NMC and Member News

NMC Releases 2008 Summer Conference Proceedings

NMC — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:17:50 -0800

The NMC announced today the release of the 2008 NMC Summer Conference Proceedings.

Attendees at the 2008 NMC Summer Conference, held in June at Princeton University, were asked to identify sessions of special merit that should be included in the 2008 NMC Summer Conference Proceedings, an invitation-only publication juried by the membership of the NMC.

The 2008 Proceedings features ten papers including case studies; a tutorial; introductions to current topics such as storytelling, digital media, and fair use; descriptions of special services, tools, and information technology support programs developed at member schools; and discussions of new media and pedagogy. These media-rich papers are presented in PDF format to take advantage of the images, video, and links that they include.

Download the 2008 NMC Summer Conference Proceedings (92 pp, 2.5 Mb)

Individual chapter downloads are also available: 2008 Summer Conference Proceedings Chapters

NMC releases Horizon Report focused on Emerging Technologies in Australia & New Zealand

Larry Johnson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:52:31 -0800

The NMC today released the first in a new series of regional and sector-based Horizon Reports with the Horizon Report: 2008 Australia-New Zealand Edition. The new series is a product of the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Project, an ongoing research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education around the globe. This volume is the first in a new series of regional reports, and examines emerging technologies as they appear in and affect higher education in Australia and New Zealand in particular.

In defining the six selected areas—Virtual Worlds & Other Immersive Digital Environments; Cloud-Based Applications; Geolocation; Alternative Input Devices; Deep Tagging; and Next-Generation Mobile—the project drew on an ongoing discussion among knowledgeable leaders and practitioners in Australia and New Zealand business, industry, and education, as well as published resources, current research and practice, and the expertise of the NMC community itself. The Horizon Project's Australia-New Zealand Advisory Board probed current trends and challenges in post compulsory education as they uniquely are expressed in Australia and New Zealand, explored possible topics for the Report, and over several rounds of rankings and dialog, selected the final technologies.

The Horizon Report: 2008 Australia-New Zealand Edition (304K, 32 pp) is available now. The report is free, and has been released with a Creative Commons license to facilitate its use, easy duplication, and broad distribution.

Official Press Release

NMC Publishes Results of 2008 Educators in Second Life Survey

Alan Levine — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:40:55 -0800

In May of 2008, the NMC conducted its second annual survey of educators in Second Life, provided as a yearly snapshot of the demographics and activities of educators who are active in Second Life. A link to the survey was sent to by email to individuals within the NMC's Second Life communities and to the Second Life Educators Listserv (SLED). This year, 358 individuals responded to the survey, a 170% increase from the number who answered our 2007 survey.

Below are a few highlights of our comparison to the 2007 survey. You can find links below to more summary information and the final survey data tables.

Educators are moving from exploration to use of Second Life for teaching and learning. More respondents report being involved in an educational-related activity in Second Life (increasing from 54% in 2007 to 71% in 2008). More than half report that the organization they are affiliated with owns a sim (up from 36% in 2007) and 74 individuals report in 2008 they own their own sim. This year 29% of survey participants report holding virtual office hours in SL; 37 of them (12%) have taught a class entirely in SL (up from 14 or 8% in 2007).
Educators are expanding their Second Life social networks. This year recorded an increase in the numbers of people educators maintain as contacts. In 2007, 53% reported 10 or fewer contacts while in 2008 , this percentage dropped to 32%. The most common range for the size of their contact list in 2008 was 11-30 and the number reporting more than 100 contacts doubled from 2007 (4% to 8%).
This year’s educators are much more experienced in Second Life. The percentage who have been in Second Life for 1-3 years increased from 30% in 2007 to 56% this year. However, the demographics of this group are about the same; in terms of game experience most self-classify as "Pac-Man" generation. More then two-thirds are between 36 and 55 years old, and more than 75% do not play console games or MMORPGs. Also similar to last year, about half of the respondents find time for Second Life by watching less television.

We appreciate the participation of everyone who responded to the survey.

