AVATAR movie & metaphor

Pick a metaphor, religious, scientific, cultural or political and your sure to find it layered in this block buster of a movie somewhere.

Neovet couldn't help but see some parallels with the idea of running around in the brain of a giant blue elf warrior and vocational training through elearning. The best part being that Jake Sully can do the impossible thanks to a virtual, (be it real) environment.

Jake can now walk in the virtual world and learn a whole new culture, language and set of skills. Will this re-inspire second life learning? Probably not, but 3D, AVATAR based social media and elearning is only moments away if your following the latest moves by Google to make the browser a doorway to a "Pandorian" web experience through it's O3D api.

Social Media Matters

I've been a Twitt!

"What happened to my blog!" "If i tweet, do i blog as well?" "Is twitter the new blogger?"

These questions are echoing around the blogisphere from bloggers who now 'micro blog' with twitter so often, it leaves them wondering if they should 'blog blog' as in blog for real, anymore.

I personally have been on hiatus from my blog and the distance between my last and this post is evidence of my lack of blogging. Twitter IS to blame, (or should i blame the tweeter?), and so is the ability to search the worlds thoughts in real time. Neovet is designed to be a place of pure elearning joy, for those who are always looking for that next innovation that will make training better online.

Twitter therefore is both relevant as a tool to share my blog with others, and dare i say if you don't tweet between blog posts, your blog might as well be offline, and also as a learning tool.

The learning tool element of Twitter, is in the ability to articulate what your learning, share what you learning and as a great search engine. The real time posting element is unique and powerful, especially coupled with hand-held devices.

Twitter as a live group blogging tool at conferences and workshops is worth looking into, but maybe next time... right now i need to tweet my blog if you know what i mean.

Google Wave & elearning

Well if you feel the hype of Google Wave, then you be feeling it's time to say goodbye to some of your favorite web apps as the Wave seems to be an 'all in one' solution to web communication/collaboration and fun too!.

For learning, it's the real time function, file sharing and embedabillity (new word?), that's got neovet excited. Imagine a mash-up of Skype, Facebook, Twitter, DimDim, iGoogle......you get the picture, prepare to surf the wave late 2009.

Googles 'Lively' place to chat... and break dance!

Update: Just when we started trialling it, Google pulled the plug, so Google Lively is gone :( sad to say but the good news is New Lively is here to stay thanks to a community of believers.

Googles newest and (i think) coolest application is the self contained avatar world of 'Lively'. At first view I thought this would be another endless jump into the abyss of Avatar black holes like 'second life', but i think the advantages of 'Lively', are actually in it's limitations, not in it's applications.

• It is a simple introduction to Avatarian culture for beginners

• Lively keeps your community in closer proximity through meeting 'rooms' rather than whole 'worlds'. Rooms can be linked through hyper linked objects ( I have a magic potplant portal in my first room!)

• I'ts not overwhelming: the user options are kept to basic communication methods of gestures, text chat, and a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure.
  

It also embeds in CMS nicely such as 'moodle', as a better 'chat' option, you can actually see who is in the chat room for one, but also the extra novelty of making my avatar break dance in front of others takes the cake.

I would like to see the following applications added to 'Lively' for enhanced E-learning.

1. A 'real' WhiteBoard, to leave messages on
2. Video or audio message app, where users can post a short message
3. Quiz, Word Puzzle and Scrabble games
4. A timetable app, with upcoming events
5. Integrated account to CMS so users don't need to 'sign in' twice
   
6. How about a sit down Space Invaders game too :)

To visit my first student room click below, but keep in mind you will need to download the Lively app first, then also have a Google/G-mail account to enter.