Questions about Second Life

Recently, I received a some really good questions related specifically to Second Life but primarily are about virtual worlds and the use of these worlds for education. I'll answer the questions here since I think they reflect concerns that many educators have related to the social networks and Second Life.

1) Kids use these “places” like Second Life, Facebook, etc. mostly for socializing.

I have to agree. Kids mostly use these tools for social reasons. For several reasons: I think kids are very social and tend to use phones, pre-classroom time, and in-the-hallway-time all for socializing with each other. So the primary motivation for kids to use social networking tools are for non-academic purposes. Additionally, they don't have many alternatives to socializing in these places because there are not many educational-focused social web sites that are designed to provide to help or assist with learning in the same format as existing sites focused on socializing.

But surprisingly, kids use social networks for educational purposes on their own. One study called Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social--And Educational--Networking indicated the following:

Students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork.

I have blogged about this in Teens, Tweens and Social Networking Unfortunately I can no longer find that entire report but here is an article that summarizes much of the report. Research: Students Actually Use the Internet for Education.

2) Currently, it seems that much of the Second Life work is more about SL itself — how to use it, what you can do, etc. -- rather than the actual educational effectiveness.

This too is true. Why? Well one reason is because the technology is so new that people need to understand how to use the technology before they can study it. It needs to be up and running before it can be studied. Having said that, people are now starting to publish some research articles and case studies about Second Life but it is still relatively new. Although, I have seen a good deal of initiatives in terms of research starting to surface.

But if you want to study social networking in online worlds, there are a number of articles and research studies that have used the World of Warcraft as the virtual world being studied and other online role play video games. In fact a good book for setting the stage for researching or looking into virtual worlds is a book called Synthetic Worlds.

Also, look into other works by Edward Castronova. Here is an article by Castronova Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier

Also in the May issue of the Harvard Business Review research conducted at IBM on the topic of social worlds and networking. Check out Tony O'Driscoll's posting titled HBR: Leadership’s Online Labs also check out a good summary by John Rice titled Study: MMORPGs Critical in Developing Tomorrow’s Business Leaders

3) Much of educators’ enthusiasm falls short of the mark by deferring to what could be called the “You can...” syndrome. That is, the endless possibilities inherent in a system are the source of excitement, but get nailed down in very few instances.

Again, I agree. The educational community is still nailing down what works and what doesn't but this is true in the adoption of all new technologies. I've written about that in The Metaverse Hype, Decline and Realism Cycle--We've Seen It Before. so we are in the stage of "You Can..." but the only way to get out of that stage is to actually do something with the software and then study the results. One school doing a lot of "actual work" in the area of Second Life is Ohio State. Check out the VITAL Lab at Ohio University. Check out their videos on YouTube. One example is posted below.

Also, check out this posting about a science lab in Second Life.



Here is a link to many different VITAL Lab videos.

Certainly looking for other resources or ideas, please feel free to contribut and comment. Great questions, thanks for the input and please let me know if you agree or disagree with the answers.
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Who is in Charge?

Sorry to do this again but it is really on my mind.

Ok, so one of the guys who wants $700 billion dollars as soon as possible to bail out the rich investment banks who greedily took on too much debt was, not too long ago, one of those people we are bailing out. Man this is the fox watching the hen house.

This man, Paulson, was the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) for 8 years and was with the company for 15 years during the build up to this crisis (that no one saw coming). Over one five year time he received in compensation over $46.74 million dollars. No wonder he is fighting salary caps for executives.
*Remember Goldman Sachs is the one company that Warren Buffet has given $5 billion dollars to keep a float.

In fact, as written in an article by Slate when Paulson was nominated for this current position.

Not since Nelson Rockefeller served as vice president during the Ford administration has a senior government official arrived in Washington with such a high net worth. Paulson owned some 4.58 million shares in Goldman Sachs (including restricted stock) worth about $700 million...and surely has millions more in other instruments.

Of which he had to liquidate or put into a blind trust, but he is certainly not hurting from this "crisis".
So now he wants us to give $3,000 for every person in our household to bail about a Wall Street crisis which he helped to create...let's see him cough up some of his net worth first. I see him having very little skin in the game but being very belligerent with Congress.

