
" When$we$downed$deathwing$in$the$Cognitive$Dissonance$10$ man$raid.$After$weeks$of$coordination$and$strategy,$our$ perseverance$paid$off$and$we$defeated$the$world$breaker.$$By$ Zarrasia
" Teaching$French$FL$on$Second$Life. By$Edith$Paillat
" When$I$earned$the$ability$to$fly.$$It$made$everything$easier.$$ Getting$there$required$many$quests$and$gold.$By$Anonymous
" Fun$fiero$moment$in$Felwood$battling$imps$and$used$a$ rainbow$to$burn$them.$I$felt$like$I$was$in$an$episode$of$My$Little$ Pony! By$Trish$Cloud
VEJ Reader’s Choice Favorite Games We!asked!our!readers!to!tell!us!their!favorite!online,!social,!immersive,! 3D,!or!virtual!game.!!We!also!asked!readers!to!tell!us!“What!is!the! educational!value!is!of!your!favorite!online,!social,!immersive,!3D!or! virtual!GAME?”!!Here!are!some!of!the!comments!our!responders!gave! us:
" Instant#Assessment#and#feedback
" 21st Century#skills# Communication,#Collaboration,#Problem#Solving
" It#could#and#can#be#used#for#a#variety#of#educational#purposes# ranging#from#writing,#comprehension,#storytelling,#mathematics,# business,#etc.#Cooperation#with#fellow#players#as#you#collaborate#to# defeat#enemies.
" Intrinsic#motivation,#natural#language#production, immersive " Multiple#perspectives#and#exploring#identities#and#contexts,#situated# learning,#social#engagement
3rd Place Winner Minecraft XP!with!Machinima!for!FX!in!Learning By!Tanya!Martin!(RL),!Broward!County!Schools GridJumper!(SL)
Machinima comes!from!the!gaming!world.!!It!is!a!way!of!making! animated!movies!with!nothing!more!than!a!computer!and!screen! capture!software!and!“filmed”!either!in!an!immersive!world!or!Video! Game.!The!“movie”!can!be used!“as!is”!without!any!editing!or! embellished!with!sound,!music,!special!effects,!text,!and!editing.!! Teachers!can!customize!materials!for!students!using!game!content!to! help!introduce!a!topic,!define!processes!and!content,!and!trigger! creative!thought.!
Considering!the!components!of!a!typical!lesson/unit!plan,!either! teaching!a!process!or!introducing!new!content,!machinima!could!be! incorporated!to!bring!interest,!help!explain,!and!just!get!attention!in!a! way!that!today’s!students!are!used!to.!!Student!created!machinima! supports!learning!more!than!a!topic!or!curriculum!area.!!The!most! effective!way!to!use!machinima!with!students!is!to!have!them!work!in!a! group!and!develop!the!machinima!employing!a!variety!of!skills!and! roles.!!Just!as!is!done!in!moviemaking,!machinima!creation!requires! direction,!script!writing,!acting,!special!effects,!technical!skill,!music,! narration,!acting!and!editing.!!A!machinima!project!forces!students!to! collaborate,!communicate!and!solve!problems.
Some!possible!ways!to!use!machinima!for!teaching!and!learning!are:
▪ Lesson/Unit$Introduction:$ A!short!clip!introducing!a!topic!in!any! subject!area!is!possible!with!a!machinima.! MMORPGs!and! Sandbox!genre!games!allow!for!scenes!and!actions!that!would!be! impossible!to!recreate!in!the!physical!world.! As!you!look!over! your!lesson!plans!the!introductions!used!to!introduce!concepts!on! history,!science,!math,!and!literature!will!trigger!ideas!of!making!a! machinima!to!make!that!introduction!more!interesting,!relevant!
and!memorable.! Using!a!video!game!to!make!that!introduction!is! certain!to!catch!student!attention,!you!can!open!a!free! introductory!account!in!most games!to!use!for!machinima!and! most!virtual!worlds!are!free!to!join.
▪ Lesson$Objectives:$ When!you!give!students!objectives!for!a!lesson!or! unit!it!is!typically!in!words,!written!and!spoken.! How!about! having!a!Game!Toon!or!avatar!supply!the!objectives!in!an! animated!fashion!to!increase!attention.
▪ Lesson/Unit$Materials:$ Develop!innovative!ways!to!provide!content! information!on!any!curriculum!area.
▪ Unit$Assessment:$ Student!created!machinma!is!a!form!of!authentic! assessment, evaluated!with!the!use!of!a!rubric!provided!to! students!at!the!start!of!the!unit.!!Imagine!a!student!allowed!to!use! Wizard!101!to!retell!the!important!parts!of!a!literary!classic!or!a! creative!story.
▪ Remediation$&$Enrichment: Machinima!works!for!both enrichment! and!remediation!as!students!can!work!in!groups!and!develop! machinma!ensuring!objectives,!keeping!in!mind!that!grouping! students!to!ensure!success!is!important.
▪ Differentiating$Instruction:$ Developing!any!project!in!a!group! requires!use!of!various!skills!and!knowledge.! All!students!can! contribute!to!a!machinima!as!there!are!a!variety!of!skills and! levels!involved.
G.A.M.E.,!Gamers!Advancing!Meaningful!Education,!will!be!sponsoring!a! webinar!on!the!topic!of!Machinma!onFebruary!15,!2013.!!Tune!in!to!the! Game!MOOC!channel!at!9:00!PM!EST!for!the!live!stream!and!ask! questions!of!the!presenters.
Moving!pictures,!sound!and!stories!are!the!most!powerful!way!of! communicating!learning!content.
For!Generation!Z,!video!is!the!favored!means!of!communication! expression!as!well!as!learning!with!YouTube.! YouTube has become!the! second!most!popular!community!after!Facebook and!the!second!largest! search!engine!after!Google.! This!generation!however,!is!also!a!highly! critical!consumer!of film!and!video!and!educators!must!be!aware!of!
these!heightened expectations.
MachinEVO (a!5 week!workshop!for!language!teachers)!takes!up!the! challenge!of!‘video!as!a!new!language!of!learning’!and!purposes!to!train! and!equip!language!teachers!to!produce!visually!appealing!authentic! conversations.
The!technology!in!focus!is!machinima,!which!by!definition!is!the!use!of! real time!3D!computer!graphics,!such!as!video!games!or!virtual!worlds,! to!create!cinematic!productions.!Machinima!is!a!neologism!derived!from! machine!and!cinema.!The!actors!are!avatars!and!the!stage!is!computer generated!imagery.!The!camera!is!a!screen!recording!software!and!these! productions!are!lean!and!cost effective.!These!Video Podcasts! (Vodcasts) are!the!natural!successor!to!podcasts!and!the!genre, digital! storytelling, meets!a!creative!and!popular!environment,!namely!3D! graphics.
A!major!advantage!of!creating!films!in!Second!Life!is!that!they!are!far! less!expensive!than!real!world!productions,!and!these!recordings!go!far! beyond!merely!creating!podcasts!because!the!avatars!may!be!located!in! real!or!imagined!culturally!rich!environments,!such!as!Berlin!of!the! 1920's,!ancient!Rome,!or!on!spaceships!many!years!into!the!future.
For!a!set!of!samples!of!machinima,!please!look!at!the!following!sites Machinima!– Language!Learning
http://avalon project.ning.com/page/machinima
All!of!these!productions!on!this!website!did!not!exist!a!year!ago!when! we!started!to!learn!about!how!to!create!this kind!of!videos.
The!challenges!of!producing!videos!of!this!nature!are manifold!though! and!really require$a$lot$of$technical$skills.!Last!year,!when!we!ran!the! MachinEVO!session for!the!first!time, we!asked!at!the!outset!for!Second! Life!experience because!the!video!production!itself!is!difficult!enough.!
So,!next!to!Second!Life!skills!we!needed!to!acquire!film!production!skills,! how!to!move!the!camera,!how!to!set!the!lighting,!and!voice! recording.! Post production!skills!included!editing,!uploading!on!video! hosting!sites,!adding!music,!and!adding!voice!which!at!times!was! dubbed!with!Skype, etc.! And!finally,!of!course,!participants!must!learn!
language!skills!such!as!!using!conversation,!story!telling!techniques,! telenovelas,!emoting!to!develop!the!story,!photo!story!to!prepare!the! actually!recordings, etc.
Honestly!speaking,!we!expected!about 15k20!participants!and!were! BLOWN!AWAY!by!some!128!registering on!our!MachinEVO!NING! site. Why!expect!so!few?!Well,!first!of!all,!because!of!the!prekrequisites!of! having!to!have!had!SL!experience,!then!the!trend!we!have!experienced! away!from!3D!worlds!into mobile!technology.!Then,!most!of!the!techy! language!teachers!who!would!have!liked!to!be a!part!of!this!workshop! ran!other!EVO!sessions!themselves!(EVO!is!the!annual pre conference!of! the TESOL!convention,!this!year!in!Dallas,!end!March!2013).!Look!at!this! most!amazing list!of!EVO!moderators from!2012.! Mind blowing isn’t it?! On!this!list!you!can!also!see!the!number!of!EVO!sessions.!We!are!one!of! 14!(!)!sessions.!Last, but!not!least,!the!perception!is!that!Second!Life!is! rather!'out'!and!people!often!ask!me!'does!Second!Life!still!exist?'
So,!realistically,!we!counted!on about!15k20!participants!and!were! amazed!and!happily!surprised!by!128!sign ups.!Not!only!that,!we!even! saw!some!71!inworld. Unbeatable!
What!proved!ever!so!valuable!was organizing this!big!crowd!of!eager! participants into!groups. In!the!end!we!had!10!groups,!which!you!can! see on!this!Google docs!list and we!really!thank!these!group!leaders!for! making MachinEVO!a!success.!Some!of!them!had!NO!experience!with! creating!machinimas!and!were!scared!to!take!over!such!a!role!but!they! were!courageous!and!we!made!sure!each!group!had!an!assigned! moderator.!Notwithstanding!even!we, as!moderators, had!no!idea!on! how!to!create!such!recordings.!What!pioneer!work!
Due!to!the!technical!challenges!we!were!ever!so!grateful!to!listen!to!our! expert!advisors Gromit!Mayo (15!years!as!executive!producer!of!a! commercial!company!and!5!years!SL!experience!and!technical!wiz! kid), Howdy!Colter (media!student!in!RL!and!main!cameraman!of! treet.tv,!the!Second!Life!TV!show), Lowri!Mills of!LanguageLab, Charlie! Navarathna (20!year!RL!video!production!experience!and!video! producer!of!First!Responder,!a!60sec!machinima!said!to!be!played!on! CNN)!and Jens!Nerido (15!years!experience!teaching!film!making!to! school!teachers!in!Denmark)!and Giovanni!Tweak (20!years!of! video production!experience,!now!runs!a!language!school!in!SL).
Most!valuable!was!Carol!Rainbow's contribution!to!MachinEVO, as!she! busied!herself!running!one!workshop!after!the!other!to!show!educators! all!of!the!practical!skills!on!how!to!record.!Carol!and!Marius!spent! considerable!time!sharing!their!knowkhow!and!helping!language! teachers!to!learn!all!of!the!practical!skills.!Well,!everybody!helped! everybody!because!truly!speaking; this!film!making!business!is!a!total! different!trade!!This!was!the!most!amazing part!of!the!learning!from!this! workshop!
During!the!2012!MachinEVO!course,!we!not!only!saw!many!participants,! but the!level!of!activities!from!the!participants!was incredibly!high.!We! had 18 AWESOME!machinimas!as!the outcome,!and!also on!our!NING! site,!this!session!was!as!busy!as!it!could!be. We!had!more!than!10!live! sessions!a!week,!an!amazing!44!blogs,!120!photos,!uploaded!or! produced!86!videos,!and!221!forum!posts!speak!volumes!!!
A!very!special!highlight!was!meeting!Bente!Milton!and!Rob!Gould! inworld,!who!created!the!fantasy documentary "My!Avatar!and! Me" which!is!a!Danish!documentary fantasy!about!Mikkel!and!Mike!in! both!Second!and!Real!Life.!The!film!premiered!on!ZDF/ARTE!March! 2010!and!is!shown!at!many!festivals.!Supported!by!New!Danish!Screen,!
MEDIA,!ARTE/ZDF,!YLE. It!is!a!creative!documentary fiction!film!and!a! film!that!might!expand!your!sense!of!reality.!It!is!the!story!about!a!man! who!enters!the!virtual!world!Second!Life!to!pursue!his!personal!dreams! and!ambitions.!His!journey!into!cyberspace!becomes!a!magic!learning! experience,!which!gradually!opens!the!gates!to!a!much!larger!reality.
Thanks!to!Jens!Nerido,!we!were!able!to!meet!Bente!and!Rob!inworld and! even!got!the!viewing!rights!for!the!film which!we!watched!together!in! our!sandbox!on!EduNation.!Very!exciting!indeed!
This!has!been!the!most!exciting!EVO!sessions’!workshop!I!have!ever! experienced!and!I!believe!many!who!were!part!of!this!would!wholek heartedly!agree.!Considering!the!fact that!this!was!a!completely!free! workshop,!it!had!a truly!mindkblowing result.
This!year,!for!MachinEVO!2013,!we!will!build!on!this!fantastic!expertise! and!add!to!this:!how!to!use!videos!in!class!and!how!to!immerse!our! language!learners!into!creating!their!own!productions.
The!2013!MachinEVO sessions’!workshop!for!video!productions!of! language!learning!conversations!in!second!life!is!just!ending!as!VEJ!goes to!press.! MachinEVO!2013!http://machinevo.pbworks.com,!was!again!a! free!EVO*!session!workshop!in!Second!Life!for!language!educators!to! learn!how!to!produce!machinima.!As!explained!above,!the!word! machinima!is!derived!from!machine+cinema!and!is!the!use!of!real time! 3D!environments!for!cinematic!productions. Moving!pictures,!sound, and stories!are!the!most!powerful!way!of!communicating!learning! content.
Again!this!year,!over!a!period!of!5!weeks!(14!Jan! 17!Feb),!participants! learned how!to!produce!videos!from!storyboarding!to!final!editing!to!
publishing.!!Language!educators!focused on!how!to!use!these!videos!in! class!and!how!to!immerse!language!learners!in!creating!their!own! productions.
You!can!read!about!the!course,!including!the!participants’!experiences! and!their!work!on!the!MachinEVO wiki!and!at!MachinEVO.!!We!finished! the!second!MachinEVO!workshop!with!95!participants!and!a!great!set!of! 13!machinimas!were produced.
This!year!we!had!4!special!events!with!guests!including Pooky! Amsterdam,!Draxtor!Despres,!Fluffee,!Natasha!Randt,!Karima!Hoisan,! Mikkel!Stout!and!Rob!Gould!of!“My!Avatar!and!Me.”
The!closing!party!with!machinima! screening!and!dancing!is!on! February!17,!2013!at!11!am!SLT,!as! a!preview!to!the!MachinEVO! Awards!ceremony,!which!will!take! place!on!February!24,!2013!at!11! am!SLT.!The!jury!will!have!one! week!to!nominate!Best!Director,! Best!Machinmatographer,!Best! Special!Effects,!etc.,!and!the! Internet!community!will!be!asked! to!vote!for!the!MachinEVO!People’s! Choice!Award.!The!winners!will!be! announced!on!February!24,!2013!at! the!red!carpet!and!formal!dress!event.!The!Backstage!will!be!open!for!a! press!conference,!and!champagne!will!be!flowing.!Be!sure!to!attend the! MachinEVO!Awards!Ceremony!with moderators!Barbara!Novelli!and! Jens!Nerido!at!the!EduNationion!MachinEvo!Platform or!the!Livestream! Link.!!For!more!information!about!the!winners!of!the!2013!MachinEVO! Award!winners!and!to!see!18!completed machinima!videos!visit!Film! Festival!MachinEVO!2013.!!You!can!follow!the!MachinEVO!activities!on! the!MachinEVO!Facebook site,!too.!
[EVO#is#the#annual#pre conference#series#of#online# workshops http://evosessions.pbworks.com of#the#TESOL# convention www.tesolconvention.org,#20C23#March#2013#in#Dallas, Texas.#MachinEVO# is#one#of#10#EVO#sessions and#takes#place#on#EduNation#Islands#in#Second#Life.]
One!Billion!Rising!in!Second!Life On!February!14,!2013,!for!24!hours!the!Second!Life!Global!Community! joined!the!worldwide One!Billion!Rising Celebration.!This!was!the! largest!day!of!action!in!the!history!of!V Day,!the!global!activist! movement!to!end!violence!against!women!and!girls.!V Day!Founder,!Eve! Ensler,!introduced!One#Billion#Rising on!YouTube!from!the!Democratic! Republic!of!the!Congo.!Her!goal!is!for!everyone!to!“rise!and!dance!and! change!the!world.”
You!can!learn!more!about!the!One!Billion!Rising!international! organization!and!view!video!from!the!worldwide events!from!February! 14,!2013!at!http://onebillionrising.org/.
On!November!18,!2012!“Break!The!Chain”!was!published!on!YouTube.!It! is!a!song!written!and!produced!by!Tena!Clark!with!music!by!Tena!Clark! and!Tim!Heintz,!was!produced!by!Ev!Ensler!and!V Day,!directed!by!Tony! Stroebel, and!featuring!dancer!and!choreographer!Debbie!Allen.!For!fun,! and!to!join!the!movement,!you!can!learn!how!to!do!the!“Break!The! Chain”!dance from!Debbie!Allen!on!YouTube.!!But,!be!sure!to!check!out the!“Break!The!Chain”!machinima listed!below!to!see!how!it!was! performed by!the!women!in!second!life.
According!to!the!One!Billion!Rising!SL blog, “ONE!BILLION!RISING!began! as!a!call!to!action!based!on!the!staggering!statistic!that!1!in!3!women!on! the!planet!will!be!beaten!or!raped!during!her!lifetime.!With!the!world! population!at!7!billion,!this!adds!up!to!more!than!ONE!BILLION!WOMEN! AND!GIRLS.!On!February!14,!2013,!men!and!women!in!Second!Life!will! join!activists,!writers,!thinkers,!celebrities,!and!people!across!the!world! to!Walk,!Dance,!and!Rise!as!a!show!of!unity,!individual!strength,!and!the!
need!for!change.”
“The!Second!Life!event”!according!to!the!wordpress!blog,!featured “ a! four region!stage!where!200!people!can!dance!together,!surrounded!by! an!area!of!art!installations!and!informational!exhibits.!A!variety!of! performers!will!play!over!the!24khour!period,!enabling!people!all!over! the!world!to!attend!this!virtual!event!no!matter!their!time!zone.!The! regions!will!have!a!General!maturity!rating!to!allow!all!residents an! opportunity!to!participate.”!Pictures!were achieved on!the!event’s!Flickr! group.
One!Billion!Rising!in!SL machinima!used!the!incredibly!powerful!song,! “Break!the!Chain”!to!make!the!machinima!“One!Billion!Rising!in!Second! Life.”!!As!women!around!the!world!raise!awareness!to!this!critical!issue,! the!women!from!around!the!world!in!Second!Life!also!wanted!to!do! their!part.!Pyper!Dollinger!and!Tatiana!Kurri!did!an!outstanding!job!on! the!dance!they!created!for!this!machinima.!“The Dazzlers!and!the! Women!of!Second!Life”!beautifully!performed!the!dance.
“Joining!the!world!wide!event!.!.!.!SL!is!having!their!own,” Equinox! Pinion!of!The#Fruit#Islands told!us.!She!continued, “and!we're![Fruit! Islands]!honored!to!be!a part!of!it!”! One!Billion!Rising!is!not!only!a! Global!Celebration but!a!Virtual!Celebration,!too!!! The!Fruit!Islands! were!one!of!many!sponsors!for!the!One!Billion!Rising!Second!Life event.! Other!sponsors!included:!Alchemy!Immortalis;!Bits!and!Bobs! Animations;!Cheeky!Pea;!The!Domineaux!Effect;!Dutchie;!Galland! Homes;!Garden!of!Dreams;!Gos!Boutique;!Gwen!Carillon! Designs/Serenite;!Heart!Garden!Centre;!Kaerri;!MadPea;!Maven!Homes;! Meshworx;!Prime;!and Spargel!and!Shine.!In kind!sponsors!are:!CaLLie! CLine;!Fruit!Islands;!KittyCatS!;!L’Aize!Days!and!Prim!Perfect! Publications.
Check!out!the!pictures!of!One!Billing!Rising!Second!Life.
Minecraft,!Math!Mage,!and!Mobile: Games,!Mobile!Apps!and!Edutainment! at!My!School By!Trish!Cloud!(RL),!Cloudwhosong!(WOW) @Neemana
The!growing!popularity!and!desire!for!mobile!device!use!in!the! classroom!coupled!with!the!growing!interest!in!games!based!learning! has!naturally!produced!an!influx!of!apps!which!could!be!used!in!both! settings.!There!is!a!difference,!however,!some!apps!are!purely!games! and!some!apps!are!“edutainment”.!
Keeping!engagement!high!in!students!while!challenging!and!teaching!is! the!goal!of!finding!great!gaming!apps.!Right!now!there!are!many!apps! available!that! students!love!and! that!can!be! adapted!for! school!use;!some! of!these!are! Minecraft!PE,! Oregon!Trail,!Cat! Physics,!Zio!Ball,! Zentomino!HD,! Machinarium,! Angry!Birds!(in! Space,!Star!Wars,! or!seasonal),!
