Presidential Thoughts on Innovation and Technology

Gordon Synder of Gordon's Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Blog has a great post titled Obama on Technology and Innovation where Gordon summarizes Obama's policy. I have reproduced some of it here but check out the entire post.

1. Ensure the full and free exchange of information among Americans through an open Internet and diverse media outlets:

- Protect the Openness of the Internet.
- Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
- Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
- Safeguard our Right to Privacy

2. Create a transparent and connected democracy:

- Open Up Government to its Citizens
- Bring Government into the 21st Century

3. Encourage the deployment of a modern communications infrastructure:

- Deploy Next-Generation Broadband

4. Employ technology and innovation to solve our nation’s most pressing problems, including reducing the costs of health care, encouraging the development of new clean energy sources, and improving public safety:

- Lower Health Care Costs by Investing in Electronic Information Technology Systems
- Invest in Climate-Friendly Energy Development and Deployment
- Upgrade Education to Meet the Needs of the 21st Century
( I like this one!)
- Create New Jobs
- Modernize Public Safety Networks

5. Improve America’s competitiveness.

- Invest in the Sciences
- Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent
- Reform Immigration
- Promote American Businesses Abroad
- Ensure Competitive Markets
- Protect American Intellectual Property Abroad
- Protect Intellectual Property at Home
- Reform the Patent System

In the spirit of fairness and to help out Gordon, here is my summary of McCain's policy. If you don't like my summary, you can read the whole thing at John McCain's Technology page at his web site.

To maintain American leadership in the world, John McCain believes we must nurture the conditions under which entrepreneurs can prosper and the American people can reap the rewards.

1. Encourage investment in innovation by:

- Support Risk Capital For Investment In American Innovation
- Not Tax Innovation By Keeping Capital Gains Taxes Low
- Reform And Make Permanent The R&D Tax Credit
- Lower the Corporate Tax Rate To 25% To Retain Investment In U.S. Technologies
- Allow First-Year Expensing Of New Equipment And Technology
- Ensure Technology And Innovation Is Not Hampered By Taxes On Internet Users
- Opposes Higher Taxes On Wireless Services

2. Develop a skilled work force

- America Must Educate Its Workforce For The Innovation Age. He goes on to write that "America’s ability to compete in the global market is dependent on the availability of a skilled workforce. Less than 20 percent of our undergraduate students obtained degrees in math or science, and the number of computer science majors has fallen by half over the last eight years." (yeah, this does have to change).
-Fill Critical Shortages Of Skilled Workers To Remain Competitive

3. Champion open and fair trade:

- Supports Fair And Open World Trade
- Believes Competition Has Been A Great Strength For America — Offering Opportunity, Low Prices, And Increased Choice For Our Citizens
- Protect The Creative Industries From Piracy

4. Reform intellectual property protection (yes we don't want to end up like our friends up north) See Stephen' Downes Web Site for details on the issue of Bill C-61 which will lead to one of the most restrictive copyright laws for the digital environment in the world.

5. Protect Inventors Intellectual Property:

- Push For Greater Resources For The Patent Office
- Pursue Protection Of Intellectual Property Around The Globe
- Provide Alternative Approaches To Resolving Patent Challenges (so we can avoid another issue like some companies trying to patent e-learning...see Patent Office Rejects Blackboard's E-Learning Patent in Preliminary Ruling

6. Keep the Internet and entrepreneurs free of unnecessary regulation:

- Preserve Consumer Freedoms
- John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like “net-neutrality" instead he believes when regulation is Warranted it should be enacted

7. Ensure that America is a Connected Nation:

- Pursue High-Speed Internet Access For All Americans
- Would Place A Priority On Science And Technology Experience
- Ensure That The Federal Government Led By Example (I am working with some Federal agencies in technology...not currently leading by example)
- Support The Federal Government As An Innovator with renewed emphasis on innovation through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)...CRADAs can be a good thing, I've seen them work with Kaplan-EduNeering.
- Make Sure that All Citizens Can Participate In The Technology Revolution.

Ok, enough for me if you want to learn more about John McCain's policies on ensuring the personal security and privacy of Americans in the digital age. Then Click Here.

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Some Questions and Answers

Recently, someone sent me some questions about the field of e-learning and I thought I'd answer them here and give everyone a chance to provide input as well.

1) How is e-Learning Evolving?

I think it is evolving along four paths. The first is a "quick and dirty" path. This is e-learning that needs to be done quickly, has information that is not permanent and that needs to be provided to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. This uses simple development tools typically based on PowerPoint that have minimal functionality but maximum "ease-of-use."

The second path is toward greater interactivity and interactions through games and simulations. These efforts are being driven by the "gamer" generation and cost much more than option one but are used more for permanent information, high-end skills like leadership or operating complicated and difficult machinery or software and provide a high degree of fidelity.

The third path is toward Web 2.0 technologies. People are beginning to understand that learning is a process and not a one-time event. Since learning is a process, many people are beginning to understand the value of creating communities to foster the exchange of information and to use tools like blogs for capturing expert knowledge, wikis for collaboration and RSS feeds to help manage the overwhelming flow of data inundating employees in organizations and students in classes.

