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April 26, 2006

[SL] Short video from GK Island Launch Party

Watch a short video from the launch of Global Kids Island. To "launch" it we had to "move" it from the main grid of Second Life to the teen grid. So not only was this the first time adults could check out the island, due to the move, it was also the last.

April 23, 2006

[HMDS] Revisiting the Wall of Shame

You might recall that in February I wrote about the Wall of Shame, the name for the section where teens post their RW photos.

I am writing an abstract for the MacArthur Foundation, for their upcoming volume on Games, as part of their new Digital Media and Learning series. I am writing about Global Kids Island and how it is informed by some of the latest thinking about games and learning.

To return to the topic, I asked some residents what they thought about the Wall. Below, with his permission, is my dialogue with the best photograpger in TSL, Jackson Widget:

Jackson Widget: i dont think people try to get their avatar differetn than themselves usually
Barry GKid: ah, good to know.
Jackson Widget: ha, well for guys, they normally dont care that much
Jackson Widget: but girls make it completely different
Jackson Widget: so its just gender differences
Jackson Widget: but they always make themselves look nicer in SL than in real life, taller, skinier etc.
Barry GKid: Same in the main grid. :-)
Barry GKid: Why do you think it is called the Wall of Shame?
Jackson Widget: Most likely because it shows the fact that teens are willing to show their identity's in the public of Second Life, and it may seem as the exact opposite of what parents want their children to do
Jackson Widget: Either that, or they just had no reason to call it the wall of fame, because they arent famous
Barry GKid: Then why "shame"?
Jackson Widget: well pretty much, there is no real reason for it, i dont believe it is meant to symbolize anything in particular
Jackson Widget: just maybe the shameful people that put their pictures up
Barry GKid: :-) Thanks

April 18, 2006

[DMEC] Teacher Evaluation Form Summation

We invited the ten educators involved from start to finish with the Digital Media Initiative’s Digitial Media Essay Contest to share their thoughts with us.

The following pdf contains their responses.

Download file

April 12, 2006

[SL] x-pressions exhibit


1-bookpages


Originally uploaded by Holy Meatballs.

An image of the inner cover of the Second Life, in-world publication of the x-pressions 2006 photo exhibit.

April 9, 2006

[P4K] Playing 4 Keeps

In addition to P4K posts made within this site, we are making available the RSS feeds of recent posts made to the Global Kids' Playing 4 Keeps website. These are displayed within the Playing 4 Keeps blog category.

April 7, 2006

[POD] Upcoming podcasts

Our first series of podcasts will highlight various components of our programs, with a special feature on the Digital Media Essay Contest, in both text and video. Keep watching the podcast blog section in May to learn more.

April 3, 2006

[SL] Teen Publication Covers DMEC Awards

The Second Life Teen-grid produced version of the Metaverse Messenger carried an article in their March 30th issue, entitled "Digital Kids Holds Mixed Reality Awards Show." Within the issue they also republished three of the winning essays written by Second Life teen residents.


To view the pdf of this, click here.