New Call for Papers - - Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Leslie Jarmon aka Bluewave Ogee — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:41:51 -0800

Hello, NMC Members,

Now's the time, after all your hard work, to submit an Abstract about your innovative pedagogical and educational work and research, etc., in SL and in other virtual worlds. My co-editors and I welcome submissions of your abstracts for this special issue wherein you propose your full research papers, research-in-brief papers, “think-pieces”, essays, monographs, interactive online exhibits with accompanying detailed descriptions, and other forms of scholarship.

Theme of our Special ISSURE: Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds
Deadlines: Abstract - November 30, 2008.

Full manuscript - January 15, 2009
Publication Date: March 1, 2009

The CALL for PAPERS: http://editor.jvwresearch.org/?p=5

This edition of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is dedicated to
exploring the breadth of designs, pedagogies and curricular
innovations that are actually already being applied to teaching and
learning in virtual worlds. We encourage participation from a broad
range of academics, researchers, educators, and educational
practitioners from across the disciplinary spectrum – including, but
not limited to: curriculum development, educational administration,
distance education, information and knowledge management,
instructional technology, e-learning, communication and education,
sociology, art education, and visual culture. We strongly encourage
submissions that illustrate key findings with examples and case
studies; experimental research; pedagogical innovations; and best
practices for the integration of virtual worlds technologies into the
learning experience.

For further information contact:

Dr. Leslie Jarmon, University of Texas at Austin,
LJarmon@austin.utexas.edu
Dr. Kenneth Y. T. Lim, National Institute of Education, Singapore,
semperveritas88@gmail.com
Dr. B. Stephen Carpenter, II, Texas A&M University, bscarpenter@tamu.edu

Welcome New NMC Members Who Joined in October 2008!

Nancy Reeves — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:55:12 -0800

Please take a moment and welcome the new NMC Members who joined in October 2008!

Otis Awarded Grant From The Getty Foundation to Focus on Feminist Art Movement in Los Angeles

suemaberry — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:56:22 -0800

Otis College of Art and Design is one of 15 art institutions awarded a $130,000 grant from The Getty Foundation to participate in the largest collaborative project undertaken by museums in the region.

Otis’ project, A Public Center of One’s Own: The Woman’s Building’s Contribution to the Arts in Los Angeles is part of the Getty Foundation’s larger initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980 which highlights the post-World War II Los Angeles art scene. The Woman’s Building was recognized as a major site of activity especially during the 1970s and forms a significant role in the history of feminist art and art history.

Research for A Public Center of One’s Own will begin in 2009 and will culminate in a scholarly exhibit and catalogue in 2012. Roundtable discussions will be organized between scholars and artists who were involved with the Woman's Building; a timeline of Woman's Building activities will be created along with a list of artists involved; and Otis faculty will assist in developing educational programs to connect to the exhibition. “The Getty Foundation has recognized the rich tapestry of cultural influences that make up the art of Southern California,” says Terry Wolverton, author of Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building . “The breadth and scope of this project will ensure that a complete history of the art of this region is presented and preserved.” Leading the project are artists Sue Maberry, Director of Library and Instructional Technology at Otis and Meg Linton, Director of Otis’ Ben Maltz Gallery and Public Programs. They will work closely with scholars Vivien Green Fryd, Ph.D., Alexandra Juhasz, Ph.D., Jennie Klein, Ph.D., Michelle Moravec, Ph.D., and Jennifer Sorkin, Ph.D. in designing an exhibition about the role of the Woman’s Building and the feminist art movement of Southern California.

“A Public Center of One’s Own will highlight the participants, contributions, and works of art that contributed to the formation of feminist art history, something that needs to be considered in the broader scheme of western art history,” says Fryd. “Too frequently, approaches are taken that privilege New York, but, the movement in Los Angeles was quite different and equally influential,” adds Moravec. Also participating in the project are Sondra Hale and Terry Wolverton, who are current members of the Woman’s Building Board of Directors and co-editors of From Site to Vision: The Woman’s Building in Contemporary Culture ; and Otis professors Meg Cranston, Marlena Donohue, Parme Giuntini, Suzanne Lacy, Kali Nikitas, and Kerri Steinberg.

