The filmmakers behind "The Reckoning," the new documentary about the International Criminal Court, have launched an associated online clearinghouse to support education and outreach about ICC. Called "IJ Central," it promises to : integrate a multi-platform citizen engagement strategy using online mapping technology to visualize the global justice network through SMS text messaging, aggregating blogs,…
Category: Information Society
WebWise 2009: Museums and libraries pursuing the innovative edge in a digital age
From February 25-27, I had the opportunity to go to the WebWise conference in Washington DC, an annual gathering of 300-some professionals from libraries and museums to discuss how to keep their cultural institutions relevant in the digital age. It was great getting to hear from some of the leading museums and libraries in America…
“Playing 4 Keeps”: Global Kids social-issues games program
I haven't written much about Global Kids' work in the serious games arena. We have developed a successful program called "Playing 4 Keeps" that engages young people in the process of game design as a way to get them thinking critically about digital games and examining social issues in new ways. In the past three…
Intellagirl talks about her study of 80 virtual worlds and online games tomorrow
Just got word that Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins will be speaking on "Games and Virtual Worlds in Education: MMORPGs, MUVEs, Games…What's the difference?" at Indiana University Bloomington tomorrow, February 10, at 12pm EST. People can attend remotely using Adobe Connect at this link and log in as a guest. Here's the description: Today there are over…
Auto-tune: Music, manipulation and the authentic experience
There's a really interesting discussion in the comments section of Gizmodo about the use of "Auto-tune" technology to modify and correct the vocals of pop artists on their albums. The most notorious user of Auto-tune is hip-hop artist T-Pain. But according to Time magazine the modern recording industry uses Auto-tune for pretty much every album….
YouTube as a research tool: all the knowledge of humanity in 3 minute chunks
The New York Times has an interesting article from a few days ago about how young people are using YouTube as their primary search engine for finding information on the internet. Entitled "At First, Funny Videos. Now, a Reference Tool," the report describes how kids are increasingly seeking all sorts of knowledge on this extremely…
Preparing youth for our rapidly changing times
Such a cool little video dramatizing how quickly our world is changing. My takeaway from this video is that educating youth to be effective citizens in the 21st century is less about cramming knowledge in their brains as much as preparing them with the right disposition to absorb new information, learn new skills, and effectively…
Bronx Rhymes: Documenting the history of hip-hop using new media
"Bronx Rhymes" is a project to preserve and present the history of hip-hop culture from its roots in the South Bronx. It combines several forms of new media in ways that honor the culture: Bronx Rhymes uncovers the history of Hip Hop in the borough by tagging historically important locations with rhymes. These rhymes illuminate…
“Raid Gaza!” game: social issue game with unintentionally appropriate banner ad?
On the website "New Grounds" there's a new Flash game about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict called "Raid Gaza!" Some might question the value of this kind of serious issue game, particularly now when the hospitals and morgues are filling with civilians and combatants from the latest flareup. I think "Raid Gaza!!" does succeed in presenting in…
Rafi on differing social media strategies of the Israeli Government
My buddy Rafi posts on his new blog Empathetics a very insightful commentary on how different branches of the Israeli government are using social media during this latest Gaza conflagration. In short, the Israeli military is employing the old "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" approach versus the Israeli diplomatic corps more…