WIRED Associate Director for Education, Tom Stead did this presentation on ISTE Island in Second Life 4-14-2009.

1. ...exploring experience as the best teacher FULL CIRCLE

2. Sometimes reality seems driven by fiction.

3. We are sponsored by a WIRED Grant. We have a $5.1M Grant from the United States Department of Labor, utilizing non-tax funding, to the State of Ohio for workforce development in Interactive Digital Technology. WIRED has three University partners in Ohio, each with a WIRED Cyber Center for outreach to the Cyber Clubs that they created in their regions. They are: Ohio University with its well-known VITAL lab for projects in virtual worlds such as the new Smithsonian Institution Latino Museum in Second Life. Kent State Tuscarawas Campus with it’s large animation degree program and Shawnee State University with two degrees in game development (BFA & BS) and one in animation (BFA). WIRED owns four islands on the SL main grid. WIRED Island One is a showcase island while WIRED #2, #3, & #4 belong to our University partners. We are currently purchasing several islands on the teen grid for the University groups.

4. Our brain has over one trillion neurons and has evolved over millennia to function in multi-dimensional space. neuron

5. Experience was the primary teacher before image and language. We honed our perceptual and survival skills over uncountable generations. Our primary mode for understanding the world is built upon experience.

6. Recent Duke University studies indicate that the Neanderthals (298,000 - 27,000 BC) had the vocal structure to speak modern languages. If confirmed, this pushes the earliest speech possibilities back well beyond the 40,000 years scientists had previously thought possible. http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news64.htm OMG !!!

7. Our ability to share experiences and engage in the teaching/learning process is one of the attributes that allows us to form civilizations.

8. Australia, carbon dating ochers is not possible South African cave paintings date from as early as 25,000 BC We have evidence of at least 30,000 years of image making. Lascaux-aurochs, France, circa 28,000 BC

9. In modern cultures, images became powerful mass teaching tools. Raffael, School of Athens, 1509 Plato and Aristotle

10. stained glass,

11. statuary

12. prints, tapestries, paintings and frescos

13. The written word, images and scientific knowledge were largely under the aegis of the church and elite patrons for many years. Giovanni di’ Medici

14. Organized civilization brought with it requirements for record keeping and subsequently new ways to “model” the world - such as writing and math. Babylonian legal tablet in its clay envelope

15. Approx. 24,000 years after the Lascaux cave paintings we have evidence of the first written language (circa 3500 BC). Sumerian

16. Writing developed through pictograms, but because of time and space efficiencies, most middle eastern and western cultures moved to non-pictographic alphabets. Roman alphabet

17. Moving from the right-brain based pictograph to the left-brain based modern alphabet introduced additional processing steps between the written word or number and the experience. purple door purpurrote tür purpere deur porta porpora puerta purpura пурпуровая дверь Left Brain Right Brain

18. Johannes Gutenberg .... 14th century inventor of movable type The invention of movable type eventually opened the published word to the masses, while books (primarily with a high text to image ratio) emerged to become a standard learning / teaching tool.

19. During the past several centuries, many teaching tools that were available to teachers and students tended to be two dimensional, static and not experiential. Experience, or small slices of it, were the provence of the lab. A vast majority of teaching communication was and continues to be verbal.

20. Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) “ Scientific observation then has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.” A few notable exceptions exist - such as the Montessori Method

21. McGuffy Reader Series 1836-1920 (est.120 million copies) The tools we provided for education for many years were not necessarily a good fit for our experiential learning preference.

22. A digital technology tsunami that started in the early 1970‘s in Silicon Valley would change everything.

23. The idea that a valid new concept begets only one new additional concept is unimaginable. Once a technology chain is initiated the development curve is always exponential. Exponential curves often seem linear when initiated but only for a short while. (paraphrasing) Prof. Ray Kurzweil (MIT), winner of the U.S. National Medal for Technology, from his keynote speech at Game Developers Conf. 2008, San Francisco

24. the exponential curve in action 1949/1950 The first “electronic brain” kits are advertised 1981 Tandy Color Computer 1977, Apple][, The first commercially successful desktop computer is sold. 1981, The first modern PC made by IBM is marketed. DESKTOP COMPUTERS 2009 Mac Pro 2009 Dell XPS 730x 2009 Alienware ALX x58

