Welcome to NCS-Tech!

Hi everyone, FYI, I’ll be giving a brief (30 minute) online presentation tonight, July 31st, at 7:30 pm EDT, as part of the 2010 Reform Symposium, a free, three-day, online conference for educators, administrators, parents and students. My session is called entitled “Second Life in Education … an introduction.” You can check out the full schedule of other presentations here.  This post contains linked resources (videos, documents, websites, etc.) from my presentation that I wanted everyone to have easy access to. Thanks!

For whatever they’re worth … here are my slides.

K12Online Conference Voicethread Presentation:
http://voicethread.com/share/8878/

Skoolaborate: Jidaimatsuri (Part 1): [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/dn8gmf

Skoolaborate: Jidaimatsuri (Part 2): [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/db7oph

Second Life Teen Grid Clearance Procedure: [website]
http://tslclear.blogspot.com/

7 Things You Should Know About Second Life [EDUCAUSE .PDF]
http://tinyurl.com/5tkskh

Ohio University Second Life Campus [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/ywxze4

Ants in Second Life: a Simulation [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/2oope3

Introduction to Second Life [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/2bdckz

Global Kids Social Issue Machinima (Teen SL) [YouTube Video]
http://tinyurl.com/2jbgxc

Suffern Middle School Ramapo Islands: [website]
http://ramapoislands.edublogs.org/

Peggy Sheehy’s Metaversed Ltd. Consultancy: [website]
http://www.metaversedltd.com/

Jokaydia (http://jokaydia.com/):
SLURL – http://slurl.com/secondlife/jokaydia/114/158/23/

ISTE (http://iste.org/secondlife):
SLURL – http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/164/32/29 (Second Life URL)

OpenSimulator Worlds
http://reactiongrid.com/ [website]
http://jokaydiagrid.com/ [website]

Other Virtual Worlds

Quest Atlantis
http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/ [website]

Blue Mars
http://bluemars.com/ [website]

ISTE’s Virtual Environments Special Interest Group:
http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net/ [website]

Just came across this incredible, wonderful, uplifting, beautiful, powerful and original song by Brian Asselin and Eric Disero. Brian actually just sent me the link via email a few minutes ago. We’ve never met.

As some of you know, I’m taking a bit of a break this summer. I’ve been wondering, for quite a while, what I could post here that would be … let’s just say … right … to leave up for a couple of months, until I’m back.

Thanks to Brian and Eric, I don’t have to wonder anymore. Have a great summer, everyone!

Technorati Tags: inspirational

{Cross posted on TechLearning Advisor Blog}

As a child of the late 60s and early 70s (born in 1962), I remember Sesame Street very well. Though I spent more quality time with Spider Man, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Scooby-Doo and Felix the Cat, I definitely remember the influence of Sesame Street in our home and in our community. The concept of television teaching children ANYTHING (much less how to read) was revolutionary, but it quickly gained a reputation for results. According to Wikipedia, “The effectiveness of the show was almost immediately apparent. In Sesame Street’s first season, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) reported that the cognitive skills of its young viewers had increased by 62%” (Source: Time Magazine.) Even so, the notion of TV-based learning was hard for some to accept. How could such passive technology really make a difference in a child’s intellectual development?

photo credit: John Markos O’Neill

Games and gaming seem to be in a similar place right now. Can they make a difference in a child’s development? Can they help kids learn how to read? To reason? To problem solve? The answer is yes. For some background, take a look at this page on Chris Smith’s terrific blog, Shambles.net. Though we’ve never met personally, I’ve known Chris for years. We met in Second Life.

So, I was intrigued when I got an email from Nukotoys, the company developing the game Mission to Planet 429 (MP429). The press release / website tagline screams: VIDEO GAME SUPPORTS READING IN SCHOOLS. Wow. Could it be? I watched the videos, checked out the screenshots, explored the company principals and its founders, read about how they are funded by a grant from the Department of Education, and considered the impact of their partnership with WTTW in Chicago. This, I thought to myself, could be big. Really big. So, I knew I had to share about it here. Could what they are crafting here – an immersive, 3D, browser-based learning environment, incorporating a companion public television show and printed books – represent the “Sesame Street” of the 21st century?

photo credit: cesarastudillo

Targeted at 1st through 3rd grade students, the program seeks to build reading comprehension abilities in an immersive environment incorporating vocabulary frequently used in academic text and problem solving skills. The goal is to inspire “confidence and ability to pursue their own interests by reading.” The game utilizes “strategies that empower readers” including:

• Navigating non-fiction text, whether paper or electronic
• Figuring out unfamiliar words
• Making sense of difficult text
• Deriving information from graphics

Sure sounds like an immersive learning experience to me. Then, my inner skeptic kicked in. “Come on,” I thought to myself. “Is this just another gimmick, another company trying to exploit the nation’s educational system for financial gain?” Did these people consult with actual educators when they developed the product? As it turns out, Bruce Homer, Associate Professor at CUNY and Primary Investigator at the Games for Learning Institute is an advisor to the program, and Teacher Advisors from the Academy for Urban School Leadership in Chicago have been involved too. I’d still like more information on how the program design was informed by these folks, but it’s a start. The company also tells me they are taking a different approach to game development, utilizing a team “creatives, technology experts and educators.” Interesting…

