Jane McGonigal (2007) described the collaboration superpowers that gamers and virtual world enthusiasts embody. Building on her research, I created a roleplay game for doctoral students to give them strength during their dissertation research journey (Calongne, 2014).
Don't believe everything you read. While it is the season for haunted houses and ghouls, I created a few signs to celebrate Fall and have posted the first in a series of class videos from Summer term in Second Life.
Today, I'm hosting a session on how to create music videos and snazzy visuals using some of my favorite tools.
Animoto creates music videos fast and allows you to copy and edit your work quickly and easily. Best of all, it is easy to share, embed or post.
Here is a sample video that I made from the EM 825 Margaritaville: Save the Manatee class project.
Imagechef has a variety of fun tools, including Word Mosaics and humorous signs. I'll post a few of my favorites here.
Click on a category and add your information to create a custom sign. For the Word Mosaics, select your color, shape, font and text.
For a larger font, separate your text with spaces instead of putting words on separate lines. Include a blank space at the end of a line for a better layout.
Imagechef
is free, but if you want to use your signs for use in presentations or
public displays, there is a nominal annual fee that is worth it for those who need custom images that convey a strong message.
You can, however, inspire your friends or frustrate unwanted guests with signs, such as this one.
In addition to Word Mosaics, another alternative is Wordle. In the Wordle below, the word Games is listed twice and as a result, is larger than the rest of the words. If your goal is to convey a message based on the relative importance based on the frequency of use for certain words, use Wordle.
Saturday's sessions were lively as Claudia Linden opened with information about the educational opportunities, wikis, and resources available in Second Life.
In addition, she requested that educators send her updates each week of their activities in Second Life. This information will help her write additional case studies and to understand the state of virtual world education.
Her session was followed by Vic Michalak as he presented his research on Teaching International Courses in Second Life. He and Hopalong Oh, with his presentation entitled Why Second Life??? offered excellent information, tools and techniques.
Vic recommended the Universal Translator, which now supports 35+ languages, including Asian languages. Hopalong spoke about scavenger games and other stimulating activities in Second Life.
During the break before the Marcia Kloepper's Using Second Life for Agriculture, Animal and Poultry Science Instruction session, I toured the Front Range Community College's fantasy build. Their World of Warcraft image of an undead rogue wearing a pirate's hat in Booty Bay caught my attention. *grins*
I spent the next session listening to it from amid the flames from the Operation Afterlife (image on the left).
The evening ended with Krystine and Remington dropping by from a Caledon event. Krystine talked to Katie at CTU Online earlier in the day about Colorado Technical University's MBA program.
Many thanks to Peter Marion, Director, Kent Fowler, Karen Cooper and the Defense GameTech User's Conference team for inviting me to give a presentation and two tutorials at their conference.
The Defense GameTech Users' Conference was held 9-12 March, in Orlando, Florida. The conference plays a key role in enhancing the training of Warfighters. The topics were excellent and both keynote luncheons featured fascinating content.
John Gresham, (spelled with an 'e') is a renowned scholar, game designer and researcher of content for Tom Clancy. He presented a historical retrospective that made the international state of affairs come to life. What an eye opener!
Maj. Gen. Lessel, a visionary force in the Global Learning Forum and Air Force game simulation activities in Second Life, gave a keynote address that made me feel as if he had taken me by the hand and we were touring the Air Force virtual world activities and game simulation research together. It was an amazing journey.
Another conference highlight were the talks given by Dr. Andrew Stricker on the Global Learning Forum's Game Simulation Kit and Erica and Sam Driver's virtual session on the interactive tools and mind mapping capabilities of Second Life. They presented from within Second Life. Check out their document on How to Give New Users a Good First Experience on how to foster great immersive Internet experiences.
After enjoying Erica and Sam's session, I left the auditorium and ran back to my hotel room to present my session on Teaching in an Avatar World as my avatar Lyr Lobo in Second Life. By presenting it virtually, I could rez demonstrate some tools, give meeting spaces and related content to the SL participants and interact with both the live and virtual audience comfortably.
Earlier in the conference, I offered two tutorials that featured basic Second Life skills, designing content and creating activities.
My compliments to the Defense GameTech 2009 team for hosting an excellent conference!
The last Rocky Mountain CCSC presentation demonstrated the use of games and creative solutions in Nifty Assignments.
Are you interested in how students solve problems using a variety of games? Visit the ACM Digital Library. to read how they used Hunt the Wumpus (updated to Hunt-the-Terrorist), football scores, maze creation, anagrams, stable pairings and Missile Command for class assignments. The Rocky Mountain CCSC has offered Nifty Assignments for the past few conferences and this year, offers a paper for those who were unable to attend.
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