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Friday, July 31, 2009

The Game of School

Now video games are sneaking into the design of entire curriculums and starting to influence education in interesting and exciting ways.

The Quest school located in Manhattan (New York) is creating a curriculum that is radical different from other schools. According to the web site, "Quest is not a school whose curriculum is made up of the play of commercial videogames, but rather a school that uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences."

The school's mission:
Design and innovation are at the heart of Quest to Learn (Q2L), a school committed to helping every student to achieve excellence in the skills and literacies necessary for college and career readiness. We believe that students today can and do learn in different ways, often through interaction with digital media and games. Q2L builds on this belief to create a nurturing and vibrant 6th-12th grade school environment that supports all students in the pursuit of academic excellence, social responsibility, respect for others, and a passion for lifelong learning.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Gaining "Momentum" 2009 PDG Conference

Opening my talk at the PDG Momentum 2009 Conference in Philadelphia.


This year I once again had the privilege of speaking at the client conference of Performance Development Group (PDG). I was challenged with a really interesting topic. The title of my talk was "The Wrong Information to the Wrong Person at the Wrong Time: Why Corporate Training Programs are Not Alighted with Today's Workforce."

The talk was heavily influenced by the work of my co-author--Tony O'Driscoll. See Chapter Two of the upcoming Learning in 3D where the topic of the marginalization of learning is discussed. And speaking of the book, here is the world wide premiere of the cover. We are still working out some details but this is the first draft.



Here are the slides from the presentation.
(here is the link to Liveplasma , the spherical database shown in the slide show.)

I also had the chance to hear Nigel Downer, VP of Business Development at ProtonMedia and Rich Mesch, Co-Director, Solution Design and Development at PDG and who blogs at Learning Simulations. Great presentation from a couple of guys who are really thinking about the use of virtual immersive environments (VIEs) for learning. Rich made my day when he said that my last book, Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning was "as thick as a phone but but reads like a Dan Brown novel." Thanks Rich!

Nigel, Karl and Rich pose infront of the virtual world of ProtoSphere.

I was also fortunate to hear an alumni of Bloomsburg's Instructional Technology Program, Gayle-Shaw Hones present on session titled "Beyond Training to Performance Improvement." She did a great job as always.

I also ran into a couple of fellow bloggers. I had a nice chat with Catherine Lombardozzi and the photos on this blog are courtesy of Susan Hendrich who blogs at Leadership and Training Innovation

Today, I am leading a panel discussion on "Impacting Performance through Technology." All in all, it's been a great conference.
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Learning in 3D Summer 2009: Class Four

Class visits the Holocaust Museum in Second Life.


This class consisted of three different parts. The first part we visited the exhibit at the US Holocaust Museum. The interactive nature of the exhibit and the interactions of the avatars with the exhibit made it a great educational place to visit.

Holocaust Museum has some really well done effectives like fire and falling glass.


We then had guest speaker Heather Gee. Heather provided a great tutorial on how to build a building within Second Life. She provide advise on creating phantom walls, how to make a roof and other key building information.

Heather describes how to build a simple structure.


We then sat at the conference table and we reviewed the educational field trips the students took as their homework. Each student described their favorite location and why it was good from an educational perspective.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

What are the Results of Following an Instructional Design Process?

What are the Results of Good ID

While informal learning is all the rage and provides a number of benefits like speed and peer-to-peer interaction and exchanges of information, good, sound instructional systems design is still necessary. A systematic approach provides good sound instruction and promotes learning and knowledge acquisition. As designers of instruction via mobile, virtual worlds or social networking, we cannot ignore good instructional design. Many benefits can be obtain by following an instructional design model.

Designing good instruction does not happen by accident, it takes following a systematic process but the results of that process can be far more effective and productive than using a trial and error approach or "see what sticks" approach.

