Watch this video from the Washington Post and see some of the ways that second life and other virtual worlds a being used by government in the Washington DC metro area.
This includes a virtual Capitol Hill where there will be an inaugural ball on January 20, 2009. Party on!
This is a fascinating application of multi-player game that dynamically creates possible future worlds. It reminds me of scenario planning in the Art of the Long View.
From the Institute For The Future--"Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Games: Making the Future Real Chronicle the dark world of 2019. Then help us figure out how to fix it. On October 6th, 2008, the Institute For the Future launched the world’s first Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Game: Superstruct."
From the U. of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning This is a nice collection of twelve strategies that you can use to create an active learning session with any content. They are mix and match use as many or few as you like. There is a downloadable set of powerpoint slides to get you started.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Wear | Magic tricks aid research project
Heard on the radio yesterday>...The methods of David Blaine should be studied, researchers say Researchers at Durham University have turned into magicians to better understand how humans think and act. Listening to this story I thought of how "magic" can be used in the classroom. There is more on Gustav Kuhn's Wed site on his interests and the three elements of magic.
"The key is to generate emotion," explained Sundar. "Ideally, a good teacher can energize the class and make them much more emotionally invested through presentations, guest lectures, and group discussions. Video games can help achieve that in an already simulated way."
Flash Games A simple flash game generator you can use at no cost. Simply select the type of account you want and get started. You could also have your students create accounts to keep track of scores. From Southern Adventist University.
The Firefly Group has a number of usefullgames and simulations available at no cost on their website. Brian Remer, the founder, is a colleague through the North American Simulation and Gaming Association. He is one of the most insightful trainers I have experienced.
60 Second Lectures from the University of Pennsylvania reminded me of an creation of Sivasailam Thiagarajan (aka Thiagi) called 99 seconds. A group of presenters gave 99 second presentations. There was something for everyone attending the session. Handouts were available to ease the remembering.
You can learn what it takes to give a powerful presentation by attempting a 99 second event. Read more in Thiagi’s newletter and tips from ISPI Michigan. Jeff Thomas Cobb of Mission to Learn provides 6 presentation tips from the 60 second lectures.
The Out on a Limb - Instructors' Guide will walk you through the a series of conflict resolution presentations and exercises. It also has additional activities to be used in the classroom and home.
Designed for use with children, I thought the materials could be adapted for use in a training session for the workplace. The conflict resolution styles presented were easier to understand and in that way more useful than some of the more traditional materials usually used in conflict resolution.