Finally, I see a movement, not just in e-learning but in business as well, toward virtual worlds for collaborative learning, design and transactions. People are naturally attracted to 3D environments and many people are beginning to scratch the surface on what is possible in virtual worlds. This is perhaps the most "far out" of the evolution I see but it is on the horizon.

Also, I hope that e-learning is evolving out of the course construct and into the "learning as a process" construct. We need to think of e-learning as supporting business operations and part of work and not as a separate event.

2) Business need for e-learning (business perspective) for instance how it would effect or impact that field?

If we look at the world in terms of cost of travel, risk associated with travel, time lost and other factors, I think business need and want e-learning more than ever. No longer is it practical to bring a salesforce together every quarter to have a meeting. Online tools are needed. Information is doubling at an unprecedented rate, we need to provide information and actionable knowledge to people more quickly. E-learning is one way this can be accomplished as well as Web 2.0 tools. So the need for online learning is being driven by the needs of businesses to continually reduce costs and increase productivity.

3. How IT is growing and developing the way businesses work?

New technologies are creating new ways of doing business and are shaping the world of work. Business-to-business online auctions, 3D spaces for collaborative design, RSS feeds to inform customers and clients, online marketplaces for the ranking items by consumers and the concept of "the long tail" are all IT related factors that are driving and shaping business decisions, even things like self-service interactive web sites created by insurance companies to help you manage your diseases and health care are all shaping interactions and the way businesses work. As we find new ways to create technologies, some clever person will find new ways to leverage them for business. It might be the same day or it might be a few months or years later but new technologies will be leverage for new business models.

4. The growing business need for development and e-learning activities.

One constant with new technologies and new business models is that people need to constantly learn...or constantly have access to instructions, directions or performance supporting materials...thus e-learning as performance support and as a way to keep employees up-to-date and skilled. The need continues to grow and is only increasing with the complexities that are surrounding our global economy.

5. Benefits of hiring a contractor vs. hiring an employee.

This requires the old consultant answer "it depends." A contractor provides the greatest amount of flexibility for the organization, it can also be a lower cost solution because once a project or specific task set is over, the contractor can be let go and can move on to her next job. It also provide the possiblity of hiring the best person with a specific skill set because the skills don't ever need to tranfer to other parts of the organization when a person's job inevtiably changes.

On the other hand, an employee should be hired with skills in an organizations core skill set, they can then bring their years of experience with a certain company to the table when working on problems or developing solutions, full time employees also can develop relationships with customers and clients that can be invaluable and provide a sense of stability to customers. They can be groomed for future leadership positions and provide organizational insights not possible from a contractor.

Having said all that, I think modern organizations need a mix of full-time permanent employees as well as contractors and a degree of churn to constantly bring in new ideas. The best organizations are diverse in terms of people, backgrounds, beliefs, ages and gender, religion, etc. including full and contractor positions.


Thanks to Danny for the questions. Please feel free to add your comments and answers to the discussion.

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Not to Cause Trouble But...

An alumni of our program in Instructional Technology recently sent me this rant and I just had to post it....

I believe the alumni (let's call her J) is refering to the following post in her rant:
We Need a Degree in Instructional Design

I recently stumbled upon an exchange on your blog where you were rebutting someone's suggestion that formal or professional credentials aren't necessary in order to be an effective ISDer. I agreed with your retort 100%. It's unfortunate that people reduce the art and science of education to something that can be picked up simply by reading a few books and reviewing someone else's instructional materials (i.e. participating in a course).

Honestly, I find the assertion that the field is "easy" or "simple" (i.e. you can pick it up from a book) to be irresponsible and somewhat arrogant. It conveys to me that you don't have much respect for the industry, for the science on which it's based, or for the art required to make it come to life. I don't deny that someone may have the ability to design and develop great instructional events, but let's not manage to the exception....there are prodigies in all fields.....I would caution that person to be cognizant that just because they didn't need formal training, doesn't mean that most don't. Also, I might suggest that some humility be applied as well......I have a knack for interior design - lots of compliments, people seeking me out for assistance with remodeling, requests to provide home staging services, etc......but I'll be the first to tell you that just because I have a knack for it does not mean that I would consider myself on par with professionals....I would NOT be looking to become a contestant on The Next Design Star.

From day one on the job in this field I have battled with clients and HR departments to get them to appreciate the complexity of this field and the rigor that should go into education and training. People often wonder why training is the first to get cut from a budget...or why those working in training departments tend to be made up of eh hem....the island of the misfit toys....well, when you have people in the industry touting this sort of tripe, it shouldn't be a surprise!

I can't tell you how many times I've had to go into organizations and completely revamp entire programs - new hire orientation, security certification, career development programs - because in all the organization's wisdom...they put a subject matter expert and an HR generalist in charge. Someone who read a few books, someone who knows the subject...forget whether either of them can translate all of what they know into something meaningful.