Some of the benefits of following a systematic process include:
  • Instructional quality is higher than trail and error approaches because the selection of content, use of specific instructional strategies, and engagement of the learner are approached systematically.
  • Motivation of the learner is higher because the instruction is designed to be appealing, motivating and targeted toward the learners needs.
  • Learner success increases with instruction that is systematically designed to teach and achieve clearly stated goals and outcomes.
  • Learner assessments are tightly integrated with the objectives of the instruction.
  • Higher quality instruction results from following a clearly defined process.
  • Research-based principles guide the selection of media and instructional strategies and approaches.
  • Consistency of delivery of instruction. Following a specific process for the development of all learning modules provides consistency between various courses developed by various instructors/designers. The general look and process of content exploration is standardized.
  • Courses are developed from the learner’s perspective and not from the viewpoint of the instructor’s knowledge or opinions on a topic.
  • Increased retention and recall among learners because of the rigorous process used to design the instruction.


Of course there are more benefits, what did I miss can you add any other?
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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Out and About: Visiting with Ty

Catching up with Ty.

While in Arizona, I had the good fortune to meet up with a former student, Ty Howard and catch up with his busy work as an adjunct faculty member among other projects he was doing. It is always good to see a former student and to hear what they are doing and how they are using their degree in instructional design.

Ty is using his degree to teach and create engaging presentations for his students and to leverage online learning as well as putting his computer skills to work in a variety of interesting ways. He is doing some great things and I am sure you'll be hearing from him in the future!

It was great to see Ty and catch up with him and meet some of the people in his life.

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Shout Out: Michael Qaissaunee

Gordon introducing Mike--the Educator of the Year.


Congratulations to my colleague and friend, Mike Qaissaunee who won the Educator of the year Award at the National Science Foundation's HI-TEC conference in Arizona. It is a well deserved award. He was introduced for the award by Gordon Snyder and you can read Gordon's introduction and discussion of Mike's accomplishments at Mike Q HI-TEC Educator Of The Year.

Mike accepting his well-deserved award.


I've known Mike for years and consider him one of the most knowledgeable and gifted educators I know. I have sat in on many of his sessions and gained a great deal of knowledge from his insights. He contributed a great piece to Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning

He cares about technical education at both the local and national levels and has spearheaded a number of exciting and ground breaking projects, he contributes to textbooks and continually enlightens his students. Follow Mike as he blogs over at Frequently Asked Q and you can even listen to his podcasts atICT podcast. They contain great information and ideas that he and Gordon discuss. Really a great educator. Congratulations Mike!

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Learning in 3D Summer 2009: Class Three

Experimenting with building in SL.


This class was a blended class, as I am travelling in AZ, I recorded the first part of the session as an asynchronous class which students listened to before attending the "live" session. The recording discussed Learning Archetypes and using the ADDIE model to create instruction.

The presentation below combines last night's class with some concepts (like the Tony O'Driscoll's Seven Sensibilities) that we covered in other classes.



For the live session, of course, my plane was late and then I couldn't get internet access but after frantically texting a student and letting her tell the rest of the class what was happening, I was finally able to get into Second Life and hand out some valuable note cards and note card instruction.

Then we all experimented with building. The note card I handed out had landmarks so the students can use those landmarks to explore interesting and educational places in Second Life. Next week, we'll sit around the conference table and discuss.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bored? Try Some Space Related Games

In honor of the Apollo 11 flight, I have gathered a few space related games. A few are even educational. Take some time to relive the space flight with these games and even learn a few things in the process.

Go to NASA's Kids Club to play all kinds of neat space games for elementary level kids. (I confess, some of the games are even fun for adults.)


NASA's Kid's Club site let's you build your own rocket


You can also play, Space Shuttle Launch which provides math education as you need to solve a math problem to launch the rocket.

Another fun game (but not as educationally geared) is Rocket Robin where you need to get the launch parameters just right or your rocket explodes.
Launch the rocket correctly to avoid an explosion.


If you feel heroic, play Rocket Rescue. In this game you pilot a space ship that rescues fellow astronauts who are floating in space.


The higher the level, the more astronauts need to be rescued.