The first thing that should be done is to throw this guy out!
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Meeting the Guys from Unity 3D

Currently I am working with a group of educators and others on the early stages of creating an educational video game to teach middle school students concepts related to engineering. The project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Specifically, we are attempting to teach in an adventure game concepts in the areas of Science, Math, Engineering and Technology (STEM). The game opens in the wilderness of Alaska and involves the requirement of creating a shelter to teach concepts of heat flow and engineering design.

So as of now, we are in search of a game engine to serve as the platform for the development of the game as we work in parallel on our game design document (critical item) and 3D assets.

As part of our effort, we got together with the folks from Unity 3D to see what they had to offer and whether or not they'd be interested in some type of partnership with our developers. We are really impressed with the folks and with the Unity 3D game engine. Lots to consider as we look at some of what Unity 3D can do.

The gentlemen in the black shirts are the Unity 3D folks. From left to right are Sam Kalman, Tom Robertson of Whitebox Learning, Amir Ebrahimi, myself and David Helgason, CEO and Co-Founder in the back and Michael Hacker from Hofstra and Tom Higgins Product Evangelist in the front.

It was a great meeting and good discussions.

More about the game and development process as it progresses.
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Eduverse Foundation Presentation

This morning, I had a great time giving a presentation to a group over in the UK via a mash up of Skype and Second Life. I presented to the Eduverse Foundation Symposium. Of course I would have liked to have been there in person but, since it was a virtual world conference, I figured that a virtual presentation made a lot of sense and is less time consuming.

So using the video of Skype on one computer and the world of Second Life on another, I gave a tour of MSIT island and talked about different learning designs for virtual worlds.

Here is an image of my computer with Skype:


And here are some helpful links for those who attended the webinar and anyone else who may be interested.

Second Life Session (list of links to blog entries I've done about Second Life and 3D Worlds)

Learning Archetypes for 3D Worlds

Summer 2008: Learning in 3D Class (explains a little about the course design for the class I taught this summer.)

Second Life for Your Health
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Visit with Calhoun Wick

Cal Wick and I pose for a picture at the Fort Hill Company in DE.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit with Calhoun Wick, author of the book The Six Disciplines of Break Through Learning. Cal is also the winner of Will Thalheimer's Neon Elephant Award which Cal received in 2006.



Cal is the founder and CEO of the Fort Hill Company which specializes in Follow-Through Management™. The "Big Idea" of Cal is that training doesn't stop after the course or e-learning module is delivered, instead, it is just beginning. (like all big ideas, the beauty is in the simplicity of the idea and the "rub" is in it's execution.)

To streamline the execution, Cal and his company have created tools to continue the accountability for learning and for sticking to those "learning action items" well beyond the class session. We had a great discussion and Cal indicated that the problem with the ADDIE model of instructional design is that it focuses only on the training and ends basically after the training or learning event is concluded. There is rarely any follow up or follow through.

What Cal and his company have done is to create tools to facilitate and drive the follow up process. These tools are well designed and encourage a person's learning peers to hold each other accountable for applying what they learned in a class to situations on the job. If you say you want to delegate more effectively, you rate your delegation growth every week and your peers provide encouragement and feedback on your progress. It is a powerful and effective method of extending learning beyond the four walls of a classroom or the confines of a single e-learning module.

The concept also reaches beyond ADDIE and forces designers of instruction to think about a learning process instead of a learning event. Powerful stuff.

If you get a chance, go hear Cal speak and, at the very least, check out his book on the subject of the six disciplines and think how you can transform your learning events into learning processes.

Addition: I have blogged some simple ideas for extending the classroom at TrainingDay Blog: Think "Learning Process" Not "Learning Event
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Top 10 Educational Games of the 1980s

Man, I love this post by John Rice of Educational Games Research. It is right up my alley. I grew up playing these games in the 1980s and I love educatonal games, it doesn't get any better than this.

Check out The Top 10 Most Influential Educational Video Games from the 1980s

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Come On...This is Ridiculous...Make the CEOs Pay it Back

Not all performance problems are training related. We learning and development professionals can't save the world if the world doesn't want to be saved. Normally, I do not blog about political or economic matters but the debacle on Wall street is forcing my hand.