If we don't bring some semblance of professionalism, rigor, and credential to bear, how can we expect to be taken seriously? Training funds gets cut because often times training events fail......they fail because the problem was misdiagnosed, they fail because no one knew how to gain strategic buy-in for the program, they fail because those in charge didn't understand how to communicate the event's value to the organization, they fail because the programs were often ill-conceived, improperly designed, and poorly executed.....all of which an educated, seasoned, instructional designer can/should have the ability to address, mitigate, and anticipate.

In reading the exchange, I realize that the conversation centered more around the tactical aspects of ISD - design, strategies, methods - I wanted to lend a more strategic view.

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Instructional Design Clients...Gotta Love'm

I have so totally been the vendor guy in this video...



Shout out to Mike Qaissaunee at Frequently Asked Q who had this video on this blog. Great find Mike!!

I think it was originally posted at Communication Nation: The Process#links (trying to cite the right heritage of postings.)__

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More Brain Research

For a long time people have thought of intelligence as a static item. You receive an IQ score and you are either intelligent or "not so much." You are either "gifted" or not.

I never really thought that was true and I always assert that the "real teachers" or educators are the ones who take average students and make them better students as opposed to a teacher or professor who teaches a class so those who "can't hack it" drop out.

I mean, really, anyone can teach smart, motivated students...a real teacher works with an average student who is at first not so motivated and transforms him or her into a high performing student (I had some teachers help me in that area and I've seen others do it.)

So now here is some research to back up my late night musings and anecdotal evidence. A study by the National Academy of Sciences indicates that it just might be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth.

First the researchers trained subjects in a complicated memory task, an elaborate variation on Concentration, the child’s card game, in which the subjects memorized simultaneously presented auditory and visual stimuli that they had to recall later. The result was that the longer the subjects trained, the higher their scores were. All performers, from the weakest to the strongest, showed significant improvement. So, why did the training work? The authors suggest several aspects of the exercise relevant to solving new problems: ignoring irrelevant items, monitoring ongoing performance, managing two tasks simultaneously and connecting related items to one another in space and time.

Sounds like a well designed learning event...No? Does your teaching, e-learning or training help people become more intelligent?

Check out the article for yourself, Memory Training Shown to Turn Up Brainpower
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Brain-Based Learning that has Gone Too Far!

This is an older article but is still kinda scary. Read the full article at Brain in a Dish Flies Plane

A University of Florida scientist has created a living "brain" of cultured rat cells that now controls an F-22 fighter jet flight simulator.

Scientists say the research could lead to tiny, brain-controlled prosthetic devices and unmanned airplanes flown by living computers.

...scientists placed an electrode grid at the bottom of a glass dish and then covered the grid with rat neurons. The cells initially resembled individual grains of sand in liquid, but they soon extended microscopic lines toward each other, gradually forming a neural network — a brain — that DeMarse says is a "living computational device."

The brain can learn, just as a human brain learns, he said. When the system is first engaged, the neurons don't know how to control the airplane; they don't have any experience.

[At first the brain doesn't know how to fly the airplane] but over time,stimulations modify the network's response such that the neurons slowly (over the course of 15 minutes) learn to control the aircraft. The end result is a neural network that can fly the plane to produce relatively stable straight and level flight."

This brain-controlled plane may sound like science fiction, but it is grounded in work that has been taking place for more than a decade. A breakthrough occurred in 1993, when a team of scientists created a Hybrot, which is short for "hybrid robot."

The robot consisted of hardware, computer software, rat neurons, and incubators for those neurons. The computer, programmed to respond to the neuron impulses, controlled

Ok, so can we grow a brain to create good e-learning?

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Games Used for Learning Across the World...but not so much in the US

Image from the educational game Immune Attack.
Here is an interesting article Game consoles remain classroom rarity and some key information from the article.

In one middle school in Japan took a leap in a pilot program and allowed students who were learning English to do some of their work last year on Nintendo DS handhelds. In turn, the teachers observed the students more easily mastering English vocabulary, writing and speaking skills.

In Birmingham England, the students at Holyhead Secondary School used the Sony PSP, courtesy of Sony, to study French, geography and history — working in groups or, when necessary, refining individual skills.

Eventually, however, the article does discuss some US schools using video games. So games are catching on and becoming "less a rarity." As we all know.
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A Unique Perspective on Video Games and Storytelling

Here is an interesting video exploring why more games aren't more "Story" focused. Take the concepts of the video and apply them to educational video games and I think many of the points will hit home (especially the part about good writing.)

Also, the video itself is an interesting look at presenting a message in a half-animated format.

Check it out



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And You Thought Mechanical Engineering was Boring

Here is a great video from Northern Illinois University showing how mechanical engineering can be made fun by incorporating game elements, problem-based learning and real race cars into the course. I especially like the beginning contrasting a textbook with the video game...food for thought.



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Machinimia Guided Tour of a Guided Tour

Here is a machinimia done as a class assignment. It is on the topic of guided tours (a very popular topic in the Learning in 3D class for the machinimia project.)