“There has never been an exhibition or scholarly exhibition catalogue that has fully explored all the contributions of The Woman’s Building to art history,” says Maberry, who was involved in the Woman’s Building as a Program Director. Artist Suzanne Lacy echoes the significance of the project, “As critical as the WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution exhibition, curated by Connie Butler has been in the recent recognition of a completely under-explored era in art history, this exhibition proposed by Otis will be even more central in revealing the radical political and pedagogical impulses of this important art movement.”

Rock the Academy Symposium Opening Reception

Alan Levine — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:39:33 -0800

The twelfth in the series of NMC Virtual Symposia, Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning, opened last night at NMC Conference Center with a nicely attended reception.

This fourth of these online conference held completely in Second Life, Rock The Academy is intended to explore the ideas and activities that are changing/revolutionizing the shape of education today. With some meeting and greeting, NMC staff welcomed attendees from as far away as Hong Kong, Australia, and Austin ;-) and one NMC staff member stationed in Iceland.

At the reception, participants took on the challenge of our Treasure Hunt; you can try it yourself by looking for the instructions in the treasure chest placed out in the Grace Hopper Expo Center. This activity had people looking all over the Conference Center sim for the magic lamps that handed out clues to a puzzle. Top prizes (L$2500) went to Marcia Kjeller and Chimera Cosmos for getting in their answers first-- and Marcia was gracious enough to turn over her prize to the avatar that was newest to Second Life- Shaffer Parx who had made his avatar at just 1:00PM yesterday.

We then went down to the Cooper Coliseum for some fabulous live music from the very talented Jean Munro:

There is just something that is so exciting and what makes Second life special to be virtually together with a live performance.

The Symposium opens today with a welcome at 10:00am PDT by NMC CEO Larry Pixel (aka Larry Johnson) and we have a great opener in Desideria Stockton (aka Beth Ritter-Guth) on "Teaching Naked: An A-Z Guide to Open Access Teaching". Other sessions today touch on using Wikipedia and YouTube in Academic Research; Virtual Cinematography, History of Ideas via the BBC's In Our Time. and Infrastructures and Sandboxes in Second Life.

Today we are really rocking!
http://www.nmc.org/2008-fall-virtual-symposium

NMC partners with Economist Magazine, Apple in global study of CIO perceptions

Larry Johnson — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:16:30 -0700

Today the NMC announces the release of its newest white paper, produced in conjunction with the Economist Magazine and in collaboration with Apple, Inc. The paper, entitled "The Future of Higher Education: How Technology will Shape Learning " reports the results of a study of nearly 300 CIOs and technology leaders inside and outside of education.

In a novel collaboration, the New Media Consortium (NMC), the Economist Magazine’s Intelligence Unit (EIU), and Apple jointly designed and conducted a study of nearly 300 CIOs and others inside and outside education around the world. The study was designed to uncover perceptions among these leaders specifically related to the use of technology in higher education worldwide in the coming years.

The report, which will be released today at a special CIO Roundtable hosted by Apple in conjunction with Apple, is free-of-charge, and is being disseminated under a Creative Commons Attribution license; the report may be freely copied so long as its 32-page entirety is included.

The effort, designed by the NMC and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in July and August 2008, included responses from 289 participants: 189 responses came from higher education and 100 came from companies. The US accounted for slightly over one-half (154) of all respondents, with the remainder distributed through Europe (69), Asia-Pacific (43) and the rest of the world (23). Additionally12 telephone interviews were held with a mix of university chief information officers and leaders in the private sector.

NMC Platinum Partner, Apple, Inc, plans a series of CIO Roundtables to further discuss the implications of the report and to expand awareness of its findings in the field. The first of these invitation-only events is being held October 27, 2008, in Orlando, Florida. Given the timing of the release, EDUCAUSE was chosen as the official setting for the release of the 32-page report.

