NEWSeum app

Here is a nice little Flash application of Web 2.0 technology. This is a nice little tool to browse the news, but it is also extremely valuable if you are an analyst that needs to constantly stay on top of the news in different parts of the world.

Accessible Government

In a two for one deal...this Sunday's edition of the Washington Post also had an article showcasing Arlington County's new virtual presence. The Arlington County Government has a cyber-office where visitors can read promotional posters, meet with economic development officials, gather market research, and conduct presentations and brainstorming sesssions with the intent of promoting economic development. As the article notes, the hope is to give visitors an idea of where the county is going in the future and let the visitors be a part of it.

Schools Got Game

This Sunday's edition of the Washington Post had a very good article on the role of serious games in schools. It mostly had a very positive spin on the role games can play in education. I don't think the article will be particularly "enlightening" to anyone that has been tracking the emergence of serious games, but it is good to see the article made the front page (granted it was the front page of the "Metro" section which is the third section...but still, it's progress; two years ago the article probably would've been buried in "Lifestyles" section).

Lessons from Gamers

I was flipping through a video game magazine that came as a free subscription after getting a Wii for Christmas, and I came across an interesting article on how to do "achievement" right. Achievement in a game is critical to game flow (i.e. that "magical" state where gamers can't put the game down because they need to beat the next level, unlock the next secret, etc.). I was struck by how the learning community can learn a lot about how to build achievement into our simulations and games.

The "Dos"

• Use achievements to lure players into checking out a game's entire feature set.
• Chart the players progress toward unlocking achievements.
• Lead players through your campaign with incremental achievements.
• Implement achievements that are unlocked after the completion of the game.
• Reward players for challenging themselves.
• Weigh achievement points to properly reflect how people play your game.
• Make sure the achievements back up the time investment.

The "Don'ts"

• Force players to play a game in an unnatural way to get achievements.
• Make the majority of your achievements dependent upon higher difficulties.
• Have the "achievement unlocked" message appear over text.
• Reveal major plots in the achievement text.
• Require people to spend a specific amount of time with your game.

Want a free education?

The University of California at Berkeley has a special section on YouTube where they have uploaded selected courses (the full thing), special events, and lectures. From what I've read, I think they have had streaming video as far back as 2001. Great example of a school leveraging open-source video as a learning tool.

Bad Economy = Boost in Distance Learning?

Here is an interesting article that goes against some of the doom-and-gloom that economists (and some in the learning blogosphere) are complaining about. There have been other articles that state that when the economy goes bad, people should look at going back to school to increase their skill sets.

The only bad thing about this article is that it seems to hint that "education" funds would be a safe place to invest. Seems eerily similar to the claims that investing in .coms was safe, and buying 3 houses was safe, etc. My rule of thumb is that if other people are writing about it, then you probably already missed the significant profit curve. Nevertheless, it is an interesting perspective that not all may be disasterous in the learning field.

Is Technology Rewiring Our Brains?

I received a very interesting article from the Director at our organization. The article (available from the San Diego Tribune) asks the question of whether or not technology is rewiring our brains.

While violent video games have gotten a lot of public attention, some current concerns go well beyond that. Some scientists think the wired world may be changing the way we read, learn and interact with each other.

There are no firm answers yet. But Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist at UCLA, argues that daily exposure to digital technologies such as the Internet and smart phones can alter how the brain works.

When the brain spends more time on technology-related tasks and less time exposed to other people, it drifts away from fundamental social skills like reading facial expressions during conversation, Small asserts.

So brain circuits involved in face-to-face contact can become weaker, he suggests. That may lead to social awkwardness, an inability to interpret nonverbal messages, isolation and less interest in traditional classroom learning.

Our Director encouraged us to walk down the hall and talk to colleagues a little more often and send emails a little less often. The irony of all of this is that he sent the article via email...thankfully, the irony was not lost on him and he joked about it.

Obama continues to leverage technology

Regardless of one's political stance, it is impossible to ignore the President-elect's use of technology to reach out to the nation (and world). In some instances, this has proved useful for him (i.e. in helping him reach voters), and in some cases he will have to forgo its use (i.e. having a President carrying/using a wireless device has obvious security issues).

On the use of technology, I received an article from a colleague indicating that Obama has appointed two Second Life innovators to his "Innovation Agenda" team. I think it is way to premature for anyone to start celebrating that the white house, congress, DoD, etc. while have an official presence in Second Life as there are issues with putting official U.S. agencies open to the world. However, it is an interesting observation, and one that could boost the popularity of virtual worlds.

Another description of Web 3.0

Here is an article describing what a CEO from a marketing company envisions Web 3.0 will be. It will be interesting to see how the next phase of the Internet really does take shape and how the learning community can (hopefully) capitalize early on in the evolution. For other insights into what Web 3.0 means, take a look at the Wikipedia entry for Web 3.0 (ahhh...the irony of checking Web 2.0 technology to see what Web 3.0 might be like. I think that is part of the issue, until someone sees Web 3.0 in action, it's difficult to pinpoint for the broader community).

Combating Terrorism the Web 2.0 Way

Several Web 2.0 entities (YouTube, Facebook, Howcast, Google) plus some academics and the Department of State will be gathering next week to kickoff the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit. The goal is to find ways to use media to counter the messages of violence, extremism, and oppression.

It will be very interesting to track the progress of this movement on the "areas of interest". There is a lot of potential to make some serious changes in the quality of the message being delivered to young people in different countries.