Wednesday, November 12, 2014

2014 EDU: HG: Hypergrid University: a preliminary model

Hypergrid University: a preliminary model
A suggestion in a Kitely forum proposed the development of "Kitely Academy"  or "Kitely University."  That idea has been growing and expanding.  We now recognize that an academy university will not be limited to Kitely, even though it may be rooted in Kitely.  Here is my take on the current status of the activity and a suggested preliminary model for an expansion to university scope.  

Hypergrid University organization {preliminary model}

  • School of Virtual Worlds
  • School of Virtual World Applications
  • School of Accredited Instruction in Virtual Worlds.
  • TBD (To Be Determined)
  • Note: we don't have to do all this at once.

The main academic responsibility of a university: 

  • to aggregate learning opportunities
  • to integrate those into meaningful (and possibly useful) curricula 
  • to certify the quality of the instruction and of the graduates
  • to maintain a master catalog executing these responsibilities.

Topics below

  • Google+ community
  • Possible interested parties (possibly affiliations)
  • What a student can learn beyond the subject matter
  • Possible instructional methods
  • Virtual campus/catalog plan
  • Funding for maintenance of the master catalog might come from:
  • Services provided by the three schools mentioned above
  • Additional services by Hypergrid University

Google+ community:

Possible interested parties (possibly affiliations)

What a student can learn beyond the subject matter

  • How to research subject matter
  • Interpersonal skills (how to work with other people)
  • Writing/Speaking skills (how to present your ideas effectively)
  • Organizational skills (how to develop an effective plan)
  • Group skills (how to work in a task-oriented group)

Possible Instructional methods

Virtual campus/catalog plan

In virtual worlds, the main function of a located campus would be to show people what is available and to help them get to it (hypergates).
  • A university campus is a place to find learning opportunities to suit your goals
  • Hypergrid model:  A small build, possibly with multiple levels, 
  • Displays posters, notecard givers, and hypergates, matching the master catalog 
  • The structure need not have walls and need not look like a building.  
  • It is a single object and can be rezzed from a box.
  • It will be made available free or for small cost.
  • It might be near the entry point on many grids.
  • It might be offered at small cost on a hypergrid market (Kitely Market).
  • There will be a cost of management, administration and upkeep. 
  • Possibly covered by donations or small charge for updates.
  • Plan for quarterly updates, in step with the master catalog

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Hypergrid University organization {preliminary model}

School of Virtual Worlds offers basic skills needed to function effectively in virtual worlds 

School of Virtual World Applications

  • Providing learning environments
  • Presenting musical events
  • Producing videos
  • Presenting live theater
  • TBD

School of Accredited Instruction in Virtual Worlds:Instructional units for academic credit or certification.

  • Provided by outworld accredited institutions.  
  • Generally cross-listed from outworld institutions.
  • Provides an aggregation of inworld learning with credit or certification.
  • Especially suited for continuing education and professional development.
  • Awarding credit or certification will generate income.

Production of master catalog: an organized and curated list of instructional content

  • Evaluate available instructional content*:
  • Specify objectives for instructional units.
  • Select instructional content that suits objectives for each unit.
  • Where available, multiple instructional methods, times, and languages.
  • Where no suitable content is available, post call for content.
  • Organize catalog to cluster conceptually related courses or units
  • (See Hypergrid University organization)
  • Release an updated master catalog periodically (every 3 months)
  • *Instructional content is content that supports learning.
  • It may not be similar to a textbook or lecture
  • It may be in the form of games, puzzles, 
  • tasks to be completed, capabilities to be demonstrated, etc.
  • I would prefer to call it content that supports learning, but that is too long.

Funding for maintenance of the master catalog might come from:

  • Donations
  • Affiliated partners
  • Ads on the web site of the master catalog
  • Sales of the hypergrid campus

Additional services by Hypergrid University

  • Identify, evaluate and curate academic resources.
  • Publicize and promote learning on the Hypergrid.
  • Act as liaison to outworld entities with educational interests. 
  • TBD

Related

The online Higher Education Market Splits
A small number of institutions in the U.S. have adopted methods for producing and supporting online courses that have the potential, if not the likelihood, to improve learning outcomes, increase the speed with the institution improves the quality of teaching and learning, increase value (quality/cost).

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News and Notes

Contests and dated calls/invitations/events


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Not a popularity vote. This is your prediction of who the actual top 10 will be in the official judging.  Deadline:  Midnight SLT 3rd December 2014
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The Machinima 48 Hour Film Project

Weekend of 14 - 16 November 2014
Filmmakers from all over the variety of virtual worlds and games will compete to see who can make the best short film in only 48 hours. The winning film will go up against films from around the world.
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Newcomer Help in Virtual Worlds

Education

How to handle a Hypergrid address 

From any Hypergrid-enabled grid, paste the address into the address bar of Firestorm and press enter. Or paste it into the world map search bar of any viewer, search, and click Teleport when the destination is found. If it doesn't work, don't give up. Try again later. Some hypergrid destinations are offline part of the day. 
If you get an address that looks like this: 
hg.francogrid.org:80:Residence-09:/119/128/190    paste it into the address bar of Firestorm, see if it takes you to the exact coordinates. 

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Video-Machinima in virtual worlds
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