Read the Economist’s press release ( 272Kb)

Download the Report ( 1.4 Mb)

Two-Minute Survey Results on Mobile

Larry Johnson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:21:29 -0700

As you may have noticed, the NMC is deploying lots of new web tools to gather information of interest to its members. The newest of these, our Two Minute Surveys are literally designed to take no longer than that -- no more than three questions, with a focus on current topics in New Media.
Image Credit: Flickr cc license photo by nafra cendrers

For these first two surveys, we are publishing the results in the open immediately, but with future surveys, you'll need to have an account on our site to see them early. As a member benefit, individuals from NMC member organizations will have access to the results one month before we make them public to the world. How to see them early if you don't have a login? See this handy Flowgram that Alan set up and get one!

See the results of our first two surveys on mobile-related projects and cool iPhone apps at http://www.nmc.org/2minute-survey Enjoy!

Got an idea for a new survey? Let us know!

How to Update Your NMC Web Profile

Alan Levine — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:27:16 -0700

Since we launched the new NMC web site in April 2007, more than 3000 people have/created used the site for registering for events, participating in online activities, or contributing content. Because we use the web site as our main directory, it is important to us to have accurate contact information, but also, the content in your profile provides ways to share your new media work and connect with colleagues.

Therefore, we are contacting all users of the web site to ask to update or edit their online profile, which you can access when you are logged into the NMC web site, and look for the My Account link under your name on the left hand sidebar. To explain the steps, we have used a neat new web casting tool called Flowgram, that allows you to voice annotate live web pages and documents (this is a fabulous tool for providing overviews and tours of web sites!) to create a guide through the steps of editing your profile .

As described in the Flowgram, profile information is only available if you are currently logged into the web site. This information is used directly when you register for NMC events or submit conference proposals, so it is important to have accurate details for everyone.

Register Now! Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning

Nancy Reeves — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:11:44 -0700

Register Now! Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning

Registration is open for Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning, a special 2-day, live online event to be held November 4-6, 2007 via the Internet.

For full details, see www.nmc.org/2008-fall-virtual-symposium

To register now, see www.nmc.org/2008-fall-virtual-symposium/register

Join keynote speakers and colleagues from around the world as we explore the implications and possibilities of new modes of teaching and learning.

About the Symposium
Rock the Academy, the twelfth in the NMC’s Series of Virtual Symposia, will explore the kinds of ideas and activities that are changing the shape of education today. Revolutionary practices are breaking apart old models of teaching and learning; students are using new tools to construct meaning and contribute to the design of their own education; teachers are sharing the power that has traditionally been theirs alone. Examples of unconventional, yet highly effective, methods of teaching and learning may be found in pockets all over the world, at all levels of education. When the multitude of examples are taken together, we begin to sense a profound change in the making that will alter our concept of education itself.

The symposium will examine themes such as open education resources and open content; social networking and global connections; guerilla learning, games, and activist learning; the next killer apps for education; alternatives to course management systems; real-time data, maps, and mobiles; backchannels and alternative communication tools; students who do research in their fields; and any technology or practice that shows promise for engaging students and supporting subversive teaching and learning. Proposals are encouraged under any of these or related themes.

The symposium venue will be adapted to fit the topic, and will make use of online communication technologies such as the Adobe Connect 2D web environment, the Second-Life-to-website communication tool Chat Bridge, and the 3D virtual world of Second Life.

For more information on the preliminary schedule of events, please see http://www.nmc.org/2008-fall-virtual-symposium/program

Welcome New NMC Members Who Joined in September 2008!

Nancy Reeves — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:19:02 -0700

Please take a moment to welcome the new NMC members who joined in September 2008!

NMC Asia Connections

Alan Levine — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:09:03 -0700

For the last three weeks I have been touring in China, Hong Kong, and Japan, and taking advantage of my time here, took the opportunity to visit with some of our NMC colleagues in the region. The last leg of this trip was in Japan, when I visited with Tatsuya Umezakii with NMC Member Hitachi Information Academy.