Also: Check out this blog entry by Joe Mendrzycki Apollo 11: 40 Years-One Giant Leap for some other excellent resources and additional links to the Apollo 11 story.
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Monday, July 20, 2009

The Educational Value of Apollo 11


In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it was a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). No country had ever put a man on the moon but a mere eight years later the goal was accomplished. The country geared up and achieved its goal.

What Kennedy did not do was announce "by the end of this decade we will teach more math and science" or "by the end of this decade we will have more standardized tests" or "by the end of this decade we will lengthen the school day."

No, instead he set a goal and motivated the country to work toward that goal.

The educational value wasn't in the education at all, it was in achieving the goal. Education is a means to an end, it is not the end.

When we think of education and learning and development efforts we need to ignore the education and learning pieces and reach for the goal. Learning and development professionals need to be focused on organizational goals...not learning goals.

Enabling the organization is the goal, achieving BHAGs is the mission, bettering the position of people or the company or organization is what we need to achieve. More tests, more training or more homework is not a GOAL. Yet, too often our training and education efforts get in the way of achieving goals.

Our goals need to drive learning, learning cannot be accomplished without goals, without difficult to reach and seemingly unattainable goals. We cannot spend all our time tweaking training when BHAGs need to be met.

Take the lesson of Apollo and putting a man on the moon as a lesson in goal setting...once a goal is set, a vision brought into focus, the learning will follow.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Funny Look at the Future

Spending a lot of time thinking about the future of learning and the future of technology, it is nice to be grounded every once in a while. Here is a short little video that is funny and grounding.

*Some implied swearing but nothing audible (its beeped)



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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Play Games: Become an Engineer

If you have an interest in becoming an engineer or know someone who does. Or if you just like designing vehicles, bridges, buildings, consumer electronics, then there are a lot of really great games for you to check out. Here are a few.

Coconut Run

The Coconut Run Challenge is Issued.

In this game, your job is to design a cart to transport coconuts over a rough and tumble terrain to a coconut shredder. You design the shape, size and other attributes of the vehicle. WARNING: I find this game addicting. Check out Coconut Run when you have a lot of time to devote to building a better coconut cart. You might also want to check out the Particle Pro game at the site as well.


Edheads': Design a Cell Phone

Screen for designing the ideal cell phone.


I always love Edheads's stuff and here is another great example. Design a cell phone. In the game you have to consider design parameters like cost, target market and functionality. You then design the phone by selecting different functions which each have a cost associated with them. You have to pick correctly or you end up over budget or with features your target audience doesn't want. Once you design it, you can conduct a focus group meeting and even view sales results. This is a great game for thinking about design parameters, trade offs and designing for a specific audience.

West Point Bridge Design Contest

Testing the bridge.


This software can be used in a national contest sponsored by West Point (yes, THE West Point.) The downloadable software introduce the player to engineering through an authentic, hands-on design experience. The software provides the tools to model, test, and optimize a steel highway bridge, based on realistic specifications, constraints, and performance criteria. Once you have your bridge built, you can drive a truck across and see how it holds up.


The Brain Strainer

A machine that doesn't quite launch the rocket.


So you think you can be a rocket scientist? This game lets you build a machine (like mousetrap) that helps you launch a rocket. You need to consider simple machine parts and how different materials react to different surfaces. Give The Brain Strainer a shot and launch to the moon.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Blogger of the Week

Thanks to E-Learning Tyro for naming Kapp Notes the "Blog of the Week" for July 05, 2009 to July 12, 2009. You can read the criteria and entry at Planet’s Pick of the Week Ending July 12, 09.

So thanks to E-Learning Tyro for the shout out.
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Learning in 3D Book Information

TITLE: Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration

READING LINE:
How the Immersive Internet will shape the future of learning and work within the Enterprise.

DESCRIPTION:
Learning in 3D provides a clear and cogent analysis of how emerging immersive technologies are changing the nature of business in general and the role of the learning function within the enterprise in particular. Via a comprehensive set of early-adopter case-studies, the authors describe how 3D environments will shape the future of learning and work within the Enterprise. This book also offers an ideal resource for those responsible for teaching the next generation of learning on the Internet. It describes how learning needs to be adapted to 3D environments and includes the tools that learning and development professionals will need in order to advance 3D learning within their organizations.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Learning in 3D Summer 2009: Class Two

Border crossing created in Second Life for use at Loyalist College.