Stack!the!States,!and!the!Math!Mage.!!Depending!on!your!needs,!your! students’!age,!and!the!subject!matter,!there!are plenty!of!apps!to!choose! from.!
The!most!popular!game!being!played!right!now!is!without!a!doubt! Minecraft.!Both!the!PC!version!and!pocket!edition!keep!students! engaged!and!learning,!while!challenging!them!to!use!creative,! collaborative,!and!reasoning!skills!as!they!seek!to!build!in!the!sandbox! environment.!The!pocket!edition,!which!is!available!in!both!iOS!and! Android,!is!nearly!as!complex!as!the!PC!version,!and!with!each! succeeding!update!more!variety!and!flexibility!is!being!built!into!the! app.!A!free!version!is!available;!however,!worlds!cannot!be!saved.!
Minecraft’s!potential!in!the!areas!of!Social!Studies,!Language!Arts,!and! Math!are!just!being!tapped.!Teachers!are having!students’ craft! historical!landmarks,!reconstruct!a!Native!American!village,!or!colonial! settlement.!Students!gain!problem solving!skills!by!becoming!involved! with!the!howkto’s!of!building!what!they!have!designed.!They!must!build to!scale,!using!algebra!to!calculate!size!and!perimeter.!Time! management!and!resource!management!is!also!required!even!when! students!are!playing!in!survival!mode and!it!is peaceful!so!they!are!not! being!killed!or!losing all!their supplies.!All!of!these!factors!come!into! play!when!students!start!building!in!Minecraft.!And!the!pocket!edition! does allow!saving!of!worlds!and!up!to!seven!students!can!connect!at!one! time!on!their!iPads.
Gameloft!has!come!out!with!their!version!of!the!Oregon!Trail!(still!made! by!the!Learning!Company!who!originally!created the!game!in!the! 1980’s).!In this!new!version! you!have!choices!you!must! make!in!order!to!get!your! family!to!their!destination.!All! along!the!way!there!are accidents,!illnesses,! breakdowns,!bad!weather,! hunger,!etc..!!Your!job!is!to! make!the!necessary!decisions.! This!game!does!offer!in!app! purchase!to!“ease”!your!way,! but!with!careful!planning!you! can!do!the!game!with!no! purchases!(which!is!how!a! settler!had!to!handle!it).!
How!could!you!use!The!Oregon!Trail?!Have!the!students!journal!about! their!travels in!a!blog!format,!(i.e.,!Kidblog which!has!an!app),!or! possibly!have!a!group!of!students!take!on!roles!in!the!adventure!where! they!contribute!and!have!a!voice!in!the!decisions!that!are!made! regarding!the!trip.!!
The!Oregon!Trail game!does!not!replace!learning!the!historical! significance!of!westward!expansion.!Instead, what!it!does!is!give! students!an!opportunity!to!experience!that!time!in!an!immersive! environment.!Math!skills!are employed!to!calculate!how!much!and!how! often!certain!supplies!are needed!and!how!long!the coins!will!last.!
Other games!that!test!your!knowledge!of!History!and!Geography!are! games!by!Dan!Russell Pinson.!Stack!the!States!and!Stack!the!Countries! both!test!your!knowledge!of!US!and!World!Geography.!!There!are! challenges!and!rewards!that!keep students!interested!and!competing! with!one!another!for!who!has!the!most!states/countries.!Presidents!vs.! Aliens!tests!your!American!History!knowledge!of!US!Presidents!by! having!you!shoot!their!heads!at!aliens!that!are!invading!Washington,!DC.!
Science!games!like!Zio!Ball!work!with!positive!and!negative!magnetic! fields!moving!a!metal!ball!through!different!puzzles.!This!app!can!be! really!challenging!for!students!of!all!ages!as!they! try!to!manipulate!the!magnetic!fields!to!get!the! desired!outcome.!The!Physics!involved!in!games! like!Angry!Birds!and!Cat!Physics!require! thoughtful!planning!and!some!idea!of!how!force! and!motion!work!in!order!to!get!the!desired! result.!
Physics!Monster!pits!your!skill!of!building!simple!machines!in!order!to! feed!the!monster!a piece!of!fruit.! Along!with!science,!mathematics! come!into!play!in!Angry!Birds. Students!need!to!use!geometry! to!line!up!their shots!to!take!out! the!evil!piggies.!
The!Math!Mage!has!taken!an! educational!app!and!made!it! a!truly!fun!and!challenging! game.!Made!by!RGH!games,! the!Math!Mage!is!really! challenging.! Students select! their!difficulty!level.!I!would! suggest!starting!at!easy,! because!you!are!given!a! walkkthrough!of!how!the! game!is!played.!
In!order!to!kill!the!monsters!students!must!solve!the!math!equations. The!math!equations get!progressively!harder.!If!they take!too!long, the! monster!will!kill!them.!Just!as!in!RPG!there!are!levels.!!The!higher!your! level, the!more!weapons!or!powers!you!have.!But, then!again,!the! problems!are!harder!to!solve.!
KenMaster!is!a!kashiko!game,!a!type!of!mathematics!and!logic!puzzle,! that!is!stimulating!and!increases!in!difficulty!as!you!progress.! Puzzle! games!like!Zentomino!HD!takes!the!fun!of!Pentominoes!(Math!based! puzzle!game!involving!geometric!shapes)!and!puts!it!on!a!handheld! device!for!students!to!solve.!
Students!love!to!solve!puzzles,!especially!if!they!aren’t!too!hard.!One!of! the!great!things!about!gaming!apps!is!the!leveling.!These!games!start! you!with!a!simple!puzzle!to!solve!and!gradually!increase!the!difficulty!to! keep!the!player!challenged.!If!it’s!too!easy,!the!student!will!be!bored.! Likewise, if!it!is!too!hard!the!student!will!just!not!want!to!waste!their! time.!
Machinarium!has!a!storyline!and!is!quite!cutely!drawn.!Students have!to! solve!the!puzzle!in each!scene!to!move!the!robot!along.!Clues!can!be! attained!by!playing!an!in game!challenge.!The!story!writing!potential! coupled!with!the!puzzle!solving!aspects!give!this!game!much!potential! for!use!in!the!classroom.!
These!are!just!a!few!of!the!great!gaming!apps!that!are!available.!The! vastness!of!apps!that!are!available!in!the!App!Store!or!the!Android!Store!
can!be!daunting,!but!I!have!found!the!best!way!to!determine!if!an!app! will!meet!the!needs!of!your!students!is!to!get!the!app!and!play!it.!Going! by!the reviews!is!not!a!good!gauge!of!whether!an!app!will!work!your! classroom!setting!or!not.!Many!games!that!I!have!thought!would!be! engaging!and!entertaining,!as!well!as!educational!have!left!students! yawning!and!looking!for!other!things!to!do.!In!a!similar!way,!those! games!that!I!thought!would!be!empty!and!superficial!have!entertained! and!engaged!students!for!the!entire!class!period.!
Start!by! playing! the!app! yourself.! This! gives! you!an! opportu nity!to! work! through! some!of! the! problem s!or! puzzles! in!the! app.! Next! play!the! game! with the!students!and!see!what!they!are!doing!with!it.!Once!you!have!a! good!library!of!apps!at!hand!you!can!use!them!as!you!see!fit!to!enhance! what!you!are!teaching!in!the!class.!Often!you!don’t!know!unless!you! download!the!app!if!it!is!a!duplicate!of!one!you!already!have or!if it!just! doesn’t!offer!much!unless!you!spend!money!for the app.!
For!most!schools!spending money!on!apps!is!a!luxury.!Finding!fully! functional!engaging!FREE!apps!can!be!a!challenge. When!you!do!find! good!free!apps they!prove!their!worth.!This!is!just!one!of!the!questions!
that!come!up!when!talking!about!using!apps.!Other!issues!include!saving! games,!functionality,!and!the!fun!factor.
Like most!mobile!devices,!iPad are!meant!to!be!used!in!a!1:1!setting. Many!schools, however, are!just!adopting!mobile!technology!and!may! not!have!initiated!BYOT!– which!brings!up!the!matter!of!storage!on! mobile!devices!being!used!by!more!than!one!person.!
For!those!who!are!in!BYOT,!most!games!are!available!on!iOS!and! Android!devices,!and!in!both!cases!not!all!games!have!the!ability!to!save! multiple!games!nor!do!they!allow!you!to!completely!reset!the!game.!
Learning!to!work!around!these!road!bumps!will!help!avoid!headaches! when!they!arise.!Frequently!the!paid!versions!of!the!games!do!allow for! multiple!players!or!multiple!save!slots!so!each!student!can!enter!their! name!and!keep!their!own!score. In!the!case!of!Minecraft!PE,!fortunately! worlds!can!be!saved!individually,!so!multiple!students!could!have! worlds!on!one!iPad!of!Minecraft.!
There!are!few!games!that!allow!you!to!save!your!game!and!start!a!new! one.!Finding!games!that!allow!this!and!meet!your!classroom!needs!can! be!a!challenge,!but!a!fun!one.!A!good!rule!of!thumb!is,!if!the!game!is!free! it!is!highly!unlikely!that!you!can!save it.!
Fortunately!most!of!these!games!have!a!minimal!cost.!If!saving!is!not!an! option!perhaps! the!game!will! just!let!you!start! over!– that! being!the! second!best! option!when! more!than!one! student!uses!the! same!iPad.!This! could!present! you!with!an! opportunity!to! use!a! leaderboard!in!
your!room!to!keep!track!of!scores.!
Sometimes!the!functionality!of!the!game!can!be!an!issue,!particularly!in! Minecraft.!The!pocket!edition!is!very!functional.!!There!are!limitations!at! this!time.!Mojang!is!doing!a!great!job!of!updating!the!app!frequently!to! make!it!more!like!the!desktop!or!Xbox!version,!but!you!still!can’t!do!as! much!on!the!app!as!you!can!on!a!desktop.!And, the!iOS!version!is!more! locked!down!than!the!Android!version.!Players can!go!into!the!Android! version!and!make!mods,!which is!not!possible!on!iOS.!This!shouldn’t!be! a!deal!breaker!for!you!though.!Teaching!the!students!to!be!flexible!and! work!within!the!parameters!adds!challenge!to!the!game.!
For!elementary!students,!particularly!kindergarten!and!1st grade,!where! they!might!not!have!much!experience!playing!desktop!video!games!that! use!a!keyboard!and!a!mouse,!the!pocket!edition!of!Minecraft!has!very! intuitive!controls!and!is!easy!for!the!younger!set!to!pick!up.!Allow!them! to!stay!in!Creative!mode!and!just!build!without!having!to!be!concerned! with!mobs!of!zombies.!When!they!get!some!expertise!built!up!move! them!to!Peaceful!mode!in!Survival!and!they!can!still!build. Here!they!will! have!to!craft,!but!again,!no!zombies!to!fight!off!or!losing!inventory!if! they die.!As!with most!apps, the!game!controls!are!easy!to!use.!This!is! not to!say!a!child!can!do!it, but it’s!more!like!an!adult!can!do!it!!
A!great!plus!that!game!apps!offer!is!that!they!generally!are!not!tied!to!an! Internet connection,!so!even!if!your!wifi!is!down!you!can still!play!the! majority!of!the!games.
All!of!these!issues!will!be!moot,!however,!if!the!game!is!not!fun.!What! makes!a!game!popular!whether!it!is!a!board!game!or!video!game!is!the! fun!factor.!What you!will!find!is!there!are!as!many!different!types!of! game apps!as!there!are!students,!but,!there!is!always!going!to!be!the! games!that!seem!to!be!popular!with!all!students.!
What!are!the!characteristics!of!a!fun!yet!educational!game?!If!you!have! questions,!let!your!students!play!and!get!their!take!on!it.!Better!yet, play! it!with!them!and!learn!what!challenges!them!and!involves!them.!!
Students!generally!prefer!an!intrinsic!reward!system!and!a!way!of! leveling!up!so!they!feel!they!are!making!progress!in!the!game.!They!
enjoy!simulations,!too.!Plant!Tycoon,!a!game!where!you!run!your! greenhouse!and!nursery,!growing!and!cultivating!plants!to!sell,!is!very! popular!in!school.!Frequently, I!have!heard!students!talking!to!each! other!about!how!far!along!they!are!in!a!game,!how!they!solved!a! particularly!difficult!section!of the!game,!and!how!best!they!can!earn!the! coin!they!need!to!keep!the!game!going. When!you!listen!to!students!talk! you can!really!see!the!collaboration!as!they!teach!each!other!how!to! work!through!the!difficult!areas.!This!is when!students!truly!have!fun! It’s!not!only!the!game, but!the!flow!and!collaboration!that!are!created!in! the!classroom!that!makes!them!want!to!continue!playing!that!game.!
If!you!are!contemplating!incorporating!gaming!apps!into!your! classroom!give!it!a!try.!Having!your!students!explore!a!subject!area!by! playing!a!game!will!often!give!the!student!an!“akha”!moment.!!Let!them! play!the!game!that!you!have!selected!as!an!enhancement!to!your!lesson.! Ask!them!the!questions!about how!they!can!relate!the!game!to!what!has! been!instructed.!When!you!see!them!make!connections, they!will!play! the!game!with!new!understanding.!
In!Summary,!often!the!best!way!to!determine!if!a!game!is!right!for!your! purposes!is!for!you!to!play!it!yourself.!But!remember!there!are! limitations!with!free!games,!especially!in!saving!or!resetting!the!game.! Most!games!have!minimal!cost,!and!in!BYOT!situations!many!students! may!already!have!the!game.!Most!game!apps!run!from!the!device!and!so! you!are!not!tied!to!wifi.!If!there!are!network!problems,!some!are!tied!to! the!game!centers!on!devices (which!is!tied!to!online!play).!You!do!not!,! however,!have!to!connect!to!the!online!gaming!community!to!play!the! game.!Gaming!apps!cover!a!wide!swathe!of!subjects!and!skills!and!it! doesn’t!have!to!be!from!the!Education!category!to!be!useful.!In!fact,! about!half!the!games!being!used!in!schools!today are!not!educational! games!per!se.!
So,!give!it!a!try.!Give!the!students!a!game!and!tell!them!to!play.!Then! have!students!write!what!they!experienced, and!share!it!with!others. Students enjoy!telling!of!their!conquests!in!games.!
Tweetchat By!Karen!Novak!(rl),!Kavon!Zenovka!(sl)
So!what!is!a!tweetchat?!It!is!a!designated!time!that!people!get!on!to! twitter!and!have!a!synchronous!text!conversation!using!140characters.! For!example,!the!Games!MOOC!and!G.A.M.E.!Gamers!Enhancing! Meaningful!Education!have!a!sixty!minute!tweetchat!every!Wednesday! at!9!pm!ET/7!pm!MT.
You!might!be!thinking!– how!do!you!find!these!tweets!when!on!an! average!day!there!can!be!thousands!of!tweets!happening!every!minute?!
Tweetchats!use!a!hashtag.!They!place!the!hashtag!#!before!their! designated!word.!For!the!game!based!learning!tweetchat!we!use! #gamemooc.!
We!choose!a!topic!in!game!based!learning!each!week!and!announce!it!on! twitter!on!Monday.!This!gives!people!some!time!to!think!about!the!topic! and!even!do!a!little!reading!and!research!if!they!want.
We!start!the!tweetchat!by!asking!you!to!introduce!yourself.!This!is!just! letting!us!know!who!you!are!and!where!you!are.!Then!we!do!a!few! warmkup!questions!(think!vocab!quiz)!so!we!are!all!using!the!same! terms.!After!that!we!normally!have!4 5!discussion!questions.!Then!we! wrap up!at!the!end!of!the!sixty!minutes!with!last!comments!and!ask! everyone!to!rekintroduce!themselves.
If$you$would$like$to$join$us$for$the$Tweetchat$– here’s$the$ information$to$get$you$started.
If!this!is!your!first!time!doing!at!tweetchat,!please!go!to! www.tweetchat.com.
Login!with!your!twitter!account!and!when!prompted!put!in!the! hashtag!#gamemooc.!
Using!this!will!allow!you!to!see!any!tweets!that!contain!this!hashtag.!
The!questions!for!the!tweetchat!will!come!from!the!@proximalzone! twitter!account.!
Games!MOOC!and!G.A.M.E.!Gamers!Enhancing!Meaningful!Educati on! have!a!sixty!minute!tweetchat!every!Wednesday!at! 9!pm!ET/7!pm MT.!!
Hope$to$see$you$at$our$next$Tweetchat!
Calling#All#Visioneers! By
SIGVE$Lowly$High$Grand$Poobah$Emeritus$Scott$Merrick
Have!you!experienced!an!ISTE! Conference!Virtual!Environments! Playground?!Maybe!more!than! once?!
We’ve!been!doing!them!annually! for!years!now,!and!the!event!has! grown!into!one!that!brings!the! enthusiastic!and!energetic!SIGVE! tribe!together!physically!in!one! location!at!least!once!a!year.!It’s! been!an!event!that!ran!for!the! whole!conference!time,!all!three! days!of!the!conference!proper,! and!just!last!year!it!was!pared! down!to!a!single!day.!This!year,! for!ISTE!2013!in!San!Antonio,!
Texas,!purportedly!because!there!is!a!highly!increased!demand!for!the! spotlight!amongst!the!20 odd!Special!Interest!Groups!(demand!likely!in! part!because!ours!have!been!so!fun!over!the!years),!we’re!down!to!half!a! day,!Tuesday,!June!25,!2013!from!1:30pm! 5!pm.!
While!that!may!seem!like!a!slap!in!the!collective!virtual!face,!we!SIGVE! folk!are!nothing!if!not!optimistic!and!positive.!We!want!to!make!it!an! explosion!
As!lead!Playground!Facilitator!this!year,!I!want!to!us!to!take a!serious! look!at!how!we!have!done!playgrounds in!the!past,!how!we!could! envision!them!as!even!more!exciting!and!even!more!of!a!draw!for!our! members!and!prospective!new!members,!and!how!this!one!will!look!in! the!light!of!all!those!appraisals.
Join!in!the!discussion.!Visit!our!wiki!at!http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net and!learn!about!past!playgrounds,!read!past!issues!of!VEJ!to!learn!even! more,!and!then!visit!our!Wallwisher!at!
http://wallwisher.com/wall/esvwgqyqf6 to!double click!and!type!in! your!own!notions!of!how!this!shindig!should!present!itself.!There!are! already!some!interesting!posts!there!and!all!we’re!missing!is!your!own! voice.!Let!‘er!rip!!And!come!to!our!Tuesday,!5!pm!SL!time (8:00!EST),! Open!Office!Hours!every!week!until!we!hit!San!Antonio,!to!help!plan!our! best!ISTE!Conference!and!Exposition!EVER.
Thanks!in!advance!!We’ll!know!we!will!see!you!either!in!the!playground,! inworld(s),!or!at!this!year’s!ISTE!SIGVE!Machinima!Festival,!which!is! also!a!GO and!not!to!be!missed!!!
By$Mary$Obrien$(rl),$Serena$Offcourse$(sl)
You are cordially invited to Cinderella’s Ball! Please visit the Fairy Tale Forest on the island of MaineLand on Jokaydia Grid. All students and teachers are invited to come and explore this immersive build.
You will find many favorite characters including The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Thumbelina. The forest is both magical and interactive - be sure to look for the scavenger hunt notecard just beyond the gate.
Fairy tales provide young learners with an opportunity to hear and learn about classic stories. The Common Core
Standards include learning about a story’s themes, characters, and settings. Visiting the Fairy Tale Forest is sure to engage your students in discussions about these important story elements.
To learn more about how to log onto Jokaydia Grid, visit http://www.jokaydiagrid.com/
When you arrive in Jokaydia you will be on the welcome sim of Scooter. There is a landmark giver to The Fairy Tale Forest under the big tree. You can also find it by searching for MaineLand on the world map.
For more information, please contact Mary OBrien on Jokaydia (Serena Offcourse in SL)
Creating Texture Packs for Art Classes By Trevor Roe
Welcome!back!to!this!magazine,!or!if!you’re!new,!welcome!!Here’s another!article!for!the!fantastic!Virtual!Education Journal!once!again!!
If!you’ve!opened!an!app!or!played!a!game,!you’ve!used!and!interpreted! textures,!GUIs and!HUDs.!Minecraft is!no!exception!to!having!these!and! them!being!vital.!The!difference,!though,!is!that!these!can!all!be!directly! edited!in!this!game!
Many!classes! are! overlooked,! but!none!so! much!as!art! class.!For many students,!art! is!a!paint and palette!kind!of!class,!though!this!journal!has!made!me! entirely!rethink!that!idea!!Many!Kinds!of!computer!– animated!art!(Like! ipad or!pixel!art)!already!exist,!but!Minecraft!offers!a!simple,!lowkdef! pixel!system!for!its!textures.!
Each!“block”!is!16x16!pixels!on!each!side,!and!can!be!individually!edited! to!change!the!look!of!blocks.!Of!course,!with!certain!edits,!the!terrain! pixels! can!be!improved!to!be!more!than!16x!in!pixels.!These!alterations!to! game!textures!are!called!HDfixes.
Texture!packs are!packs!where!only!graphics!are!included,!and!they change!the!way!blocks!and!items!in!the!game!look.!Among!the!fantastic
gameplay!and!simplicity!of!Minecraft,!many!people!appreciate!the! textures!as!the!not so complex!pixels!they!are,!and!embrace!this!idea.! Games!like!portal have!great!graphical!features,!but!again,!the!simplicity! is!appreciated!as!an aspect!of!Minecraft.
