Yep.
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Daily Archives: January 30, 2006
Defining ARG’s
Here’s a really good definition of Alternate Reality Games by a guy who helped write one of the more interesting recent ones:
You can be standing in a parking lot, or a shopping center. A pay phone near you will ring, and on the other end will be someone demanding information.
ARGs
combine video, text adventure, radio plays, audio, animation,
improvisational theater, graphics, and story into an immersive
experience. The game doesn’t just happen online: players are sent out into the real world to meet one another and complete tasks. Players have traveled thousands of miles to follow clues to their source.Unlike
many video games, where players are encouraged to use cutthroat tactics
against one another in search of victory, ARGs encourage cooperative
play and the formation of ad hoc ommunities. No
one player can possibly have all the knowledge and skills necessary to
succeed in the game, and players are required to combine their talents
and share information. The ARG is all about the creation of community through a shared experience. The
games attract a somewhat older audience than video games, more or less
evenly divided between men and women, and with better social skills.
Interested in learning more? Then you probably should have clicked over to Williams’ blog to read the rest of this fascinating, behind-the-scenes post. But, you might also try this link.
My Thoughts on Wiki Textbooks
I just posted some of my thinking about a wiki textbook project to the EducationBridges wiki. Feel free to edit and improve upon the seed thinking that’s there.
How Long Do You Think It Will Be
It’s Monday
While I haven’t been posting here much in the last several days, my head and heart have been firmly entrenched in the edublogosphere. I’ve been trying to catch up on my reading and taking the time to comment on some of the folks who are keeping me on my toes. Also, I’ve been listening to an awful lot of podcasts as I’ve caught up on some of the less, ahem, interesting chores around the house. (The first year you put up Christmas lights on your house, you do get permission to leave them up until almost the end of January, right?)
I’m reminded as I read and comment that this is one of the essential tasks of a reflective blogger. Read. Think. Respond. Repeat. Write. (I think that’s the gist of Will‘s definition of what a blogger does — but I can’t find the link right now.) Good thinking and good teaching only come as a result of good input — and the ratio of input to output is something like 10:1.
One thing that I’m following closely right now is the Wikibook (or Wiki Textbook — the name changes, because it’s a work in progress) conversation going on over at EducationBridges. They’re doing an awful lot of thinking about how to create an "open source" curriculum as well as create ways to train folks on how to use it. I wish I could make the live chats — but I’m still learning a great deal in my car and on my walks from what everyone over there is talking about. Dave has some wonderful ideas that get good conversations started, and Jeff is one of the best moderators out there.
They’re setting up for a huge project, but one that’s got a potentially large payoff for students and teachers and schools. I hope they can negotiate all of the great ideas into a meaningful product. I hope I can find a productive way to contribute.
I hope that you can, too.