Let’s Enjoy What’s Left of Summer, Shall We?
This week in Web 2.0 news, a college president becomes an Uber driver, Yahoo introduces a video messaging app without any audio, and once again, we find an example of the intersection between gaming and learning. It’s the first (Satur)day of August and round-up time!
College President by Day, Uber Driver by Night
(http://consumerist.com/2015/07/29/college-president-explains-why-he-moonlights-as-uber-driver/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews)
It’s no secret that I want to be the president of a small, liberal arts college when I grow up, but I never thought I’d have to pad my CV with references from the popular, but troubled, ride-share service Uber. Earlier this week, Consumerist.com ran a story about Oglethorpe University President Lawrence Schall, who wanted to learn more about the “freelance marketplace” being established by companies like Uber, so he decided to take a first-hand approach. From Consumerist:
“When he began working as a driver, his ‘coach’ told Schall he could earn upwards of $300 in a night if he knew which parts of town to patrol at the right time. But so far, the results have been underwhelming.
‘My biggest one-day take thus far has been $29,’ he admits. ‘Even with my limited schedule, I thought I’d do a bit better than that. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t leave my day job.’
That’s also not great news for the Oglethorpe scholarship fund, to which Schall has pledged to contribute all his Uber earnings.
I’d hate to be an otherwise impaired student at Oglethorpe trying to get a ride back to my dorm, only to have the prez as my driver. At least the money he is making is going to a good cause! See the full firsthand account on the Washington Post’s blog.
Like Snapchat, but…no, just like Snapchat.
(http://consumerist.com/2015/07/29/yahoo-introduces-livetext-a-video-messaging-app-without-any-audio/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews)
In their continuing desperate race to stay relevant, Yahoo developers released Livetext this week. According to the app’s Google Play store page:
“Livetext transforms simple conversations into rich,fun, and memorable experiences. It’s an entirely new way to stay in touch. For example, livetext your friends no matter where you are—whether you’re hanging out with other friends, at a ballgame, in a club, or commuting on a train— and share a goofy face or a glimpse of the world around you.”
Source: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yahoo.arrow&hl=en)
The live streaming ecosystem certainly seems to be full these days. Between Livetext, Periscope, Meerkat, and “old” standbys like Facebook Messenger, Skype, FaceTime, and the original Snapchat (which, admittedly doesn’t do live streaming, per se) there have never been more options to see exactly what your friends are also seeing in real time. Except, you know, actually standing next to them. Livetext is a free download, but only available for Android devices for now. Let’s see if they make it to Apple’s App Store before the Big A decides to build this functionality into their next iOS update.
Is that learning in my video game, or a video game in my learning?
(http://tay.kinja.com/doing-educational-gaming-right-1721023620)
I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the Kinja system, but it’s not a blender. It’s a blogging platform used by the Gawker Media family of blogs that not only powers their official posts, but also allows users who would otherwise just be commenters also house their blogs on the system. This week, commenter / blogger C. Gaboury used the platform to talk about the educational experience he had with the video game, Never Alone. In his own words:
“The game uses Alaskan indigenous folklore and storytelling as a narrative. Following the adventure of a young Iñupiaq girl named Nuna and her fox companion, the two go on a journey to stop a brutal blizzard that threatens her village. Between chapters and various story segments, we are introduced to “Cultural Insights”, brief documentary-like clips that explore the culture behind the setting for the game and the developer’s explanation for them.”
Beyond highlighting incidental educational experiences one might have while playing, Gaboury also pointed out the game could cultivate formal learning:
“Put a game like this in a classroom setting and have them take turns on the gameplay segments while taking notes during the videos. Or better yet, put them in a computer room and have them each play through the game on their own, then ask for a paper or presentation of one aspect of the culture at the end. There are many opportunities here for engaging learning, and I think it would be a shame to let the practices and themes of Never Alone go to waste.”
I’m not sure that’s what the game developers had in mind, but maybe they should have. There are increasingly popular examples of the intersection of gameplay design and educational design benefitting from one another, with two pretty popular ones coming up just this summer.
There was a lot more than just this going on in the past week, but that’s all I’ve got time to write about before my computer restarts from installing Windows 10. Did you come across anything interesting in your travels along the inter webs, dear reader? Do you already use a live streaming app, and if so, what for? Do you have any examples of the overlap between video gaming and education? How would you react if your college president / boss / clergy person was an Uber driver that you had unwittingly summoned? Let me know in the comments section below!
Top Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/p-261595/?no_redirect)
Higher Ed Scholar in Training 