Educational Gaming Commons - Press Start

One mission of the EGC is to build community around educational games.  We recently had the opportunity to continue towards this goal by talking with the folks from Learnstorm, a company that is putting together a great platform to bring educators together around games utilizing several web 2.0 tools along the way.  They already have many Charter Schools on board on the West Coast and are putting together games that map to curricular objectives.  They also plan to release an SDK that will allow other game makers to submit games to their platform, similar to Apple's App Store.  We look forward to a continued dialogue and possible ways we can collaborate with Learnstorm as they grow by providing opportunities for PSU teachers and researchers to leverage their tools and technology.

A couple years ago we explored using CyberCIEGE, a network security game, in a course in the College of IST.  The game was still a bit raw, but it did show a great deal of promise.  Now that IST has a major in security and risk analysis, a few faculty are revisiting CyberCIEGE.  Dr. Aungst and his colleagues have downloaded the SDK and conceptualizing a project around CyberSIEGE for the fall.  We're looking forward to helping wrap instructional materials around this game as it appears to be gaining adoption in educational use.

The Learning Design Summer Camp is right around the corner and we are working on a small game that participants will be able to play throughout the 2-day event.  During a brainstorming session, we jokingly brought up "Buzzword Bingo".  Anyone remember that IBM commercial from a couple years back?

We're running with the idea, and have a series of Bingo cards in production that contain words and phrases that will likely be discussed at Camp.  Not only does this provide an interesting way to engage participants, it also gives participants a great takeaway: a game that can easily be customized and repurposed to fit in any class session and hopefully increase attention and participation.

Finally, the lab is nearly complete!  We're testing the software, which is shaping up to be a great list of games and gaming authoring environments.  Once we finalize the list, you'll see it here.

I thought I'd share with you some of the things we're working on at the EGC.

First, we have two exciting Engagement Projects started. One is to build a game on ion identification, the other is to spot common grammar and writing errors. Stay tuned for more information on both in the coming weeks.

Next, we're starting to interview the many folks we've worked with over the past year or so. Every two-thee weeks, we'll be releasing a new podcast or vodcast, as well as a short related article that features a PSU faculty member that's using games and/or virtual worlds in their classes.

We're starting to script a short "Here's the EGC" video that will give newcomers a quick overview of who we are and what we do.

Jason Kaveney, our IST intern, is going gangbusters on a library of games that are or can be used for educational purposes. Building on the power of the masses, this library will be open for adding comments and ratings. It may be the first of it's kind in the country and I know it will be of incredible value to educators.

Finally, we're looking for ways to bring the various blogs with which the EGC staff share their words of wisdom together, so you can read posts from not just me, but from Bart Pursel and Chris Stubbs as well.

Stay tuned - the snowball is rolling down the hill, going faster and faster....

http://ive.scm.tees.ac.uk/

The research goals of the British-based lab, Intelligent Virtual
Environments, of the University of Teesside are to develop "new models of
interactivity based on Artificial Intelligence techniques."  The website
contains access to current projects, past and completed projects,
technologies, as well as all publications and a tool to search those
publications.  Visitors can view the more than two dozen articles, going all
the way back to 2000 on the subject of artificial intelligence techniques.
On the menu to the left-hand side of the page are the links to the lab's
current projects "IRIS", "CALLAS" and "COMPANIONS", and to "ALTERNE",
"BARDS" and "CHARBIS", which are the lab's past and completed projects.
Visitors especially shouldn't miss learning about the "COMPANIONS" project,
which will be a virtual conversation companion in the near future. Watch the
"Companions Movie" and check out the "Health and Fitness Companion" and
"Senior Companion" demonstrators on the COMPANIONS homepage.  There is also
a Companions blog, for those interested in reading and responding to various
topics related to this personalized type of artificial intelligence. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and
science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science
Educational Repository at http://amser.org.
 

The 24-hour event PDT will be held all day Saturday, June 27 at the four
The Ye, Olde, Supporte, Faire sims.  ((http://slurl.com/secondlife/Faire/20/222/38)

Linden Lab is collaborating with and assisting Virtual Helping Hands and a
coalition of community volunteers who are proud to announce Helen Keller
Day in Second Life. Helen Keller Day is a community-event exploring how and
why to employ, educate, entertain, and engage everyone through virtual worlds.

Helen Keller Day is a day that is set aside for information acquisition,
education, exploration of employment opportunities, social engagement, and
enjoyment of arts and entertainment... There will be vendors, employers,
presentations, and pure, unbridled fun.

It's a day dedicated to raising our level of awareness for our fellow
Second Life residents who cope with disabilities.  At some time in our
lives, we've all felt what it feels like not to be able to
participate...  not to be included.  Knowing how to include someone with a
disability, and make them feel welcome, is an important social skill, and a
small but significant kindness that we can all benefit from and feel good
about.