The Hitachi Information Academy provides training and eLearning for Hitachi, which is an international organization with more than 300,000 employees. They make more than computer parts; I saw all kinds of mechanical devices in Japan with the Hitachi name, including things like escalators.

Tatsuya was very interested in learning about NMC's projects in Second Life and has been experimenting with both a sim his organization owns and trying to develop some content in OpenSim. If anyone reading this has some experience in OpenSim, Tatsuya is interested in connecting with you.

While in Japan, I also had the opportunity to do a presentation on the Horizon Project for NIME - the National Institute of Multimedia Education where several in the audience were already familiar with the Horizon Report. This group had a strong interest in helping us publish a translation of the report in Japanese language.

The week before this I was in Hong Kong to spend time with Nick Noakes and NMC member Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST).

I did a version of 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story to a group of faculty, staff, and some graduate students at HKUST.

The primary purpose of this trip was an invitation to be a featured presenter at the Learning 2.008 Conference in Shanghai, which focuses on the use of technology at International Schools. Presentations at this conference included ones on the Horizon Project, GigaPan Technology, and Storytelling with photos.

Adobe eLearning Challenge

NMC — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:31:31 -0700

How do you engage learners? We are looking for learning professionals, subject matter experts and designers that are creating online learning content using Adobe tools or delivering and tracking training using Adobe solutions.

We want to see your engaging and innovative use of technology and hear your stories about how Adobe products helped solve your eLearning challenges! Show us what you have done in the past, or whip up something new.

Follow the instructions to submit a screen-recording of your eLearning content (convert flash-based learning content with Sothink SWF to video converter to submit as a video - in the conversion parameters dialog, set Conversion mode to interactive and uncheck Auto end capture at last frame in Capture settings), a VIDEO case study about your use of our products, IMAGE (screenshots) of your work, or a story related to your use of Adobe products in BLOG format.

Have ideas but don’t have the tools? No problem. Just download a 30-day trial version of the software and show off your skills. With tools like Adobe Captivate®, Flash®, Adobe Presenter, Adobe Acrobat® Connect™ Pro, Director® and Dreamweaver® the eLearning possibilities are endless.

Rewards

Best Image: One winner, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will receive Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium, be featured on the Adobe eLearning page, get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS), $1,000 in a PayPal account to be used for travel to the ALS, be showcased during the “Meet the Winners” at ALS keynote, and have a chance to demo their entry at the ALS reception.
Best Video: One winner, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will receive Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium, be featured on the Adobe eLearning page, get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS), $1,000 in a PayPal account to be used for travel to the ALS be showcased during the “Meet the Winners” at ALS keynote, and have a chance to demo their entry at the ALS reception.
Best Blog: One winner, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will receive Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium, be featured on the Adobe eLearning page, get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS), $1,000 in a PayPal account to be used for travel to the ALS be showcased during the “Meet the Winners” at ALS keynote, and have a chance to demo their entry at the ALS reception.
Most Viral: One winner, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 most viral entries from all categories, will be featured on the Adobe eLearning page, get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS), $1,000 in a PayPal account to be used for travel to the ALS, be showcased during the “Meet the Winners” at ALS keynote, get a demo station at the ALS reception, and receive Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium. Learn more about Most Viral.
Best Image Runner-Up: One finalist, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS).
Best Video Runner-Up: One finalist, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS).
Best Blog Runner-Up: One finalist, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 highest scoring entries in this category, will get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS).
Most Viral Runner-Up: One finalist, selected by Adobe experts from the top 25 most viral entries in all categories, will get free attendance to the Adobe Learning Summit (ALS). Learn more about Most Viral.
For all travel prizing, funds will be deposited into the winner’s PayPal account. The winner must have or must create a PayPal account to receive a prize and to access and use the prize. If you do not currently have a PayPal.com account, you must create a PayPal account within 7 days from the time of prize notification. Follow directions to register and become a member. Membership to PayPal is free. Potential winner with a PayPal account must have his/her account in good standing in order to receive a prize. The prizes will not be awarded to potential winners with locked, closed or restricted accounts.

