JoelFoner.com

An Exploration of Game-Based Education

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every Tuesday at 12PM noon SL (US Pacific Time)

This Tuesday, Mar 2, at the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

Click here to teleport to the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

This Week’s Topic

An Exploration of Game-Based Education

The incorporation of game-like elements have started to become more common in educational settings, as well as in business. The typical reason for these additions have been to increase “engagement” and interest. In some cases there are clearly documented improvements in objective results.

In this session we will explore common game-based approaches, find out how game-based curricula and approaches can enhance education, and discover situations where game-based learning may be ineffective or even counter-productive.

… I wonder if I put up a leaderboard and keep track of points for number of comments in the discussion whether it will further enhance the depth and quality of the discussion? (kidding… sort of?)

Join us Tuesday at 12PM noon SL, and thanks for being part of “We Are The Network”!

Best regards,

Joel

Reading links below – have fun and Read more…

“Part 2—Working Measures Of Virtual World Engagement and ROI”

Please join us for a discussion every Tuesday at 12PM noon SL (US Pacific Time)

This Tuesday, Dec 29th, we will be at the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

Click here to teleport to the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

This Week’s Topic

Part 2—Working Measures Of Virtual World Engagement and ROI (Return On Investment)

In our last session, we attempted to arrive at key measures to determine “The ROI” and “Virtual World Engagement” for virtual world and social media projects. I say “attempted” because we ended up with a variety of different positions and views on what constitutes the value center for engagement and ROI. Ultimately we decided that there is no single measure of value or ROI (other than dollars at the end game for business projects which could be measured in multiple ways, and measurable improvement of some sort for educational and social action projects.)

At the close of the discussion there was strong consensus that we needed another session on this topic. Actually it was closer to “we are going to continue this,” and so we will!

We decided that the path to metrics is to build a catalog of prototypical goals for various project scenarios in business, education and social action, with the premise that this will lead to some specific measures.

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The New Mainstream 3D Virtual World Project

Today’s mainstream users of 3D virtual worlds have expectations and needs that do not match those of pioneering explorers of these platforms. New projects are measured in different ways, and expecting a mainstream project to be successful using an explorer’s strategy is like expecting that you can win a road race riding a tricycle.

Early 3D virtual world experiments were driven by explorers trying to push the boundaries of possibility. These projects tested the feasibility of ways that a 3D virtual world could be used, and focused on trial scenarios to prove or disprove a particular usage theory. Success was often measured on technical terms, with users whose involvement was project focused and short term.

Mainstream projects take feasibility as a given, and create an environment to support day to day use by the regular members of an organization — as an educational platform, a place to enable distributed teamwork for global companies and academic institutions, as a virtual classroom environment, or a “better conference call”.

Mainstream projects have user-driven success metrics. Merely passing the “it works” test does not mean automatic project success. Successful mainstream projects result in “normal users” who are happy with the environment, find it to be compelling, continue to use it willingly and recommend its use to others. They judge the environment on how it improves their day to day experience while doing their real work, not based on whether it is a cool technology or has promising possibilities. They also have limited motivation to learn a new environment as an exploratory exercise, and must find value in the experience quickly in order to justify additional effort.

Mainstream 3D Virtual World Project Success Factors

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Tonight I went to an event called “Pokin’ Holes”, “a podcast/live stream show for young people starting companies to get feedback from the most talented young professionals students and entrepreneurs in Boston.” (from the Pokin’ Holes web site).

This was an inspiring event from many perspectives, and I’d like to give a big callout to Cort Johnson and Jake Cacciapaglia for a great concept executed flawlessly.

Pokin’ Holes provides a forum for young entrepreneurs (under 30 years old) to present startup companies and get feedback from a panel of three guests (also under 30 year old entrepreneurs and professionals), as well as from the attendees in the audience, who were tonight in large part Bentley business students, on their business strategy and advice on next steps.

The session tonight was at Bentley University, and was the first time it had been held in a college setting (the start of a college tour). Cort and Jake’s goals for the event are to do everything possible to have people build real action-based relationships through these sessions, to both connect the entrepreneur presenting with people who can actively help achieve the next steps and to build a thriving community of young innovators. It sounds like the typical home for Pokin’ Holes has been a bar with a less formal atmosphere, but I’d have to say this more formal setting fit just as well.