This class began with a tour of the border patrol work done by Ken Hudson and others at Loyalist College. It took a while but we were able to get everyone assembled and then toured the area and where able to see both the automobile crossing and the location used for air transportation training as well. Impressive.

Here is a video about the project at Loyalist.


We then discussed the Seven Sensibilities of 3D Learning developed by my co-author Tony O'Driscoll.

Here is a video he created on the topic.


We then discussed how 3D learning is a form of storytelling and how learning in third-person might just be a more effective method than learning in first-person. Here is a link to the concept in a blog post I wrote called Accidental Learning and the Power of Stories.
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Monday, July 13, 2009

Amusing Monday Video

It's Monday, its the summer, we'd all rather be outside. So as a bit of cheer, here is a great video about relationships between clients and vendors. Imagine if the behavior of e-learning clients in terms of purchasing services from e-learning vendors seeped into everyday occurrences. If that happened, the resulting would occur...


*Special thanks for Carl, Jenn and Donna for alerting me to this great video.

One possible remedy is to write awesome e-learning RFPs. Might I suggest a resource?


Also see, Top 5 Funny and Semi-Learning Related Videos. If you want even more laughs on this Monday.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

NOAA: Advice for Federal Agencies about Virtual Worlds & a Great Interactive Example


Waiting for the tsunami to hit on NOAA's island in Second Life.


Check out this article, Living NOAA's Second Life

It is about how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)--a government agency--is using a virtual world to reach into the future and it has some great advice on considerations before launching into a virtual world.

My advice to other federal agencies interested in virtual worlds is to define your goals before you break ground. Use the numbers in terms of visitors, time spent on the site, etc., to help refine your design and improve your conversion rate to your goal.

Start small by focusing on a topic that is of interest to local management. Wow a manager with an easily understandable and relatively cheap application. Don't be shy about asking questions and fostering a sense of community development...as described by Eric Hackathorn who is, among other things, co-chairman of the Metrics and Research Working Group at the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds


They are also working on some forward thinking applications for virtual worlds and data sets.
One recent prototype we call Second Earth attempted to blend the capabilities of tools like Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth with the collaborative capabilities of Second Life. You can fly through and remotely collaborate about a real-time dataset.


Some resources and articles on the topic:

NOAA Comes to Second Life
(great images)

A New Wave of Learning

Meteora (SLURL Link to NOAA island)

Okeana
(SLURL Link to NOAA island)

If you haven't checked out NOAA's island in Second Life, you really need to have a visit.

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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Designing a Virtual Immersive Environment for Learning? Some Considerations.

Supervising a construction project.

Here are a few considerations when thinking about developing a virtual learning environment in a 3D world.

Synchronous or Asynchronous. One of the first decisions to make in designing a 3D Learning Environment (3DLE) is to determine if the learning will occur in a synchronous environment led by an instructor or an asynchronous environment where the learner proceeds at his or her own pace. Or will it be a combination of both? Virtual blending. This decision will influence much of your design and building of the in-world environment.

Sequence and Instructional Elements. Designing the 3DLE requires careful consideration of the entire educational experience of the learner. What happens first? What is the pace of the instruction? How do learners interact? Where and when should a debrief occur? Drawing out the learning event helps it function more smoothly and effectively.

Environment and Structures. The creation of the environment in which the learning takes place is an important consideration. This involves determining the level of realism but, even more than that large decision; it requires consideration of the type of structures and spaces that are created to facilitate the learning.

Consider the Debrief. One important element of learning in an interactive environment is to provide a proper level of debriefing so the learner can understand the experience they had and reflect upon their learning. In fact, reflection is a critical element in learning. The debriefing process can be important for both a synchronous learning experience as well as an asynchronous experience.