Also, if you are interested in lesson plans for Second Life check out the class site wiki.


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Advantages of Immersive Learning

Why are simulations and virtual worlds so effective for learning? Here are some possible answers. These environments allow:

• Practice of real world skills with rich feedback in a safe environment that does not impact real processes or customers.
  
  
• Mastery of a technique, behavior or method through guided rehearsals again and again as many times as is needed.
  
  
• An emotional connection of the learning event to the learner because of the realistic and immersive nature of the environment.
  
  
• The learning to be embedded in the proper context by providing a simulation of the actual environment in which the employee or learner will be working.
  
  
• Ability to practice skills and interactions when and wherever an individual has access to a computer.
  
  
• Individualized instruction as a person progresses through the simulation at his or her own pace (This can be created in a virtual world environment as well as in a simulation).
  
  
• Ability for geographically dispersed learners to meet together in a virtual environment to role-play, conduct meetings, and exchange information. (This is more appropriate in virtual worlds.)

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Learning in 3D Student Learning Archetype Video

Today, I received a video posted on YouTube created by one of my students that explains a learning archetype from my Learning in 3D Class. This summer one of the options of the machinimia assignment was to create a video based on a learning archetype. More videos will be coming soon.Enjoy.


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More Educational Games

I had a lot of positive feedback on my list of educational games in my post It's All Fun and Games and Then Students Learn.

So, here are some more educational games that might be of interest. If you know of any more, please let me know and I'll post them.

Darfur is Dying


This game is a narrative-based simulation where the player, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threathn the survival of his or her refugee camp. It offers some insight into what it's like for more than 2.5 million who have been diplaced by the crisis in Sudan.

WolfQuest



In this game, you learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park. You can play alone or in a group in on-line multiplayer missions. The game lets you explore the wilderness, hunt elk, and encounter stranger wolves in your quest to find a mate. Ultimately, your success will depend on forming a family pack, raising pups, and ensuring the survival of your pack.

Neuromatrix



In this game, you play a secret agent infiltrating a top-secret neuroscience research facility. In the game, your mission is to track down and root out the Nanobots that have invaded the brains of the scientists there. If you fail as a player, the Nanobots and the secret entity that spawned them will take over the Earth, reprogramming the human brain into docile submission. The game teaches basic information about the structures/functions of the brain, it shows how brain cells and synapses work and demonstrates basic brain functionality. Ages 11-14.

Free Rice


This a simple game coupled with an interesting concept. The idea is that you play the game and provide free rice to hungry people around the world. To play the game click on the answer that best defines the word. Then, if you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. Good for teaching vocabulary. For each word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
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Learning in 3D: Class Five

Here we are listening to a student explain how she worked with her Freshmen to create a house.
The fifth class of Learning in 3D covered corporate uses of 3D worlds. Specifically we discussed ProtoSphere. We also went over setting up a group. But the highlight of the class was viewing the shelters created by the Graduate Students and summer Freshman. There was some really exciting success stories about the cooperation of the two groups and the interaction and building was amazing. Other groups...not so much. But I think it was an interesting "cross" classes interaction.

The lesson plans and machinimia will be posted next week and I will point to the location so everyone can take a look. In the meantime, I had a great group of students and really enjoyed the class. We also had a visitor Light Sequent from the UK. It is a great medium in which a visitor from another country can just "drop in" on a class. The power of 3D virtual worlds.

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It is All Fun and Games...And Then Students Learn

Here are the resources for my presentation at the SAME-TEC 2008 14th Annual Conference. These are focused on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math related subjects (STEM).

First is a web site called HA Games. This web site, which requires a login, has games focused on Algebra, Physics and the Periodic Table.

Here is a screen capture from the game called AlgebraArcade.


You can also check out games based on Nobel Prize winning research. These games cover the topics of physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, peace and economics.

This game teaches about Nobel Prize winning Chemistry Research.

Here are some simple games to teach about energy conservation over at the Energy Hogs web site. These games might be too simplistic for older students. If that is the case, have them examine the games and see what improvement or changes they would make.

Here is the opening screen for the energy hog games.

You can go to the EdHeads site and check out games focused on teaching about simple machines and crash scene forensics. The games are accompanied by teacher focused materials so you can incorporate them into the classroom (also a few medical focused games and one discussing the weather.)

Reviewing crash scene data.

Teaching basic math is a site called Academic Skill Builders. This site covers a number of basic skills such as math, verbs, addition, etc.
Use your math skills to win the race. Up to 4 players can compete.

If you teach biology, you might be interested in a site called Frog Guts where you can virtually dissect a frog.

Provides a virtual experience for frog dissection.

Here is a first-person shooter game for teaching about algebra. The demo focused on graphing. Go to Tabula Digita's web site and check out their game Dimenxian. I've written about this game before in my blog posting Learning Algebra in a Game.

Here is your "Heads Up" display for learning algebra on a strange but beautiful planet.

To teach basic multiplication skills check out Timez Attack which I have written about before in my post Learning Multiplication Tables in a Game. Here is the web site where you can download the free demo.

