presence

does your game suck?

Barbara — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:54:51 +0000

From way last January in the EDUCAUSE Review, an article from Sarah “Intellagirl” Smith-Robbins: “‘This Game Sucks’: How to Improve the Gamification of Education.”

Linden Lab Expands

Barbara — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:41:09 +0000

Article in New World Notes

Will Linden Lab’s expansion be a good thing for VWs?

another dirge for virtual worlds

Barbara — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:47:39 +0000

“So, my sense is that actually the gap is about organizing the learning content into a sort of LMS/CMS that can then drive more of a social game experience around a learning domain.”

I recommend this thought-provoking article about the progress in virtual worlds for education and whether it has been keeping up with our needs or can: iED Summit Europe 2011: Get Beyond Virtual Worlds

The article is full of resource links to back up the writer’s experience, and the conversation continues nicely into the comments section–don’t miss that part.

Himoff makes a lot of valid points about virtual worlds, expressing the sense we all have that progress is too slow and falling behind interest in traditional social media. He even questions whether the avatar is a distraction, and I was sorry to hear that. Is the investment really too steep for virtual worlds to ever find more than a quirky niche in higher education? Can gaming save virtual worlds for us? I think that’s the next challenge.

A game in Second Life

Barbara — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:11:33 +0000

a game in Second Life

Finally! will have to check it out, although I am not a gamer.

cinematic video games

Barbara — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Read why video games are becoming more cinematic: http://www.swiftfilm.com/heres-a-reason-video-games-are-becoming-more-cinematic/ And then wonder what’s wrong with the typical virtual world experience, or at least ask if a more sophisticated interface would increase our use of and heighten our experience in virtual worlds.