Let's start with some figures from a Money Magazine commentary called Blame boards of directors for financial mess

Former Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal received total compensation of more than $91 million for 2006. O'Neal received more than $160 million in stock and retirement benefits while shareholders lost more than 41 percent of their investment value over the year. Three executives brought in to Merrill less than a year ago will share a $200 million payment as they turn over the company to Bank of America in a last-minute deal to help it survive.

American International Group (AIG) replaced CEO Martin Sullivan after the company posted losses for two consecutive quarters totaling $13 billion. Sullivan's contract entitled him to about $68 million. His replacement, a board member who served as CEO for three months before the company was taken over by the government, will get as much as $7 million.

The replacement Bob Willumstad, 63, is entitled to keep a $4 million cash bonus, 1 million shares, six months' severance salary and life insurance and other benefits.

In another article by Money, they reported that Washington Mutual's Kerry Killinger will retire with $5.2 million in common stock, $14.9 million in deferred compensation and $3.5 million in pension benefits. As you may or may not know Washington Mutual is on the "short list" of might-be-getting-a-bail-out financial institutions.

Now, let's say your are an employee within a financial company and you see the excess and greed that oozes from these organizations, how can you take any type of ethics training, compliance training or any training not focused on making you more money seriously.

In fact, there is no downside for these CEOs not to "work the system." The entire subprime mess and credit bubble is based on financial assumptions that you won't tolerate from your 2 year old (like property values will go up forever or that people who couldn't qualify for regular mortage could always make payments on special mortage products.)

Now the government who taxes me and you without mercy is asking us to pay to bail out millionaires...disgusting. If I don't pay the people to whom I owe money because of my past bad decisions, I am still accountable. If a CEO cheats the system and threatens to bankrupt the United States, he gets a few million dollars and is told to retire.

That attitude trickles down to all levels of the organization. Now, how are we supposed to create training for ethics and compliance. How do we expect salesfolks to be ethical while the CEOs are anything but? In fact, it is getting more and more difficult to find anyone in a position of power who is ethical. From professional sports to presidential VP candidates who refuse to cooperate with investigations or presidents who look us in the eye and tell us "it depends on the definition of the word 'is'. You have to be kidding me.

I've got few answers about teaching ethics to the unethical, just some frustration. Although, I have written about this before:

Training for Mixed Messages

Conspiracy Theory: Teaching Ethics

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Virtual World Research Needs Your Help

Some colleauges of mine have asked me to forward on this important announcement about Second Life Research.

Participate in a study that examines the experiences of individuals collaborating in virtual environments. To participate, you must have a Second Life avatar and account, and access to a Second Life client on a PC. Participation will involve 2 online surveys and completion of a team exercise in Second Life.

The 1st survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, the exercise about 30 minutes, and the post-exercise (2nd) survey about 15 minutes.

For participating you will receive US$20. In addition, for every 25 teams, prize money will be awarded to the 2 best performing teams with each member receiving US$100. If you desire, payment may be made in Linden dollars (L$),e.g., US$20 is currently worth about L$5200.

If you are interested in participating, please go to the link below by September 25th to tell indicate your time preferences for participation in the study:

Yes, count me in for this exciting research.

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Upcoming Webinar

Join me for a free presentation.

I am speaking at a webinar in a few weeks, the description is below. All are welcome. Register Now. It's free.

Transferring Knowledge to the New Style of Learner:
Extending the Classroom Beyond the Four Walls

Date: Friday, September 26, 2008 10:00 a.m. PDT
Length: 90 minutes

Description: New learning tools are introduced on an almost daily basis. Educators have all they can do to keep up with the latest technology in their field, let alone figure out how to incorporate podcasting, blogs, and wikis into their instructional curriculum. Transferring Knowledge to the New Style of Learning helps address that problem. The presentation describes how Web 2.0 technologies can and are being used in classrooms to provide educators with tools for extending the classroom beyond the school building. Learn how you can leverage these newest technologies to provide your students with rich learning opportunities they can do from the comfort of their own homes

In preparation for the presentation I am answering some related questions at TechSpectives this week. Check it out.
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Fall Reading List

Here are some books that I think would be good to read in front of a fireplace on those cool fall days.

The Starfish book talks about the value of decentralized organizations and how they grow and can prosper where centralized organizations have trouble. Orbiting the Hairball is about retaining your creativity in a corporate environment...not an easy task. Extreme Toyota describes the successful traits of the organization and how they were leveraged for success but the book also points about some flaws in the automaker...I love the balance of the book.