A!great!art!project!for!a!middle!or!high!school!art!classes!would!be!to assign!certain!textures!to!certain!individuals!or!groups!in!the!class.!Each texture!takes!no!more!than!5!minutes!to create, so!with!a!class!elected! theme,!each!person!or!group!could!create!about!a!dozen!new!textures!in! a!short amount!of!time.!Even!sounds!can!be!changed,!but!that!process!is! a!bit!more complex.!In!about!a!week,!without!overlooking!any!items,!a! great!pack could be!created!and!even!put!on!the!Internet for!others!to! use!!An!easy!way!to!edit these!textures!is!to!use!Paint!or!Paintbrush!(PC! and!Mac,!respectively,)!allows for!nonktransparent!retexturing.
The!look!and!feel!of!video!games!varies,!but!there’s!no!doubt!that!of simple!3D!textures,!Minecraft!best!allows!for!as!sleek,!rough,!light!or! dark!a!mood!as!your!class!desires.!And!so,!a!conclusion!to!my!artistic! spiel!relating to!Minecraft.
[Trevor#Roe brings#a#student’s#perspective#to#virtual#education.#He#is#a# special#reporter#for#the#Virtual#Education#Journal C VEJ.]
SIGVE!Speaker!Series On!Tuesday,!February!19,!2013,!over!25!people!joined!Spiff!Whitfield!and!guest! speaker!John!Lester for!a!lively!discussion.!John!is!Chief!Learning!Officer!at! ReactionGrid,!a!software!company!developing!3D!simulations!and!multiuser!virtual! world!platforms.!His!primary!focus!is!on!collaborative!learning!and!instructional! design,!working!with!academic!and!business!clients!to!develop!immersive!education! environments. From!2005 2010,!John!worked!at!Linden!Lab,!the!creators!of!Second! Life.!At!Linden!Lab!he!led!the!development!of!the!education!and!healthcare!markets. Watch!it!at:!http://youtu.be/VWyBgSx0jXY and the speaker schedule at weebly site Http://sigve.weebly.com .
G.A.M.E.#ON! An#Interview#With Kavon#Zenovka#(SL),#Kae#Novak#(RL)
By#Roxie#Neiro#(sl),#Rosie#Vojtek#(rl)
I#am#very#excited#to#be#interviewing#Kae#Novak#for#this#issue#of#VEJ.#Any# inworld#educator#who#is#a#member#of#ISTE#SIGVE,#has#participated#or# worked#on#VWBPE,#plays#in#World#of#Warcraft,#or# participated#in#the#GAMES#MOOC#has#met#her# avatar,#Kavon#Zenovka.#She#has#relentlessly# helped#many of#us#learn#and#grow#in#virtual# environments.#I#can’t#begin#to#tell#you#how#much#I# have#learned#from#her#and#how#much#I#admire# her#work,#her#passion#for#teaching#and#learning,# her#enthusiasm#for#virtual#worlds,#and#her# dedication#as#an#educator.#I#hope#you#enjoy#this# interview#as#much#as#I#have#enjoyed#talking#with,# working#with,#and#playing#with#Kavon#Zenovka#(SL),#Kae#Novak#(RL).#
Roxie: Kavon,#please#introduce#yourself#to#our#readers.#Tell#us#who#you#are# and#what#you#do#in#real#life#(rl) and#virtual#environments.
Kavon: I’m$Kae$Novak(rl),$an$instructional$designer$for$online$learning$at$a$ community$college$in$Colorado.$$In$virtual$environments,$I$manage$Front$ Range$in$Second$Life$and$play$around$on$Center4EduPunx$on$JoykadiaGrid.$I$ am$the$High$Grand$Poobah$or$Chair Elect$for$ISTE$SIGVE$and$collaborate$ with$an$exceptional$group$of$educators$there.$$In$addition$to$these$sandbox$ virtual$worlds,$I'm$a$guild$officer$for$two$World$of$Warcraft$guilds.$These$ guilds$are$the$all purpose$educator’s$guild$Cognitive$Dissonance$on$the$ Alliance$side$and$Inevitable$Betrayal$on$the$Horde$side.
Roxie: How#did#you#get#started#in#virtual#worlds/environments?#What#was# it#that#kept#you#going#back?
Kavon: I$had$attended$a$presentation$by$Lyr$Lobo$(Cynthia$Calongne)$at$the$ e Learning$Consortium$of$Colorado.$Lyr$presented$on$Second$Life$and$ several$projects$that$she$was$pursuing$in$games$and$simulations.$After$the$ presentation,$I$joined$SL$and$started$visiting$the$New$Media$Consortium$ (NMC)$islands$and$other$educator$builds.$After$about$6$months,$I$requested$ that$my$college$look$at$Second$Life$for$online$learning$and$the$college$ purchased$Front$Range$Island to$start$doing$simulations$for$online$classes.
Front!Range!Island Kavon:!I$keep$coming$back$to$virtual$worlds$due$to$the$deeper$learning$that$ I$observed.$What$I’ve$seen$is$that$immersive$games$and$virtual$ environments$offer a$richness$and$deeper$learning$not$seen$in$a traditional$ text$based$LMS$even$if$you$are$supplementing$it$with$podcast$and$videos.$ In$ fact,$it’s$even$better$than$a$F2F$classroom$because$it$sometimes$allows$you$ to$do$what$isn’t$possible$in$real$life.$Some$examples$from$Second$Life$ include$visiting$and exploring$Dante’s$Inferno$or$flying$up$to$look$at$the$ ceiling$of$the$Sistine$Chapel.$We$call$that$NPIRL$or$Not$Possible$in$Real$Life.
Roxie:!How#did#you#get#started#playing#virtual#games?#
Kavon: I$really$wasn’t$into$video$games$in$high$school.$I$played roll$the$dice$ Dungeons$and$Dragons$(D&D).$Until$MMORPGs$(Massive$Multi player$ Online$Role Playing$Games),$video$games$did$not$have$much$appeal$for$me$ due$to$their$limited$social$offerings.$My$first$MMORPG$was$World$of$ Warcraft,$which$I$selected$after$reading$Edward$Castronova's$books$on$ virtual$economies.
Roxie: What#are#your#favorite#virtual#games#and#why?
Kavon: World$of$Warcraft$is.$Not$that$another$MMORPG$couldn’t$take$its$ place.$It$was$the$first$virtual$game$that$provided$the$immersiveness$and$ social$aspects$that$I$loved$from$D&D.$For$me,$right$now,$it$has$an$ interesting$economy,$challenging$end$game$content, and$I’m$involved$in$a$ community$of$educators$there$who$not$only$play$but$also$collaborate$ outside$the$game.
Roxie: In#this#issue#we#have#captured#some#of#our#reader’s#favorite#Fiero# moments.#Please#explain#briefly#what#a#Fiero#moment#means#to#you#and# give#us#an#example#of#one#of#your#favorite#Fiero#moments.
Kavon: Fiero.$Well,$it’s$a$term$we$use$a$lot$when$teaching$about$games$ based$learning.$Nicole$Lazzaro$is$the$earliest$person$I$have$seen$using$it$to$ describe$the$satisfaction$and$enjoyment$of$hard$fun.$Fiero$is$the$moment$ where$a$player$/$learner$successfully$overcomes$challenges.$In$games,$this$is$ overcoming$the$monster$or$finishing$the$quest.$In$the$classroom,$this$is$ mastery$of$difficult$concepts$and$resolving$problems.$It$is$that$moment$that$ you$see$in$soccer$games,$when$the$player$scores$and$they$continue$to$run$ around$with$their$arms$up.
Kavon:!Actually$in$the$guild$I$play$in,$we$have$ an$expression,$“Don’t$steal$my$ fiero!”$It$means$K don’t$make$it$easy$for$me,$I$want$to$learn$how$to$do$it.$For$ a$lot$of$gamers,$the$die$and$do$over$part$is$how$we$learn.$My$favorite$fiero$ moments$happen$when$I$am$playing$with$members$of$my$guild$and$it$is$ so$ difficult$that$all$of$our$characters$die.$This$is$called$a$wipe.$
Wipe Roxie [laughing]:#Kind#of#like#the#song,#“wipe out?”#
Kavon: Then$we$stop,$research$anything$we$can$find$on$the$Internet,$talk,$ strategize$and$try$it$again.$And$then$the$same$thing$happens$again,$but$ we’ve$made$a$bit$of$progress.$So$we$strategize$more$and$we$change$up$ what$we’re$doing$and$then$we$finish$the$dungeon$or$overcome$the$last$ monster$or$challenge$in$the$raid.$That’s$the$fiero.$$It’s$not$easy,$it’s$not$ nerfed,$and$it has to$at$some$point$feel$nearly$impossible.$
Roxie: Whatever#“it”#is#sounds#like, in#the#moment, it#is#a#major, perhaps# life#changing# at#least#for#the#player(s), accomplishment! So,#can#you# establish#a#sense#of#community while#playing#the#game,#even#in#a#virtual# world?#If#so,#How?
Kavon: Absolutely,$in$fact$many$of$the$MMORPGs$require$a$community$to$ play$end$game$content.$It’s$not$that$different$from$any$community$that$ meets$regularly.$MMORPGs$like$World$of$Warcraft$require$players$to$ collaborate$with$others$to$quickly$navigate$the$game.$In$fact,$there$is$a$ whole$series$of$built$in$rewards$in$WoW$to$promote$and$maintain$
collaboration$in$the$form$of$faster$leveling$in$a$group,$access$to$better$gear$ (dungeons$that$required$5$players),$and$team$oriented$achievements.$
I$see$that$virtual$environments$like$MMORPGs$and$other$virtual$worlds$have$ become$the$third$place$for$many$people.$It$is$not$home$and$it$is$not$work;$ however,$it$is$a$place$to$gather$with$your$friends,$socialize$and$engage$in$ immersive$entertainment$and$hard$fun.$
Roxie: I#like#that#– a#“third#place”#– kind#of#reminds#me#of#the#television# series,#“Cheers”# “Where#Everyone#Knows#Your#Name!”##So,#like#“Cheers”,# do#you#make#friends#while#playing#virtual#games?#Or,#is#it#always#“us/me”# against#“them/enemy”? WOW!Picture!of!Gameplay
Kavon: For$me,$it’s$rarely$us$or$them.$$In$the$games$I$play,$I$am$usually$ competing$against$myself.$Most$of$the$guild$groups$I’m$in$focus$on$beating$ our$last$attempt$whether$that$was$a$win$or$lose.$There$is$a$continuous$focus$ on$efficiency$and$effectiveness$in$gaming.$Most$players$are$looking$at$ several$areas$of$improvement$consistently.$They$usually$focus$on$their$game$ play$to$see$how$they$can$improve$individually$or$they$are$looking$at$group$ play.$In$group$play,$players$are$looking$at$what$value$do$they$bring$to$the$
group$and$what$can$they$do$to$ensure/assist$in$the$overall$success$of$the$ team.$
Roxie: How#do#you#balance#competition#with#collaboration?#Or,#is#it#all# about#the#winning#and#getting#to#the#next#level?
Kavon: Actually$in$games$like$World$of$Warcraft,$the$designers$take$care$of$ this$for$us.$WoW$requires$collaborative$groups$of$10$to$25$individuals$to$ work$together$to$be$successful$and$gather$the$best$gear$in$the$game.$Teams$ are$competitive$and$there$have$been$cross$faction$tensions;$however$most$ of$the$competitive$focus$is$on$how$fast$does$a$group$clear$a$dungeon.$$This$ is$especially$true$with$the$new$Challenge$Mode$Dungeons that$WoW$ introduced$with$Mists$of$Pandaria.$With$Challenge$Mode$Dungeons,$groups$ of$five$players$have$their$gear$normalized$so$everyone$running$the$ Challenge$Mode$is on$equal$footings.$This$removes$any$advantages$from$ gear$and$is$truly$an$evaluation$of$mastery$of$game$mechanics$and$strategy.$
Roxie: Are#all#the#virtual#games#violent?#If#so,#how#do#educators#deal#with# violence#with#their#students?#
Kavon: Some$video$games$contain$violence.$However,$there$are$options$for$ educators$that$wish$to$use$games$and$remove$as$much$violence$as$they$can.$ Educators$can$focus$on$a$specific$area$of$a$game$where$there$is$minimal$ violence.$An$example$would$be$focusing$on$the$economy$or$business$aspects$ of$a$game$and$not$requiring$students$to$participate$in$fighting$or$normal$ gameplay$violence.$
Kavon:!Overall, I$think$the$most$important$thing$is$for$the$educator$to$ provide$the$context$of$the$game$in$the$educational$setting.$Students$look$to$ the$educator$for$guidance$on$what$is$allowed$and$not$allowed$in$class.$ Many$games$offer$non violent$opportunities$to$play$and$be$successful$in$ games.$Students$could$select$healing$roles$or$focus$on$the$crafting$side$of$ the$game$and$purchase$materials$off$the$auction$house.$The$key$is$that$the$ educator$needs$to$play$the$game$and$identify$the$various$options$when$it$ comes$to$gameplay.$
Roxie: What#are#some#of#the#best#practices#that#teachers#are#using#with# students#while#engaging#them#in#virtual#games?#
Kavon: The$big$thing$is$that$educators$cannot$look$at$games$as$an$epack$ that$they$can$just$plug$into$their$class.$Game$based$learning$requires$a$ carefully$scaffolded$approach$that$ramps$students$up$from$simple$easy$to$ play$games$to$the$more$complex$end$game$content$that$generates$wicked$ problems$and$hard$fun.$
Roxie: I#love#that phrase, “wicked#problems#and#hard#fun!”#We#need#more# of#that#in#the#education#for#learners!
Kavon: The$educator$has$to$play$the$game$to$know$the$content$and$how$ they$see$it$fitting$into$their$core$competencies$and$learning$objectives.$One$ of$the$most$successful$implementations$I$have$been$part$of$had$students$ starting$off$with$games$like$Free$Rice$and$Budget$Hero$and$ending$with$ World$of$Warcraft$and$Second$Life.$The$key$was$that$we$slowly$immersed$ the$students$throughout$the$semester$using$planned$projects$and$ assignments$that$directed$students$through$to$the$more$complex$games$at$ the$end$of$the$semester.$$Each$activity$and$project$tied$back$to$core$ competencies$and$class$learning$objectives.$
Roxie: Are#there#any#significant#research#findings#about#the#benefits#of using#games#with#students#that#teachers#can#use#when#they#advocate#for# games#in#the#classroom?
Kavon: Absolutely,$I$would$suggest$they$look$up$Jim$Gee$and$Sasha$Barab$ from$Arizona$State$University$and$the$work$that$they$have$done.$Then$I$ would$also$suggest$Constance$Steinkuehler,$Kurt$Squire$and$David$ Williamson$Shaffer$from$the$University$of$Wisconsin.#
Roxie: Tell#us#about#the#GAMESMOOC.#What#is#it?#How#did#it#get#started?
Kavon:!The$Games$MOOC$is$a$synchronous$and$asynchronous$online$open$ course.$The site$has$had$a$total$of$144,$246$visits$as$of$today!$We$have$ 209,488$page$views.$The$Games$MOOC$is$on$an$asynchronous$LMS$–like$site$ http://gamesmooc.shivtr.com/
Kavon: This$is$actually$a$gaming$community$site$that$we$adapted$for$the$ course.$We$livestream$Google$Hangout$on$Air$as$a$quick$overview$each$ Monday$morning.$We$do$a$$#gamemooc$Tweetchat$each$Wednes day$ evening.$On$each$Thursday,$we$livestream$a$discussion$or$panel$of$guests$ through$Google$Hangout$on$Air$and$also$through$Second$Life.$If$there$is$any$ opportunity$to$livestream$a$games$based$learning$activity$being$done$by$ another$educational$group$during$the$time$of$the$MOOC,$we$do$it.
Kavon: We$have$had$sessions$in$World$of$Warcraft,$Minecraft,$Second$Life$ and$OpenSim.$Participants$had$the$choice$of$logging$into$those$and$playing$ with$us$or$watching$through$the$YouTube$livestream.
Kavon: The$first$version$of$it$was$A$Virtual$World,$Education$and$Games$ Tour$at$P2PU http://bit.ly/127rxTb A$number$of$educators$who$had$been$ organized$virtual$worlds$conferences$felt$that$a$once$a$year$event,$while$ great$outreach,$left$educators$isolated$until$the$next$year.$So$we$decided$to$ do$something$about$it.$
Kavon: This$MOOC$was$four$weeks$with$a$different$educator$leading$each$ week.$Stasia$Weston$started$us$out$the$first$week$with$a$Virtual$World$ Tours.$The$second$week,$Tanya$Martin$worked$with$us$on$Machinima.$ I had$ MMORGPs$for$the$third$week and$Chris$Luchs$did$the$fourth$week$which$ was$called$“The$Bleeding$Edge.”
Kavon:!After$that$it$snowballed.$First$along$with$Tanya$Martin,$Vasili$ Giannoutos,$we$created$a$two$week$Machinima$course$on$P2PU$ http://bit.ly/VbjlNc to$get$people$ready$for$the$ISTE$Machinima$contest$and$ then$an$ARG$Academy$http://bit.ly/VbjtMA where$Joseph$Doan,$Jerry$ Buchko$and$Catherine$Flippen$joined$us$in$facilitating$it.
Kavon:!So$when$the$Colorado$Community$College$System$had$an$Immersive$ Learning$and$Game$Based$Learning$faculty$grant$challenge,$I$was$able$to$ use$what$I$learned$there$and$with$help$from$Chris$Luchs$and$Kate$Hagerty$ apply$for$a$grant$to$do$three$versions$of$a$Games$Based$Learning$MOOC.$
Roxie: What#projects#and#events#have#you#and#members#of#the# GAMESMOOC#accomplished#or#held?##
Kavon: We$were$accepted$and$are$now$listed$in$the$US$Department$of$ Education’s$Connected$Educators$Project’s$Community$Directory$ http://connectededucators.org/community/games based learning mooc/ Participants$in$the$Games$MOOC,$spun$off$G.A.M.E.$which$is$network$hub$ for$Gamers$Advancing$Meaningful$Education.$G.A.M.E.$currently$produces$a$ monthly$webinar hosted$by$Laurence$Cocco,$Director,$Office$of$Educational$ Technology,$New$Jersey$Department$of$Education.$This$webinar$is$“It$Takes$ A$Guild$– A$Guild$of$Educators.”$ http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/pages/guildofeducators
Kavon: We$are$very$proud$of$two$games$based$learning$grants$written$by$ our$participants$that$were$just$funded$for$this$year.$Sherry$Jones,$who$won$ the$“Cataclysmic”$award$in$the$Games$MOOC$was$funded$for$Rhetoric$and$ Composition:$The$Persuasive$Power$of$Video$Games$as$Paratexts.$Chris$ Luchs$and$Kate$Hagerty$won$a$grant$to$do$a$game$based$learning$ Hackathon$for$introductory$computer$science$classes.$
Roxie: FANTATIC!#CONGRATULATIONS!#So#many#accomplishments!#I#hope# our#readers#will#check#out#the#websites#and#resources#that#you#are#sending# their#way#during#this#interview.#Your#webinars#and#Google#hangouts#are# very#informative#– EXCELLENT#JOB#and#KUDOS#to#everyone#working#with# you!#I#have#heard#you#talking#about#creating#badges#for#learners#to# demonstrate#their#knowledge#and#skills.#What#badges#have#members# earned#and#what#did#they#have#to#accomplish#to#earn#a#badge?
Kavon: Games$MOOC$participants$have$earned$two$badges.$We$have$a$ “Brave$Beginner”$badge$for$people$new$to$games.$$Also,$ out$of$Connected$ Educator$Month$last$August,$we$designed$a$“Networked$Educator”$badge.$$ With$the$Networked$Educator$badge,$we$based$it$off$Dr.$Lisa$Dawley’$Social$ Network$Knowledge$Construction$matrix.$$Badge$earners$had$to$show$that$ they$curated$content$and$that$they$contributed,$created , and$led$the$ dissemination$of$information$on$games$based$learning.
Roxie: What#have#you#and#others#learned#from#being#a#part#of#the# GAMESMOOC?#
Kavon: For$us,$M$stands$for$modest$compared$to$some$of$the$large$Stanford$ and$MIT$MOOCs.$A$business$professor$out$of$U$of$Penn$taught$an$80,000$ person$Gamification$MOOC$through$Coursera,$we$have$had$400$ participants.$It’s$really$about$the$interaction$between$an$online$community$ of$learners.$This$may$say$it$best.$“Coursera$gamification12$is$totally$LMS.$ OTOH$#gamemooc$has$morphed$into$a$wonderfully$supportive$guild$of$ educators.”$This$tweet$came$from$a$librarian$who$took$our$Games$MOOC$ and$also$took$the$Coursera$Gamification$MOOC.$
Roxie: You#are#right.#That#quote#sums#it#up#perfectly#– and#nothing#says#it# better#than#word#of#mouth,#or#should#I#say#word#of#tweets,#to#spread#the#
word!#So,#if#someone#wants#to#participate#in#the#GAMESMOOC,#how#do# they#join?
