FUTURE-MAKING SERIOUS GAMES

Via: Education Futures - Educators Got Game Brock Dubbels, a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota brings nearly two decades of experience in education and instructional design, exploring new technologies for assessment, delivering content, creating engagement with learners, and investigating ways people approach learning. B rock has recently joined Education Futures as a guest blogger and you may find his latest great posts on 'games in the classroom'. Brock Dubbels was interviewed in the National Education Association’s October 2007 issue of NEA Today on the use of games in the classroom under the article Educators Got Game. Article Excerpts OK, I’m convinced. How do I get started? “Play games! Play lots of games. Find out what they’re like, and talk to other people about what games they’re using,” advises Brock Dubbels, who teaches language arts and literature at Richard Green Central School in Minneapolis, Minneso

Via: Serious Games Source Dr. Claudia L. Johnston, Associate Vice President for Special Projects at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, will demonstrate Pulse!! The Virtual Clinical Learning Lab Oct. 7-11 at the prestigious Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons convening in New Orleans, La. More than 15,000 surgeons are expected to attend the meeting Pulse!! is a research project designed to show whether sophisticated medical clinical learning can occur in virtual space powered by cutting-edge video-game technologies (please find my prior posts Pulse!! News: Serious Games Field Testing Begins and G4H 2006: Pulse!! First Person Health Care Simulation ). Johnston is director of the university's Center for Virtual Medical Education and principal investigator for Pulse!! research. Pulse!! is the center's signature project, originated by Johnston and funded to date by almost $10 million in federal grants through the Office of Naval Research.

Via: TechCrunch - Google Prepping A Second Life Competitor? TechCrunch, among several other sites, recaps the rumors of a Google powered virtual world based on Google Earth which surfaced in January ; over the weekend there was word that Google might be testing their virtual world at Arizona State University (ASU). According to Google Operating System , ASU students have the opportunity to test a new product “that will be publicly launched later this year” by “a major Internet company” that is related to social networking, 3D modeling and video games. The questionnaire attached to the application process asks would be testers if they have a Gmail account, and if not would they be willing to get one. The product's name is "My World" and the logo shows a globe - this could be related to Google Earth. Google also owns a 3D modeling software that could be used to create avatars. Arizona State University has a very close relation with Google: it's one of the

Via: 3D SIGN LANGUAGE MATHEMATICS IN IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT Following my recent post dated 21 September 2007 Serious Games Improve Mathematical Abilities Of Deaf Children , I've come across Futurelab Blog's article Immersive 3d VR Games for Deaf Children, on the 27th, which makes a reference to Adamo-Villani reports, where we may find the research abstracts that show that immersive games are far more effective than non-immersive games, noting that students can raise their math scores 16% after eight weeks using an immersive VR program. Excerpts In the paper, Nicoletta Adamo-Villani, Edward Carpenter and Laura Arns describe the development of the immersive 3D learning environment to increase the mathematical skills of deaf children. The application teaches mathematical concepts and ASL (American Sign Language) math terminology through user interaction with fantasy 3D virtual signers and environments. The program can be displayed in immersive devices and includes a gest

Forterra Systems, the market and technology leader in private virtual worlds, today announced another breakthrough: a strategic investment and technology advancement agreement with In-Q-Tel to accelerate the development of virtual collaboration applications. In-Q-Tel is an independent firm that delivers innovative technologies to the broader U.S. Intelligence Community. Following this agreement, Forterra will further develop a set of additional capabilities that can be deployed on Forterra’s core OLIVE™ software platform for the purposes of enhancing OLIVE’s utility for collaboration and training applications. OLIVE™ will provide a capability for users to leverage collaborative, 3D Internet solutions to accelerate time-to-insight. “We are honored to enter into a strategic investment and technology advancement agreement with In-Q-Tel that will serve to enhance the already extensive capabilities of our OLIVE™ Platform,” said David Rolston, CEO for Forterra Systems. “