How to Submit

Create an eLearning entry designed with Adobe products or use an Adobe eLearning project you have made in the past.
Click the Submit Entry tab and follow the steps provided.
Tell your friends to come to Brickfish and vote for your entry!

Requirements

All entries must be original work of the participant. All entries must be a video, image (photo or screenshot) or blog (story) about an actual or new eLearning project created with Adobe solutions. Blog entries should be no more than 1,000 words and video entries must be no longer than 2-minutes in length.

Legal Notice

Contest is open to members of Brickfish.com who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia, or Canada (excluding Quebec) and has access to the Internet, 21 years or older, at the time of entry and have completed account registration prior to the end of the contest. Account registration is complete once activated via email. Click here to view the complete campaign rules and regulations.

Michael Wright exhibiting work in San Diego exhibition “Urban Legends and Country Tales”.

Michael Wright — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:49:57 -0700

Michael Wright, aka Mrags Writer is exhibiting work in a juried exhibition called “Urban Legends and Country Tales”. The exhibition showcasing the work of forty-two artists from around the world opens on the 4th of October, 2008 at the Bonita Museum, San Diego, California. The opening and public reception for Urban Legends and Country Tales will be 6 to 8:30 pm on Saturday, Oct. 4th. Wright will be exhibiting a print from his avatar series as one of the fifty juried prints demonstrating the multiple directions art has taken in the contemporary art world – both in pluralism of styles and the hybridism of technique and media. The jurors for this exhibit included Don Archer, the founder in 1993 of the world's largest online computer art museum - MOCA [http://moca.virtual.museum/] ; Andrew Darlow, photographer and author of 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques, and editor of imagingbuffet.com and inkjettips.com ; and Mel Strawn an artist for over six decades; published in Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists.

Michael Wright is a painter who began to explore Digital Media in the mid 1980s on an Amiga computer. He exhibited his first Digital Prints in 1989. He has exhibited digital and traditional works on a national & international level over the past 38 years. He is currently exploring art and art education in virtual reality.
Wright's digital work is represented in “The Art of the Digital Age” my Bruce Wands, “Going Digital” by Joseph Nalven and JD Jarvis,"Computer Graphics World" '25 year Retrospective of Digital Art" in its January 2002 issue and in the magazine’s "Portfolio" section of the November, 2001, issue. Wright is profiled in "Computer Graphics Companion" edited by Jeffrey McConnell Anthony Ralston and Edwin Reilly His work also appears in "The Computer in the Visual Arts" by Anne Morgan Spalter of Brown University, published by Addison Wesley and is also published in Linda Jacob's seminal book, "CyberArts: Exploring Art & Technology". He and his work have been featured in Wired, Micro Publishing News, Computer Graphics & Applications and Agent X, Television Tokyo. Wright's digital prints are in the collection of the State Museum in Novorsibirsk, Russia and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London UK, the repository for British art book & print collections.

Wright is a professor in the Digital Media and Liberal Studies Programs at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. He is a member of SIGGRAPH, Ylem, ASCI, ACM, NMC, and the Los Angeles Printmaking Society. He is the recipient of the Otis Award of Excellence in Arts Education and served as Art Gallery Chair for ACM SIGGRAPH 2003 in San Diego California. He was a guest artist at the SIGGRAPH 2004 & 2005 conferences in Los Angeles where he created the “Portrait Virus” at the SIGGRAPH Guerilla Studio. Wright was one of six resident artists invited to SIGGRAPH’S first Artists in Residence Program at SIGGRAPH 2007, in San Diego. Wright as also curated into the SIGGRAPH international exhibition “Global Eyes” 2007. Wright exhibited work this past summer as part of “Digital Art.LA International New Media Expo” at the Los Angeles Center For Digital Art in Downtown Los Angeles curated by Howard Fox, curator of contemporary art, L.A. County Museum of Art.

