The New Convergence

The new convergence of online games and simulations, social networking and user generated content promises new tools for teaching and learning, and was the topic of my panel at the SIIA’s 2008 Ed Tech Industry Summit with: Krista Marks, Chief Executive Officer, Kerpoof‘; Carly Shuler, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop; Dave McCool, President, Muzzy Lane, Inc.; Lee Wilson, Principal, Headway Strategies. We tried to address three key questions:

• What kinds of new convergence products does the market need?
• What’s the best approach to build them?
• What’s the best way to market these products?

It was a lively discussion with lots of good questions from the audience. You can download a transcript here (pdf) or the panelists’ slides and referenced reports, articles, blog posts and white papers below:

Carly Shuler

• Download Slides (.pdf)
• Download “D is for Digital” (.pdf)
• Joan Ganz Coony Center at Sesame Workshop

Dave McCool

• Download Slides (.pdf)
• Muzzy Lane Software
  
• Making History

Krista Marks

• Download Slides (.pdf)
• Kerpoof
• Recent NY Times article on virtual worlds by Warren Buckleitner: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/technology/personaltech/08basics.htm
• Another article by Warren on WebWatch: http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/pdfs/kidsonline.pdf

Lee Wilson

• Download Slides (.pdf)
• The Education Business Blog
  • Education Publishing - A Wave of Change Sweeps Over the Industry (multi part series)
  • Information Overload (how to build materials for the 21st century
  • Teachers and the Internet - Five Things You Should Know
  • Lifelong Learning - Retired Construction Worker Deciphers Stonehenge Construction
  • Where is the Wii for Education?
  • Textbooks vs. Education Technology - Clash of Paradigms
  • Target Market Selection
  • The Future of Education Publishing - Panel Report from the Education Industry Investment Forum
  • Ethics Video Game - Using Frankenstein to Teach Ethics?
  • Are We Producing New Education Entrepreneurs

Other Relevant Links

Scheduling conflicts prevented Warren Buckleitner and Scott Traylor from joining our panel, however both have recently written articles and blog posts that speak to the topics we addressed:

From Scott Traylor - 360 Kid

• New Paradigms for Learning in the Digital Age: A Presentation by Connie Yowell at the First Annual Symposium of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center
• Kids, Technology and Learning: The First Annual Joan Ganz Cooney Symposium

From Warren Buckleitner - The New York Times

• When Web Time is Play Time:

Serious Games & Simulations

Can Game Development Impact Academic Achievement? by Richard E. Ferdig and Jeff Boyer for theOctober 2007 issue of T.H.E. Journal explores the concept of student development of games in this comprehensive, extensively referenced feature article.

PEW Internet & American Life Project consistently produces insightful research and reports about the Internet, social media, games and simulations and digital culture.

Executive Summary of Serious Games: Improving Public Policy Through Game-based Learning and Simulation (.pdf) by Ben Sawyer and Second Life: Options and Opportunities in a Virtual World (.pdf) by Patrick Polischuk for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Squidoo Lens on Serious Games - A one-stop serious games feed that I built on the Squidoo platform. Includes a reading list on serious games.

Serious Game Engine Shootout: A Comparative Analysis of the Technology for Serious Game Development - My feature article for CMP’s Serious Games Source includes thumbnail reviews of six emerging serious games platforms.

Technical Challenges of Distributed Multiplayer Virtual Environments - An excellent whitepaper by Jon Watte, CTO, Forterra Systems, on building highly scalable MMOGs (PDF).

MMOG Chart - If you want a snapshot of how MMOG’s have grown in popularity Bruce Sterling Woodcock’s survey is the place to start. A description of his sources and methods, with thumbnail reviews of the most popular MMOGs, is posted here.

Life in the Times of Whypox: A Virtual Epidemic - A detailed study by Yasmin Kafai, David feldon, Deborah Fields, Michael Giang and Maria Quintero of UCLA and the University of South Carolina on an virtual epidemic in Whyville, the leading children’s MMOG (PDF).

Product & Project Management

The Product Management Triad - A clear understanding of responsibilities across product development, project management, product management and product marketing is critical for success, but everywhere I’ve worked the roles have been defined a little differently. This breakdown from Pragmatic Marketing has been helpful for getting everyone on the same page.

Getting Real - The free online version of 37 Signals excellent book on “a smaller, faster, better way to build software.” If you like Agile development you’ll love Getting Real.

Rockets, Cars and Gardens - Expressed from the point of view of a game designer, Dan Cook, this “little pictorial journey through the intriguing landscapes of waterfall, agile, portfolio management and stage gate” pulls all those threads together. As Dan observes, “We operate in a constantly shifting organic universe of cultural trends, customer urges, fluctuating cash flow and skeptical sponsors. In order to deliver great products on time, we need to learn from our environment and build a response rapidly and precisely. Portfolio technique increase learning by trying more options. Agile techniques increase learning by shortening the feedback cycle. Build both of these key concepts into your teams and you’ll find that they make smarter decisions and deliver more value to your customers.”