Design Outside of Reality. Since one strong advantage of virtual learning worlds is that they can be used to create extraordinary places and have the ability to transport learners back in time, into the future or to the heart of danger. Create environments that excite the senses, that are fun and that are educationally challenging.

Don't forget to Storyboard. Because the development of a 3DLE is complex and multi-layered, many developers first design the 3DLE with a storyboard and actually build the environment only after the storyboards have been created and the learning event “walked through.” The step of creating a storyboard helps to ensure that environment that is create encourages the desired learning and that the expensive development process run more effectively because of the visual indication of the process. This is similar to the storyboard process used to create movies or other types of online learning.

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Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Learning in 3D Summer 2009: Class One

Getting the class together in SL.


Recently, we had our first summer class of the course "Learning in 3D," the class focuses on how to create 3D learning spaces and how to use those spaces effectively to promote learning and to leverage the wonderful attributes of 3D.

First we talked about different levels of Gamers (Game 1.0-4.0). To find out what level gamer you are, consider playing Gamer Rater. (created by an awesomely talented group of students (Nicole Clark, Heather Gee, Aaron Kennelly and David Robbins..special thanks to Heather Gee for key updates.)

We then discussed the definition of a Metaverse and went on to discuss a little about the evolution of avatars.
Evolution of avatars (thanks again Heather Gee).


We then discussed different kids focused simulations, simulated games and virtual worlds like:

  • Simulations at Edheads.

  • Disney's Hot Shot Business

  • Club Penguin

  • America's Army

  • River City Project

    We then discussed some Second Life statistics to see how big that world has become.

    We then discussed the metaverse hype cycle and how the death of virtual worlds have been greatly exaggerated.

    We then jumped into the virtual world of Second Life to have a look around and in an upcoming week, we'll be jumping into Protosphere to gain a corporate perspective on these worlds.



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  • Monday, July 06, 2009

    Triathalon Training Should be the Model for All Learning

    Recently, I completed my first-ever sprint triathlon. in Avalon, NJ. It is called the Islandman Triathalon. It is called a "sprint" for real triathlon pros because it is so short, they sprint it. For me, I just called it a triathlon.

    I was able to complete the 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 5K beach run in 1:34. My wife is a great athlete and she joined me in the race. She was a little faster at 1:21, she finished number 17 in the women's master's group. My son even ran a kid's triathlon. The family had a great time competing in the event.
    Karl and Nancy before the start of the Islandman.

    The neat thing about the event is the preparation that goes into running a triathlon and the different levels of mastery. Being my first "tri" I was really nervous about what to expect and about the transition between swimming and biking and between biking and the run. The "veterans" had it all worked out. They knew what they were doing. Me, as a newbie, lacked some really nice-to-have equipment but still managed to compete within the race and finish.

    One-third of the race is over, off to the bike.

    To run the tri, we trained for six weeks. We started slowly and then worked our way to full preparation. Sure, I could have used a few more weeks but doing a little bit every day was a helpful way to prepare my mind and body.

    Dismounting the bike to begin the run.


    So what lessons can be drawn between training for a triathlon and creating effective learning?

    First, doing a little bit each day can lead to big results. One day we would swim, one day lift weights, etc. The training eventually became more and more involved. We didn't start out doing all three sports, instead we built a foundation (base) and went from there. When creating a learning program, instead of doing an 8 hour mind dump onto the poor learners and expecting them to remember everything they have been taught, it is much better to provide a little bit of instruction on a regular basis and build knowledge over time. With technology tools, this is very possible.
    The run portion was through the sand, tough to move quickly in sand.

    Second, preparation is important but you need experience at "the real event" to solidify the learning. I looked at all the YouTube videos on Transitions. Here is a sample. Spoke to people who have competed in tris and really did my homework but nothing can prepare you for race day except being at race day. In the learning and development field, we have a lot of tools for preparing people for the real work activity but when it comes right down to it, the person has to perform in the actual environment to actually understand the thousands of nuances involved. We, as learning and development professionals, can do a lot to prepare our learners but in the end, they need to experience the "real thing" and be prepared for chaos of the real job but realize that the preparation and their own acumen will get them through the experience. We are the trainers perparing them for "the big event."