Give the right answer before being crushed.

Finally, you might want to check out Immune Attack to learn about the human immune system. You are shrunk to the size of a blood cell and propelled through a body to learn about how our immune system works.

In this game you enter the strange and wonderful world of the human circulatory system.

Learn more about Games for Learning at the web site Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning which discusses my book by the same name.

Check out Going to the MUVEES to See River City to learn about a game which involves many students working together to solve a science problem.

Here are some of the underlying reasons why we want students to "Play Games."
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Second Life Session

Here is the class exploring NCTT Island.
I am sitting in a session with Scott St. Onge of NCTT and Keith Morneau from Capella University who are providing a session on Second Life.

So, I am taking some notes:

The presentation will talk about history of virtual environments and a theoretical framework for Second Life in the classroom. They are defining Second Life as "A 3D virtual world created by its inhabitants."

Things you can do: Shopping, having classes, having meetings in world, trade and sell items, create spaces and making real money in the system by making objects that "don't really exist." Scott summed it up by saying it is a "thriving virtual economy tied to real money exchange system."

He discussed the companies in Second Life including: Dell, BMW, IBM, Toyota, Circuit Ciy and others.

He mentioned that Virtual Reality simulators can be found going back to 1968 with Ivan Sutherland's VR device. The problem was that they had bulky headsets for sensory stimulation.

He also mentioned that Maze War ws the first 3D multi-user First Person Shooter and played on Arpanet in the early 1970's. Credit for the first online virtual world usually goes to Habitat, developed in 1987 by LucasFilm Games for the Commodore 64 computer and running on the Quantum Link service (now AOL).

VRML-Virtual Reality Modeling Language, term coined by Dave Ragget in 1994, VRML97 (VRML 2.0) became ISO standard in 1997 and is still used today as X3D.

Active worlds started as WebWorlds by Ron Britvich in 1995 and launched a 1.0 public version in 1997...still ongoing today.

Scott then spent some time explaining many of the terms of Second Life from Rezzing to Prims.

Also, I just want to point to a few entries I had posted in the past that are related to Second Life.

Tear Down the Walls

Study Abroad...Virtually

Summer 2008: Learning in 3D Class

Second Life for Health

Creating Learning Spaces in Second Life

Problem-Based Learning in 3D Environment

Second Life Webinar-Today

The Learning Webvolution.(article written with Tony O'Driscoll.)

Learning Archetypes (for 3D Worlds)

Here is a video produced by some of my students in last summer's Learning in 3D class that has been viewed over 28,000 time.


Here is another one that has been viewed 2,000 times.

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Summer 2008 Learning in 3D Class: Four

Overseeing the interesting structures built by students.
Second Life class last night had to go on without me as I was "in-the-air" to Texas during class time due to the perils of air travel. So we had a guest speaker who covered basic scripting and some semi-advanced building. The class is coming along well and we have a number of machinima videos coming to YouTube by the end of the semester.


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Conference in Texas

Today I am off to the SAME-TEC conference in Austin, TX. The conference is a combination of three National Science Foundation (NSF) Centers. My job is to evaluate the conference for the NCTT Center for which I serve as an external evaluator (which I have done for several years.)

For this conference, I have created evaluation instruments focused on the transfer of the knowledge from faculty at the conference to their students when they return in the fall. I talk to participants about their learning and observe presentations and workshops.

I will also be giving a short presentation called It's all Fun and Games and then...Students Learn.


Here is a YouTube advert for the conference.


Off to the airport...
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Wii Fit: A Parody

So the Wii Fit is out. I've written before about getting exercise with the Wii. Check out Get People Moving...have them play a Video Game

But for a fun laugh check out this great parody of the Wii Fit. Funny stuff.



Although, on a sadder note, doesn't the parody remind you of the hype of "oh-so-many" training programs dreamed up by management?
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Summer 2008 Learning in 3D Class Three

Here we are sitting around the conference room discussing our visits to far away places in the metaverse.
This was an exciting class, we first learned to create note cards and then learning about Learning Archetypes in Second Life which are picking up some momentum.

We also learned some ideas about developing lessons within Second Life in terms of what needs to be created to make a successful educational experience in a 3D world.

We then took a tour of Second Life with some spots that I have visited in the past. The students kept a note card of their travels. Then we met in the conference room and debriefed our visits to the different locations. It was an interesting class.
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Study Abroad...Virtually

Here is a great article about how learning about other cultures in a 3D world like Second Life can translate into the real world. The article is called Study abroad through Second Life

Here are some quotes from the article:

If you learn about a culture … and your behavior changes in Second Life while you’re interacting with another culture, when you leave the virtual world these processes stay with you,” says Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab in Palo Alto, Calif.

At the Dubai Women’s College, professors saw an opportunity to use Second Life to connect students with the world outside their tiny Arabian Gulf state. As a virtual orientation, the group visited a Second Life re-creation of Darfur and made an online pilgrimage to Mecca. Most notably, they met regularly with a group of Korean students in computer renditions of each other’s campuses to practice English and learn about one another’s culture.