If you want learning related books, check out:

From Analysis to Evaluation provides some great tools and ready-made worksheets. Good to have in your library. The E-Learning Handbook provides a comprehensive look at the e-learning industry, past, present and tips for the future. Technical Training has a mis-leading title. This book is about instructional strategies and how to apply them. This is a great book for understanding how to apply instructional strategies to any work you are doing.



In terms of learning may I also humbly suggest:

Gadgets, Games and Gizmos is about transfering knowledge from the boomer generation (currently in power) to the upcoming Gamer Generation. Winning E-Learning Proposals is about how to write an effective proposal (focused on e-learning) and Integrated Learning is about implementing a manufacturing based ERP system using the ADDIE model as a larger framework. They make great door stops also:)



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Thoughts on Innovation...

Here are some interesting lectures on the concept of innovation. A couple are long but all are worth a listen. Many people mis-use the term "innovation" and it sometimes looses meaning when so many claim to be innovative. I think these three videos put the concept on innovation in the right position.







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List to Learn, Learn to List

This month's ASTD Big Question is, again, a series of questions. Apparently one BIG question is not enough for the learning and development community. We aim to exceed expectations.

If you have a to-learn list and are willing to share, and willing to share how you work with that list, that would likely be helpful information.

I constantly have a "to-learn" list. Some of the items are necessary and some are "pie-in-the-sky." I tend to have two methods of working on the list. One way is what I call "wandering." Using that technique, I will open up a piece of software or google a term with no real objective just a need to "learn more about" a particular term, item or piece of software. The other method is what you might call "targted." I have to learn how PayPal works, for example, because I am about to do a transaction. Using the targeted method means I have a specific goal in mind and I need to learn how to achieve that goal.

Interestingly, I find the wandering method tends to have better retention than the target. I target learning when I have a specific task but once the urgency of that task is over, I don't retain the learning as well.
Some items on my current to-learn list includes:

• More about 3D Worlds (Wandering)
  
• Capabilities of Unity 3D (Targeted)
  
• Better time management techniques (Wandering)
  
• Creating an online store (Wandering, for now)
  
• Learning about online publishing (Wandering)
  
• Some type of 2D game platform (Targeted)
  
• To program in ALICE (Targeted)
  
• More about the PA Energy Industry (targeted)

As Knowledge Workers, work and learning are the same, so how does a to-learn list really differ from a to-do list? How are they different than undirected learning through work, blogging, conferences, etc.?

I don't totally agree that work and learning are exactly the same, there is some overlap but there are specific things workers need to learn that do not result in a direct work product. For example, a knowledge worker may need to learn how to write a report more effectively but still may produce a report (work product) on time for the boss by working on the weekend. It would be great for the worker to learn to write more efficient reports but learning to do so is not a work product. The products the knowledge worker produces are work.
My to-do list contains items like:

• Write assessment report for DPW
  
• Write article for magazine
  
• Meet with students
  
• Invoice clients
  
• Conduct training needs analysis
  
• Create game treatment

I have to learn some things to complete the list but this is not the same as a "to-learn" list. In Catherine Lombardozzi's case, I would argue that she places "to-learn" items on her "to-do" list which I think is great in terms of prioritization as she indicated, I just don't view what I have "to-do" as a work product in the same way as what I have "to-learn" and maybe that is because learning without an expected work product as an outcome is so much more fun.

Are to-learn lists really important to have? Are they as important as what Jim Collins tells us? I think these list are very important to have as all learning and development professionals need to continually be learning. They can be explicit or implicit but, either way, learning professionals should have such a list.

Should they be captured? Is so how? Not sure they need to be captured. I have a bound notebook I carry around for both to-do and to-learn items that I list in the book, sometimes together, sometimes apart. I also write project lists and concepts in the notebook. One place to track and organize my thoughts. Although, I also have a bunch of post-it notes that serve the same purpose so it is not as organized as I make it sound. I live in a whirl wind of chaos with notebooks, post-it notes, to-do, to-learn and project lists. No to mention things written on envelopes, the back of other pieces of paper and in the margins of books...help.