    Third, training for a tri needs to be difficult. I would not have had the confidence, motivation or belief that I could complete the triathlon without having had some grueling training sessions and even running a full version of the race before the actual race day. The difficult but rewarding practice enabled me to be successful on race day. Too often in learning events, we "dumb down" questions, scenarios and exercises so the learners don't get frustrated or think they are being "tricked" but, too often on the job and in real-life, situations happen that are tricky, difficult and frustrating. If we don't prepare them with the proper training for the difficult situations they will encounter, we are doing them a disservice. The practice triathlon was tough but it was critical to my success in the actual race. Our learning events need to be tough.

    I'm looking forward to applying these rules to my development of learning events and to bettering my time next year!
    Felt good to be done!

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    Preventing Violence

    Poster highlighting domestic violence conference.


    With all the talk on this blog about violence in sports and video games, I wanted to take a moment to talk about preventing violence. The past few weeks, I have had the privilege to work with wonderful people at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV).

    This wonderful organization works tirelessly to help prevent domestic violence and they do a lot of training. The PCADV trainers are away from home frequently. On these trips, they provide education and awareness to health care workers, law enforcement personnel, welfare caseworkers and others about domestic violence and how to recognize and prevent it. They are beginning to place some of the instruction and information online and that is where I was able to provide some insights.

    Karl teaching about instructional design to members from of the PCADV.


    Through a grant, Bloomsburg University is helping to create online learning for PCADV and to provide the trainers with knowledge and ideas on how to place some of their information online. Obviously a topic like domestic violence requires face-to-face instruction and information but there is some room for online learning opportunities as well. I am helping them to figure out what goes online and what should be face-to-face.

    I want to thank Nancy, Tracy and everyone else for such a delightful learning opportunity working with the group and helping to make them better designers, developers and deliverers of instruction.

    As a fun little side note: I learned not to use the phrase "rule of thumb." I had used the phrase in class and then Laurie jokingly said, "who wants to tell him about the origin of the phrase?"

    It turns out that rule of thumb, in some circles, was thought to refer to a rule in the 1800s that stated it was permissible for a man to beat his wife with a stick as long as the thickness of the stick was smaller than the thickness of his thumb. While this origin for the phrase is up for some debate. (see Wikipedia "rule of thumb"), it is still a good idea to always remember that domestic violence is a horrible crime and we all need to be involved to prevent it.

    Hopefully my conducting the classes will help in some small way and soon, I am sure, they will be putting some great information into online learning events.

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    Thursday, July 02, 2009

    Webinar and Workshop: Post Cards from the 3D Edge: Learning in Second Life


    In a few weeks, on August 12, 19, 26 and September 2, 2009. I will be giving a workshop titled "Navigating Second Life" which will provide educators, corporate trainers and others with information on how the 3D world of Second Life can been used to foster and promote informal and formal learning by presenting the basics of Second Life and describing how those basics can be used to create meaningful instruction. The sessions are from 1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time.

    If you are interested in a sneak peak check out the overview session conducted on July 27 from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern Time.

    Here is a description of the introductory session:
    Visiting a strange new 3D virtual world can be confusing. Where do you go? What do you do? How do you dress? Where are the “coolest” places to go? This Soapbox session will introduce you to exciting and interesting places within the 3D world of Second Life. The tour will be conducted with an eye toward learning and develop applications. Your tour guide will show you how certain learning designs like role-plays, scavenger hunts and conceptual orienteering are being employed to provide realistic, productive and useful learning.

    The visit includes “post cards” of educationally focused sites. It will give you hints, techniques and insights into creating educational opportunities within 3D spaces. We’ll discuss what works and what doesn’t work in 3D and see examples of both. You don’t want to miss this exciting tour.


    If you want to sign up for the initial session or the entire workshop, go to InSync Navigating Second Life Class. Sign up quickly, class size is limited.
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