25. circa 1900 1949 -1961 first widely produced consumer film camera in US 1825 first known photo Joseph Niépce - France the exponential curve in action circa 1950 Google photographs the world 2008/2009 true image sharing websites become available circa 2000 circa 1900 1995 Kodak releases the first consumer digital camera 1990 Photoshop 1.0 release Circa 2006 phone & pda cameras become ubiquitous PHOTOGRAPHY / IMAGING analog digital

26. 1973, Vinton Cerf & Bob Kahn invent the TCP/IP protocol that is the core of the modern internet. 1982 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMPT) developed 1988-89 MCI Mail (now Verizon) becomes the first e-mail attached to the interne t. the exponential curve in action THE WEB & SOCIAL NETWORKING Blogs (from we blog ) as of Dec 2007 there were over 112 million blogs Wikipedia founded 2001 by Jim Wales Quantum Link, late 1980’s, first IM service only for the Commodore Computer followed by AOL, ICQ and others. 1992, MOSAIC the first web browser in wide spread use 1993 The web goes public 1969, Columbus, Ohio, first e-mail service, first chat room innovative but plagued by poor management. 1969, US Military builds ARPANET which evolves to become the internet Twitter micro- blog founded 2006 Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, 2004 175M active users founded 2002 Founded 1996 , Larry Page & Sergey Brin Founded 1994 by Jerry Yang & David Filo Nano Blogging, Matt Ibsen 2008

27. Lumiére Movie Camera 1896 Newman & Sinclair Camera 1946 Bolex 16mm 1960’s 2009 RED Digital Video Camer w/ 24.4 x 13.7 mm Mysterium sensor true film quality digital video 1970‘s Bell & Howell Super 8 film camera 2009 Panasonic 3CCD FILM/VIDEO 2009 Cannon Flash Recorder the exponential curve in action 2009 Cannon Stereo Camera w zoom lens 21st Century 3D Camera 3DVX3 2006 analog digital

28. Conceptual models and some mechanical TV systems existed as early as the 1920’s. The first commercial TV broadcasts in the US started in 1941 but were suspended during WW2. Columbia, the first Color TV, 1951 Pro Video recorder 1969 Mitsubishi WD65735 3-D TV Samsung HL61A750 3-D TV Several models of 3-D TV are available now. the exponential curve in action TELEVISION / MONITORS Ed Sullivan Show, 1948 Howdy Doody & Buffalo Bob, 1947 RCA, 1954 analog digital

29. the exponential curve in action GAME DEVELOPMENT 1972 Allan Alcorn invents the first commercially successful video game for Atari, Pong Pong Wii X-Box 360 Sony PlayStation 3 1999 (March), EverQuest released as first successful MMORPG, by Sony 2001, Halo I released by Bungie Software 2004 Blizzard Software Habitat, 1986, forerunner of the MMORPG Ultima Underworld, 1992, first 3-D CRPG 2002, Sims Online or EA Land Wii Fit, 2008

30. June 2002 Second Life Launches Nearly every one of these trends manifests itself or will likely soon manifest itself in virtual world spaces such as Second Life. Interactive, linked, 3-D Graph of 120 Virtual Worlds, WIRED Island One 1978, MUD, aka British Legends text based virtual world launches 1995, CyberTown launches

31. Immersive technologies are precipitating a major shift in learning, teaching and entertainment environments. Virtual world spaces are making immersive education a viable 3-D tool for many. Television Film Industry Video Games Serious Games Virtual Worlds

32. It is widely accepted that 60-65% of the population today are visual learners (Visual Spatial Intelligence). The educational system in the US still insists on testing heavily biased toward the Verbal/Linguistic model of intelligence.