The evening was set up with a while of general networking and open discussion before the show started. The show opens with an interview of the principal of a company in “the hot seat”, to understand the company’s goals and strategy, and present the company’s plan and current status. Tonight the Andy Watson of Greenergy Living had the hot seat.

The show then moves on to a panel discussion with three panelists, whose job it is to get going “pokin’ holes” in the company’s plans and execution. At the conclusion of the panel discussion, the audience is pulled in to have group commentary and discussion.

Tonight had strong attendance and lively discussion all around. I think it’s fair to say that everyone in the room learned some things, had a good time and gave some solid constructive feedback in a positive way.

Thanks to all the folks I met tonight and great work – hope to see you again soon!

We Are The Network: “Excuse me, but did you really say that?!”

Please join us for a discussion every Tuesday at 12PM noon SL (US Pacific Time)

This Tuesday, November 3rd, we will be at the Epoch Institute in Second Life™
Click here to teleport to the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

This Week’s Topic

Have you been here?  You write an email or IM, send it out thinking that it was clear and neutral.  You move on to something else.  Then all of a sudden you get a stormy response from someone who saw something very different in the words you crafted than what you meant.  We all know that it is pretty easy for this to happen in all sorts of discussions, and more so in text conversations than some others.

This week we’ll revisit a spin of an old game… the telephone game… updated as a micro-game for modern times.

“Excuse me, but did you really say that?” is a way for us to explore in role play style various ways that written and spoken communications can be interpreted and misinterpreted, while hopefully having some fun and learning some useful techniques.

Each participant will either chat in text or say in voice one sentence. We’ll all create as many possible realistic interpretations as we can create.  Then we’ll figure out how the original might have been handled differently to increase clarity and reduce the chances of misinterpretation.

Feel free to bring in real examples or make up samples.  Either way I suspect we’ll turn over some interesting things in the process.

See you on Tuesday at 12PM noon SL, and thanks for being part of “We Are The Network”.

Best regards,

Joel

How Can I Get Event Announcements (choose one or more)?

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Please join us for a discussion every Tuesday at 12PM noon SL (US Pacific Time)

This Tuesday,  Sept 15, we will be at the Epoch Institute in Second Life™
Click here to teleport to the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

This Week’s Topic

What are the most effective virtual space designs for business and educational uses? In virtual spaces anything can be built, and structures do not have to obey the laws of physics.  For some reason, virtual world newcomers almost universally assume that the “right” answer is to model traditional physical spaces  such as offices, classrooms, conference rooms, auditorium spaces, with real life proportions and the standard accessories found in our daily lives.

Experience has shown that copying physical space design is often an ineffective solution, when compared to a design that takes full advantage of virtual world possibilities. What are best of breed answers for these challenges?  As an emerging body of understanding, we may be in the best position to start to articulate real answers to the question “How should I design a space for business or education use?”, so let’s give it a try!

In this session we will discuss best practices for space design for business and education uses, including private discussions, small meetings, large meetings, presentations and lectures, and interactive education. I won’t be surprised if this topic becomes another of our “oops, we’d better split this into a few sessions” discussions, as there is a lot of ground to cover.

Please add comments to this blog post with names of Second Life locations, or even better SLURLs that you know of as example solutions for business and education space designs, so that we can discuss them and maybe do a field trip during the session.

Join us Tuesday at 12PM noon SL, and thanks for being part of “We Are The Network”!

Best regards,

Joel

Reading links below – have fun and see you soon!

Read more…

Please join us for a discussion every Tuesday at 12PM noon SL (US Pacific Time)

This Tuesday, Sept 1, 2009, we will be at the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

Click here to teleport to the Epoch Institute in Second Life™

This Week’s Topic

Society is undergoing large-scale transformations, changes that we probably only partly understand at this early stage. Our “totally connected” world is starting to demand new skills. What are the key skills needed to thrive in the 21st century, and how will we learn them?

The rate of change and volume of information available, fueled by access to global realtime information and the evolution of social networks, have created a torrent of distractions along with new possibilities. How will we decide “how much is enough?”, “what should I learn now?” and “what will learning, school and work look like in five, ten or twenty years?”.  How will changes to the nature of work and society alter our careers and thus priorities for learning and skills?

Join us Tuesday at 12PM noon SL for a great discussion!

Best regards,

Joel

Reading links below – have fun and see you soon!

Read more…