Open University Event: April 28, 2008: Real Virtual Worlds and their Impact on Learning - Hebrew

Updates:

• The presentation in pdf format -- most of the slides.
• Info about the Book including how to order (at the end).
• Reference to the 3D3C definition of real virtual worlds.
• My avatar in Second Life is Dera Kit and you can visit the lab at this location (this is an SLURL -- a URL that activate second life directly into a specific location). Alternatively you can search "metaverse labs" in second life.
• My email: yesha at shenkar dot ac dot il.
  

I will give an invited talk for the Open University in Israel which will connect "Real Virtual Worlds" as defined as the 3D3C ... and learning...

April 28, 2008. 12:30 after noon. Canbar Hall, Kikar Building.

Airplane Tracking in Second Life

This is a technical demonstration -- and lots of fun....

This video show's how real-time aircraft tracking data can be used to drive a 3D display of aircraft in Second Life. The system uses fboweb.com's KMZ feed for Google Earth, with all SL functionality being developed by Daden Limited.

Stephen Wiltshire: The Human Camera

I am often asked why 3D? Granted there is value to 1D, 2D, 2.5D. But basically our mind is designed to deal with 3D -- our productivity depends on that. This next movie demonstrates it.

Stephen Wiltshire has been called the "Human Camera." In this short excerpt from the film Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory.

Paper That Define Real Virtual Worlds: 3D3C

This is a PDF version of a paper that was published as part the book "New Media and Innovative Technologies" from the The Hubert Burda Center for Innovative Communications at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

This paper is the first official version of the 3D3C definition for Real Virtual Worlds. Here is the abstract:

The Metaverse is described as a three-dimensional world in which human characters spend their time, play, work and live. A definition for the Metaverse is proposed – 3D3C: 3D for the three Dimensions of this interactive world and 3C for “Community” in which people connect with one another, “Creation” that allows people to express themselves and “Commerce” that links real monetary value to actions in this world. This study assesses several Metaverse phenomena as manifested in the Second Life environment: Social structures, Griefers, commercial data, real businesses, ceremonies and real experiences, comparing them with parallel phenomena of World of Warcraft. The Metaverse is then mapped into the conventional course of technology development (invention, realization, excitement and aversion, maturity and transparency), leading to the conclusion that a new medium is born.

Download the paper here.
See also an on-line video discussion.

Hands Free 3D: Second Life Navigation Demo

From Mitch Kapor. A nice combination of technologies. (The 3D Camera was already designed by Israeli 3DV Systems). For more info see this News Item.

"It’s only a mere 3 months since Mitch and I sat together and decided to kick start this project," notes developer Philippe Bossut on the Handsfree 3D blog. "It was just a hunch, an itch to scratch: we both thought that the status quo– limiting the totality of our interactions with computers to mouse and keyboard, wouldn’t stand for very long. Indeed, researchers have been looking to make computing 'pervasive' for a decade now, using more and more inputs from more and more devices. But, until now, they have all been clunky and expensive. The recent eruption in consumer products of things like multitouch for iPhone and gesturing in Wii demonstrates that this is changing and that a wide public is eager to move beyond that mouse and keyboard world we’ve been bound to for the last 25 years."

IT Trends 2008: Virtual World Presentation (STKI)

Here's a cool presentation by STKI - the leading Israeli IT analysis firm.

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GAMEiS 2008: Israeli Games Coming Up Next Thursday - April 17, 2008

First 5 people that email me... will get free tickets.

GameIS Exhibition 2008, come out and play!
A full day event about interactive entertainment and the people who make it all happen.

REGISTER NOW!
17/4/2008, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzeliya

For the 3rd year in a row, we celebrate Israel's florurishing Games Market. Join the pro's and companies who develop remarkable games, tools, services and technologies for the worldwide interactive entertainment market.

GameIS 2008 will hold 10 lectures and panels focusing on the two main tracks; development and business. We will hear the successes, the difficulties and the lessons learned by top industry players.

Last year's event hosted more then 300 eager guests coming to explore the depths of succeeding in the Gaming industry. These very same guests are now returning with their own experiences and successful launch stories. This year we are expecting more than 400 guests. Don't miss this opportunity and register now at https://www.eventact.com/dna/gameis08/.

We have many interesting, experienced and notable speakers lined up to share their insights into this ever-growing industry. Among them will be Daniel O'ffner from NixonPibody, Guy Bendov representing, Codename, Journeys and GameIS, Oded Sharon from Corbomite Games (Developer of Zbang), and Itzik Ben-Bassat from Media Arcade and many more. For the full list of speakers visit our site www.gameis.org.il .

If you are interested to take this opportunity to expose your company please contact us to learn about the different sponsorship opportunities.

For further information on the:
Exhibition: http://gameis2008.wetpaint.com
Sponsorship: Sponsorship Details
Gaming Industry: www.gameis.org.il

If you have any other questions please contact:
Galia Reichenstein - [d&a]
[E] galia@dainfo.com
[P] +972-3-6130576
[F] +972-3-6121897

I will be a member of a panel that will cover Virtual Worlds.

Announcing the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is a online, open access, peer-reviewed, transdisciplinary, academic journal, which engages established and emerging scholars from anywhere in the world. Web site: http://jvwr.org

A flyer is available to download: http://jvwr.org/jvwr_flyer.pdf

The announcement on the Journal website is:
http://jvwr.org/ojs/index.php/jvwr/announcement/view/3

Open Calls for Papers:
1st edition’s theme: “Virtual Worlds Research: Past, Present & Future”
Due date: June 1, 2008

2nd edition’s theme: “Social identity and Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds”
Due date: August 15, 2008

3rd edition’s theme: “Cultures of Virtual Worlds”
Due date: September 30, 2008

4th edition’s theme: “Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds”
Due December 15, 2008

Editorial Board:
Steve Jones (UIC), Jorge Peña (UT-Austin), Allucquere Rosanne Stone (ACTlab / UTAustin), Joseph Straubhaar (UT-Austin), Natalie Wood (St. Joseph’s U.)

Founding Editors:
Jeremiah Spence (UT-Austin), Joseph Lopez (ACTlab / UT-Austin)

Founding Associate Editors:
Suely Fragoso (Unisinos), Joe Sanchez (UTAustin), Amanda Salomon (Swinburn U. of Tech), Henry Segerman (UT-Austin), Yesha Sivan (Shenkar College), Stephanie Smith (NASA), Caja Thimm (U. of Bonn)