33. Teaching tools that are contrary or a poor match to learning styles often prove counter productive by reinforcing a sense of failure. square peg round hole

34. Immersives: a powerful learning tool.....that addresses all learning styles and intelligences TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE LEARNING INPUTS LEARNING TENDENCIES LECTURES PHOTOGRAPHS VIDEOS & ANIMATION BOOKS IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES Visual/Spatial Intelligence tends to think in pictures X X x X Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence tends to think in words X x X X Logical/Mathematical Intelligence tends to think in logical & numeric patterns x x X Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence tends to remember & process information by interacting with the surrounding space X Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence tends to think in sounds, rhythms and patterns x X Interpersonal Intelligence tends to see things from others viewpoint to learn how they think & feel x x x x x Intrapersonal Intelligence tends to recognize own strengths & weaknesses, understanding ones role in relationship to others x x x Naturalist Intelligence tends to think in relationship to the environment X X x

35. You may have watched young people with certain learning differences such as ADD master a complex video game in a very short period of time.

36. We have continued to make choices in teaching/learning media that push ever closer to reconstituting experience on demand. Illustrations, photographs, interactive media, serious games and virtual worlds are examples.

37. e-Psych ( http://epsych.msstate.edu ) is an excellent example of an on-line interactive psychology text. On-line media, unlike textbooks, have no reproduction costs for stimulating, interactive visual content. Books have now pushed economic limits for the inclusion of color visuals and photographs to the breaking point. They are now being challenged by on-line e-books. These books are interactive but tend to be informational rather than immersive.

38. Serious games are immersive and constitute a huge market but they are preset in content and require professional production for the most part.

39. Interesting studies on “new brain” using motion MRI scans seem to indicate that children exposed to modern media over extended periods of time develop significantly different learning patterns. Some recent studies report that teaching techniques which have been adapted to using modern media result in a significant decline in ADD behavior patterns in the classroom.

41. The Smithsonian Institution recently announced its first Virtual Museum located in Second Life. It was built by the Ohio University VITAL Lab, one of our academic partners in the WIRED Grant.

42. http://www.dodvclips.mil/?fr_story=b44d1e5cce67a9de0e7914418bfb9568ba2971c0&rf=sitemap The US armed services Veterans Administration now routinely uses immersive therapy such as Virtual Iraq to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of its innate ability to address the traumatic memories stored at many sites throughout the brain.

43. These user friendly immersive tools will allow us to rethink certain aspects of teaching to better fit how students learn most comfortably. You are first adopters. You will shape the growth and success of immersive technology.

44. CERN’s new internet, The Grid now active across the globe. 10,000 X broadband future possibilities

45. GLENDALE, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NYSE: DWA) announced today its intention to produce all of its films in stereoscopic 3D technology starting in 2009. To best take advantage of the technology, the company will now be creating films utilizing stereoscopic 3D from the beginning of its creative process. Immersive Entertainment coming to the movies: All future DreamWorks films to be produced in 3-D

46. Our WIRED SL Project

47. WIRED Island One http://slurl.com/secondlife/WIRED%201/228/45/29

48. OVITA Interactive Virtual World InfoMachine http://slurl.com/secondlife/WIRED%201/147/138/41 Walk your avatar through our, 3-D, interactive graph for information about 120 virtual worlds with links to their respective corporate websites. It’s a cool research tool.

49. Experience our Solar, Wind & Water Power Park Virtual Field Trip The power of experiencing full scale models of wind and water turbines in mouselook view is impossible to duplicate in any other media. The water turbine is built in phantom so that you can stand in the spinning turbine blade housing and experience the water spinning it. The 1.5 mega watt wind turbine is 142M high!

50. Experience our Ancient Egypt Park Experience the throne room and the underground tomb in the pyramid. Feel the scale of the ancient monuments!

51. Experience our Solar System Park Multiple interactive exhibits help you experience the true scale of our solar system!

52. Experience our Underwater Marine Park Experience diving with our residents of the deep!

53. Experience our Underwater Marine Park Experience diving with our residents of the deep!

54. Experience the Shawnee State University Color Theory Lab Experience six football fields of interactive exhibits that immerse the visitor in many aspects of color theory. This is actually an entire color theory book built in a virtual world.

55. Technology has the tendency to reduce the barriers between the creative concept and its execution. The middleman, or producer, is slowly declining from the creative process to allow the creator, who best understands the idea, to forge the concept.

56. Centuries ago, experience was the only teacher. We now have the means to create and deliver interactive, immersive experiences on demand to classrooms.

57. ...experience is the best teacher.. go create one today!

58. There is often wisdom in old saws.... such as “ Experience is the best teacher.”