EDUCEDGE,

This is so cool! Another great thank to Cathy Arreguin.

“Welcome to RezEd (BETA), an online hub providing practitioners using virtual worlds with access to the highest quality resources and research in the field to establish a strong network of those using virtual worlds for learning.”

It says that it launched in May, but we are still April 24th and there are already 165 members (I’m 163) and the copyrights start at 2008 for Global Kids Inc., so….creative dating? Anyway, this is really a nice exciting place. Forums, events, discussions, videos, network, ….oh the resources and the possibilities.

mmmmmmm, silly question: where on earth do i embed the badge on this blog?

Fffff! The WASC presentation went well. But what a big venue. Our room sat 100 people, about 50 showed up…not too bad considering that this was the last concurrent session between the keynote speakers (James Paul Gee) and a series of paid workshops on Saturday, April 19th.

We had a great spread, the deluxe version. We asked -and got- 2 huge screens, 2 projectors, 2 internet links (after a few shuffling of the passwords), and the expected podium and mic. Really nice.

Here is our blurb on the WASC program p40 (http://www.wascarc.org/documents/ARC%20Program%20Guide.pdf)

Virtualities? The Rich Opportunities and Pedagogical Perplexities of Immersive and Social Learning in Virtual Worlds (Harbor Island II)
Although wildly popular with the 9 million “inhabitants” (avatars) and over 100 institutions of higher education that now have “islands,” Second Life remains unfamiliar to many academics, even as much more powerful virtual worlds lie just over the horizon. This tour of virtual worlds introduces novices and the unacquainted to emerging possibilities for engagement that challenge common assumptions about real learning.
Presenters: Brock S. Allen, Director, Center for Teaching & Learning; Sabine Lawless-Reljic, Doctoral candidate, San Diego State University; Suzanne Aurilio, Assistant Director, Qualcomm Institute for Innovation and Educational Success; email: Brock.Allen@SDSU.edu;

Here can be found the Machinima I created for Suzanne’s presentation (music simulation), and mine (social presence, immediacy behavior, archive-able, machinima techniques and purposes, etc.)
http://willowshenlin.blip.tv

The workshop was a great review of basic knowledge on current and potential SL users. Maybe a few extra resources such as the SaLamander Wiki or the JoKay Education in SL blog would have been useful for the audience. I had my laptop so it was easy to follow, but I suspect that this should have been titled more as a guided discussion more than a workshop. I did not see any other laptops in the room…which would make the workshop idea a bit problematic. Anyway, I got to meet Alan Levine.

Summary of the workshop:
Engaged Learning within Immersive Worlds
This workshop will offer participants an overview of the innovative and varied uses of immersive worlds such as Second Life by educators around the world. Workshop facilitators will highlight their potential for engaging learners, inviting participants to think about how their faculty’s teaching might be transformed within these new environments. Participants will explore student identity, best practices, policies governing use, and subject areas that fit well with the properties of Second Life. Participants will leave with an understanding of the educational uses of immersive worlds, a list of resources and working groups related to Second Life, and guidelines for launching and supporting these applications within higher education environments. We presume no prior experience (or avatar)!
Facilitators: Susan E. Metros, Associate Vice Provost for Technology Enhanced Learning and Deputy CIO; Holly Willis, Research Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Programs, University of Southern California; Alan Levine, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, The New Media Consortium (NMC), email: smetros@usc.edu; hwillis@cinema.usc.edu; alan@nmc.org

…after watching “Why Egypt fell” on History Channel.

If the climate change is the reason for the collapse of the great egyptian civilization and that the dramatic drought resulting in the east of the mediterranean region is also responsible for the collapse of Ethopia, and crisis in the south of Greece, 4,000 years ago, + if this catastrophic climate change was a repeat of an older scenario which has desertified Africa into the present Sahara within ONE generation 6000 years ago….would it not be possible that the current climate crisis that we are seeing is a natural cycle (albeit quite possibly hurried by pollution), in which Earth will see again a 3rd ice age for the current cold and temperate countries and a desertification of the current warm and hot areas? Each previous crisis had happened within one generation. Each one was able to see the water disappear, the vegetation die, and the desert take over while the climate became colder in the other regions of the globe. So the next question is, in this natural cycle, what is the trigger that stops the winds to move the air?

Perception, Attention, and the four Theaters of the Brain.

? Neurobiological connection to the real and to the simulated reality and the nature or difference in the respective perception and/or attention of each reality. >>see virtual-reality treatment for acrophobia. The brain learns that the body won’t fall from the wall. Virtual reality treatments work which implies that the brain does not make the difference between the real and a simulated reality. The perception is the reality. (or for StarWars fans, as ObeWan Kanobe’s master says: “your focus is your reality.”)

How Albert Einstein’s vision transformed our understanding of space and time.
I am still wondering about the implications of space contraction and expansion on time.

Moonriders: facts or fiction. Very nice suspense novel. Very interesting references to theories. Most of all, I really enjoyed Gregory MacAllister’s reflection titbits at the beginning of most chapters.

“The creative act requires both will and intelligence. Breaking things is easy. You only need a hammer.”

	Spacecraft Eyes Venus for Active Volcanoes By Space.com Staff posted: 04 April 2008 04:36 pm ET

Venus may harbor active volcanoes that produce the high amounts of sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere.

http://www.space.com/

http://www.livescience.com/health/080404-bts-drineas.html

“Now, a group of computer scientists, mathematicians, and biologists from around the world have developed a computer algorithm that can quickly trace an individual’s genetic ancestry with only a small sample of their DNA. In fact, the program can trace the genetic ancestry of thousands of individuals in minutes, without any prior knowledge of their background.”

A bit of hangup with the approval delay from the Learningtimes.net administrators….but I’ll shortly get on and catch up with the sessions.

About the symposium
http://www.nmc.org/conference/2008-spring-symposium

Data Mashups (Horizon Report 2008 extract)
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2008/chapters/data-mashups/

The 2008 Horizon Report
http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf

The Horizon Project Wiki
http://horizon.nmc.org/wiki/Main_Page