King’s Corner
It’s not just academic.

Here we are with a new academic year starting, and among other things this year holds, I’m getting back into Second Life again. Much has changed, and much remains the same. I’ll be sharing observations more frequently than in recent months.

One thing that caught my eye today: Paul Sweeney has noticed an implication of recent announcements by Linden Lab, i.e., that “Second Life [is] getting closer to real life.” Part of that announcement revolved around an upcoming viewer upgrade that will allow the viewer to handle HTML, Flash, and embedded browsers, and it may even be able to talk to real world applications like Excel. Such capabilities will make virtual meetings seem/feel more like real-world meetings, making them feel somewhat like face-to-face (where it’s so easy to just say, “Look at this!”) while retaining the advantages of using the Internet for distributed meetings rather than having everyone hop on a plane.

That has implications for distance education as well, of course.

Friends know that I’m about as close to Web secure as you can get without being flat-out paranoid. I’ve hardly ever gotten a virus, despite doing a lot of exploration. I have effective email filters set up, and I’m adept at spotting those emails that appear to come from people are know, but really aren’t, i.e., spoofed.

Nevertheless, the only thing that never changes is that things change. I’m being tested right now via Facebook. I’m pointing to this post from there, in fact, as a fuller explanation for my FB friends, and also as a general warning to everyone else. Here’s the background, and the potential benefit to readers. (more…)

Still confused about Twitter? I think I “get” it, but I still find myself not bothering to tweet. Guess I think I’m not that interesting. Jason Hiner explains The four stages of the average Twitter user effectively.

Aliza Sherman notes the cycle of Second Life hype, followed by SL bashing, followed by more hype, followed by declarations that SL is dead. Not so, she says, in “Second Life Is Social Media.” It’s not about education, but it is about the nature of the medium, and much of it has implications for education and other activities in SL, including the downsides. Take a look.

End of a term. Not a lot of posts lately. Not much time today, in fact, since I’m grading like crazy. Still, I wanted to share a post by a friend and colleague with a unique set of talents: artist, actor, and accomplished geek. Not many people have the mental capacity to bring artistic skills and sensibilities into the same skull as technological skills, but Kathrine Bailey does.

The particular post points out some of the social dark side of social networking, along with a warning more techy in nature. It’s a good reminder that brings together elements in a creative way. As Yoda might say, “Exposed you may be!”

Barry Dahl sums it up and comments on it; D2L announces it succinctly. Bottom line: D2L’s pre-existing art shows Blackboard just didn’t invent what it says it invented, so there is no patent infringement.

Pardon me while I offer an editorial opinion, that is mine alone (i.e., it does not necessarily represent the opinion of anyone except me): duh! Now, Bb, can you leave them alone so they can focus on educating students instead of enriching lawyers?

Full US Patent Office report is available in PDF format.

….it’s about what you’re going to do instead. Mike Elgan has some solid ideas about getting rid of textbooks altogether, and what to do instead. I have trouble finding anything I don’t like about this post. It’s why we chose the current textbook we’re using in speech, which is really a practical handbook. I love the idea of requiring a contribution to Wikipedia. One class I’m teaching this semester is going to build a tag cloud in del.icio.us. He even mentions Hayek! What’s not to love?

(Thanks to Mary Nunaley for the link to this in Facebook.)

Computer programmer from Finland has lost finger replaced with USB drive – Telegraph. OK, I’m not sure what to think of this one, but I suppose it’s the ultimate in having information right at the tip of … I can’t say it.

NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday featured Michael Demers, a geography professor at New Mexico State University, talking about how he uses Second Life to help his students learn more effectively. You can listen to the segment online.

Of course, so far I haven’t been able to get it to play myself. [sigh] Your luck may be better.

Update: I managed to get it to play. Worth listening to!

Cool site: FreeRice. See if you can figure out why it fits the theme of this blog. Warning: can be addictive.