http://www.digitalartguild.com/content/view/49/26/

Event Rescheduled: Bringing the Jazz Age to Life

Carroll Blue — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:59:50 -0700

~ PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING EVENT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED DUE TO HURRICANE IKE ~

VIRTUAL HARLEM and VIRTUAL MONTMARTRE:
BRINGING THE JAZZ AGE TO LIFE

A Texas Learning and Computation Center (TLC2) Research Seminar
Friday October 3, 2008 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., U.S. Central Time

Location
University of Houston's Phillip Hoffman Hall, Room 232

Please RSVP to
Sarah Sweaney, Tel. 713-743-4019 or Email sarah@tlc2.uh.edu

Co-sponsors
The UH Texas learning and Computation Center; The Academy Foundation; UH Instructional Support and Outreach Program; UH African American Studies Program and The Dawn Project.

Webcast
The Greater Houston Education Collaboration (GHEC) website will host a live webcast of the event at www.ghecgroup.net.

About the Event
Dr. Bryan Carter, Associate Professor of English at Central Missouri State University, is one of the forerunners in the use of technology in the digital humanities classroom, incorporating podcasting, desktop videoconferencing, blogging and Second Life into each of his courses. Dr. Carter specializes in African American literature of the 20th Century with a primary focus on the Harlem Renaissance and a secondary emphasis on visual culture. Dr. Carter has recently been awarded a second Sorbonne Professeur Invite award to enhance Virtual Montmartre.

Carter's Virtual Harlem and Virtual Montmartre are virtual reality reconstructions of Harlem and Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. These locations are also learning environments designed to directly immerse students in the historical context of the literature of the period so that students experience the Harlem Renaissance and Paris Noir as cultural field trips. This virtual reality experience is designed to augment the books, music, photographs, and documentaries typically used in Harlem Renaissance courses with an environment that encourages active learning. Dr. Carter's Virtual Harlem and Virtual Montmartre have been presented around the world and he actively connects his classes with those of colleagues in Sweden and France as well as universities in the United States.

CFP Opens for Rock the Academy, the 12th in the Series of NMC Virtual Symposia

NMC — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:19:24 -0700

Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning
The 12th in the NMC Series of Virtual Symposia
November 4-6, 2008 via the Internet

Proposals for presentations for Rock the Academy: Radical Teaching, Unbounded Learning, a special 2-day, live online event to be held November 4-6, 2008, are being solicited through October 6.

About the Symposium
Rock the Academy, the twelfth in the NMC’s Series of Virtual Symposia, will explore the kinds of ideas and activities that are changing the shape of education today. Revolutionary practices are breaking apart old models of teaching and learning; students are using new tools to construct meaning and contribute to the design of their own education; teachers are sharing the power that has traditionally been theirs alone. Examples of unconventional, yet highly effective, methods of teaching and learning may be found in pockets all over the world, at all levels of education. When the multitude of examples are taken together, we begin to sense a profound change in the making that will alter our concept of education itself.

Symposium Format and Topics
The symposium venue will be adapted to fit the topic, and will make use of online communication technologies such as the Adobe Connect 2D web environment, the Second-Life-to-website communication tool Chat Bridge, and the 3D virtual world of Second Life.

Proposals are encouraged on any of the following themes, but this list is not exhaustive and selections will not be limited to these categories:

open education resources and open content
social networking and global connections
guerilla learning, games, and activist learning
the next killer apps for education
alternatives to course management systems
real-time data, maps, and mobiles
backchannels and alternative communication tools
students who do research in their fields
any technology or practice that shows promise for engaging students and supporting subversive teaching and learning

Sessions should describe new approaches, illustrate case studies, or address the implications for learning and teaching of themes like those above.

Proposals may be submitted online.

This event is the twelfth in the ongoing series of specially focused online gatherings that explore new ideas and issues related to technology and learning. The NMC Series of Virtual Symposia is itself an exploration of emerging forms of collaboration and tools.