Kavon: Well,$the$third$iteration$is$starting$on$Monday$March$18,$2013.$$The$ topic$of$this$iteration$is$Apps,$AR$(Augmented$Reality)$and$ARGs$(Alternate$ Reality$Games).$It’s$very$easy; all$you$need$to$do$is$to$go$to$ http://bit.ly/gamesmooc and$signup.$$For$our$summer$MOOC,$we$will$be$ doing$immersive$environments,$which$will$focus$on$MMORPGs$and$virtual$ worlds.
Roxie: I#just#signed#up#– and#hope#that#many#of#our#readers#will#do#so#as# well.#As#you#know,#I#can’t#always#get#fully#engaged# because#of#my#rl#work,# but#I#love#to#lurk#and#watch#what#all#of#you#are learning#– and#that#has# always#been#OK.#I#noticed#when#I#signed#up#that#you#may#have#a#summer# conference#on#game#based#learning.#That#should#be#very#exciting#and# something#to#look#forward#to.#So,#what#is#the#future#of#Gaming?##
Kavon: I$really$don’t$look$at$it$as$the$future$of$gaming.$$Instead$I$look$at$as$ the$future$of$education.$I$think$education$especially$online$ed ucation$will$ need$to$be$as$immersive$and$engaging$as$games$are.
Roxie: If#someone#has#never#played#a#virtual#game,#where#and#how#can# they#get#started?#What#is#the#best#game#for#beginners?#
Kavon: If$they$have$never$played$any$type$of$online$game,$I$like to$start$ people$with$Free$Rice.$It’s$easy$to$play,$educational$and$it$is$engaging.$If$ someone$is$looking$to$play$an$immersive$game,$like$an$MMORPG$then$I$ would$suggest$that$they$look$for$at$the$network$of$educators$who$game.$I’d$ tell$them$to$start$by$just asking$a$question$in$the$SIGVE$listserv.$$For$SIGVE$ weekly$Connected$Educator,$we$send$out$a$listing$of$events$being$done$in$or$ about$virtual$worlds$and$games.$Also$at$the$bottom$of$the$listserv,$we$send$ out$the$sites$for$all$the$organizations$doing$outreach$and$professional$ development.$
Kavon: I’d$also$tell$them$to$take$a$look$at$the$“It$Takes$A$Guild”$playlist$ http://bit.ly/WEOcmv on$YouTube.$$G.A.M.E.$(Gamers$Advancing$ Meaningful$Education)$http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/ has$been$doing$monthly$
recordings$of$teachers$who$have$brought$games$into$their$classroom.$Lastly,$ there$are$a$few$educator$gaming$guilds.$Cognitive$Dissonance$ http://bit.ly/12GtVQz is$a$large$all$purpose$guild$for$World$of$Warcraft.$$ Inevitable$Betrayal$http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/pages/ibguild does$what$we$ like$to$call$tourism$for$educators$in$World$of$Warcraft$and$has$developed$a$ number$of$introductory$videos$entitled$Inevitable$Instruction.$ http://bit.ly/inevitableinstruction
Roxie: Awesome!#There#is#so#much#to#learn#on#those#websites!#So,#for#you# personally,#what#online/virtual#activities#are#keeping#you#up#late#at#night?# What#projects#and#activities#are#you#working#on#now#and#in#the#future?
Kavon: Games,MOOC,III – Apps,$AR$and$ARGs$starting$from$March$18$–April$22.$$The$Games,MOOC,IV – Immersive$Environments$ Summer$Date$ TBA.$ The$SIGVE,Machinima,Fest at$the$ISTE$annual$conference!$Monday,$ June$24$from$5:30$– 6:45$pm.$$We$will$be$having$our$annual$Machinima$ Fest!$We’ll$be$opening$up$the$Machinima$contest$portion$in$late$February$ and$will$be$doing$a$Machinima,Open Online,Course through$P2PU$at$the$ end$of$May$also!
Kavon:,Another$activity$is$the Connected,Educator,Event for$August$2013.$ That$is$currently$in$the$brainstorming$stage.$I$know$this$may$seem$like$an$ “interesting”$fusion$but$with$a$couple$of$innovative$ed ucational$leaders,$we$ have$been$talking$about$leadership,$assessment….$and games.$
Roxie: Is#there#anything#else#that#I didn’t#ask#you#that#your#want#our# readers#to#know#about#games#in#education?#
Kavon: There$isn’t$an$easy$button$when$it$comes$to$games, not$the$games$ that$are$really$worth$it.$Gamification$is$a$marketing$term$to$incentivize$ activities.$Look$for$something$deeper$than$behaviorism$when$designing$your$ courses.$$I$do$subscribe$to$Jim$Gee’s$idea$of$chocolate$on$broccoli.$$We$see$ this$all$the$time$with$homework$managers$that$do$automatic$grading.$ While$it$frees$up$time$for$the$teacher,$are$the$students$learning$the$content$ or$just$becoming$experts$in$pattern$recognition?$
Take$a$look$at$meaningful$education$with$games.$For$great$overview$of$ gamification,$take$a$look$at$this$video$of$Dr.$Scott$Nicholson,$Director$of$ “Because$Play$Matters$Game$Lab” at$Syracuse$University.$Then$look$at$ these$interviews$with$educators$on$Minecraft,$World$of$Warcraft, Portal and$MMORPGs.$These$are$videos$have$extraordinary$classroom$teachers$ who$use$games$for$teaching$and$learning.$
Roxie:!Thank#you#Kavon/Kae#for#all#of#these#wonderful#resources.#They#are# going#to#be#very#helpful#for#anyone#wanting#to#get#started#exploring#gaming# in#virtual#online#environments.#As#always,#you#have#given#us#so#much#to# think#about.#I#hope#that#our#readers#will#join#in#some#or#all#of#the#activities# that#you#listed#that#will#be starting#soon.#I#also#hope#that#everyone# attending#the#ISTE#2013#Conference#in#San#Antonio this#year#will#attend#the# Machinima#Fest#this#year!#It#has#become#an#annual#highli ght#of#the# conference!##Thanks#again#for#taking#the#time#to#talk#with#me#today#and# KEEP#UP#THE#GREAT#WORK!!!!!!
Introduction$to$a$WoW$Guild By$Izzy$Karu
By!now,!in!this!issue!of!VEJ,!you!have!read!about!the!number!of! educators!playing!The!World!of!Warcraft.!Teachers!are!using!WoW! successfully!in!their!classrooms!to!help!students!learn.!So,!you!have! decided!to!get!an!account,!install!the!client,!create!a!character,!or!“toon”,! and!take the!plunge. There!you!are,!a!level!1!WoW!toon!dropped!off!in! the!starter!location! appropriate!for!your!selected! race. Now!what,!what!do!you! do?
If!only!you!were!in!a!guild!
A!guild!is!a!chartered!organization!in!WoW. Think!of!it!as!a!village.!In! the!village!you!have!the!village!elders!who!offer!the!wisdom!of! experience. You!also!have!gathers,!and!craftsmen!who!provide the! resources!you!need!to!progress!through!the!game.
But!more!importantly,!you!have!a!family!that!shares!in!your!struggles,! triumphs,!discoveries!and!growth,!both!as!a!character!and!person. So,!take!the!plunge,!join!a!guild,!and!let!the!fun!and!learning!begin!!
Hope!to!see!you!soon!in!WoW!
Peterson$Schools$Get$Serious$ About$Playing$Games Gamekbased!learning!refers!to!the!integration!of! gaming!mechanics!into!educational!experiences.
By#David#W.#Deeds,#Cuajimalpa#Campus
What!exactly!is!meant!by!“humanistic!education”?!Trying!to!arrive!at!a! consensus!regarding!a!definition!brings!to!mind!the!fable!about!the! blind!men!describing!an!elephant:!the!guy!holding!the!trunk!thinks!it’s! like!a!snake,!the!dude!with!his!arms!wrapped!around!a!leg!swears!it’s!a! tree,!etc. A!website!named,!appropriately!enough,!education.com,! succinctly!suggests!that!humanistic!education!simply!features!“learning! activities…[that]!are!oriented!toward!improving!self awareness!and! mutual!understanding!among!people.”!The!academic!world!has! borrowed!the!corporate!term!“soft!skills”!to!discuss!such!desirable! student!qualities,!which,!not!coincidentally,!correspond!with!the! International!Baccalaureate!Learner!Profile!attributes:!being!caring,! principled,!open minded,!etc.
The!question!for!educators!has!always!been:!How!is!it!possible!to!instill! and!nurture!such!nebulous!characteristics!in!students!while!teaching! them!no nonsense!subjects!such!as!computer!programming?!
The!answer!is!now!known:!gamekbased!learning.!
According!to!the!2012#K 12#Horizon#Report,!an!annual!publication!of!the! New!Media!Consortium!that!predicts!adoption!of!educational! technologies,!game based!learning!will!be!mainstream!in!all!schools!by! as!early!as!2014.!Having!learners!engaged!in!gamekbased!learning!is!not! only!“beneficial![for!their]!cognitive!development,”!but!also!fosters “collaboration,!communication,!problem solving!and!critical!thinking.”!
Games!provide!an!“openkended,!challengedkbased”!social!aspect!to! learning!that!prepares!students!“for!their!continued!education!and!the! workforce,”!(i.e.,!for!21st century!survival!and!success).!“When! embedded!into!the!curriculum,![games]!offer!a!path!into!the!material! that!allows!students!to#learn#how#to#learn along!with!mastering!the!
subject!matter.”!The!evidence!is!indisputable:!playing!games!in!school!is! highly!effective!as!well!as!enjoyable.
As!everyone!knows,!students!love!to!play!games,!and!it’s!this!“fun! factor”!which!ironically!sums!up!the!biggest!objections!many!teachers,! administrators!and!parents!stubbornly!maintain!to!this!innovative! approach.!!Higher!education!institutions!have!been!utilizing, 3D!virtual! worlds,!for!example,!with!amazing!results!for!years.!But, Kk12! organizational!dinosaurs!largely!remain!reluctant!to!accept!that! education!doesn’t!have!to!be!boring!and!painful!to!be!beneficial.!The! game based!revolution!is!going!to!happen!with!or!without!these! misguided!skeptics,!however,!this!advancement!is!inevitable.!
Clark!Aldrich,!in!Learning#Online#with#Games,#Simulations#and#Virtual# Worlds,!states!that!game based!learning!represents!“a!permanent transformation!of!the!educational!landscape…due!in!part!to!interactive! environments’!ability!to!produce!better!traditional academic!results.”!
Please!note:!“better!traditional!academic!results.”
Petersons!Schools’!overarching!goal!of!providing!our!students!with!a! genuine “21st century!education”!will!ultimately!be!achieved!via!a!two pronged!strategy:!(1)!a!transformation!to!being!exclusively!an! International!Baccalaureate!institution; and!(2)!the!implementation!of!a! completely!student centric!approach!to!teaching,!which!necessarily! involves!the!adoption!of!game based!learning.!
So!far!it’s!been!primarily!the!Cuajimalpa!campus!that!has!been! experimenting!with,!e.g.,!3D!virtual!worlds,!but!soon!our!other!locations! will!be!joining!this!movement!as!training!and!other!preparation! progress.!
Currently,!Second!Life!and!OpenSimulator,!both!“immersive/virtual learning environments,”!are!being!used!as!integral!parts!of!the! Information!Technology!in!a!Global!Society!(ITGS)!and!Computer! Workshop!courses,!respectively.!Second!Life,!formally!known!as!a! “Massively!Multiplayer!Online!Game!(MMOG),”!was!introduced!by!the! Linden!Labs!company!in!2003!and!includes!thousands!of!educationk related!institutions.!The!platform!features!its!own!economy!and! currency,!with!average!quarterly!holdings!exceeding!US!$25!million.!
Second!Life!is!a!“public!grid”!(“grid”!just!means!a!lot!of!computers! connected!together)!restricted!to!users!16!and!older.!So, for!all!other! students!it’s!necessary!to!maintain!an!OpenSimulator!environment,! which!offers!both!the!security!of!access!control!and!the!benefits!of!
interaction!with!others.!OpenSimulator!is!“open!source”!software!and!so! it’s!not!nearly!as!advanced!as!its!commercial!cousins,!but!organizations! such!as!Dreamland!Metaverse,!Peterson’s!host!company,!contend!it!will! ultimately!become!the!MMOG!of!choice!for!schools,!primarily!because!of! its!ability!to!create!and!maintain!a!completely!private!virtual!learning! environment.
Both!Second!Life!and!OpenSimulator!offer!sophisticated!Computer! Aided!Design!(CAD)!tools,!an!Integrated!Development!Environment! (IDE)!for!programming,!etc.!But!it’s!the!communal!characteristics!of!the! potential!work!that!matter!most:!students!not!only practice!project! management!on!a!local!scale,!but!they’ll!soon!also!be!communicating! and!collaborating!with!learners!around!the!(real,!or!is!it!virtual?)!world.!
Imagine!our!students!hosting!and!visiting!learners!from!other!schools,! other!countries,!even!continents.!Both!Second!Life!and!OpenSimulator! have!been!utilized!for!“cross curricular”!efforts,!meaning!that!recent! projects!involved!Art!and!Music!classes!as!well!as!Technology.!Soon!all! Peterson!campuses!will!be!using!one!or!both!of!these!platforms,!for! student!courses!as!well!as!teacher!professional!development.!
Peterson!Schools’!cybercampuses!are!open!and!available!to!all!our! teachers!and!students.!ITGS!learners!will!soon,!as!part!of!their!final! project,!be!training!people,!starting!at!the!Cuajimalpa!campus!and!then! extending!to!the!others.!“Others”!includes!everyone!around!the!globe!!
Unlike!Second!Life!and!OpenSimulator,!environments!in!which!the! primary!goal!is!to!create!a!virtual!world!from!the!cyberground!up,!Quest! Atlantis!offers!a!prebuilt!platform!via!which!students!focus!on! completing!missions!or!tasks!via!narrative!“toolkits.”!Quest!Atlantis!is! designed!to!engage!students!9 16!years!of!age!in!“transformational! play,”!meaning!that,!again,!they!are!learning!“hard!skills”!while!also! developing!their!abilities!regarding!communication,!collaboration,!etc.!
All!the!storylines!involve!social!action,!whether!it’s!solving!a!bullying! problem!or!saving!a!town!from!the!plague!!More!than!50,000!students! on!six!continents!have!completed!“quests”!over!the!past!four!years.!
Peterson!teachers!at!two!different!campuses!will!have!started!their! training!toward!becoming!qualified!Quest!Atlantis!teachers!by!the!time! this!journal has!been!published.!Quest!Atlantis!is!completely!free!and! it’s!hoped!that!all!Peterson!middle!school!teachers!and!students!will!use! it!soon.!Sometime!during!2013,!the!traditional!Quest!Atlantis!will!be! replaced!by!a!spectacular!3D!version!that!will!rival!most!commercial! games,!while!still!offering!all!the!usual!educational!benefits.!Atlantis! Remixed,!as!the!new!Quest!Atlantis!will!be!known,!will!focus!even!more! on!the!skills!needed!to!solve!problems,!both!real!and!surreal.
Second!Life/OpenSimulator!and!Quest!Atlantis!aren’t!considered!games! in!the!traditional!sense,!but!there’s!never!been!any!doubt!about! Minecraft!!With!more!than!eight!million!registered!users!worldwide,! Minecraft!is!one!of!the!most!popular!diversions!for!young!people!ever.! How!to!effectively!use!the!environment!for!education!remained!elusive! until!the!recent!introduction!of!MinecraftEdu,!a!“mod”!(modification,!or! version)!created!exclusively!for!schools by!programmers!working! directly!with!the!Minecraft!staff.!
MinecraftEdu!offers!all!the!benefits!(including!the!fun!)!while!allowing!a! teacher!to!maintain!control!via!an!intuitive!server!interface.!
MinecraftEdu!is!often!jokingly!referred!to!as!“Second!Life!Lite,”!because! it!offers!younger!students!the!ability!to!easily!create!elaborate! structures!while!focusing!on!the!design!versus!the!mechanics.!It’s!also! easier!to!“start!from!cyberscratch”!because!different!maps!(actually! called!“seeds”)!are!available!to!provide!different!environmental!factors,! such!as!a!mountainous!or!wintery!landscape.!Kids!as!young!as! kindergartners!can!create!their!own!virtual!environments,!then!take! their!teachers!(and!parents)!on!tours!of!their!creations.!
Peterson!Schools! has!a!campus wide! license!to!use! MinecraftEdu!so! there!will!be!no! software!costs! involved.!It’ll!just!be! a!matter!of!installing! the!program!on! different!local!area! network!servers!and! computer!lab!PCs.
10th Grade$Computer$Workshop:
How$successful$has$gameb based$learning$been$at$ Peterson$Schools$so$far?$
Some!student!quotations! should!provide!some! perspective:
“Many!people!think!that!games!are!useless.!They!certainly!don't! know!that!games!put!our! minds!in!action!every! second.!There!are!lots!of! things!to!learn!from!games.! Games!are!not!just!the! future!of!entertainment,! they're!also!the!future!of! learning.”
Joaquin!Berarducci
“As!technology!develops,!we!open!the!doors!to!a!new!dimension.! In!each!stage!of!our!development,!computer!games!make!our!lives! easier.!They!are!what!will!make!the!new!world!of!tomorrow.”
Melyssa!Montes
11th Grade$ITGS$Class:
“ITGS!is!my!favorite!class.!You! are!your!own!teacher,!you!are! responsible!for!your!own! learning!process,!and!that's! what!education!should!be!all! about. Students!have!the!right!
to!have!a!fun!class!once!in!a!while.!With!ITGS,!you!actually!learn! and!have!fun!at!the!same!time!”
Diego!Figueroa “Being!able!to!combine!what!happens!on!the!Internet!with!the! real!world!through!art,!and!that!way!create!a!learning! environment,!is!one!of!the!most!innovative!and!effective!methods! I've!seen,!because!it!connects!the!student!with!the!lesson!through! something!he's!interested!in.!This!is!education's!way!to!say! ‘Welcome!to!the!21st!century.’”
kk
Ilan!Eichner
Peterson!Schools is!just!getting!started!with!gamekbased!learning.!Our! progress!will!be!covered!via!the!website!and!other!venues,!so!stay! tuned.!More!coming!soon!!
[This#article#originally#appeared#in#Peterson#Schools#Magazine.#Reprinted# with#permission.#Peterson#Schools#is#a#private#K 12#institution#with#more# than#2,000#students#at#four#campuses#around#Mexico#City.#David#is#the# Technology#Integration#Specialist#for#the#organization.]
Second Life Physics Lab Physics is different here! By Renato P. dos Santos (rl), Otaner Merlin (sl)
Despite my!best!efforts,!I!am,!unfortunately,!unable!to!remember!how!I! got!to!know!about!Second!Life!
In!my!personal!diary,!I!have!found!an!entry!saying!that!on!April!23th,! 2007!I!got!the!idea!of!starting!a!research!project!about!physics!teaching! in!SL.!Another!entry!says!that!I!created!my!account!on!the!11th of!May! and!started!promoting!SL!to!my!friends!and!colleagues,!as!many!of!us! have!probably!done.
I!soon!noticed,!however,!that!SL!Physics!is!neither!real world!Physics! nor!the!Newtonian!Physics.!I!decided!to study!and!explore!these! differences!for!some!kind!of!‘alternative!physics’!teaching!(dos!Santos,! 2009),!having!Papert’s!microworlds!in!mind.
One!of!my!friends!was!able!to!bring!Emiliano!de!Castro,!former!Kaizen! Games!CMO!(once!a!Brazilian!SL!developer!and!partner,!creator!of!the! Mainland!Brasil),!for!a!talk!in!our!Institution!and!I!had!the!privilege!to! discuss!with!him!how!to!implement!‘alternative!physics’!in!SL.
On!July!4th,!2008,!I!purchased!a!small!parcel!of!512!sqm!in!the!Pavet! region!of!Second!Life!and!began!to!build a!crude!and!small!laboratory!to! perform!experiments!with!Second!Life!Physics. Since!then!I!have!had to! move!it!to!bigger!and!bigger!parcels!as!the!Lab!evolved!due!to!the!wellk known!prim!limitation.!
Second#Life#Physics#Lab (SLP!Lab)!is!now!a!Physics!and!Mathematics! teaching!research!laboratory!that!is!being!built!at:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Castelo/208/145/39/.
Aiming!for!wider!dissemination!to the!youth!community!who!attend SL,! as!well!as!taking!in!account!the!strongly!visual!game!culture!of!many!of! its!users,!SLP!Lab!was!set!as!a!11 floor!'space!station'!hovering!30! meters!above!the!terrain!(Figure!1).!
Figure 1 - Second Life Physics Lab themed as a space station.
Visitors!may!find!the!land!pleasurable!by!itself!for!its!nice!flower!fields,! trees,!garden!benches,!a!nice!20!meter!pond!with!fishes!and!the! soothing!sound!of!water!stream,!and!even!a!gazebo!with!the!teleport!to! the!Lab!(Figure!2).!One!has!just!to!‘sit’!on!the!black!disk!to!be! transported!to!the!Lab!entrance.
To!investigate!the!feasibility!of!building!devices!that!do!not!follow!the! laws!of!Newtonian!mechanics!in!SL,!the!first!simulation!I!built!was!a! ‘Buridan’s#Cannon’,!which!can!simulate!cannonballs!following!two! different!motion!theories,!Newtonian!mechanics or!the!wellkknown! Buridan’s!Theory!of!Impulse!(impetus)!(Crombie,!1957,!p. 251),!at!user!
choice,!through!a!control!panel!(Figure!3).!The!operation!of!this! Buridan’s#Cannon can!be!seen!in!video!(dos!Santos,!2010a) or!be! experienced!at!4th!floor.!
