Alternate Reality Games

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging so much is because of the increased time I've been spending in Second Life, but I'm determined to get back to blogging again. More than anything else, I miss it. But blogging is also such a useful tool for sounding out ideas. Which brings me to...

The main project I'm working on in Second Life is in the teen grid and, is looking more like a language learning laboratory for testing out different ideas. Among the experiments we're adding is mystery in the form of an alternate reality game.

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)

One of the most successful of ARGs was ILoveBees, which was used to promote the XBox game Halo2. A very clever marketing campaign, this game ignited the enthusiasm of a large community on the web, who worked together to solve the cross-media puzzles contained in the game.

There are useful lessons here for educators: For example, Lingualgamers mentions "the levels of teamwork required for the massively social tasks presented in ILoveBees provided one of the most fertile grounds for peer learning possible."

Ligualgamers goes on to suggest that by "studying the learning that takes place in alternate reality games we can gain valuable insights into how to create engaging experiences around web content from other languages and cultures."

to be continued...

Comments

  1. Hi Graham--
    Could you leave a schedule of approximately when you are in SL? I learn so much each time I visit with you, and I can't make the noon GMT at Webheads (4-5 AM my time).
    Cheers---
    --Elizabeth

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  2. Sure thing, Elisabeth - I must admit that I'm currently spending all my time on the Teen Grid, getting our island ready, but hopefully I'll be free in September - am planning to at least set aside some time on Monday evenings to do tours and meet up with people, etc.

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