SMALLab Update: Embodied and Engaged Learning - ASU researchers partner with GameDesk |
- SMALLab Update: Embodied and Engaged Learning - ASU researchers partner with GameDesk
- Very Cute! Department of Defense Acquisition Mini Learning Games
- Quick Post: Journey, the next game from thatgamecompany (developers of Flower, flOw, and Cloud).
- Gesture "multitouch" 12 x 7 interactive video wall provides tours of I/O Data Centers' facilities
| SMALLab Update: Embodied and Engaged Learning - ASU researchers partner with GameDesk Posted: 11 Dec 2010 01:52 PM PST SMALLab is an interdisciplinary collaborative project at the Arts, Media and Engineering program at Arizona State University, and includes people from fields such as education, art, theatre, computer science, engineering, and psychology. The SMALLab provides students with a multi-sensory, multi-modal way of learning concepts in an immersive environment, and uses a motion capture system that tracks the position of the students as they move and interact within the environment. SMALLab's project lead is David Birchfield, a media artist, researcher, and educator who focuses on K-12 learning, media art installations, and live computer music performances. SMALLab researchers have recently partnered with GameDesk to develop a 6th grade curriculum for a GameDesk charter school in 2012. (Information and links related to GameDesk are located in the RELATED section of this post.) Below is a detailed excerpt from an overview of SMALLab: "In today's world, digital technology must play a central role in students' learning. A convergence of trends in the learning science and human-computer interaction (HCI) research offers new theoretical and technological frameworks for learning. in particular, mixed-reality, experiential media systems can support learning in a way that is social, collaborative, multimodal, and embodied. These systems comprise a new breed of student-centered learning environments [SCLE's]. Importantly, they must address the practicalities of today's classrooms and informal learning environments (eg.: space, infrastructure, financial resources) while embracing the innovative forms of interactivity that are emerging from our media research communities (eg: multimodal sensing, real time interactive media, context aware computing)... ...SMALLab is an extensible platform for semi-immersive, mixed-reality learning. By semi-immersive, we mean that the mediated space of SMALLab is physically open on all sides to the larger environment. Participants can freely enter and exit the space without the need for wearing specialized display or sensing devices such as head-mounted displays (HMD) or motion capture markers. Participants seated or standing around SMALLab can see and hear the dynamic media, and they can directly communicate with their peers that are interacting in the space. As such, the semi-immersive framework establishes a porous relationship between SMALLab and the larger physical learning environment. By mixed-reality, we mean that there is an integration of physical manipulation objects, 3D physical gestures, and digitally mediated components. By extensible, we mean that researchers, teachers, and students can create new learning scenarios in SMALLab using a set of custom designed authoring tools and programming interfaces." Below are a few videos about SMALLab, and information about GameDesk, an organization that is collaborating with SMALLab in California. SMALLab Learning from SMALLab on Vimeo. Below is a demonstration of a Smallab learning activity: Gamedesk Smallab Session from Gamedesk on Vimeo. RELATED Sara Corbett, NYTimes Magazine, 9/15/10 Info about GameDesk, from the GameDesk website: "GameDesk is a 501(c)3 nonprofit research and outreach organization that seeks to reshape models for learning through game-play and game development. The organization looks to help close the achievement gap and engage students to learn core STEM curriculum. It develops project-based learning with a strong focus on purpose, ownership, and personal value. The organization (originally developed out of research and support at the University of Southern California's IMSC) has now been in development, practice, and/or evaluation for over two years in various schools in the Los Angeles area." -Gamedesk Gamedesk Concept Chart  http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com   |
| Very Cute! Department of Defense Acquisition Mini Learning Games Posted: 11 Dec 2010 01:39 PM PST If you are the Department of Defense, how do you make sure your workers in the Acquisition Department engage in required learning activities? Games! You can access the games via the Defense Acquisition University game portal. Below are some screenshots, descriptions, and links: Procurement Fraud Indicators  "Investigate potential Procurement Fraud Indicators in this game which allows you to form hypotheses, test your theories, even question individuals who might have something to hide!" -CLC DAU Homeward Bound  "Join Ratner's friends and help guide him back to the Pentagon; across rivers, highways, and highly guarded walls using your knowledge of Acquisition Strategy and Contract Execution." -CLC DAU Acquisition Proposition  "How well do you know the Acquisition Lifecycle? Test your knowledge in this fast paced game!" -CLC DAU About the Defense Acquisition University "The Defense Acquisition University is the one institution that touches nearly every member of the Defense Acquisition Workforce throughout all career stages. The university provides a full range of basic, intermediate, and advanced certification training, assignment-specific training, applied research, and continuous learning opportunities. The university also fosters professional development through mission assistance, rapid-deployment training on emerging acquisition initiatives, online knowledge-sharing tools, and continuous learning modules." - DAU Website RELATED Listen to the DoD Roundtable: Interview and discussion about the casual learning games, featuring Dr. Alicia Sanchez, Games Czar, Defense Acquisition University DoD Roundtable Transcript (pdf) Defense video games perfectly capture excitement of acquisition process Stephen Losey, Fedline, 12/10/10 DoD launches its own causal games site milgamer, 12/8/10 http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com   |
| Quick Post: Journey, the next game from thatgamecompany (developers of Flower, flOw, and Cloud). Posted: 11 Dec 2010 07:26 AM PST I've been following the work of some of the people behind thatgamecompany since they were graduate students at USC, working on Cloud, an enchanting and relaxing game. They went on to develop Flower and flOw, and are now working on Journey, the next game planned for release: To view video trailers of other games by thatgamecompany, see the following post: Games to Lift Stress Away: Flower, flOw (and Cloud), from thatgamecompany Also visit thatgamecompany's website! http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com   |
| Gesture "multitouch" 12 x 7 interactive video wall provides tours of I/O Data Centers' facilities Posted: 11 Dec 2010 01:41 PM PST I came across this demonstration of I/O DataCenter's 12 by 7 foot interactive video wall that makes playing around with views of data center modules...interesting! The display is a gesture-based "multi-touch" system. (I'll update this post when I get more information.) Here is the description from the Datacenter YouTube channel: "Instead of hauling a 40-foot long modular data center to a trade show, i/o Data Centers is taking a high-tech approach to customer tours of their i/o Anywhere modular data center. The i/o team has created a 12-foot by 7-foot touchscreen video wall to provide interactive tours of the company's facilities. Selecting a "hot spot" pops up a virtual data center, complete with cross sections and product info, following the concept of the touch screens in the sci-fi movie "Minority Report."" FYI: I/O Data Centers has an application that runs on the Surface. UPCOMING: Stay tuned for my upcoming posts! News about LM3LABS (Previous post) Interactive Surveillance CCeline Latulipe (technologist) Annabel Manning (artist) http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com   |
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