2 - SLP Lab garden and gazebo
The!next!one!was!the!Lander#Simulator (Figure!4),!inspired!on!Jim! Storer’s!1969!classic!Lunar#Lander computer!game. From!a!physics! teaching!point!of!view,!to succeed!in!this!‘serious!game’,!to!be!able!to! land!safely,!the!player!needs!to!master!the!concepts!of!force,! acceleration!and!speed!and!their!relationships!k in!short,!Newton's! Laws.!The!operation!of!this!Lander#Simulator can!be!seen!in!video!(dos! Santos,!2010b) or!be!experienced!at!Lab’s!7th floor.
A!few!other!Physics,!Math!and!Chemistry!gizmos!are!available!to!the! public!at!the!Lab’s!other!floors.
Figure
I!have!realized,!however,!that!if!SL!shows!itself!as!a!viable!and!flexible! platform!for!microworlds!and!simulations,!then!on!the!other!hand!one! has!to!learn!its!sometimes!cryptic!and!not!well documented!Linden! Scripting!Language!(LSL),!without!which!one!fatally!ends!up!with!an! especially!inane!kind!of!gigantic!Lego.!From!my!own!experience!with!it,! I!supposed!that!this!would!discourage!most!Physics!teachers!that! probably!will!not!be!willing!to!invest!so!much!time!learning LSL!only!to! build!simple!educational!simulations.!
Aware!of!this!shortcoming,!I!decided!to!build TATI,!The#Amiable#Textual# Interface#for#Second#Life,!which!would!translate!simple!Logo like! commands!into!the!sometimes cryptic!LSL!commands!that!would! generate!the!desired!objects!in!SL.
Figure 3 - Trajectory of a projectile according to Buridan’s Impetus Theory
Papert!proposed!a!Piagetian!learning!path!into!Newtonian!laws!of! motion!(1980,!p.!123) by!means!of!a!sequence!of!four!types!of!objects:! geometry,!speed,!acceleration!and!Newtonian!Turtles!(1980,!p.!128).! For!compatibility,!TATI!is!also!able!to!generate!the!two!basic!types!of! primitives!in!Second!Life,!physical!objects!and!non physical,!in!a!total!of! six!types!of!objects!to!its!user.
Examples of!objects!created!by!TATI!are!shown in!
Figure!5:!a blue cube of!nonkphysical!type,!a plane of!velocity!turtle type,! and a yellow!cone of!physical!type,!which!is lying!on!the!ground as!it!is subject to!gravity.!It!was!found!appropriate to!theme!the!TATI!as!a! 'wizard#hat'!so!that!objects!are!rezzed!over!it!'like!magic'.!Various! examples!of!the!operation!of!TATI!can!be!seen!in!video!(dos!Santos,! 2012).
Figure 4 - Lander Simulator
References TATI!and! TATILogo!are!in! final! developments! now,!but!will! soon!be!released! to!a!limited!and! selected!group!of! volunteer!users!to! perform!usability! and!acceptance! tests.
Crombie,!A.!C.!(1957).!Criticism!of!Aristotle!in!the!Later!Middle!Ages.! Augustine#to#Galileo:#the#History#of#Science#a.d.#400 1650.!London:! William!Heinemann,!Ltd. Papert,!S.!A.!(1980).!Mindstorms# Children,#Computers#and#Powerful# Ideas.!New!York:!Basic!Books.
dos!Santos,!R.!P.!(2009).!Second!Life!Physics:!Virtual,!real!or surreal?! Journal#of#Virtual#Worlds#Research,!2(1),!1–21.!Retrieved!from! https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/383/455 dos!Santos,!R.!P.!(2010a,!July!30).!Alternative!Physics!in!Second!Life! [Blog!post].!Second#Life#Physics#blog.!Retrieved!July!30,!2010,!from! http://www.secondlifephysics.com/2010/07/alternativekphysicsk in second life.html
dos!Santos,!R.!P.!(2010b,!December!17).!Lander!Simulator!in!Second!Life! Physics!Lab![Blog!post].!Second#Life#Physics#blog.!Retrieved! December!17,!2010,!from! http://www.secondlifephysics.com/2010/12/lander simulator in second life physics.html
dos!Santos,!R.!P.!(2012,!May!13).!TATI! The!Amiable!Textual!Interface! for!Second!Life![Blog!post].!Second#Life#Physics#blog.!Retrieved!May! 13,!2012,!from!http://www.secondlifephysics.com/2012/05/tati amiable textual interface for.html
Figure 5 - Examples of objects created with TATI
Lights,$Camera,$Nominations:$ SIGVE$at$the$Eddies
By!Kae!Novak!(RL),!Kavon!Zenovka!(sl)
The!Edublog!Awards!!http://edublogawards.com/ or!“Eddies”!are!a! community!based!initiative!started!in!2004!to!create!resources!for! educators!on!how!educational!technology!and!social!media!are!used!in! different!contexts!with!a!range!of!different! learners.
Each!year,!the!Edublog!Awards! nominations!are!gathered!through!a! process!where!educators!can!nominate! favorite!blogs!and!sites!in!a!wide!range!of! categories. The!nomination!process! requires!that!the!blog,!social!network!or! online!events!be!publically!nominated!on! an!educational!blog!and!self nomination!is! not!allowed.!For!2012,!there!were! approximately!2000!nominations!in!20! categories.
Each!year,!judges review!the!nominations and!a!list!of!finalists!is!chosen.!This!year,! SIGVE$was$nominated$for$the$“Best$ Social$Network$for$Educators$2012”,$ selected$as$a$finalist$and$was$named$in$the$top$5$Best$Networks!$
In!addition!to!SIGVE,!we!had!several!members!also!nominated.!To!take!a! look!at!all!of!the!amazing SIGVE!members!who!were!finalists,!please go! to!this link!for!their!blogs!and!sites:
http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net/Edublog+2012+finalists
Also!a!special!shout out!to!the!following SIGVE!members!who!made!the! top!5 in!their!respective!categories:
Teacher$Blog
ctrl!+!alt+!teach!http://www.ctrlaltteach.com/ Catherine!“Cat”!Horton!Flippen
Individual$Blog
Grid!Jumper’s!Blog!http://gridjumper.net/ Tanya!Martin
Administrator$Blog
This!and!That http://jcastelhanothisandthat.blogspot.com/ Jon!Castelhano
Congratulations!!and!a!big!thank!you!to!all!nominees,!finalists,!and!all!of! you!who!voted!to!make!this!possible!
Gamers$Represent!$
Game$Based$Learning$Finalist$for$2012$Edublog$Awards!
The!finalists!in!the!Edublog!Awards!2012!were!also!well!represented!by! educators!(who!are!also!gamers)!using!blogs,!social!media,!MOOCs!and! Google!Hangouts!to!advance!meaningful!education.!
G.A.M.E.$Gamers$Advancing$Meaningful$Education http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/
G.A.M.E. was!a!finalist!in!Edublog!Awards!in!the!following!categories:
Podcast: Gamers!Advancing!Meaningful!Education!– “It!Takes!A!Guild!–A!Guild!of!Educators”!Series
http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/pages/webinarpage
Open$Professional$Development: Gamers!Advancing!Meaningful! Education!– “It!Takes!A!Guild!– A!Guild!of!Educators”!Series! http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/pages/webinarpage
Social$Network:$Gamers!Advancing!Meaningful!Education! http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/
Gamers$who$were$finalists$for$individual$categories:
Lifetime$Achievement: Marianne!Malmstrom!! Virtual!Worlds,!Games! and!Minecraft!Maven
Best$Individual$Blog Post: Gridjumper’s!Blog!– It’s!About!Time!and! Space!(25)
http://gridjumper.net/2012/10/29/itskaboutktimekandkspace/
Games#Based#Learning#MOOC
The$Games$MOOC$or$Games$Based$Learning$MOOC was!also!a!finalist! in!social!media!and!blogging!categories.
Best$Class$Blog: Games!MOOC!http://gamesmooc.shivtr.com/journals!
Best$Group$Blog: Games!MOOC!http://gamesmooc.shivtr.com/
Individual$Tweeter: @proximalzone!
Twitter$hashtag: #gamemooc!
And!additionally!games!were!represented!in!the!Best!Mobile!App! category:
Mobile$App: WoW!Armory! http://us.battle.net/wow/en/shop/mobile armory/
Educational$Games$for$
Social$and$Environmental$Causes
By!Carl!Solutionary (sl)!
Games!are!one!of!the!most!dominant!and!influential!forms!of! entertainment!of!our!times.!Easily!exceeding!the!revenue!of!blockbuster! movies,!World!of!Warcraft!has!grossed!more!than!US!$10!billion!and! titles!such!as!Super!Mario,!Grand!Theft!Auto,!and!Call!of!Duty!grossed! over!US!$1!billion!each.!Educational!games!are!a!significant!market!with! 1000’s!of!available!titles.!
As!virtual!worlds!add!game!support!such!as!Second!Life’s!Advanced! Creator!Tools!and!Pathfinding,!development!is!beginning!on!new!kinds! of!in world!games.!Since!these!are!very!early!days,!the!purpose!of!this! article!is!to!introduce!readers!to!social/environmental!educational! games,!and!invite!you!to!participate!in!upcoming!virtual!world!gaming! projects,!discussions,!and!eventually!courses.
As!a!Humane!Educator,!I!am!particularly!interested!in!how!games!can! be!applied!to!social!causes!and!environmental!education.!I!was! surprised!to!discover!the!wealth!of!relevant!games!and!contests!(See! Announcements).
In!the!Internet!Resources below,!I’ve!listed!game!titles!and!URLs!for!15! social/environmental!games!(all!of!which!I!highly!recommend)!in!3! general!categories:!(1)!Cultural!Education!Games;!(2)!Civics!Policy! Games; and!(3)!Active!Citizenship!Games.!Cultural!Education!Games! help!us!to!learn!about!people,!their!psychology,!and!societies!through! experiencing!alternate!realities!and!cultures.!Civics!Policy!Games!are! simulations!that!allow!us!to!call!public!policy!shots!and!experience!the! consequences!of!our!choices.!Active!Citizenship!Games!build! consciousness!about!social!justice!causes.
All!of!the!Internet based!games!are!free,!and!some!installed!games!have! free!demonstrators.!The!balance!of!this!article!introduces!an!example! game!from!each!of!these!categories.!
Figure#1#Inside#the#Haiti#Earthquake#– a#Video/Photo#Game
(1) A#Cultural#Education#Game: Inside$the$Haiti$Earthquake uses!video! clips!and!photographs!to!tell!the!story!of!the!ongoing!humanitarian! crisis!in!Haiti!(Figure!1).!Set!in!the!timeframe!just!after!the!devastating! Earthquake,!the!game!captures!peoples’!confusion!and!desperation.!As! player,!you!assume!one!of!three!roles:!journalist,!aide!worker,!or! survivor,!and!the!game!takes!you!through!a!rolekbased!scenario!that! includes!text!messaging,!conversations,!and!many!decisions!that! determine!the!scenario’s!outcomes.!It!is!very!interesting!to!play!the! game!again!choosing!an!alternate!role.!This!game!conveys!a!realistic! understanding!of!the!realkworld!issues!that!are!still!playing!out!years! later,!today!in!Haiti.!Other!similar!video/photo!games!that!I recommend! include! On!the!Ground!Reporter:!Darfur,!Homeland!Guantanamos,!and!
an!Amnesty!International endorsed!game!called!Curfew!(See!under! Active!Citizenship!Games).
(2)#A#Civics#Policy#Game: Climate$Challenge$is!a!card based! environmental!policy!game (Figure!2).!You!are!the!leader!of!Europe,!and! set!policies!for!each!decade!from!1990!through!2100.!You!must!balance! your!public!approval!rating,!with!your!financial!resources,!water!supply,! food!supply,!and!climate!impact.!You!can!choose!government!actions! from!available!cards,!including!policies!and!programs!affecting!the! nation,!trade,!agrokindustry,!local!areas,!and!households.!The!game!is! very!instructive!about!choosing!tradeoffs!and!understanding!pros!and! cons!of!each!policy.!There!is!a!significantly!more!complex!successor!to! Climate!Challenge!called!Fate!of!the!World,!an!installed!game!available! for!purchase.!Another!cardkbased!civic!policy!game!that!I!recommend!is! Win!the!White!House.!Peacemaker!is!an!installed!game,!which focuses! on!Arab Israeli!policies.
Figure#2#Climate#Challenge#is#a#Card based#Policy#Game
(3)#An#Active#Citizenship#Game: September$12th:$A$Toy$World portrays! a!fictional!city!somewhere!in!the!Middle!East,!which!is!populated!by!a! large!number!of!wandering!civilians!and!a!few!so called!terrorists,! easily!distinguished!by!their!clothing.!The!player!can!fire!missiles!into! the!city!to!try!and!eliminate!terrorists,!but!every!time!you!do,!more!and! more!civilians!are!converted!to!terrorists.!It!is!a!simple,!active!game! with!a!moral:!violence!begets!more!violence.!Other!highly!engaging,! active!games!that!I!recommend!include:!Phone!Story,!Dys4ia,!and!The! Arcade!Wire:!Airport!Security.
Figure#3#September#12th:#A#Toy#World#is#an#Action#Game#with#a#Moral Announcements:$Upcoming$Social$Cause$Game$Contests Global!Game!Jam!is!a!social!cause!game!development!event!on!January! 25 27,!2013.!Over!270!website!teams!compete!by!developing!games! supporting!social!causes!in!this!marathon!event:! http://globalgamejam.org/
TechSoup,!the!sponsors!of!NonProfit!Commons!in!Secondlife,!are! conducting!the!Windows!8!Apps!for!Social!Good!Contest! http://bit.ly/QKexib deadline!February!28,!2013.!Entries!can!include! educational!games!for social!causes.!Click!the!Hacker!Helper!link!for! important!instructions.
About$the$Author
Carl!Solutionary!(carlicann!Resident)!is!a!Humane!Educator!at! Rockcliffe!University!in!Second!Life.!Carl!also!manages!a!free!shop!of! educational!resources!promoting Humane!Education!on!Etopia!Island,! the!sustainability!education!community.!Visit!Carl’s!educational! resources!on!the!web!at:!http://carlicann.wordpress.com/ including! access!to!1000’s!of!free!lesson!plans!supporting!social!consciousness! and!sustainability.
Internet$Resources
Key#to#Game#Types: None!of!the!games!I!found!were!based!in!virtual! worlds,!but!many!are!available!online!(web based!versus!installed! games).!Several!of!the!games!use!video!clips!and!still!photographs!to!tell! their!stories!(video/photo!based!games).!!Some!games!limited!character! movement!to!2!dimensions!(e.g.!platformer!or!maze/pong!games).! Other!games!are!based!on!dealing!or!choosing!cards!(card!games).! Several!games!emphasized!dynamic!user!engagement!(e.g.!fun!games),! and!others!taught!through!assessments!(quiz!games).!The!games!listed! are!web based!unless!annotated!with!(install).
(1)$Cultural$Education$Games Inside$the$Haiti$Earthquake$ (video/photo)
http://www.insidedisaster.com/experience/Main.html
On$the$Ground$Reporter:$Darfur (video/photo)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/darfurgame/english/index.html
Elude (platformer)
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/elude.php
A$Closed$World (maze)
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/aclosedworld.php
Hunt$for$the$Noor$Stone (quiz)
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wham bam islam/game.html
Dys4ia (fun)!(maze/pong)
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/591565
(2)$Civics$Policy$Games
Climate$Challenge (card)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_chall enge/
Fate of$the$World (install)!(card)!– Purchase!Only
http://fateoftheworld.net/
Win$the$White$House$(card)
http://www.icivics.org/games/win white house
PeaceMaker$(install)!– Click!“Play!the!Demo”!for!Free!Demonstrator
http://www.peacemakergame.com/
(3)$Active$Citizenship$Games
September$12th:$A$Toy$World (fun)!– Web based;!Works!on!MS! Windows
http://www.newsgaming.com/games/index12.htm
The$Curfew$(video/photo)
http://www.thecurfewgame.com/ Unmanned (quiz)
http://unmanned.molleindustria.org/ Phone$Story$(fun)
http://phonestory.org/game.html
Homeland$Guantanamos$(video/photo)!– Click!“Skip!Intro”!to!Play
http://www.homelandgitmo.com/ The$Arcade$Wire:$Airport$Security (fun)
http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/airportsecurity.jsp
Directory$of$1500$Educational$Games
http://wingz2fly.com/wp/search/ Second$Life$Game$Platform$Technologies$
http://tiny.cc/eubtqw and!http://tiny.cc/svbtqw
Virtual!Pioneers 2012.!.!.!It!Was!A!Very!Good!Year! By!Spiff!Whitfield!(sl),!Andrew!Wheelock!(RL)
The!Virtual! Pioneers!have! completed! another! amazing!year! in!their!quest! to!provide! anyone! interested!in!history!and!culture!a!way!to!explore!and!learn!in!Second! Life.! Our!group!has!gone!through!a!variety!of!cosmetic!changes!over!the! years,!but!we!have consistently!stayed!true!to!our!mission.
This!year!brought!change!on!several!fronts.! One!of!our!most!successful! upgrades!for!this!year!was!the!creation!of!a!more!dynamic!webpage!for! our!members!to!keep!track!of!our!events!and!happenings.! We!have! tried!several!variations!of!website,!but!the!Weebly!site!is!the!easiest!and! most!manageable.! Please!check!us!out!at! http://virtualpioneers.weebly.com for!all!of!our!news!and!updates.
Another!happy!change!for!this!year!was!our!new!location.! As!you!may! have!known,!we!moved!our!headquarters!from!the!University!of!Maine’s! Black!Bear!Island!to!Eduislands!9.! A!special!thanks!to!the!University!of! Maine!for!offering!us!their!space.! They!were!kind!and!gracious! hosts.! They!were!going!to!downsize!their!islands!and!we!would!have! been!homeless!were!it!not!for!Eduislands!offering!us!a!parcel!on! Eduislands!9.! Fleet!Goldenberg,!http://www.sambiglyon.org/ has!been! a!wonderful!supporter!and!promoter!of!our!efforts!and!uses.! His!work! with!Eduislands!has!been!one!of!true!collaboration!and!bonhamie.! We! are!so!grateful!for!his!quick!action!to!find!us!a!comfortable!location!with! adjoining!parcel of!ISTE’s!SIGVE space.! We!have!found!that!it!has! created!a!true!fellowship!of!likekminded educators!that!can!easily!work! from!one!region!to!another!to!share!and!collaborate.
With!our!new!website!for!sharing!and!an!educationally!viable!location,! we!went!about!our!business!of!arranging!tours,!having!presentations,! and!enjoying!some!light!hearted!discussion!for!our!bi weekly!Meet#and# Greet sections.!
See!below!for!our!year!in!review!of!locations!and!topics.! Please!visit! these!locations!to!see!and!learn!more.! Serena!Offcourse!has!been!an! amazing!scheduler!for!us!and!has!done!an!incredible!job!of!providing! tours!that!are!timely!and!unique.! Big!thanks!to!Serena!
January$29th
We!began!our!year!at!the!lovely!Victorian home!of!Virtual!Pioneer,! TwelfthNight!to!discuss!our!recent!conference,!what!worked!and!what! didn't!work!k gathering!ideas!for!next!year.!We!put!on!our!best!Victorian! clothes!and!chatted!over!a!cup!of!tea.! Twelfth!has!been!a!wonderful! member!who!contributes!and!walks!the!walk!when!it!comes!to!virtual! environment!work!and!play.
February$12th Nodaway
The!Nodaway!sim!celebrates!the!people,!places,!and!connections!of!one! family!and!community.! Using!photographs,!diaries,!and!local! newspaper!accounts,!this!sim!tells!the!story!of!this!family!in!a!small! Missouri!town!from!the!1890s!through the!1950s.!Ashbrook!Llewellyn! was!our!tour!guide!and!gave!us!a!thought!provoking!evening.
February$26th Peru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnb5OSVbGo
Amparo!Delvalle!lead! us!on!a!tour!of!Machu! Picchu,!a!real life! reproduction!of!the! ancient!ruins!of!the! Inca!Citadel!of!Machu! Picchu,!a!rigorous! simulation!of!a!60%! real!Citadel,!built!as! part!of!the!University! San!martin!de!Porres! of!Perú.!We!learned!
about!the!history,!origin!and!use!of!one!of!the!world's!archaeological! wonders.
March$11th St!Patrick's Day!Tour
This!tour!led!us!to!the!beauty!and!wonder!of!Ireland!in!1712!! Located!in!the!Ocean!Realms!sims,!DUBLIN!and!IRELAND!offers!urban! and!country!locales!including!the!historic!Brazen!Head!pub,!the!Abbey! Ruins,!Dunseverick!Castle,!the!Standing!Stones,!and!a!Gypsy!Camp!! A!fun!tour!had!by!all.
March$25th k Empyreal!Dreams~The!Art!Anthology Virtual!Pioneer,!Cyrus!Hush,!gave!us!a!tour!of!Empyreal Dreams~The! Art!Anthology.! This!is!ultimately!going!to!be!twelve!builds! commemorating!famous!works!of!literature.! They!are!up!to!five...!Rime! of!the!Ancient!Mariner!(Coleridge),!The!Bluebell!(Bronte),!The!Raven! (Poe)!Les!Miserables!(Hugo)!and!the!newest!addition! Owl!and!the! Pussycat!(Lear).! Cyrus!is!a!first!class!tour!guide!and!didn’t!disappoint! with!this!tour!
