Archives for January 2011

Journal of Virtual Worlds Education: inaugural issue

Just a quick heads-up of the launch of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Education. Published by The Center for Virtual Worlds Education and Research, there’s a mix of research and discussion papers covering a wide gamut.

Check out the main JVWE website or view the first issue here.

Call for writers

Back in November we published our reader survey results and one of the strong requests was to expand the number of writers we have. So as promised we’re heeding that call. Read on if you’re interested in contributing!

You do not need to be based in Australia to express interest in any of the options. I won’t be bringing on all the combinations below, will see what works out once people start making contact.

Option 1: Paid regular writer

This is for the person with a demonstrated writing record. If you’re able to produce a 600-1000 word post per week, then this is for you. Your brief is likely to be broad i.e. across a range of topics / virtual worlds although am happy to discuss a dedicated beat for OpenSim grids, Blue Mars, social worlds or specialities like education, business and science if that’s your thing. Payment would be monthly for stories published the previous month. US$20 per post is on offer, which isn’t great but is above the blog average.

Option 2: Paid casual writer

As per Option 1 but with you pitching story ideas on a less than weekly basis when you have time. The ball would be in your court. Paying the same but on understanding that I won’t be accepting all pitches and may not have the funds to commission even all the good ideas.

Option 3: Guest poster

This is for the person who may not have written for publication before. You pick a topic you want to write about and I help you get the first story done. No payment for guest posts, but if it goes well, then Option 1 or 2 may come your way. You can definitely link to your own site or provide a short bio etc. I’m particularly interested in guest posts from researchers, virtual worlds developers or others involved in the industry that want a wider platform to put their views.

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For all these options, use the contact form to express interest or DM me on Twitter. In that initial communication just provide a paragraph or two on what you’d like to do, a little bit about yourself and any previous writing experience. I will reply to all expressions of interest and those with potential will be asked to provide writing samples where applicable.

Microsoft Kinect on WoW: evolutionary steps

This post comes from Metaverse Health, our sister site devoted to everything related to health and virtual worlds.

Here’s a great video showing the use of the Kinect to play World of Warcraft using a software framework called FAAST. After the initial demo there’s some useful discussion by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies on its potential applications.

Those applications are something discussed here regularly: rehabilitation and physical activity. Imagine the impact of the technology shown in the video for someone who plays a dozen or more hours of an MMO each week? Let alone someone with a chronic disease or multiple lifestyle risk factors.

Anyway, have a look for yourself:

For my interest in clinical simulation, these developments are of particular interest. Truly effective simulation is likely when health practitioners are physically able to replicate tasks. With my crystal ball in hand, I can’t see that being any more than five years away.

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