The US State Department has begun exploring Second Life as a means to introduce people to American culture. Last year, it organized an eight-hour jazz concert that stretched across time zones. Next year, officials may work with Ohio University to coordinate tours of a virtual art exhibit led by the artist’s avatar. Already, several other countries, including Sweden and Estonia, have built cultural embassies in the online world.

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Learning to Surf

In early June my family was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Hawaii, I had never been there before so it was a great chance to see the birthplace of the hula and of surfing.

To that end, our family decided to take surfing lessons...a very tourist-in-Hawaii thing to do...it was great! We had a wonderful time. My wife and two boys were surfing in no time and even I eventually got to a point where I was "rid'n" the waves.

The speed at which I was able to learn to surf suprised me. So being a learning-guy at heart, I decided to break down the process to see if we could apply the steps needed to learn to surf to other types of learning.

First we had one instructor for our family of four. A small student to faculty ratio. Rarely is that ratio obtained in other settings (school or work).

Second, we immediately got our boards and learned 4 simple things we had to know about surfing...that was it. We didn't learn the history of surfing, the surfers who had come before us, beach policy on surfing...nothing but the "Must Know" information, nothing we learned in the first 15 minutes was "nice to know" or historical...it was all applicable to actually surfing.

Third, our surfboards--the equipment--was built for novices. We received very long surf boards...which are easier to work with but still fully functional boards. The equipment had been modified specifically to help us ascend the learning curve.

Fourth, motivation was high. Hey, if my two sons and wife could surf, I'd better at least get one or two good rides (which I eventually did).

Fifth, we practiced over and over again in the ocean, catching wave after wave. We learned to surf by...surfing. The first few waves we had trouble staying up but the instructor provided guidance and improvement suggestions each time. So we stayed up a little longer each time until we were surfing. Practice in a controlled environment is a great way to learn.

I think all of the steps that were used to learn to surf could be applied to many other situations. So go out into the classroom and "hang ten."

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Summer 2008: Learning in 3D Class

Preston providing instruction and answering questions in Second Life.
So the second week of the summer Learning in 3D class was exciting. We have an impromptu guest speaker...Preston Straaf aka Matt Monahan. Matt and I have teamed up at several conferences as co-presenters (see ASTD TechKnowledge 2008, Lots of Fun and Second Life Training Presentation for more details on our presentations) so it was great to team up with him again. He does a great job of explaining Second Life and he knows the ins and outs of the program extremely well.

However, the class is having a little problem with the summer freshman who were supposed to contact my graduate students to start a Second Life project. A number of the freshman have not contacted my students. Next time I should have the graduate students contact the freshman...my mistake.

Meanwhile, as we wait for the summer freshman to contact us, we have been learning how to build within the Second Life environment. Currently we are exploring how to build small houses and shelters on our land.

Last minute instructions before building begins.
Once the shelters are built we'll discuss simple scripting and the Learning Archetypes that apply to Second Life.

Here Abbott Bundy observes the chaos of building from above.

Currently the students are creating Second Life focused lesson plans which incorporate the Learning Archetypes and will soon begin their Machinima project.

You can read about week one of the class here.
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Summer Academy 2008 Bloomsburg University

Even after a long day, the audience of college faculty members of the PA State System of Higher Education asked insightful questions about "digital diversity".

Last night, I had the privilege to speak with a group of my colleagues from universities across the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Each year the system holds a Summer Academy that discusses issues regarding teaching and learning and this year the conference was held at Bloomsburg University with the topic of "Teaching Diverse Learners."

My role was to speak on the topic of "Understanding Digital Diversity." I really enjoy speaking with academics because they always ask insightful and thought provoking questions and challenge assumptions and ideas so that it is a real intellectual exchange of information and not a one-way monologue. Last night was no exception with brilliant questions concerning all aspects of understanding "digital natives." I used the TurningPoint audience response system and we were able to get some very thought provoking responses and clear up some misconceptions about the "gamer" generation of college students. Additionally, the each received a copy of Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning and even an associated homework assignment...honestly the homework was not my idea.

We discussed the use of 3D virtual worlds like Second Life, podcasting content, the use of Wikipedia in the classroom and games and simulations for the classroom. I really enjoyed the presentation and meeting wonderful people.

In fact, I met a colleague from Bloomsburg University who I never met before... but he works in the same building on the same floor as I do. It took this workshop for us to meet. David is doing some really innovative work with blogs in his classroom.

I also met Matrin Rayala who writes a blog called andDesign. If you have a chance, check out his blog really great stuff on all types of design topics. Just scroll down the page for wonderful information.

In the discussion I mentioned a few items and the links are below.

PB Wiki
Wikispaces

Here are a couple of posts about cross-generational teaching:

Consider Generational Learning Styles and Tools
Technology Shapes Generations

Also, here is a post about opening up my class up to the "at large" blog community which I did last summer.