How does a to-learn list impact something like a Learning Management System in a Workplace or Educational setting? Interesting but most LMSs have assignments or course lists which are assigned to a learner based on a due date (for compliance training) or by a managers so the emplopyee can have necessary skills. Both are nice but not as powerful, compelling or satifying as a personnel to-learn list.

What skills, practices, behaviors do modern knowledge workers need around to-learn lists?First, the discipline of writing a to-learn list is a good exercise, second a periodic review of a to-learn list can be valuable and third, I think learning how to network with others to acquire the necessary learning (once identified on the "to-learn" list is important.)
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Games for Change

A number of sources have recently been discussing the virtues and vices associated with creating games that raise social consciousness.

One great resource are some postings by Jeff Cobb over at Mission to Learn. He has created two lists of games for change. One is called 26 Learning Games to Change the World and the other is 7 More Learning Games for Change. Check out the two lists. Great links to some thought provoking games (some of which are really fun to play and others are a just a social message disguised as a game. Thanks to Jeff for taking the time to assemble the comprehensive list.

Additionally, at MSNBC, I found an article along the same lines called Can video games be a force for change? which has many of the same games listed but with some interesting discussion as well. For example, here is a small bit from the article

Genocide in Rwanda, torture in Sudan, poverty in Haiti, political shenanigans in the United States — video games are tackling some of the most pressing and depressing issues of our time. They’re called serious games, persuasive games and games for change. But while some developers and activists think these games offer a particularly potent and increasingly important method of getting information out to the world at large, some gamers and game industry folks seem to think sociopolitical messages and games go together like dog poo on a birthday cake.

Read the entire article for yourself and decide.
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Social Networking Not Corporate Enough for Your Company?

If you think that social networking is just a fad or is only good for social things like what album you like or what what book you are reading...but is not appropriate for work...think again.

Some of the most sophisticated information analysis, exchange and monitoring agencies are using social networking software to make their information gathering process stronger and more meaningful. According to the article CIA, FBI push 'Facebook for spies' at the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency bosses are encouraging their staffs to use a new social-networking site designed for the super-secret world of spying to exchange information. The social networking application is called A-Space.

As the article states:

The goal of A-Space, like intelligence analysis in general, is to protect the United States by assessing all the information available to the spy agencies. Missing key data can have enormous implications, such as an FBI agent who sent an e-mail before September 11, 2001, warning of people learning to fly airplanes but not learning to land them.

"There was the question, 'Was that a dot that failed to connect?' Well that person did this via e-mail," Wertheimer said. "A-Space is the kind of place where you can log that observation and know that your fellow analysts can see that."

Now imagine what "dots" in your organization are never connected? What new product is under development in your R&D department that would fit the exact need expressed by a customer just a few days ago? What new sales technique was just used to land the big account that is similar to 40% of your prospective clients? What new training method or other new piece of information is currently lost in your organization because they are lost in an email?

Social networking is a powerful learning and collaboration tool...not just something to do "socially." As a learning and development professional or any other professional, strongly consider creating a social network within your organization. It will collectively raise the ability of the entire organization to "connect the dots."

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Training for Mixed Messages

Many times, training or learning events are seen by executives or management as a cure for something that cannot be "fixed" by mere training or learning events.

For example, ethics, diversity and compliance training in response to specific and repeated incidents cannot and will not be effective if a support structure is not in place to ensure that after the training is over, the employees have incentive to be in compliance, act ethically or value diversity.

Remember, Enron had a strong ethics policy but...it didn't even slow down top management in their race for money and power.

Employees know when executives or management dictates training in one area because they "have to" or it seems like the right thing...while, in fact, they are doing the exact opposite. I think Eliot Spitzer is an example of that. He preached about crime and then committed it as if he were immune. This seems to happen a lot to people in power whether it is in government, academics or private corporations.

So next time you are asked by an unethical executive to create ethics training, consider pushing back. Or when a compliance officer is just trying to check off a box on a list of compliance activities...resist. Or speak up when diversity training is done to simply "look good" to customers.

To underscore my point, view this hilarious video from the Daily Show as an example of how executives or pundents can say one thing when it is in their favor and another when its not. (this does have some offensive comments, therefore, it is not NAFW..Not Appropriate For Work but it is funny.)



