Update on: teachers using the internet to teach niche courses
Anne Bartlett-Bragg, a lecturer in e-learning at the Faculty of Education at University of Technology, Sydney, uses internet tools to deliver courses both online and in class. The Sydney teacher has posted more than 270 short clips of painting techniques, which she combines with an introduction to Chinese language and calligraphy on YouTube. She has 251 subscribers from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Spain and Sweden who anticipate the free videos and regularly ask for more. Joanne Kay, aka Jokay Wollongong on Second Life, is an educational technologist and designer working with clients to establish a presence in the virtual world. Among her favorite online training courses is Harvard’s CyberOne Project, which allows the public to join in the Harvard Law Extension Program for mock trials. Another is the GippsTAFE program for hospitality students practicing skills at a virtual resort. — Sydney Morning Herald
Update ons: Generation Y the most frequent visitor of libraries, nearly half of Americans create content online
Of the 53 percent of U.S. adults who said they visited a library in 2007, the biggest users were young adults aged 18 to 30 in the tech-loving group known as Generation Y, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project said. The survey reveals that Internet users were more than twice as likely to patronize libraries as non-Internet users. Public libraries now offer virtual homework help, special gaming software programs, and some librarians even have created characters in the Second Life virtual world. — Reuters
Deloitte’s 2008 State of the Media Democracy survey found that 45 percent of survey respondents are developing Web sites, photo albums, blogs and music online to share with friends, family, peers and total strangers. The demand to access content “on the go” is also reflected strongly in the survey, with 36 percent of all respondents stating that they view their cell phone as an entertainment device - a rise from 24 percent in Deloitte’s previous survey - with digital cameras, text messaging, and games ranking highest as the applications consumers are most frequently using on their phones. — Reuters
Updates on: games to teach languages, gaming with brainwaves
Nintendo DS to release in January 18 games to help young children in Japan learn English. — Mobile Magazine
Tokyo University is developing new technology which will allow a player to control an online or video avatar using brain waves. The technology is currently tested on Second Life. — International Business Times
Updates on: Second Life
At first glance it looks like a video game but once you start exploring the world of Second Life you find out that it’s much more. With millions of U.S. dollars being spent in Second Life it’s also caught the attention of some notable companies who have spent some real money to open up offices in the virtual world. Companies like CNN, World Bank, and Toyota, who sells virtual cars. Virtual worlds will undeniably play a role in big business as they continue to grow. — Charlottesville News
New Zealand — As part of the firm’s 10 year anniversary of its pro bono unit and to mark Pro Bono Week from 12-17 November, Lovells is hosting an exhibition in Second Life to showcase some of its pro bono work. — Law Fuel
Updates on: Second Life
Tourism Ireland has launched a marketing campaign in Second Life; the first time a real world tourist board has used the Internet-based virtual world to market a real holiday destination. The campaign involves Tourism Ireland sponsoring a range of events and activities in Second Life’s replica of Dublin City , which was created by London based Irish developer John Mahon of PickSL until St Patrick’s Day 2008. — Tech Central
Updates on: University of Arizona’s virtual campus, Intel’s Classmate PC initiative, Ohio University’s improvements in information security, North Carolina School District’s literacy program and Fast ForWord
The University of Arizona’s Office of Student Computing Resources has subleased an island on Second Life and is going to use it to teach and test building and scripting in a digital environment, facilitate community outreach projects, and recruit students. More than 400 other higher education institutions have opened Second Life accounts. – UA News
Intel World Ahead launched the Classmate PC, a project under which a student and a teacher get PCs, which it had test-run in a Nigerian school for two years. The concept is similar to the One Laptop per Child initiative, but emphasizes teacher training and teacher-student connectivity. The Intel program has pledged $1bn in the next five years to accelerate access to computers, the Internet and local content for people in developing countries. — AllAfrica.com
Ohio University plans to enhance its information security practices after a series of setbacks, including exposed Social Security numbers and legal disputes with the Recording Industry Association. — Campus Technology
North Carolina School District will use Fast ForWord software to improve reading skills in children at risk. The software applies neuroscience principles and works to increase the brain’s efficiency in processing information. — T.H.E. Journal
Updates on: Harmonix, Electronic Arts, Second Life
Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks today announced the release of a new interactive music title, Phase, on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) for fans to purchase and download for play exclusively on the new iPod nano with video, iPod classic and the fifth generation iPod for $4.99. — CNN
Electronic Arts and Harmonix were today pleased to announce that their hotly anticipated music videogame, Rock Band, has reached the end of the development and is now in final production and manufacturing. — Play Static
Business and education leaders are testing Second Life’s waters to discover how they can use it to influence thinking and behavior in the real world. In Phoenix, David and Montse Anderson have recently started a consulting service called “It’s Oque” that helps other companies harness Second Life’s virtual environment, and then use it to educate and train workers. — AZ Central
Updates on: Edublog
The purpose of the Edublog awards is promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social softwares. Nominations are open to anyone, in a range of categories, until the 21st of November, after which finalists will be chosen then voting, open to everyone, will commence. The Award ceremony will be held in Second Life on Saturday December 8. — Aqua Culture PDA Blog
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