Additional information about the Symposium can be found at the Symposium website.

NMC Awarded $955,000 National Leadership Grant from IMLS

NMC — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:11:00 -0700

The New Media Consortium has been awarded a three-year National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) in the amount of $955,000. The grant will fund Steve in Action: Social Tagging Tools and Methods Applied, a project to further develop the Steve tagging application, a tool that simplifies the navigation of online museum collections by allowing viewers to tag an image with descriptive terms.

The NMC and several museum partners, inlcuding the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Denver Art Museum, will apply research learned from the first iteration of the Steve Project to develop enhanced tools to make Steve more accessible to a broader variety of institutions and people. The Minnesota Digital Library Coalition, the MINITEX Library Information Network, and a number of small to mid-sized museums will also participate in the project.

"Social tagging tools are likely to have significant benefits for cultural heritage professionals as well as the general public, especially if they are implemented and adopted on a broad basis," notes Dr. Larry Johnson, CEO of NMC and the project’s lead and principal investigator. "Previous work by the Steve project team found that visitors and professionals use very different terms to tag the same pieces. This grant will support continued research and development into social tagging and aims to further illuminate the potential applications of tagging for museums, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions."

To support and encourage mainstream adoption of social tagging tools by cultural heritage organizations of all sizes and types, the Steve team will enhance the software tools developed for the original research project; develop, implement, evaluate, and document multiple models for adopting social tagging; demonstrate integrations with major information management systems; and continue to galvanize discussion within the community about the strengths and weaknesses of tagging as a method for communicating with audiences. At the end of the three-year grant period, a variety of tagging environments will have been implemented and evaluated with at least thirty partners, testing the applicability of the Steve tools to a variety of collection types.

The project will begin in October, 2008 and conclude in October, 2011.

For more information about the grant, please see the IMLS Press Release.

Download the NMC Press Release (PDF, 52k).

Adobe Education Customers Utilizing Acrobat Connect Pro

ngray — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:29:18 -0700

From virtual school initiatives and curriculum management to rapidly delivering professional development, and everything in between, Adobe® Acrobat® Connect™ Pro software makes it easy for educators to teach, learn, and collaborate with virtually anyone — anywhere, anytime.

Adobe Presenter software and the Acrobat Connect Pro Training and Acrobat Connect Pro Events modules enable educators and schools to extend the benefits of Acrobat Connect Pro and enhance their learning management systems (LMSs).

Visit http://www.adobe.com/education/products/acrobatconnect.html to learn more!

University of Texas Austin Invites You to Second Life for “An Evening With The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright”

Alan Levine — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:11:01 -0700

The LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin will welcome former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to help launch the School’s new Master of Global Policy Studies (MGPS) degree on Wednesday evening, September 10 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas.

The in-person event is already sold out, but no matter where you live, you can participate in this event at the GSD&M Idea City Island Amphitheatre in Second Life located at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Idea%20City/104/204/39 at 4:00 PM PDT (check your local time.)

Idea City in Second Life

In “An Evening with The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright,” Dr. Albright will join LBJ School Dean and former Deputy National Security Advisor James B. Steinberg in a “public conversation” on the emerging global and transnational challenges of the 21st century and how the next generation of young leaders can contribute to developing innovative strategies to meet these challenges.

“Madeleine Albright is one of our most influential scholars and practitioners whose career has helped chart new approaches to the emerging transnational challenges of our time. I can think of no one better suited to help us launch this exciting new degree program at the LBJ School,” said Dean Steinberg.

The event will be both webcast live and presented in the virtual world of Second Life at 4:00 p.m. PDT. The Second Life presentation is made possible by Austin-based advertising agency GSD&M Idea City’s Idea City Island Amphitheatre. “Second Life offers us a unique forum for the introduction of our Global Policy Studies degree program and the discussion with our inaugural guest, Madeleine Albright,” said Steinberg.

For the complete agenda and details on joining “An Evening with The Honorable Madeleine Albright”, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/news/story/583/