May!6th! Principato!di! Melioria,!Villa!Vesuviana Lady!Sere!Timeless! invited!us!to!Principato! di!Melioria,!Villa! Vesuviana.!This!is!an! interpretation!of!
Palladio’s!Villa!Rotonda!that has!inspired!more!architecture!than!any! other!single!building!in! history.!We!visited!this! role play!of!a!fictional! Italian!Court!in!1780! south!of!Napoli.!
May$20th Afghanistan! Virtual!Museum
This!museum! provides!a! fully!interactive!and! immersive!experience!to! learn!more!about! the! history,!culture,!art!and!people!of!Afghanistan.!This!museum!is!rich! in!information,!images,!and!more.!
June$3rd Welcome!to!Greece
Mariposa!Melodee!lives!in!Greece!in!RL!and!in!SL.! She!shared!a!bit!of! her!country's!history,!culture,!and!beauty.!Starting!with!the!Acropolis,! then!to!Plaka,!and!then!to!Athens! we!visited!the!Presidential!House,! Monument!of!Unknown!Soldier,!Odeon!of!Herodes!Atticus,! and!a!Greek! Orthodox!Church.!We!ended!at!the!beautiful Aegean!Sea.
June$17th Buona!Pesca!Archipelago
Cesta!Franizzi!led!us!on!a!tour!of!Buona!Pesca!Archipelago.!These! beautiful!Medieval!Realms!and!Role plays!are!surrounded!by!open! sailable!waters!covering!twenty seven!adjoining!regions.!
July$1st k Colorado!North
Join!Downy!(Downunder!Snoodle)!for!a!tour!of!this!Authentic!1869!Wild! West!Rolekplay!based!in!Western!Colorado.!We!visited!several!replica! builds!including!The!Mahany!House,!one!of!the!"five!oldest!buildings"!in! Georgetown,!Colorado,!built!during!the!silver!rush.!
July$15th Victorian!Summer!Party!
(With some!modern!modifications..)
This!was!a!great gathering!where!we!had!some!fun!and!fellowship!all! wearing!Victorian!Era!Swimsuits.
July$29th Flying!Tigers!in!SL
Jessii!WarrholkGiano,!Guarocuya!Giano!and!the!FLYING!TIGERS!(the! largest!aviation!group!in!SL)!provided!an!amazing!tour!of!their!sim.!This! venue!is!host!to!a!replica!of!the!WW2!Memorial!in!DC!and!The!History!of! Aviation!Aircraft!Museum.!Our!tour!included!a!WW2!themed!aerial! combat.!This!group!was!inspired!by!the!efforts!of!the!original!Flying! Tigers,!they!fly!to!honor!all!veterans!and!are!dedicated!to!pursuing! camaraderie,!goodwill,!cooperation!and!harmony!within!the!SL!aviation! community.!
August$12th k Adventure!in!
Dominica
TwelfthNight!again!guided!us! to!the!island!Antiquity!
Dominica.!Highlights of!the! tour!included:!The!Cabrits! Garrison,!Fort!Shirley!and!the! many!natural!highlights!of!this!
beautiful!island.! We!also!visited!The!Pirate's!Lair! Hideout!for!the! Pirates!of!Antiquity.! Dominica!has!a!long!legacy!of!piracy!over!the! years.! It!was!also!the!location!for!several!of!the!"Pirates!of!the! Caribbean"!films.!
August$26th k Second!Life!Photography!Tips!
Ansel!Artful!is!an!instructor!at!Builders!Brewery who!has!spent!many! hours!developing!his!excellent!understanding!of!photography!in!both!RL! and!SL.! In!this!introduction!he!shared!some!tips!to!improve!your!ability! to take!great!pictures!while!on!Virtual!Pioneer!Tours.!
September$9th k 1920!Chicago
Starla!Moorlord!(starla.huntress)!was!our!host!for!this!sim!based!on!the! 1920's!in!the!City!of!Chicago.!This!Roaring!20's!style!sim!is!the!home!of! gangsters!and!dolls.! We!were!even!treated!to!a!Gangster!hit!job!! Oh!the! clean!fun!of!rolekplay!and!history!sims.
September$23rd Photohunt!at!Mont!Saint!Michel This!was!a!Self!Guided!Tour!and!Photohunt!at!Mont!Saint!Michel! a! rocky!tidal!island!in!Normandy,!France.!It!is!located!approximately!a! half!a!mile!off!the!country's!northwestern coast.! This!island!has!held! strategic!fortifications!since!ancient!times.!Since!the!8th!century!AD!it! has!been!the!seat!of!the!monastery!from!which!it!gets!its!name.!
November$4th k O'Hare's!Gap!5:30!pm!SLT
Willy!and!Meg!Sandalwood!shared!their!Rural Irish!Village!of!O'Hara's! Gap.!It!is!1939!and!the!war!between!the!Axis!powers!and!the!British!is! on.! Strategic!positions!were!needed!to!observe!British!shipping!and!the! Axis!powers!know!that!much!of!the!convoy!activity!to!and!from!England! must!pass!through!the!narrow!gap!between!North!Ireland!and!Scotland.! This!sleepy!little!Irish!Village!provides!a!good!staging!point!to!watch! this!activity.! The!Blarney!Castle!and!Blarney!Stone!could!be!seen!and! kissed!
November$18th Tour!of!London!Village
Darkling!Leechfinger (leechfinger)!provided!for!us!a!tour!of!London! Village.!This!fun!filled!place!is!one!part!London,!and!one!part!English! fandom.!There!are some!famous!landmarks!such!as!the!Tower!Bridge,! London!Eye,!and!the!BT!Tower.!In!addition,!there!are!tributes!to!English! shows!Sherlock!Holmes!and!Doctor!Who.!
December$2nd Ancient!Alexandria Cleopatra!VII!of!the!Ptolemies!(pharaohcleopatra,!was!our!guide! of Alexandria,!an!ancient!world!role!playing!sim,!set!around!35!BCE,!at! the!time!of!Cleopatra!and!Mark!Antony.! Alexandria,!Egypt!was!founded! by!Alexander!the!Great!in!331!BCE.! At!this!time,!Alexandria!was!the! most!beautiful,!wealthiest,!and!most!educated!city!on!the!planet.! Highlights!of!this!tour!included!the!Palace,!the!Market,!an!Arena,!a! Hippodrome,!a!Bedouin!camp,!a!Roman!Fortress,!and!a!temple.
December$9th PRESENTATION
+++!The!Renaissance!Hunt!+++
Hunt!organizer,!Perryn!Peterson,!discussed!the!second!Renaissancek themed!GridkWide!hunt.!He!offered!some!"Hunt!Tips'!for!new!hunters! and!answered!questions.!This!exciting!SL!event!had!Renaissance!and! Medieval!gifts!to!find!hidden!in!over!100!participating!shops.!
December$16th VP!Winter!Event!
+++Historical!Costume!Party+++ Our!last!event!brought!us!together!again!for!some!fun!mingling!skating,! and!snowball!throwing.! Good!clean!entertainment.
As!you!can!see,!the!Virtual!Pioneers!like!to!learn,!share,!and!collaborate! in!a!variety!of!settings.! 2013!is!underway!and!we!already!have!some! great!sims!planned,!like!a!return!to!Harlem!1920,!and!Medieval! Dee.! Please!look!for!us!inworld or!follow!our!Weebly!site.
Spiff
Be!sure!to!check!out!our!flickr!group!site to!see!pictures!of!our!events!
NPC Meeting Feb 22nd
The!NonProfit!Commons!weekly!meeting!featuring!web!pioneer!Aliza! Sherman!(Cybergrrl!Oh)!who!will!take!us!on!an!interactive!exploration! of!using!QR!codes.!You!can!read the!chat from!the!meeting!and!visit! NonProfit!Commons!inworld and!on!the NPSL:!Nonprofits!in!Second!Life website.
The QR Code Mantra
According!to!the!NPSL!website,!“QR Codes!can!be!a!compelling!and! effective!marketing!tool!when!used!thoughtfully!and!integrated! carefully!into!a!campaign.!Nonprofits!can!benefit!from!incorporating!QR codes!appropriately!into! marketing!collateral!and! communications!flow,! especially!to!bridge!offline! with!online!actions.”!
Aliza Sherman @alizasherman
During!this! session,! participants! learned!about! some!of!the! best!tools!for! generating! and!managing! QR code! efforts.
Aliza Sherman @alizasherman
NPC Audience My Friend, Buffy Beale
Cybergrrl Oh & Rhiannon Chatnoir
Participants!also!saw!some!examples!of!QR codes!– both!effective!and! ineffective!ones. Can’t!wait!to!see!how!these!participants!begin!to!use! QR!codes!in!SL!!
Achieving Fiero Moments in Collegial Learning & Gaming Communities By Rosie O’Brien
Vojtek (rl), Roxie Neiro (sl) Bob Vojtek (rl), BJ Gearbox (sl) Motivation!is!a!funny!thing!– what!motivates!one!person!or!group!of! people!may!not!work!for!the!next!person!or!group.!But!from!our! research!and!experiences!(Vojtek&!Vojtek,!2009,!Corwin!Press)!we have! learned!that!the!more!the!following!ten!strategies!are!embedded!within! the!culture!of!a!school or!classroom,!a!virtual!community!like!ISTE! SIGVE!in!Second!Life,!or!a!guild!in!WoW!for!example,!the!more!likely!the! group!is!going!to!be!able!to!work!together!collegially,!and!the!more! likely!they!will!be!to!achieve!what!we!call!optimal#performance and!what! the!gaming!community!calls!a!Fiero#Moment.!
We!define!optimal$performance as the#state#in#which#individuals#within# the#school#community#are#enthralled#in#complex,#job embedded# educational#work#and#learning#experiences#that#serve#a#greater#purpose,# have#a#clear#and#specific#focus,#provide#knowledge#and#feedback#about#the# results#of#educator#effort,#intrinsically#captivate#educator#attention,#are# balanced#between#the#challenge#of#the#activity#and#the#knowledge#and# skill#of#the#individual,#and#clearly#make#a#difference#in#helping#all#students# achieve#personalized#and#collective#learning#goals (Vojtek!&!Vojtek,!2009,! p.!30).
Optimal!Performance!is!what!Csikszentmihalyi!calls!“Flow,”!what! Maslow!calls!“Self Actualization,”!what!runners!call,!“The!Zone,”!and! what!gamers!call!“Fiero!Moments.”!
So,!what!are!the!characteristics!that!must!be!met to!achieve!Optimal! Performance!or!a!Fiero!Moment?!We!list!them!as!the!following.!
The!People/Players:
• Are actively!engaged/enthralled!in!complex,!job embedded!or!
game embedded/immersed!learning!or!work.
• Are engaged!in work!that!serves!a!greater!purpose!or!a!greater! good!(e.g.,!working!collaboratively!in!WoW!to!survive!and!help! each!other or!on!a!school!goal!to!ensure!students!achieve! statewide!assessment!goals).
• Know and!can!articulate!the clear!and!specific!focus!and!goal.
• Are provided!with!specific!and!immediate!feedback!about!the! results!of!their!efforts!and!actions.
• Are intrinsically!captivated!by!the!mission!and!work!they!are! doing.
• Have the!knowledge!and!skills!necessary!to!complete!the!task!or! activity!and!the!knowledge!and!skills!they!possess!are!balanced! against!the!complexity!of!the!task,!so!that!the!task/activity!is! neither!too!difficult!nor!too!easy.
• Realize that!what!they!are!doing!is!making!a!difference!in!helping! them!to!achieve!their!personal!or!collective!goals.
Game!developers!“get!it!”!They!understand that!if!they!are!going!to! enthrall and!captivate!their!players,!they!need!to!embed!the!above! characteristics!of!optimal!performance!into!their!games.!For!example,!as! players!acquire!the!knowledge!and!skills they!need!to!achieve!their! goals,!they!experience!success!– a!Feiro!Moment,!and!thus!move!on!to! the!next!level.!!
We!do!not!do!this!enough!in!real!life!!Especially!in!the!classroom!when! we!are!teaching!our!students.!!Maybe!that!is!why!it!is!so!difficult!for!us,! as!educators,!to!build!and!sustain!the!momentum!(enthusiasm!and! enthrallment)!of!games; or!as!administrators,!to!build!a collegial! learning!community!with!educators!that!is!able!to!achieve!the!optimal! levels!of!performance described!above;!or!as!learners,!experience!those! potential!real!life!Fiero!(ah ha,!got!it,!can!do)!moments in!the!classroom!
But,!what!if!we!could?!
What!if!we!could!structure!these!Optimal!Performance/Fiero!Moment! principles!into!the!important!work!we!do, everyday,!whether!it!be!in! the: virtual!environments;!the!gaming!environments; the!work!we!do! with!teachers,!colleagues, and!peers!as!a!collegial!learning!community; or!by!engaging!students!in!the!daily!classroom!curricula?!
There!are!10!highly!effective, essential!strategies!that!teachers!and! administrators!can!use!to!motivate!and!inspire!students,!teachers,!or! members!of!their!WoW!guild,!to!build!collegial!learning!communities and!help!them!achieve!optimal!performance.!It!doesn’t!matter!whether! you!use!these!in!your!classroom!with!students,!with!the!teachers!in!your! school,!with!your!colleagues!to!build!an!inworld!group,!or!with!your! guild!in!WoW.!!The!10!essential!strategies!are!the!same and!are!just!as! effective!in!all!of!these!environments.!The!more!you!are!able!to!embed! them!into!your culture!and!make!them!the!norm!(norm goes!without! saying!– it!is!just!the!way!you!operate),!the!more!likely!you!are!to!create! those!Fiero!Moments!in!real!life!and!in!virtual!worlds!and!games.
The$10$strategies are (in!no!order,!except!for!number!one,!which!is!the! same!as!Maslow’s!survival!skills):
1. Quality$of$Life – Everyone!within!the!group!must!have!their!basic! life!skills!and!needs!met.!In!Second!Life!for!example,!until!an! avatar!learns!how!to!move,!has!the!appropriate!dress,! understands!the!culture,!etc.,!they!have!not!achieved!a!quality!of! life!that!helps!them!sustain!their!involvement!in!the!virtual!world.! Often!people!pop!into!second!life!and!quit!because they!do!not!feel! comfortable!(achieve!the!quality!of!life)!that!sustains!their! participation. This!is!why!ISTE!SIGVE!has!spent!so!much!time! nurturing!newcomers.
2. Mission$– People!need!to!know,!understand!and!be!able!to! articulate!the!important!work!(i.e.,!goals,!actions,!and!desired! results)!they!wish!to!achieve.!Mission!is!that!morally!compelling,! important!work!that!the!individual!or!the!group!is!pursuing.! Everything!that!the!person/group!is!doing!is!important!to! furthering!that!mission.!
3. Communication$– There!must!be!a!shared!vocabulary!and!clearly! established!definitions.!There!must!be!clarity!in!purpose!and! channels!for!dialogue!among!members.!Information!must!be!open,! honest, and!transparent.!People!must be!on!the!same!page!with! the!same!information.
4. Relationships$– Relationship!matter!!People!need!people! We! love!when!Barbara!Streisand!sings,!“People!who!need!people!are! the!luckiest!people!in!the!world.”!Cultivate,!nurture,!and!build!
those!relationships!!Together,!we!can!
5. Accountability$– Make!sure!that!when!you!develop!the!goals,! action!plans,!and!result indicators!that!everyone!of!the! stakeholders!has!input!and!is!listened!to.!Take!time!to!build! consensus!around!what!is!important!and!what!you!are!going!to!do! about!it.! This!creates!ownership!in!the!task.!Then,!and!most! importantly,!make!sure!everyone!holds!themselves!and!each! other!in!the!group!responsible!and!accountable!for!accomplishing! the!mission!and!goals.!
6. Competence$and$Capacity$– Not!only!do!individuals!need!to! increase!their!own!knowledge!and!skills!(competences),!but!also, they!need!to!share!that!knowledge!and!skills!with!the!rest!of!the! group!to!build!the!collective!capacity!of!ALL.
7. Autonomy$– Make!sure!that!everyone!knows!and!understands! the!clearly!identified!and!articulated boundaries!(including!rules)! and!then!grants each!other the!freedom!and!authority!to!make! informed!decisions.!As!in!games like!WoW,!sometimes!this!works, and!sometimes!it!doesn’t.!When!it!doesn’t, people!need!to!be! granted!the!ability!to!pick!themselves!up,!dust!themselves!off,!do! some!research,!revise,!and!try!again.!This!is!what!it!takes!for! successful!gamers!to!move!on!to!the!next!level.!This!is!what!it! takes!for!successful!schools!to!improve.!
8. Empowerment$– Even!though!we!think!we!can,!in!games!and!in! real life,!none!of!us!can!do!it!all! It!is!important!that!we!delegate! the!responsibility,!distribute!the!leadership,!grant!the!authority,! and!allow!others to!do!the!work.!Then we!get!out!of!the!way!! Make!sure!people!have!the!competence!and!self confidence!they! need,!and!then,!when!they!do, empower!them!to!do!the!work,!and! watch!what!they!become!
9. Positive$Interdependence$– None!of!us!are!as!smart!as!all!of!us.! It!takes!all!of!us,!working!together,!to!achieve!our!goals.!We!are!a! team!.!.!.!we!win!or!lose,!sink!or!swim,!and!we!are!all!in!this TOGETHER! To!survive,!to!be!successful,!we!need!each!other!!We! are!a!community.!We!are!a!family.!We!are!a!guild.!We!are!one! We! must!make!sure!there!is!“UNITY”!in!the!“COMMUNITY.”
10. Results$– Getting!results!means!achieving!the!individual!or! groups ’ morally!compelling!mission!and!goals.!Goals!must!be!kept realistic,!attainable,!and!measurable.!Be sure!to celebrate!the!little! accomplishments along!the!way.!When!you!don’t get!the!results!
you!were!looking!for,!step! back,!take!a!deep!breath,! investigate and!analyzing! what!happened!– what!went! wrong,!and!then,!have the! courage!to!try!it!again.!And,! when!you!do!achieve!success (that!Fiero!Moment),! celebrate!!After celebrating,! pick!yourself!up,!dust! yourself!off,!and!move!on!to! the!next!level!(in!the!game!or! in!the!complexity!of!your! work)!and!in!the!words!of! Jerry!Garcia “Keep!on!Truckin’”
The!best!of!games!incorporate!the!above!10!strategies!for!building! collegial!communities!to!engage!and!enthrall their!players.!Educators! in!WoW!and!other!online!games!will!tell!you!that!these!are!all! elements!that!keep!them!coming!back,!day!after!day!(and!in!the!case! of!WoW)!night!after!night!to PLAY!
Like!game!developers,!our!job thus!becomes!embedding these! elements!into!the!work!we!do!in!virtual!environments,!social!media,! online!learning,!and!daily!classroom!facektokface!learning.!The!more! these 10!strategies are!embedded!within!our schools’ cultures and! classrooms!every!single!day,!the!more!likely!educators!and!students! will!be!to!achieve!optimal!performance!– those FIERO!Moments!
[For#more#information,#see# “Motivate!#Inspire!#Lead!#10# Strategies#for#Building#Collegial# Learning#Communities” by# RoseAnne#O’Brien#Vojtek#and# Robert#J.#Vojtek,#2009,#Corwin# Press].
Walkabout By!Matt!Poole!aka!Cyrus!Hush
Chapter$4:$$The$Blake$Sea
Greetings,!intrepid!explorers!!!Sandwiched!between!and!extending!east! of!Satori!(the!Japanese!continent)!and!the!continent!of!Nautilus!lies!a! network!of!interconnected!islands!and!waterways!collectively!referred! to!as!the!Blake!Sea!and!United!Sailing!Sims.!!Although!technically!not! considered!one!of!the!original!Second!Life!continents,!Blake!Sea!and!USS! are!a!continentksized!group!of!contiguous!simulated!environments,!all! more or less!devoted!to!a!maritime!theme!and!all!designed!for!easy! inter sim!touring.!!There!are!some!wonderful!sights!and!surprises!here! that!we!would!otherwise!miss,!so!let's!check!'em!out,!shall!we?
Right...!!so!in!addition!to!day!and!night,!sun,!moon!and!clouds,!Second! Life!has!winds!of!varying!direction!and!intensity.!!With!a!virtual!sailboat! of!the!right!design,!it!is!possible!to!tack!against!these!winds,!steering! and!adjusting!the!angle!of!one's!sails!in!order!to!maximize!forward! thrust...!and!even!engaging!in!races!and!epic!sea!battles!against!other! virtual!sailboats!and!pilots!in!contests!that!match!not!only!how!fast!your! prim!sailboat!can!move,!but!also!technique!and!strategies!for!taking!best! advantage!of!the!course!and!the!winds.!!In!order!to!do!this!you!need!a! bunch!of!contiguous!low lag!water!sims!to!accommodate!race!courses.!! You!will!also!probably!need!stores!that!sell!sailboats!of!various!designs.!! Around!these!marinas!and!tracts!of!water!will!spring!up!nautical! communities,!and!that!is!basically!how!the!Blake!Sea!came!to!be.
