For the past two and half years at my real job as the head of learning and collaboration, we’ve been early adopters of a virtual world product called AvayaLive Engage, developed by a company named Avaya. It was formerly known as Web.Alive, and although I’m not a fan of the name change, that’s about the only negative comment I have with the product. If you’re unfamiliar with virtual worlds, you are missing a very important aspect of workplace collaboration. At its core, virtual worlds are online 3-D computer-simulated environments in which users are depicted by avatars and interaction between them can mimic either a given real-life scenario or in some cases a fictitious and alternative world scenario. I won’t delve into the latter and will
gamification Archive
There is something fascinating going on at Boise State University and specifically the Department of Educational Technology. Let me introduce you to 3D GameLab, arguably an actual example demonstrating the evolution of today’s antiquated learning management system. The brainchild of Lisa Dawley and Chris Haskell, 3D GameLab is an online game-based learning environment facilitated by what are known as quests. What are quests, you ask? Quests are individual learning components such as short videos, diagrams, activities, text, audio, etc., that (when combined together) can make up the learning requirements of a traditional class. Students, however, have choice in what quests they want to gobble up. Imagine students having a say in what aspects of a topic like cellular biology or World War II history they are interested in that can make
Yes, I do believe badging has a place inside the enterprise. If you’re not familiar with badging as a concept, you would be wise to visit the fantastic HASTAC community entitled “Badges for Lifelong Learning” for a primer and then further your understanding with information provided by Mozilla’s Open Badges; one of the pioneers in the fledgling badging field. How can badges play an effective role inside an organization? 1) Credibility When an employee is able to demonstrate levels of knowledge, experience or acumen to others in the organization via badges, they are instantly gaining credibility with their peers. Employees might not otherwise know that someone has a certain intellect, however, badges can provide this and in return, a level of credibility is gained in
On February, 24, 2012, I decided to take another social networking site for a test drive. This is a 48-hour play-by-play account of Empire Avenue because sometimes, you just never know what you’ll learn when you try something new for the first time. For example, had I never tried beer as a 17 year-old, I might still be drinking strawberry kiwi wine coolers. (don’t ask) What is Empire Avenue? According to the email I received after I signed up, it’s as follows: At Empire Avenue you get rewarded for being social online. Earn virtual currency (Eaves) for whatever you do online and amass a fortune as you build your Empire filled with great people and content. At first, I thought David Eaves had something to do with