Participants will meet people learn things, get freebies, and be
entertained for their efforts.

You will hear keynote speakers Keller Johnson Thompson, the great
grandniece of Helen herself and Linden Labs Education and Healthcare
Developer, John Lester, aka Pathfinder Linden.  You will hear from experts
in the fields of virtual education, employment, social engagement and
entertainment. There will be building contests featuring skilled builders
doing accessible builds before our virtual eyes.  There will be a world
premier "movie" featuring "Max," the  virtual guide dog developed in Second
Life for SL users who are blind or sight impaired.  Also featured will be
an exhibition of Max's abilities, a fashion show, chess, a Braille chat
display, dancing, singing quests and storytelling...  even a virtual goldmine!

There will be experiences designed to spark the imagination and "see" and
"hear" the world with all the senses in new and thought provoking ways.
Join the pioneers in virtual worlds who are inspired by the spirit of Helen
Keller to explore ways in which everyone can participate...and create a
world that richer for all.

Please come and learn, connect, explore, be entertained, and pick up
freebies while sharing this positive and uplifting experience with us.

Repost:

You are invited to join us next Wednesday for the first of a new monthly NMC event - our Virtual Worlds Expeditions. Join our lead architects and designers, Beth Sachtjen and Chris Holden, for visits to some fo the more compelling education destinations-- to explore their design and and how they were built. Our first few will be to some of the projects the NMC Virtual Worlds team has built where Beth and Chris have deep experience (they built them all).

On Wednesday July 1 we are visiting two projects built for Yale University- the Mudd Library (epxloring the use of Second Life to do virtual building design) and the Yale Paper Mill (Second Life as a means to experience environments dificult to visit in real life). We will be joined by the clients who requested this project, Ken Panko  and Themba Flowers from Yale, who will share their starting visions for the projects and how they has been used since completion.

If you want to be part of the expedition, meet us at 10:00 AM Pacfic Time on July 1 (check local time) at NMC Campus (we will leave teleporters there if you miss the start of the tour). More information at http://virtualworlds.nmc.org/2009/06/23/vwex-yale/

 If this goes well, we will run the expeditions on the first Wednesday of each month. All are free and open to anyone interested in joining us (and there might be some valuable freebies given away).

regards

Alan

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Alan Levine
Vice President, NMC Community and CTO
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NMC: The New Media Consortium: sparking innovative learning and creativity
6101 W. Courtyard, Bldg. One Suite 100, Austin, TX 78730
t: (512) 445-4200  f:(512) 445-4205 aim/skype: cogdogblog
http://www.nmc.org

NMC Campus Observer: Second Life http://sl.nmc.org/
NMC Virtual Worlds: http://virtualworlds.nmc.org

For details see http://www.nmc.org/cal
 

In a keynote that Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata delivered to a packed house at this year’s Game Developers Conference, he spoke about the “Four I’s” that Nintendo uses as a standard for the games it develops.

“The reason, I believe, is that it meets the standards we set for all software we develop. We call these standards the Four Is.
First, is it truly innovative - something different from what has come before?
Second, is it intuitive? Do the control of the game and the direction of gameplay seem natural?
Third, is it inviting? Do you want to spend time in this world?
And finally, how does it measure up in terms of interface? Can the player connect in new ways?”

This is a great, short and sweet lens through which to view a game while you are developing it! There are, of course, many others, including Bartle's Four Player Types. But this one really hits the ball out of the park.

Here's a four-minute video I shot of the lab the other day. Check it out - though not finished, the lab's potential as a lab for researching games, virtual worlds, and simulations is obvious!

The EGC is in full swing this summer with several projects on the books and more opportunities on the horizon.  We have two engagement projects underway, one focusing on a game-based environment for Chemistry 101 and the second a game for introductory English courses on the correct uses of basic grammar.  In addition to working with great faculty, I'm very excited about the potential reach of these projects.  Both of these courses have huge enrollments each semester. 

Two other opportunities we are exploring include an alternate reality game with the Library.  We participated in the Library Open House last year, talking with many students about the possibilities of gaming at Penn State.  The ARG idea could be an interesting way for students to engage with all the resources the library has to offer leading up to the day of the Open House.

Finally, I just got done talking with Dr. Sciegaj, a faculty member teaching HPA 101, about using SimHealth in his course sometime this fall or spring.  Again, this is a great opportunity to assist a faculty member in implementing game-based learning activities in a course that could impact a LOT of students at our campus.

All this, AND our EGC lab in Findlay 6A should be ready for the public in the fall!

See http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/blogs/brett_bixler_e-portfolio/2009/06... .