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Not only did the symposium cover Second Life® (SL) but it ran in the SL environment by the New Media Consortium (NMC), it involved studio sessions, hands-on sessions and exhibitions on several key topics related to the virtual world.
Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)’s Software Solutions practice is collaborating with the Federation of American Scientists on a project in SL. Within a session entitled ‘Gaming Second Life’, Dinesh Dwivedi of TIS joined Alice Petty from Stanford University and two presenters from FAS – Michelle Roper and Sachin Patil - to discuss the need for worldwide collaboration to develop 3D content for subjects such as archeology, and to determine how the research product can be used for instructional delivery.
Dinesh Dwivedi discussed the technical goals of the TIS/FAS project and the future directions that online virtual world technologies may take, especially in the field of education and e-learning.
The session, which lasted just over an hour, was well attended.
About the New Media Consortium (NMC)
The New Media Consortium (NMC) is an international not-for-profit consortium comprising nearly 250 learning-focused organisations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies based in Austin, Texas. Member institutions are drawn from the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. Among the membership are colleges and universities, museums, research centres, foundations and companies.
About Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1945. FAS promotes the humanitarian use of science and technology. Its Board of Sponsors includes 68 Nobel Laureates in chemistry, economics, medicine and physics. The FAS Learning Technologies Project works on strategies to harness the potential of emerging information technologies to improve how we teach and learn.
The Learning Technologies Program is developing prototype games and learning tools; publishes reports and policy analyses; holds workshops and conferences; briefs members of Congress and administration officials; and assembles design teams and community leaders to form research partnerships. Educational games are an important component of the program. By building and evaluating learning games in-house, FAS is addressing two key areas identified in the Learning Science and Technology R&D Roadmap: 1) design of games for learning; and 2) adapting simulations to learning environments. The Learning Science and Technology R&D Roadmap incorporates advice from 100 researchers to define state of the art learning science and identify key research challenges.
About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)
Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), a global leader in e-learning, is a part of the $48bn Tata Group. Truly international, TIS has a presence across the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Japan, India, and mainland Europe. TIS offers corporations, universities, schools, publishers, and government institutions a diversified and innovative bouquet of learning and training solutions including Simulation-based Learning Objects (SimBLs™), Story-based Learning Objects (StoBLs™), courseware and curriculum design, special-needs education, assessments, electronic performance support systems (EPSS), mobile learning, along with other corporate training and consultancy services. Our multi-disciplinary expertise and 16 years’ experience across domains helps us design e-learning programmes that are unique to clients’ requirements and specifically crafted to boost knowledge retention and application.
Apart from holding ISO 9001 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI-CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in numerous prestigious industry awards, including a Silver Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2005 and 2004, APEX Award of Excellence in 2005 and 2006, BETT Awards in 2004 and 2006, and two Business World–NID Design Excellence awards.
Further information from:
Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, +44 (0)20 7905 0156
Note to editors: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc.
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