Since!the!early!days!of!Second!Life!the!maritime!character!of!the!Blake! Sea!sims!has!expanded, opening!up!new!realms!of!boat!design!and! expansive!harbors,!docks!and!communities!all!built!around!the!concept! of!sl!sailing!to!some!extent.!!One!of!the!great!things!about!water!sims!is! that!they!tend!to!have!low!lag.!!This!of!course!makes!for!much!a!better! vehicle!experience!kkeasing!the!handkoff!from!sim!to!sim!on!lengthy! vehicle!voyages.!!It!also!makes!for!more!fun!exploration!
In!our!last!installment,!we!were!exploring!the!continent!of!Jeogeot!and! discussing!the!Linden!Department!of!Public!Works!(aka!the!Moles).!!The! Moles!are!of!course!the!resident!builders!that!Linden!Labs!has!recruited! to!create!wonderful!little!works!of!art!and!sprinkle!them!throughout!the! public!areas!of!Second!Life.!!Their!handiwork!is!quite!well!represented! in!the!Blake!Sea,!and!in!particular!at!our!starting!point!for!this!issue's! safari! Nautilus!City.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nautilus!k Byth/156/201/22 [Note:#You#land#in#the water,#so#be#sure#to#fly#up#to#see#Nautilus#City and# be#sure#to#rezz#a#rideable#dolphin.]!
One!could!argue!that!Nautilus!City!is!part!of!the!continent!of!Nautilus! because!of!the!name,!but!it!is!just!as!close!to!Satori!and!the!areas!are! stylistically!and!functionally!very!different.!!Shaped!like!a!key!and! bisected!by!a!great!canal!that!opens!from!the!east!and!runs!west!to!the! great!Citadel,!Nautilus!Island!has!many!interesting!neokclassical! buildings,!particularly!bordering!the!canal.!!The!many!statues!of! dolphins,!seahorses!and!Greek!seakgods!remind!me!a!bit!of!a!certain! southern!US!beach!boardwalk.!!Some!people!dismiss!Nautilus!Island!as!a! Linden owned!planned!community!that!is!laggy!and!overtly! commercial,!but!it's!worth!visiting!just!to!check!out!the!architecture.!! Like!a!beach,!there!are!often!concerts!and!special!events!held!here...!in! particular!at!a!spot!just!beyond!the!southern!wall!of!the!Citadel,!close!to! the!shore.
Turning!east,!we!head!out!into!the!ocean...
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blake!Sea!k Crows! Nest/128/128/2
The!great!expanses!of!water!finally!give!you!a!chance!to!set!your!draw! distance!to!1000!and!really!get!a!good!look!at!a!seascape!with!some! scale!to!it.!!
Sprinkled!throughout!the!Blake!Sea!are!lonely!outposts,!like!the! lighthouse!at!Crow's!Nest.!!Just!as!in!real!life!these!sentinels!serve!as! landmarks!and!beacons!for!sailors.!!They!also!make!great!picnic!spots! and!photographic!backgrounds.!!
Often!they!will!have!a!small!area!with!rez!permissions!to!allow!you!to! pull!a!boat!out!of!inventory!and!sail!away.!Sometimes!they will!also!have! freebie!sailboats!and!instructions!to!give!visitors!a!taste!of!the!maritime! world.!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Santa!Catalina/171/130/22
Heading!north,!we!soon!strike!a!rather!busy!sim!that!is!filled!with! planes!taxiing,!taking!off!and!landing.!!This is!Hollywood!Airport,!on!the! simulated!parcel!of!Santa!Catalina.!!There!are!of!course!lots!of!airports! in!SL,!but!few!that!are!this!busy!and!none!that!are!quite!this...!serious! about!aviation.!!A!quick!look!at!Parcel!Details!shows!that!this!sim!is!set! to!the!Flying!Tigers!aviation!group.!!This!means!nothing!to!me...!but!a! proffered!note!card!explains!the!history!and!significance!of!the!Flying! Tigers.!
Prior!to!the!US!entrance!into!WWII,!the!Japanese!military!was!wreaking! havoc!in!the!Pacific.!!Although!the!US!was!not!officially!involved!in! hostilities!at!the!time,!a!group!of!volunteers!(ok!mercenaries)!from!the! US!and!other!countries!formed!the!Flying!Tigers...!several!squadrons!of! fighter!aircraft!that!were!defending!Chinese!and!Southeast!Asian!targets! from!Imperial!strikes.!!Apparently!these!fighters!made!quite!a!name!for! themselves!before!becoming!an!official!part!of!the!US!military!after! Pearl!Harbor.!!They!were!the!ones!who!came!up!with!that!snagglek toothed!shark!face!that!could!often!be!seen!painted!on!WWII!fighters.
The!Flying!Tigers!in!SL!is!composed!of!aviation!aficionados,!veterans!of! the!US!and!other!countries'!armed!forces!and!anybody!else!who!is!
nostalgic!about!WWII!aviation!technology.!!Billed!as!the!largest!aviation! group!in!SL,!they!are!committed!to!fraternity!and!camaraderie.
How!cool!is!that?!!The!next!sim!to!the!north!is!Virtual!Hollywood...!we! definitely!need!to!check!out!Virtual!Hollywood.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollywood/135/129/41
After!being!greeted!by!a!likeness!of!Marilyn!Monroe,!we!pass!down! some!steps!to!a!lagoon.!!The!central!lagoon!is!surrounded!by!a!walkway! with!kiosks!honoring!Best!Movie!awards!of!past!decades.!!There!are!also! exhibits!depicting!individual!stars!and!a!recreation!of!the!Hollywood! Bowl!as!well!as!the!Hollywood!sign.!!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Greenhouse/216/78/22
There!is!a!linear!corridor!of!open!water!sims!that!runs!east!to!west! through!the!middle!of!Blake!Sea.!!As!we!follow!this!corridor!we!soon!spy! a!lush,!verdant!sim!to!the!north!that!warrants!further!investigation.!!
The!aptly named!Greenhouse!is!largely!taken!up!by!an!enormous! Victorian!greenhouse,!complete!with!an!enclosed!lake,!waterwheel!and! an!aerial!lounge!area.!!The!whole!place!is!peaceful!and!beautiful...!filled! with!the!sounds!of!running!water!and!surrounded!by!fields!full!of! flowers.!!
A!partially!submerged,!abandoned!and!sadly!out!of!place!seaplane!was! idling!at!the!edge!of!the!enclosed!lake!on!the!day!of!my!visit! thus! highlighting!the!importance!of!finding!and!reclaiming!or!at!least! deleting!any!items!lost!during!your!voyages!of!discovery.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bearskin!Neck/86/65/26
Looking!at!the!World!Map,!the!greater!Blake!Sea!region!extends!several! pseudopods!from!the!central!corridor!that!form!separate! neighborhoods.!!These!neighborhoods!are!often!but!not!always! residential!and/or!rental!regions.!!!One!such!region!to!the!north!is!the! New!England!Sims.!!
Angling!north!and!west,!we!cruise!by!many!lighthouses,!boats!and! marinas!until!we!come!to!a!sim!called!Bearskin!Neck.!!This!region! beckons!us!to!land!and!investigate!the!ancient!VW!bus,!bonfire!and! catamaran!we!can!see!on!the!shore.!!
On!the!surface!this!place!appears!to!be!peaceful,!quiet!and!rather! simple...!filled!with!the!sound!of!waves!and!seabirds... with!not!much! going!on.!!However,!further!inspection!shows!that!nothing!could!be! further!from!the!truth!!!Sprinkled!around!the!sim!are!a!dozen!or!so! "anywhere!doors"!that!will!lead!you!to!parts!unexpected.!!From!tree houses!to!Steampunk airshipkmeeting!spaces!to!Rick's!American!Cafe! from!the!movie!Casablanca, this!sim!will!keep!you!busy!for!quite!a!while! if!you!start!poking!around.!!Also,!it!is!just!one!of!the!dozen!or!so!New! England!sims!to!visit!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ymer/201/50/23
Returning!back!the!way!we!had!come!and!pushing!further!east!we! eventually!come!to!the!Second!Norway!group.!!Second!Norway!consists! of!a!number!of!regions!connected!to!the!Blake!Sea!whose!primary!theme! is!Scandinavian!or!Norwegian.!!
Taking!a!cruise!through!Second!Norway!is!like!taking!a!trip!through! northern!Europe.!!Besides!the!ubiquitous!lighthouses!and!boats!we!see! snowy!mountains!and!deep!valleys!where!icicles!adorn!the!buildings! and!kerosene!heaters!and!wood!stoves!abound.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Norway!Fjord/218/110/25
With!Norge!as!the!nominal!"capital,"!this!21 sim!spread!provides!ample! opportunity!to!absorb!Scandinavian!culture.!!The!Scandinavian! educational!system!is!one!of!the!best!in!the!world!and!English!is!taught! to!most!children!right!along!with!their!native!tongues,!the!result!being! that!although!clearly!the!majority!of!the!signs!and!communications!are! in!Norwegian,!English!translations!are!usually!provided!as!well.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stranda/194/218/23
We!pause!for!a!hearty!meal!of!lamb!and!salmon!but,!as!there!are!no! signs!of!either!Thor!or!Loki!we!decide!to!press!on...
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Schooner!Run/110/187/23
We!take!another!lengthy!cruise...!sailing!southward.!!As!we!cross!the! central!Blake!Sea!corridor!we!enter!a!largely!residential!area!known!as! the!Sailors!Cove!sims.!!These!are!beautiful!and!nautical!again.!!There!is! snow!on!the!ground!and!on!the!tree!branches,!and!the!theme!is!not!as! tropical!as!the!United!Sailing!Sims!further!south.!!There!is!a!lot to!see! and!do!here!as!well,!but!unfortunately!we!are!on!a!timeline!so!we!press! on...
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Galaxy!MID/119/79/53 Sailing!back!into!the!central!Blake!Sea!corridor!we!thread!our!way! through!picturesque!islands!and!yachts!until!we!turn!hard!to!port!and! head!south!following!a!single!line!of!sims.!!Suddenly!an!enormous!white! mass!looms!ahead,!glistening!in!the!moonlight,!flags!flying!in!the!breeze.!! It's!the!Galaxy!!
The!SS!Galaxy!is!the!biggest!cruise!liner!in!Second!Life.!!Taking!up!three! sims,!it!doesn't!actually!cruise!anywhere,!but!if!you!want!to!rent!a! stateroom,!dress!up,!dance!and!live!in!the!lap!of!luxury,!this!is!one!of!the! best!places!in!SL!to!do!so.!!Not!being!a!terribly!luxurious!fellow!I!just! take!a!couple!of!pictures!and!move!on.!
The!next!sim!to!the!south,!Galaxy!Quest,!is!worth!a!look, however.!!!Here! can!be!found!the!Robert!A.!Heinlein!Crooked!House!exhibit,!as!well!as!a! very!interesting!planetarium!that!also!shows!a!streaming!video!of! Heinlein's!1994!movie!The!Puppet!Masters!(Hollywood!Pictures),! starring!Donald!Sutherland.!!(I!guess!the!builder!likes!Heinlein!)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Honah!Lee!Point/227/73/53
Heading!back!north!and!on!to!the!west,!we!take!another!southerly! tributary!to!an!enormous!mountain ridge!that!is!almost!as!big!as!the! Galaxy.!!
Here!you!can!rez!a!free!pony!and!follow!a!riding!trail!around!the! mountain!or!up!to!a!gleaming!white!dome!on!the!northern!tip!of!the! ridge.!!This!is!the!famous!Palomar!observatory!
Palomar!was!the!biggest,!most!important!ground based!optical! telescope!in!the!world!until!the!Keck!I!on!Hawaii's!Mauna!Kea!
superseded!it!in!1992.!It!remains!a!major!resource!for!astronomy!today,! and!an!important!part!of!the!scientific!history!of!the!20th!Century.!!
While!I!was!visiting!I!ran!into!a!fellow!named!Mark!Twain!White,!who! built!this!and!many!of!the!other!Blake!Sea!sims.!!He!was!very!pleasant! and!hospitable,!and!he!invited!me!to!come!back!and!check!out!the! Palomar!exhibit!after!he!had!finished!adding!more!interactive!content!in! a!week!or!two.!!I!will!pass!that!invitation!along!to!you!
Once!again!we!have!whipped!through!a!major!Second!Life!landkmass! (ok!seakmass).!!As!you!can!see,!the!Blake!Sea!and!United!Sailing!Sims! have!a!lot!of!amazing!content!to!offer!visitors.!!
There!of!course!huge!swaths!of!land!and!sea!that!we!didn't!even!touch!kk any!bit!of!which!could!hold!amazing!treasures!that!like!a!sandcastle! could!be!gone!tomorrow.!!But,!hopefully,!you!now!have!had!enough!of!a! taste!of!the!Blake!Sea!area!to!know!which!spots!you!might!want!to!come! back!to!and!explore!more!fully!on!your!own.
Thank!you!for!your!excellent!company!on!this!adventure.!!Until!next! time,!be!well!
Your!friend,!
Cyrus
“Sitting$at$the$ Galaxy$Pool$Deck$ Bar$– helped$me$ forget$about$the$ Blizzard$of$2013$– at$ least$for$a$little$ while!” Roxie!Neiro
Inevitable Betrayal: An Educator’s Guild By#Kae#Novak,#Mellody#Collier#and#Chris#Luchs
Guild Invitation
While!the!name!of!the!guild!may!at!first!sound!a!little…well…!enigmatic..!
Inevitable!Betrayal is!based!off!a!famous!or!infamous!line!from!the! science!fiction!and!geek!culture!favorite,!Firefly series.!The!guild!was! initially!formed!for!the!2011!Global!Goblin!Gathering!between!the! Jokaydians!and!the!Center4EduPunx.!The!game!of!World!of!Warcraft! had just!come!out!with!a!new!character,!goblins,!and!educators!from! Jokaydia!and!the!Center4EduPunx!wanted!to!investigate!and!play!with! these!new!characters.
For!those!new!to!games,!World!of!Warcraft!(WoW)!is!a!Massively!Multi Player!Online!Roleplaying!Game!that is!also!known!as!an!MMORPG.! With!over!10!million!paying!subscribers!worldwide,!WoW!is!the!largest!
paid!subscription!MMORPG.!Each!subscriber!pays!$14.99!per!month!to! continue!accessing!this!virtual!world!and!engaging!with!its!content!and! other!players. World!of!Warcraft!also!has!a!free!version!that!allows! players!to!advance!to!level!20!out!of!90.
Character Sheet
Players!create!characters!or!“toons”.!For!each!character!they!choose! which!faction!to!play!on,!Alliance!or!Horde.!The!WoW!virtual!spaces!are! divided!up!by!real time!geographic!location!(United!States,!Europe,! Oceania,!Latin!America,!Brazil!among!others)!and!then!are!divided! further!by!realms.!Inevitable!Betrayal!is!a!Horde!guild!on!the!Sisters!of! Elune!realm.
While!it!is!possible!to!play!solo,!many!characters!choose!to!form!in game!groups!known!as!guilds.!A!guild!shares!a!private!text!chat!for!its! members,!has!a!guild!bank!to!place!in!game!objects!and!can!work! together!for!in!game!perks!and!achievements.!There!are!different!types! of!guilds.!They!are!often!categorized!as!social,!casual,!progressive! (seeking!achievements)!and!then!serious!end!game!content!guilds! known!as!raiding!guilds.!Inevitable!Betrayal!has!taken!a!twist!on!that! and!calls!itself!an!Educator’s!Tourism!Guild.!Inevitable!Betrayal!tries!to! function!as!a!guide!on!the!side.
This!idea!of!being!guides!has!developed!further!as!explained!by!Guild!
Officer,!Mellogy!Collier,!“Educators,#parents#and#perpetual#students,#we# all#come#together#in#Inevitable#Betrayal#to#explore#and#promote#the#use#of# MMORPG’s#like#World#of#Warcraft#and#Guild#Wars#2#to#demonstrate#that# creativity,#collaboration,#community#and#FUN#are#an#integral#part#of# improving#the#education#and#learning#of#every#student#in#a#classroom# today.#While#some#are#intrigued#and#others skeptical,#it#only#takes#a#few# moments#in#game#for#them#to#realize#the#massive#potential#at#their# fingertips.#Whether#they#are#interested#in#Language#Arts,#Mathematics,# Assessment#or#Neural#Development,#there#is#an#educational#avenue#for# everyone.#We#have many#members#willing#to#collaborate#and#publish#their# findings#throughout#many#circles#in#education.#We#are#a#beacon#in#a#sea# that#can#at#times#be#still#and#stagnant#or#rough#and#fraught#with#“killer”# waves.
After!the!Global!Goblin!Run,!Inevitable!Betrayal!went!on!to!participate! in!Virtual!Worlds!Best!Practices!in!Education!(VWBPE)!in!2011!and! 2012.!They!were!the!Horde!side!hosts!of!Week!3!of!the!Virtual!Worlds,! Games!and!Education!Tour!at!P2PU!in!2012.!They!also!gave!tours!in!the! Games!MOOC!I!and!II!as!well!as!the!Virtual!Worlds!and!Games! UnSymposium!in!November!2012.!Inevitable!Betrayal!members! produce!the!Azerothian!Financial!News!and!Horde!Holiday!Tours.
Mists of Panderia
With!the!World!of!Warcraft!game!expansion!in!Fall!2012,!Inevitable!
Betrayal!has!also!expanded!and!is!currently!a!level!20!guild.!It!is!a!part! of!G.A.M.E.,!Gamers!Advancing!Meaningful!Education. g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/ Since,!Inevitable!Betrayal!is!a!group!of!educators,! instructional!designers, and!educational!technologists; we!just!can’t! seem!to!help!ourselves.!We’ve!started!weekend!seminars!for!beginners! in!World!of!Warcraft.!These!seminars!take!place!in!World!of!Warcraft! and!are!recorded!live!over!Google hangout.!Our!“Inevitable!Instructors”! Webinars!are!accessible!on!YouTube. http://bit.ly/inevitableinstruction
WoW$Hangout If!you!are!interested!in!a!tour!of!World!of!Warcraft,!Machinima!or! virtual!goods!and!virtual!economies!contact!us! Guild!members!have! organized!the!virtual!worlds!exploration!streams!for!VWBPE!from!2009! – 2012!that!have!taken!educators!into!Club!Penguin,!Minecraft,! EveOnline,!TeraOnline,!War!Hammer!and!numerous!other!virtual! worlds.!We!always!want!to!talk!to!and!collaborate!with!educators!using! or!curious!about!MMORPG!for!play,!professional!development!and!in!
the!classroom.!Contact!us!at!inevitablebetrayal.educators@gmail.com
And, the!exploration!continues….
Report!from!the!Front:!Cognitive!Betrayal!Outpost!in!Guild!Wars!2
GW2$Character
We!are!in!the!barren!wastelands,!that!frigid!mountain!passes,!and!the! verdant,!rich!valleys!throughout!the!world!of!Tyria.!Here!we!have!come! to!continue!our!exploration with!the!“Cognitive!Betrayal”!guild!started! by!myself,!Mellody!Collier,!with!the!support!of!my!guildees!from! Inevitable!Betrayal,!on!Devona’s!Rest.!
Guild!Wars!2!(GW2)!is!a!Massively!Multiplayer!Online!Role Playing! Game.!It!is!a!sequel!to!Guild!Wars!and!takes!place!250!years!later!in!the! shattered!world!of!Tyria.!While!Guild!Wars!2!offers!quests,!it!is!unique! in!that!it!employs!a!“dynamic!events”!system!that!is!constantly!changing! your!gaming!experience!based!on!the!actions!of!the!players.!
Another!unique!aspect!of!GW2!is!the!personal!story.!Your!choices! determine!how!the!game!plays!out!for!you.!No!two!players!will!have! exactly!the!same!experiences.!These!concepts!are!carried!over!into!the! Dungeons!with!each!dungeon!being!divided!into!story!mode!and! explorable!mode.!
For!those!that!like!the!challenge!of!competitive!play!there!is!Player! versus!Player!and!World!versus!World.!Cognitive!Betrayal!is!founded!on! the!same!principals!and!created!to!further!promote!the!same! philosophies!as!its!counterpart!in!World!of!Warcraft,!Inevitable! Betrayal.
If!you!would!like!to!read!about!our!adventures,!you!can!follow!us!in!the! Inevitable!Betrayal!Google +!community!http://bit.ly/betrayalgoogle or! learn!more!about!us!as!a!work!in progress!at!the!G.A.M.E.!shivtr!site! http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/pages/ibguild
Last night, Loweedo using her alternate identity of Lorido, entered Mogu'shan Palace a level 89 and emerged a level 90. The first step to becoming a true Inevitable Betrayal Double Agent. Posted by Que Jinn February 18, 2013 at https://plus.google.com/communities/102977444450350896453
A#Digital#Game#Based#Learning#MOOC: ‘Rhetoric#and#Composition: The#Persuasive#Power#of#Video#Games#as#Paratexts’
By Sherry#Jones#and#Kate#Guthrie#Caruso
Abstract
“Rhetoric#and#Composition:#The#Persuasive#Power#of#Video#Games#as# Paratexts,”#an#Advanced#English# Composition#course,#will#explore# rhetorical#discourse#of#Adventure#and# Role Playing#Games#(RPG)#and#socio cultural#meanings#that#influence#the# persuasive#content#and#design#of#those# games,#while#emphasizing#rigorous# writing#analysis#and#game#creation# through critical#thinking#and#research.#The# course#will#run#as#a#hybrid#class#at# Arapahoe# Community# College# (ACC),# based#in# Littleton,#Colorado,#and#as#a#Massive#Open# Online#Course#(MOOC)#using#a#combination#of# social#media,#commercial#off#the#shelf#games,# and#immersive#simulations.#Workshops#will# be#provided#to#Arapahoe#Community#College# (ACC)#and#the#Colorado#Community#College# System#(CCCS)#to#assimilate#Digital#Game
Kate$Guthrie$Caruso
Based#Learning#(DGBL)#into#other#Advanced#English#Composition#classes.