Tear Down the Walls: Web 2.0 Extends Class

If you were at the presentation last night, please leave a comment:) Thanks for a wonderful event.
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Alternatives to Second Life Continued

In my listing of Alternatives to Second Life, many packages were missed. Here are two more.


MPK20:Sun's Virtual Workplace "Wonderland"

The MPK20 virtual world is also known as Wonderland. Sun employees can accomplish their real work, share documents, and meet with colleagues using natural voice communication. Plans for future updates include the ability to share applications in the virtual environment, and to link whiteboards in physical meeting rooms with the virtual space to show up in both online and offline worlds. For more information, you can read Sun unveils corporate 'Second Life'. You can download the application and check it out.



InXpo


InXpo has a virtual ASP show platform. The platform enables businesses to Generate leads, Sell product, Network, Conduct education and Enhance brand awareness via Private and Public virtual shows all in a 3D virtual world. You can have Private Shows focused on promotional selling where the show's host customers and suppliers are the attendees and exhibitors. This model is common in the Distribution market and applicable to selected virtual shows such as Association (members) and Corporate (employees & partners) sponsored virtual events accessed by invitation only. InXpo also hosts and produces Public Shows. Public shows are focused on Lead generation, Networking and Educational themes. These shows typically provide for an open market registration where the potential attendee participation is broad. This model is applicable for many business-to-business virtual shows for publishing and media as well as the consumer shows.
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Second Life for Your Health

Here are some interesting videos showing how Second Life can be used to design and deliver health related training and actual client support within a virtual world.

This one is focused on nursing education.

This one demonstrates various views of how a virtual platform can help mental health and other patients.

Here is a video that shows how a "branching story" type interaction is used to provide training to students in a medical setting.
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Google Steps into the 3D Universe

Creating an Avatar in Google's Lively.
Ok, so Google did create Google 3D Earth with some pretty cool 3D features as a venture into 3D worlds but now they are jumping in with both feet and offering (for free) a product called Lively. Here is an article on the release called Google Launches Virtual Reality Site

As the article states:

[Lively] is a three-dimensional software that enables people to congregate in electronic rooms and other computer-manufactured versions of real life.

For a complete review of the product check out the review by Jose C Gomez in his blog entry Google Lively Review on his blog josecgomez.com

Rather than a platform for 3D training and adventure, the product is currently more like a place to hang out with friends or have a quick conference in 3D...however, I expect Google to keep working on this project and to eventually create a formidable metaverse.

And thanks to Andy S. for reminding me to post about Lively!
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Congressional Sub-Committee Meets in Second Life

Thanks to SL Tips for pointing me in the direction of this interesting article in the Washington Post.

Here is a story titled Congress Goes Virtual in Online World Hearing that explains how a sub-committee in congress got together to experience a virtual world.

According to the article:

The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet wanted to know some basics. Could Second Life be used as a place to launder money? Are children safe in online worlds? Are there churches in there? Are you making any money?

I think they are digging deeper than just the basics but it is a great start. At least they are trying to understand what they are eventually going to regulate (of course they are going to regulate it...just a matter of time.)
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2008 Summer SL Class Underway

Once again I am teaching a class using virtual worlds, this class "Learning in 3D" will include the use of both ProtoSphere and Second Life. The quick six week class will cover just the basics of navigating in 3D worlds, building a small structure and learning about the different type of environments available. The first class had the usual Second Life chaos but it was a lot of fun for everyone.

This semester we have a slightly different twist in that the students in my graduate class are teaching some summer undergraduate Freshmen how Second Life works. So my students are creating lesson plans to teach the Freshman how to operate Second Life and how to create a basic shelter in Second Life.

It promises to be an exciting, but quick summer semester.

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SAT Prep--Just Like Playing a Video Game

Back in March, Kaplan, the huge learning company, announced that it was teaming with videogame developer and publisher Aspyr Media* to create Kaplan-branded interactive entertainment products and bring them to market. While most people think of Kaplan as a test prep company, the truth is, they are into all type of educational content and delivery. You should really check out all the neat things they are doing.

Anyway, the first educational game under the deal will be an engaging, visually dynamic and unconventional title that is rooted solidly in Kaplan’s SAT prep curriculum. The game will be available to play on the Nintendo® DS™, PC and Mac platforms. There aren't many details out currently but as soon as they become available, I'll let you know.

You can read some of the details in a press release at SAT* Prep Enters the Video Gaming World

Here is Aspyr Media's version of the press release Kaplan and Aspyr Team Up to Create Dynamic Videogames for Nintendo DS™, PC and Mac

*Recently, Aspyr Media received two awards for their work on Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock. No small pedigree for developing educational video games.

This is a video game company building an educational game...should be interesting.
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EdisonLearning Officials Discuss the Future of K-12 Education

Recently I attended an online discussion facilitated by the educational company EdisonLearning who recently acquired a product called Provost. The goal of the discussion was to talk about the acquisition of the new product but also to discuss the future of education as EdisonLearning envisons it.

