media | Liam O'Donnell

RezEd gets funding

by liam | Feb 21, 2008 | education, gaming, media, virtual worlds

Not much time to write about this, but the MacArthur Foundation just granted the great folks at Global Kids $72,000 to create RezEd, an online social network for educators intreresting in using virtual worlds in edcuation. From the MacArthur site: The Virtual World...

VW-linked toy hype in full swing at Toy Fair

by liam | Feb 18, 2008 | education, gaming, media, virtual worlds

Virtual World News reports on the unhinged hype of Webkinz copycats cramming themselves onto the real world/virtual world toy bandwagon. Toy Fair, the leading toy show and expo in the country, has barely kicked off, but virtual worlds-related toys are already making a...

Liking PowerUp, IBM’s multiplayer game for teens

by liam | Feb 15, 2008 | education, gaming, literacy, media, virtual worlds

I’ll admit that I’ve haven’t even finished downloading PowerUp, IBM’s new multiplayer game about the environment and alternative energy, but so far I like what I see. Check out their launch/promo video below and see for yourself: Adblock A...

Am I the only one troubled by Doodle 4 Google?

by liam | Feb 14, 2008 | education, literacy, media

From a search of the web on Doodle 4 Google, it looks like I might be. Is anyone wondering about how elementary students and high schoolers spending valuable, publicly funded, class time helping Google redraw their logo benefits students’ learning? Not that I...

UK schools teach literacy via virtual world

by liam | Feb 13, 2008 | education, gaming, literacy, media, virtual worlds

This is unbelievably cool and exactly the kind of educational potential I see in virtual worlds for kids [via Computer Weekly]: Schools in Barnsley are using virtual world software to teach children writing and comprehension skills. The borough council has implemented...