Project!Overview The#Advanced#English#Composition#course,#“Rhetoric#and#Composition:#The# Persuasive#Power#of#Video#Games#as#Paratexts,”#will#actively#engage# students#through#the#analysis#of#video#games#as#paratexts,#with#focus#on# examining#the#relationship#between#virtual#reality#depicted#in#video#games# to#real#life#situations#influenced#by#cultural#and#social#issues#(both#in# creation#and#through#playing),#to#enhance#and#clarify#the#skills#needed#to# write#and#understand#composition#rhetoric#and#develop#digital#and#new# media#literacy.##
Paratext,#meaning#beyond#the#written#word,#refers#to#any#text#external#to# the#text#itself#that#influences#the#text’s#meaning.#Video#Games#are#a#type#of# paratext#in#which#their#content#and#construction#extend#beyond# themselves#and#impose#meaning#on#the#physical#world,#as#well#as#being# influenced#by#external#events.#
In#terms#of#a#rhetoric#and#composition#course,#we#will#teach#students#to# analyze#video#games#as#paratexts#(specifically#the#composition#of#the#video# game#through#the#lens#of#game#mechanics#and#dynamics),#and#to conduct# research#on#the#various#rhetorical,#cultural,#and#social#situations#which#the# video#games#are#designed#to#address.#Through#immersive#gaming,#students# will#complete#a#series#of#short#writing#assignments#and#long#form#essay s# analyzing#the#rhetoric#and#composition#of#video#games.##These#papers#will# focus#on#identifying#cultural#and#social#situations#that#influence#video#game# design#(and#the#rhetorical#appeals#that#video#games#employ#in#order#to# address#those#cultural#and#social#situations),#the#implicit#and#explicit#claims# made#by#the#video#games,#the#purpose#of#the#video#game#(in#terms#of#game# genre#and#topic),#and#the#intended#audience/market#of#the#video#games.
Blended!Learning/Flipped!Classroom!Model We#have#selected#the#blended#learning/flipped#classroom#model#for# conducting#English#Composition#hybrid#MOOC.##We#find#that#the#blended# learning/flipped#classroom#model#is#especially#helpful#for#ACC#students#who# require#additional#face to face#reinforcement#and#motivation#to# successfully#complete#the#course.#However,#participants#may#take#the# MOOC#only#portion#of#the#course#for#non credit#(meaning#they#do#not#need# to#be#registered#ACC#students#nor#do#they#need#to#register#for#the#course# through#ACC).##
As#with#any#flipped#classroom#model,#technology#will#be#an#integral#piece#of# the#course.#Through#recorded#lectures#and#online#discussions#(podcasts,# vodcasts,#and#use#of#Google+#Hangout,#for#example)#students#will#become# more#proficient#in#the#use#of#technology#and#immerse#themselves#in#the# language#and#knowledge#of#Game Based#Learning#as#well#as#add#to#their# proficiency#of#college#level#writing,#research#techniques,#and#critical# analysis.##Our#focus#will#include#the#study#and#use#of#Adventure#games,# game#design#with#game#mechanics,#immersive#virtual#worlds#(for#instance# the#option#of#holding#the#online#portion#of#our#class#in#places#like#Second# Life#or#“meeting”#in#Google+#Hangout),#as#well#as#the#integration#of#COTS# into#the#learning#and#analysis#process.##We#will#use#both#synchronous#and# asynchronous#learning#models#throughout#the#semester. MOOC!Credit!and!Compensation!(Future!Considerations)
Currently,#we#are#conducting#data#driven#research#on#possible#methods#for# providing#students#credit#for#taking#the#MOOC,#as#well#as#considering# possible#MOOC#compensation#models#that#can#benefit#Arapahoe# Community#College#(ACC)#and#the#Colorado#Community#College#System# (CCCS).
Digital!Game Based!Learning!(Digital!Games!and!Technology!Selected) Students#will#play#Commercial#Off#The#Shelf#games#(COTS)#with#focus#on# Role Playing#Games#(RPG)#and#Adventure#Games,#create#RPG#games# themselves,#and#produce#writing#that#analyzes#and#demonstrates#clear# understanding#of#rhetorical#discourse#utilized#by#the#technology.##We#plan# to#actively#engage#students#in#face#to#face#and#online#classes#by#asking# them#to#play#video#games#in#class#and#online#(we#will#use#hardware#such#as# PC#Laptops#and#Playstation#PS3#160#GB#Console,#and#softwares#such#as#3D# GameLab,#COTS,#RPG#and#Adventure#games.#"Some#of#the#Adventure# games#we#will#assign#for#the#course,#"The#Longest#Journey,"#"Siberia,"# "Bioshock,"#"Fallout#3,"#"Journey,"#"Flow,"#and#"Flower,"#are#selected#for# their#rich#narratives#and#virtual#environments#that#respond#to#rhetorical,# social,#and#cultural#influences,#and#are#thus#suitable#for#academic# discourse."
Gamification!of!the!MOOC Gamification#of#the#MOOC#through#badges,#experience#points,#rewards,# and#other#game#mechanics#will#help#increase#student#motivation,#as#grades# alone#will#not#be#sufficient#as#a#sole,#motivating#factor.#Students#will#more# likely#complete#assignments#that#resemble#fun,#game like#missions,#and#will# become#more#competitive#in#completing#assignments#when#badges#and# achievement#points#are#associated#with#assignment#completion#(for#both# game#based#missions#and#writing#assignments).##Furthermore,#to#ensure# students#receive#constant#enforcement#to#continue#the#MOOC,#we#intend# to#provide#students#continuous#feedback.#It#is#our#hope#that#students,# through#the#experience#of#immersive#gaming,#will#become#more# enthusiastic#learners.##Essentially,#the#goal#of#higher#student#retention#is#at# the#forefront#of#the#need#for#gamification#of#the#MOOC,#since#we#believe# that#students#will#become#invested#in#the#games#they#are#playing,#and#thus# more#likely#to#complete#the#game[based#assignments#as#well.
By#using#the#game#principles#such#as#winning,#conflict,#rules,#goals,#players,# motivation,#constant#feedback,#practice,#intensity,#and#choice/involvement,# students#will#learn#that#games#are#a#concrete#way#to#explore#the#critical# thinking#and#writing#process.##This#will#happen#both#through#the#use#of# COTS#as#mentor#texts#and#the#study#of#written#texts#that#explore#these# concepts#further.#Students#will#evaluate#and#come#to#understand#the#game# mechanics#that#professional#game#designers#employ#to#create#games.#Then,# students#will#be#challenged#themselves#to#use#the#tools#taught#to#them# through#these#mentor#texts,#as#well#as#through#podcasts#and#vodcasts# created#specifically#for#further#comprehension#and#engagement#with#the# technology.##With#the#idea#in#mind#that#most#games#employ#implicit#thesis# statements#and#arguments,#students#will#be#asked#to#consider#and#critically# think#in#order#to#understand#and#express#the explicit#meanings#that#should# be#apparent#in#their#written#texts.
Rigor!of!Assignments Through#the#study#of#rhetorical#devices#and#appeals#of#video#games#as# paratexts,#students#will#complete#three#essays:#a#Rhetorical#Analysis#Essay,# Evaluation#Essay,#and#Proposal#Essay,#to#demonstrate#their#understanding# of#the#rhetorical#and#cultural#situations#that#influence#the#construction#of# video#games.#Finally,#students#will#create#argumentation based#persuasive# RPG#games#that#are#contextualized#by#current#social and#cultural#issues# with#different#rhetorical#devices,#so#to#keep#their#audience#actively#involved# in#both#the#cultural#complexities/context#of#the#game#and#the#challenges# that#they#set#forth#for#their#audience;#students#can#design#games#using# software#such#as#RPG#Maker,#which#provides#a#platform#for#RPG#game# creation,#but#gives#students#full#control#over#the#game’s#development#for# their#final#project#at#the#end#of#the#semester.##Through#reflective#writing# exercises#and#immersive#gaming,#students#will#come to#recognize#the# multiple#contexts#that#contribute#to#the#construction#of#the#video#game,# and#demonstrate#this#explicitly#in#their#essays.
Collaboration!Inter Department!and!Inter College Collaboration#will#be#a#theme#consistently#held#throughout#the#cou rse,#as# we#will#be#working#with#Arapahoe#Community#College’s#(ACC)#English# Department,#with#the#help#of#ACC’s#E Learning#Department#to#create#and# run#the#course.##We#see#this#collaboration#as#a#tool#to#continue#to#foster# creativity#and#assessment#inter department#and#later,#inter college#within# the#Colorado#Community#College#System#(CCCS).##Students#will#also#be# asked#to#collaborate#with#each#other#to#further#bolster#their#learning# successes#by#workshopping#texts#(both#written#and#multi[modal),#and#by# contributing#to#discussions#online#and#in class#as#they#work#to#further# understanding.#
Goals In#summer#of#2013,#we#will#roll#out#of#the#first#version#of#the#course#with#25# students#enrolled#through#ACC#as#well#as#a#version#of#the#MOOC#going#live# online.##The course#will#be#co taught#by#Sherry#Jones#and#Kate#Guthrie# Caruso.##This#will#happen#after#we#spend#the#Spring#2013#planning,# developing#and#researching#the#course.##
In#the#Fall#of#2013#we#will#run#two#courses#of#25#students#each#and# implement#the#MOOC#full#scale.#
The#overall#goal#of#this#course#is#to#get#students#actively#involved#in#multi[ model#texts,#expose#them#to#the#use#of#video#games#in#the#classroom,# create#a#fun#learning#environment,#and#directly#address#and#complete#the# learning#objectives#for the#Advanced#English#Composition#Course.## Eventually#it#is#our#goal#that#the#DGBL#MOOC#will#be#made#available#to# students#throughout#the#Colorado#Community#College#System#(CCCS).
When#the#Games#MOOC#first#started#up,#it#was#quite#a#huge#endeavor#to# take#on. I’m#sure#Kae#will#tell#you#that#there#was#a#lot#of#trial#and#error#to# get#to#where#we#are#today#. .#.#Well,#her#and#Chris, of#course.#They#both# have#been#running#things#quite#tight#with#the#limited#help#at#their#disposal , though#they#grin#and#bear it, I’m#sure.#
Gridjumper,#Izzy,#Aevalle,#others#(and#myself#included) have#been#lending#a# hand#when#we#can#with#our#hodgepodge#of#skills#and#talents,#even#so#much# as#to#making#it#on#to#the#Games#MOOC#Advisory#Board;#everything#seemed# to#manage#somehow#when#this#all#began.#(Please#know#that#if#I#didn’t list# your#name#I#am#very#sorry.#There#are#plenty#of#other#people#who#have#been# a#huge#help#in#contributing#time,#resource, and#talent#to#the#GAMES#
If#you#don’t#know#what#a#MOOC#is,#it#stands#for#“Massively Open Online Course”,#though#Kae#has#always#said#it#stands#for#“modest”#in#our#case.# Sure,#we#don’t#get#the#hundreds#upon#thousands#of#participants#like#the# free#courses#that#are#done#by#Harvard#or#Purdue get,#but#getting#over# twenty#people#was#plenty#(we#actually#had#about 50#people#each#time).#
So#like most#MOOCs,#the#group#was#“winging#it” on#how#to#do#courses#and# collaboration#while#teaching#the#extremely#diverse#subjects#of#Games#with# an#educational#affluence, of#course.#Heck,#we#were#educators#catering#to# other#educators#as#it#were,#and#we#were#trying#to#do#our#best.#
Everyone#immediately#knew#that#we#would#be#“Open#Course”#– meaning open#to#everyone.#The#problem#of#time#zones#became#a#big#deal.#Sure#we# had#people#mainly#in#the#U.S., but#we#had#others#scattered#across#the#globe# from#the#UK#to#Australia#on#different#occasions.#We#wanted#to# accommodate#everyone, and#have#something#for#everyone,#even#if#that# meant#having#different#sessions#from#odd#hours#of#the#night#to#early# mornings.##For#example,#I#recall#coming#in#extra#early#one#Saturday#Morning# for#one#event.
And, now#that#I#think#about#it#.#.#.#that was#a#big#problem#for#us, as#well.#We# tried#to#do#so#much#that#it#tired#a#lot#of#people#out.#After#three#different# iterations#of#the#original#GAMES MOOC#(also#known#as#“A#Virtual#Worlds,# Games#and#Education#Tour)#on#P2PU, to#the#ARG#(Alternate#Reality#Games)# MOOC, and#then#straight#to#the#Machinima#(filming#real#time#games)# MOOC,#it#is#no#wonder that#one#of#our#other#plans#fell#through#and#gave# way#to#a#kind#of#sabbatical#syndrome. We all, kind#of#just#stopped#.#.#.#and#.#.# .#waited for#September to#continue#the#MOOCs.#
Sure, the#break#gave#us#time#to#reflect#and#rest#(after#all#we#were#making# peoples’#brains#explode#practically#every#session).##But, setting#out#to#do# something#and#then#not#proceeding#with#it, was#a#real#let#down.#
We#learned#from#that.#We#no#longer#were doing#more#because#we#were# trying#to#cater#to#everyone’s#needs.#We#did#more#for#us, and#what#we# wanted#to#see#happen#with#the#course. As#Kae#said#often,#“…this#kind#of# thing#was#unprecedented#and#trying#to#compare#it#to#something#else#is#a#
mistake waiting#to#happen.”#The#Assessment#Specialist#working#with#Kae#at# the#time#would#agree#with#that.#Trying#to#meet#the#expectation#of#others# just#didn’t#work#for#us#in#the#long#run.
Spending#that#first#bit#of#time#after#the end#of#that#March, from the#end#of# the#Virtual#Worlds#Best#Practices#Conference#to#the#end#of#that#summer, was#a#learning#experience#for#everyone#(probably#the#most#understate d# sentence#in#this#entire#article).#
We#were#certainly#“grid jumping”#as#it#were#as#we#darted#from#virtual# worlds,#to#games,#and#to#massive#multiplayer#online#(MMO)#games.# We# played#with#programs#ranging#from#video#capturing#to#video#editing.#O ur# occasional#romps#took#us#through#Minecraft,#Kitely,#and#Joykadia,#to#name# a#few.#How#anyone#was#able#to#follow#along#is#beyond#me!##We#threw#a#lot# at#our#participants.#They#participated#on#their#own#freewill#to#be#put# through#all#the#tortures#that could#easily#be#a#hell#for#some#people.#But#we# did#all#that#and#more, with plenty#of#treats#along#the#way!
Education#is#a#journey, not#just#for#the#mind#and#body, but#also for#the#soul# of#a#lifelong#learner.#Those#that#stuck#through#to#the#very#end#became#great# friends#and#have#become#regulars#in#the#educational#circles#in#Second#Life# (SL),#World#of#Warcraft#(WoW), and#other#educational#forefronts.#Granted# we#had#our#fair#share#of#“lurkers.” I#was#tempted#at#the#start#of#every# MOOC#to#say,#“look#to#your#left#and#look#to#y our#right,#one#of#you#won’t#be# making#it#through#this…” As#I#said,#I#was#tempted#to#say#such#a#thing,#but# lurkers#were#always#welcomed#and#we#were#always#glad#to#get#to#meet# new#people#offering#different#inputs#and#insights. [See$note$below$from$ editor]
Moving#to#the#present, the#Games#MOOC#has#become more#formulated# into#something#that#has#rubrics#and#requirements.#I#hate#to#phrase#it#with#a# certain#“standard,”#but#its#reached#a#point#where#arranging#and#organizing# events#has#become#second#nature#to#us.#
A couple#of#notable#changes#are#the#switch#from#P2PU#to#the#shivtar#portal# guild#site,#the#introduction#of#badges#and#the#weekly#Twitter#chats/Google# hangouts.#Most#of#the#major#changes#were#from#our#Advisory#Board# meetings#where#we#all#sat#down#(in#Google#Hangouts)#and#really#got#down# to#brass#tacks#about#what#was#going well#in#the#Games#MOOC#and#what#
needed#to#be#changed.#
Changing#the#learning#management#system#(lms)#was#probably#the#hardest# thing#for#all#of#us#to#admit#that#it#needed#to#happen.#We were#hesitant to# change, as#well.#Kae#was#probably#thinking#it#was#for#the#better.#Chris# hasn’t#complained#about#it#too#badly#because collecting#quantitative#data# is,#after#all, about#the#same.#
This#decision#to#change#came#about#from#having#more#of#a#focus#on#the# game#WoW.#It#became our#prime#example#because#we#could#show# gamification#and#teambuilding#through#easier#means.# Most#of the# organizers#had at#least#a#level#1#or#up#to#level#20#character#on#the#Sisters#of# Elune#server#in#the#starting#area (some#even#going#as#far#as#reaching#the# new#level#90#cap).#
Shivtar#was#originally#intended#to#be#a#Guild#(the#in[game#groups/clubs#in# WoW)#database#with#forum#and#badge#capabilities#through#Mozilla backpack#core#standards.#This#has#also#expanded#into#the#real#world#with# participants#forming#bonds#with#other#educators, such#as#the#Inevitable# Betrayal#Guild#on#the#Horde#side#on#the#aforementioned#server, which#was# formed#over#two#years#ago#with#people#who#already#saw#the#learning# potential#of#games#before#we#did.#
After#a#presentation#by#the#great#James#Paul#Gee#about#gamification,#the# idea#acted#as#resurgence#through#the#educational#community#like#wild#fire.# We#too, were#looking#to#incorporate#game#design#into#the#Games#MOOC# back#in#the#P2PU#rendition.#The#site,#however, didn’t#offer#that#sort#of#thing# we#needed,#thus#adding#another#positive#chalk#mark#on#Shivtr.#Even#though# it#was#a#hard#decision, it#was#made#for#the#better, as#we#switched#to#the# more#Game friendly#lms,#Shivtr.#
The#last#major#change#for#all#of#us#was#the#new requirement#of#either# having#to#attend#or#comment,#on#or#during, the#live#sessions#that#were# scheduled#once#or#twice#a#week#in#the#evenings.#
Back#in#the#P2PU#we#met#frequently#in#SL#at#Front#Range#to#do# introductions#before#speeding#off#into#other#programs.#True,#SL#was#a#great# place#to#meet,#but#more#and#more#participants#became#weary#(I#would# think)#of#doing#the#whole#SL#program#and#then#going#into#multiple# programs/games soon#after.# For#many#people,#just#getting#situated#in#SL# became#a#task#in#and#of#itself.#
So#we#still#have#that#SL#option.##We#live#stream#the#Google#Hangouts#in#the# Diner#on#ISTE#for#those#that#want. Between#Youtube#and#Twitter#the# competition#is#clear.#It is#fun to#see#which#media#people#lean#to.#
Anyway,#the#weekly#meetings#have#topics#that#revolve#around#most#of#the# readings,#links#to#other#pages#of#interest, and#additional#resources#located# on#the#Shivtr#site.#The#bulk#of#the#discussion#happens#live#with#easily#twenty# or#more#people#attending.#In#its#current#episode,#we#are seeing#over#500# participants#with#an#astonishing#growing#number#of#1700#posts#and# beyond.#
Having#regulated#meetings#at#predictable#dates#and#times#was#a#must.#On# P2PU,#it#was#practically#a#free[for[all#trying#to#schedule#meetings#so# multiple#people#could#come#on#different#days.#Sure, it#was#the#summer,#but# a#line#needed#to#be#drawn.#
For myself#going#from#a#head#first#volunteer#of#moderating#and#facilitating# to#a#reserved#Advisory#Board#member#and#seeing#how#the#Games#MOOC#
has#evolved and#changed really#does#make#me#happy#to#be#a#part#of# something#so#profound#as#the#Games#MOOC.# There#are no#words#to# express#my#gratitude#to#my#fellow#educators – who#are#trying#to#make#that# difference#that#everyone#talks#about#but#rarely#follows#through#with#it.
We’ve#all#seen#our#rounds#of#facilitators#and#supporters.#We also#all see# ourselves#excited#about#meeting#the newer#challenges#and#future# technologies#that#will#continue#to#make#this#hard work#worthwhile.#
To#sign up#for#the#third#iteration#of#the#Games#MOOC,#click#here:# http://bit.ly/gamesmooc.#This#course#will#begin#on#March#18,#2013#and#run# for#six#weeks#until#April#22,#2013.#Our#topic#for#Games#MOOC#III#is#Build#the# Game#using#Apps,#AR#and#ARGs.#The#focus#of#this#MOOC#will#be#creating#a# game#or#gaming#project#for#your#course.#Depending#on#your#class,#you#may# choose#to#use#a#little,#a#lot, or#no#technology#at#all.#This#course#will#have#us# exploring#all#the options.
[Special Note to Bluebarker and the GAMES MOOC Gang. I, Roxie Neiro, one of your biggest fans, am also one of your biggest lurkers. LOL Keep up the GREAT work – as, even as a lurker, I have learned so much from all of you!]