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Sing'n the Virtual Blues for Fun and Eventual Profit

The line between real life and the virtual world of Second Life just keeps getting blurrier and blurrier.

This article on the Rolling Stone blog titled “Second Life” Bluesman Gets Record Deal in Real Life describes how a blue's singer got national recognition and eventually a record contract because of his performances in a virtual world.

As the entry states:

Nashville blues musician named Van Johin has been signed to a record label, thanks to his free performances on alternate computer universe Second Life. Von Johin is believed to be the first artist signed to a contract thanks to their performances in this other world. Aside from his steady schedule of touring small real-life venues, Von Johin also plays a weekly virtual concert on Second Life, which brought him to the attention of scouts from Reality Entertainment, who signed the bluesman after seeing his following online

You can also read what Wired had to say about the signing at Second Life Bluesman Gets First-Life Recording Contract

Here are a couple videos of his work. Have a look and listen.




Here is a link to Von Johin's web page with all the vitals. If you are a fan of the blues, you should check this out.
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Your Help is Needed in Atlantis

Here is an online adventure game developed by the Indiana University School of Education supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, NASA, and Food Lion.

As the game explains "Your help is urgently needed on Atlantis. The Atlantian council is seeking your advice regarding important matters. On Atlantis, water and air are polluted, fish are dying, cities are decaying, people are sick." The game Quest Atlantis is "an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-15, in educational tasks." You can't play it on your own but if you are a teacher or involved in an after school project, you can gain access to the game.

Here are the core elements of the game from the web site:

The core elements of QA are 1) a 3-D multi-user virtual environment, 2) learning Quests and unit plans, 3) a storyline, presented through an introductory video, novel and comic book, that involves a mythical Council and a set of social commitments, and 4) a globally-distributed community of participants. The narrative helps to establish continuity among the QA elements and helps to bridge the fictional world of Atlantis with the real world of Earth, an act of interpretation by each individual child. Central to this narrative is a group of young activists, the Council, who communicate with participating children and help scaffold their activities.

Check out the Quest Atlantis web site for yourself.
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Google Announces "Chrome"

On Labor Day, Google announced its widely rumored new browser to compete with Internet Explorer called Chrome. Interesting they used a comic book format to show off the features and functionality of the browser. (looks like actual release/download date will be today at some point.)

Another example of how different media are beginning to take on different content. Clearly the media is not the message. This is a serious message in the browser wars and Google has chosen a format familiar with kids and one that is simple and effective for conveying a message. The art work and comic was done by Scott McCloud a well known advocate for taking comics seriously and a writer of "Reinventing Comics" and his well known "Understanding Comics."

Here are some articles on the topic:

Google Chrome Answers the GreenBorder Mystery

Google Chrome, Google’s Browser Project (this article provides a great list of features of the Chrome.)

And, as to not waste time, Wikipedia has an entry about Chrome...the beauty of Internet speed. Chrome in Wikipedia.

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Another Game

Here is an educational link a reader sent to me when I called for educational games.

This one is called Kinderweb. It provides online educational games for young children (3-6 yrs). It was put togther 13 years ago and it's still going strong. The emphasis is on early learning and getting kids comfortable with a mouse etc. Lots of identification games which are great for young kids trying to learn a concept like "dog" or a color like "red."

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Save Planet Helios from ecological devastation!-3D Game by IBM

IBM has released a 3D game to teach engineering concepts to kids. It comes complete with lesson plans for teachers including one called windturbine design and build challenge. They are working through a group they helped form called TryScience . Read more about IBM and TryScience here. You can read about their other partner, New York Hall of Science as well.

The game is called PowerUp. Players journey to planet Helios and deal with ecological problems. Once there the learners race to save the plant as they build solutions that are ecologically friendly. Playing the game, students work together in teams to investigate the 3D game environment and learn about the environmental disasters that threaten the game world and its inhabitants

Players meet Expert Engineer characters and experience the great diversity of the field. Conversations with these experts and engaging interactive activities allow players to explore ways engineers design and build systems to harness renewable energy sources as alternatives to burning fossil fuels.

The game is free and can be downloaded at the PowerUp Website.

Here is a short video that describes how the game works.



The game was authored using Torque Game Engine Advanced (TGEA) which is only supported on Windows platforms.
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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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