Via: Serious Games Source  - Serious Game Launched To Combat Childhood Obesity A new online game aims to combat growing rates of childhood obesity by teaching kids about the importance of nutrition and exercise. The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective , designed by U.S. health care provider Kaiser Permanente , offers "case files" of children with poor eating or exercise habits, and asks players to come up with solutions to help them lead healthier lives.  Players follow the routines of eight culturally diverse children whose activities or conditions would benefit from healthy food and exercise choices. The cases are presented by a distinctly Carmen Sandiego -esque character, and after successfully closing a case, the player can try his hand at mini-games such as Whack-A-Snack, Dodge the Junk and Hyper Typer. The goal is to do everything we can to fight childhood obesity," said Brian Harper of Kaiser Permanente. "We wan

Via: FakeSpace Systems Mechdyne Corporation is the world’s largest company dedicated to consulting and development of immersive, networked and collaborative visualization systems. Mechdyne’s subsidiary Fakespace Systems Inc. applies the skills acquired over 18 years of innovation and market-building experience to offer the industry’s broadest range of large-scale and immersive displays and interaction technologies. Breakthrough innovations in Fakespace Historical Timeline FLEX Reconfigurable system with hinged or separable modules for the ultimate in system flexibility The Flex, already referred to in my prior posting Serious Games Improve Mathematical Abilities Of Deaf Children , is the world's first commercial re-configurable visualization solution for those whose viewing, collaboration, and presentation requirements cannot be met within the confines of a single visualization technology. Its innovative hinged wall design allows a single person to quickly reconfi

Via: CTAD (Cambridge Training and Development Ltd) - M-Learning (UK) Flux (A Blog hosted by Futuelab) - Mobile Learning Institute (US) Mobile Learning, also known as M-Learning, is a thriving research field. M-learning is the exciting art of using mobile technologies to enhance the learning experience. Mobile phones, PDAs, Pocket PCs and the Internet can be blended to engage and motivate learners, any time and anywhere. “The question is no longer whether m-learning works for hard-to-reach learners, but rather how best to fit it into your blend!”, states Geoff Stead from Tribal Education - CTAD, on his presentation Moving mobile into the mainstream. In the short space of five years, mobile learning has moved from being a theory, explored by academic and technology enthusiasts, into a real and valuable contribution to learning. In the UK, thousands of mobile handsets have been bought for use as learning tools. User trials have successfully helped a wide range of

Serious Games challenging us to play inclusiveness Via: MathSigner and The Smile Project Overview Two Purdue University professors are developing a highly interactive learning tool to improve the mathematical abilities of deaf children. The reason for the project is that, for deaf children, reading instruction is delayed; therefore most kids in this age group cannot use traditional textbooks. They also aren't able to take full advantage of secondary learning opportunities that non-disabled kids have, such as television and dinner table conversation, and their parents may not be fluent enough in sign language to teach them about math. The first phase of the project focused on creating an interactive PC game called Mathsigner , in which 3D avatars communicate with the user in sign language The Purdue project hopes to alleviate these challenges by allowing deaf children to learn math concepts from animated characters, who use sign language to communicate wi

Via: The Economist Group The Economist Group and Chevron Corporation launched earlier this month Energyville , an interactive online game that challenges players to meet the growing energy needs of their own city. Energyville , developed using data and content provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit, examines the economic, environmental and security opportunities and trade-offs associated with different energy sources. In order to provide fuel and power to their city’s homes, offices, factories and vehicles, Energyville players must balance the same competing demands faced by policymakers, businesses and consumers every day. Players decide how to supply a cartoon city with enough power for its 3.9 million people. You can choose from sources as eco-friendly as wind or as dirty as coal. Each choice has an economic and environmental cost. The better you balance those costs, the higher your score. Try using nothing but renewable energy, and an alert in stern capi

Via: Journal of Information, Law & Technology (JILT) 2007 - Special Issue on Law, Education and Technology Serious Games deployed as creative learning environments in UK law schools The Journal of Information, Law and Technology has just published a special issue containing six papers originally presented at the 21st Annual Conference of the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association at the University of Malta. The papers focus on the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in legal education and demonstrate the increasingly diverse ways in which information technology is being developed and deployed to support creative learning environments designed to stimulate new forms of learning. The Glasgow Graduate School of Law at Strathclyde University has been developing simulation learning within their Diploma in Legal Practice. Their virtual village of Ardcalloch provides the backdrop to what is described as ‘transactional learning’, in the