Okay. But how is the gameplay? I have plenty of experience with linear (read: boring, predictable and not challenging) games. I’m told that MP429 is “a free roaming experience” that utilizes a “guided trail system” incorporating directional “arrows appearing at the avatar’s feet,” but players are “free to roam and play the games in any order.” In a nod to science education, simple machines figure prominently in the environment, incorporated into a carnival games atmosphere, challenging the students to understand and interact with puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty in order to progress. This brief video gives a very general idea of the in-game experience:

AUSL Student Playing MP429 from Nukotoys on Vimeo.

I’m fascinated by the connection between the game and the TV show being developed for broadcast by WTTW (a PBS station in Chicago) in 2011. According to the firm, they are “defining a new category of adventure/game play where several pieces of media will influence each other. Not only the TV show and game but also books.” So here’s the hook to the 21st century “Sesame Street” – imagine a student using this resource at school, with supplemental books in their backpack for reading anywhere, a TV show they tune into at home, and a browser-based game they can sign into from any computer with Internet access. I find this mental image compelling. I can see kids at all ranges of skill and ability being attracted to and intrigued by this model. Some will be engaged by the game, some by the TV show, others by the books. Something for everyone. Or so it seems…

Summative data from their Chicago pilot will be available in August. There will be a “soft rollout” to 2,000 schools and libraries at the end of the summer. I’m looking forward to learning more about this program and to see if their model, incorporating Internet gaming, television and printed books takes off.

What do you think? Can you see something like this becoming popular … and being effective? What challenges will they face? Join the conversation in the comments!

-kj-

Good morning all,

I recently heard about the site I am featuring today via Twitter user David Kapuler. It’s called Fuzzwich and it’s a free website that makes it easy to create short (20 second) animated movie clips that can be customized with uploaded faces, customized text, music, movement and more. Here’s a shot of a movie during playback.

The interface is very simple, just three steps. First, choose a setting:

Next, add your characters (you can replace their heads with your own photos – fun!)

Then, add motion and text for each.

The results can be viewed on the web via unique URL, and embed codes are provided for posting to a blog or other online service. Like many “open” systems, Fuzzwich does not moderate content in any way, so it’s possible that users might enter (or encounter) inappropriate text. There is a “Flag as inappropriate” button on each video, which is great, but there is no way to know how quickly those flags are acted upon. So keep that in mind as you and your students browse the site.

That said, there are many classroom applications here, from learning about dialogue to recreating famous scenes from literature, movies or history, to just relaxing and having fun as the last days of school meander by. Check out Fuzzwich and explore for yourself!

Hope this helps,

-kj-

Solvr (http://a.freshbrain.com/solvr//) is a a free, private, collaborative outlining tool with a lot of potential in the classroom and elsewhere. I heard about it from Edna Sackson, a teacher in Melbourne, Australia (she is @whatedsaid on Twitter). Here’s her blog post about the tool. Below, you can see what a Solvr outline (one she created) looks like:

Solvr’s power lies in its simplicity. There is no signup/registration, the interface is clean and intuitive, color is used effectively to visually separate information. It’s the kind of tool that doesn’t need any explanation, you just set it up, share the URL, and get to work. I like the integrated voting system, too, though it can be ‘gamed’ simply by reloading the page and voting again.

Unfortunately, Solvr’s simplicity is also its Achilles heel. Not only is it completely anonymous, but, any user can edit/delete any other user’s contributions. So, the potential for shenanigans is substantial. That said, I see lots of potential classroom applications for this tool…

• True collaborative, simultaneous whole-class discussions about an issue or topic (especially involving a distant class). I’d suggest students include some sort of identifier (first name+last initial or initials or network ID number, for example) and just explain to them that they are responsible for what they write and any changes they make. You know your students best and can decide if it’s something they could handle. I predict that once they see how easy and fun it is, they’ll want to keep using it, and peer pressure could work to the teacher’s advantage.
• Small group project planning
• Collaborative story writing
• Science fair idea discussions (one per teacher/student) – easier than email

From an educator’s perspective, Solvr could be very helpful too…

• PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) could use Solvr to brainstorm issues or approaches relating to their area of study.
• Faculty meetings could use Solvr as a digital ‘Parking Lot.’
• Unconferences could use Solvr to propose and rank sessions.
• Teams could use Solvr to coordinate units of study or special projects (or just figure out lunch plans on a Friday afternoon).
• Event planning (Field Day, Class Trips, etc.)

Solvr is a service with enormous potential. It’s early Alpha software, meaning it is actively being worked on. It could stop working, change dramatically, or cease to exist at any time. If you are going to use a service like this in a lesson, you need to have an alternative ready Wallwisher comes to mind, but it’s a very different animal.)

In any case, check our Solvr and decide for yourself!

Hope this helps,

-kj-