The event was kicked off by John Chubb who described a little about the company that began in 1992 as the Edison Project and now has grown into EdisonLearning which has served over 350,000 children in 21 states and the United Kingdom. The name change includes a new company approach to teaching and learning for all children.

When the company started, for the first three years, it was just an R&D project and then for the next 10 years the company built off of that R&D project and developed a successful company. Now they are refocusing on R&D by creating an Institute which is focused on looking at the future of school designs as well as continuing to manage schools and school systems for success. I love the idea of an organization looking at new designs for schools...much needed.

John Chubb and David Zeiler encouraged the listeners on the call to imagine a hybrid school system where kids go from Pre-K to high school intermixing educational opportunities between face-to-face learning and supervised computer-based learning events. They stated that these new mixed environments are important because children come into schools with different levels of achievement and motivation and the mix of technology with the human touch provides a more robust opportunity to provide an appropriate education for everyone.

They encouraged us to imagine, kids spending time in classroom groups with teachers for part of the day and then at other times the kids would work with self-paced technology and at other times work with technology that is connected to teachers online who are located elsewhere. The kids could then receive differentiated instruction customized to their needs. Kids could also, as part of their regular school, take entire courses online at home or within the school within the regular school hours or even at different hours. Complete customized, flexible educational opportunities.

As an example, EdisonLearning, in one school they operate have large lab spaces in a charter school where 60 third grade kids are in lab at one time. In this situation these kids are inner city kids where some kids are reading and some aren’t. In the lab space some are working on sound/letter agreements and basic stuff while other third graders are reading at a 7th grade level. In that same classroom, those kids who are reading at the higher level are reading texts online and responding in paragraph format within an automated system. Different abilities all working together in the same space thanks to technology.

This kind of design may work particularly well in inner cities and as students move up in age level they will have opportunities to access content differently and receive education at their own pace.

EdisonLearning officials also explained that schools of future will have more similar standards-based outcomes as more states begin to converge on standards. In fact in the future there is no reason it should take 180 days for every child to meet every standard. The schools could be configured to whatever was appropriate on a more individual basis instead of the "mass" approach we use now.

Here are some interesting “talking points” from the discussion:

• Technology creates a competition among schools in which they must function in different ways because schools across the country or world are now competing against the school closest to a student's home because of technology.
  
  
• Education is poised to go through a major transformation due to technology (also see my book on that point)
  
  
• Every other institution has gone through organizational changes because of technology but not K-12, now change can occur.
  
  
• Schools of the future will involve new forms of technology for supporting education.
  
  
• Schools are becoming hybrids of brick and motor and technology.

Visit EdisonLearning to learn more about the possible future of school design and the incorporation of technology into school systems by EdisonLearning. Also, comment on your thoughts of the "school of the future" on this blog...let me know what you think.
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Summer Reading List 2008

Ok, I know this is a little late but I have actually been away on vacation using Blogger's advanced posting function for the past two weeks. It is great for vacation by the way.

Any way here are some interesting books for summer reading. They are not all training related and I am sure you've heard of them but they are some of the more interesting books I've read about the changing Internet and overall technology climate.

The first, Tom Peter's book--Re-Imagine--has a great, magazine-style layout (consider adapting a similar layout for your training materials) and, although it was published in 2003 it is as relevant today as it was in 2003. Because of its unique layout, you don't need to read cover to cover, good to causally pick up from time to time.

Next check out Wikinomics. I discovered this book when a friend of mine sent it to me. I was really intriqued about the "Platform" concept. Traditional business book layout but if you have any interested at all in Web 2.0 and how it is impacting training, business and society...then this is the book for you.

If you have time for a third book, check out Inside the Tornado. This book is old and the references to specific companies date some of the content but...the ideas, approach and insights are worth the historical references. Moore deftly explains how to move a technology into the main stream. In the book he references some material originally written by Everett Rogers in his book Diffusion of Innovations (which should also be on your reading list).

One book that compliments Wikinomics and Inside the Tornado is The Long Tail which describes a new economic process involving a sale of a few things but all the time. An interesting contrast to the blockbuster mentality of many organizations. This is a well-known book that you probably have been meaning to read but haven't gotten around to it...now is the time.

Finally, a book that provides a unique look into virtual worlds and paints a broad picture of how they will impact society is Synthetic Worlds by Edward Castronova. He approaches virtual worlds from the aspect of an economist which provides a unique perspective.


Happy reading, see you on the beach...






The cool thing is that many of these books are on the Kindle...although still waiting for them to get Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning. I use my Kindle all the time and love the fact that I can pack a bunch of books in it. The only thing I don't love is that on an airplane during take off and landing I can't read my Kindle since it is an electronic device. So on trips I end up carrying a Kindle and one paper-based book so I can read during all the flight. A slight bummer.



If you are into gadgets and like books, I think you are obligated to check out the Kindle, I've taken mine with me on vacation and loved it. I really the ability to make the font size bigger. So when my eyes get tired, I change the font and keep reading.

If none of these books do it for you, check out Last summer's reading list. You might find something interesting there...less of a business focus.
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