Virtual Worlds and Semapedia Tags

At a recent conference I had the privilege of listening to Michele Bowman of Global Foresight Associates, Inc., discussing the future and how it relates to education. Her presentation was eye-opening and had the audience out of their comfort zone in exploring not what is- but what "could be" in the not so distant future. One of our initiatives as a career and tech school is to keep up with the latest technologies and how they impact instruction as well as to understand what and how students are learning today in not so formal environments. Two areas the spaeker highlighted were pertaining to technology changes. Semapedias and Virtual Worlds were touched on and their impact on consumers. I have to admit that I hadn't heard of either one prior to the conference. Here's a rundown.

With Semapedia or Semapedia Tagging, you can hyperlink your physical world with knowledge that matters. To do this you create small Semapedia Tags consisting of a cell-phone readable 2D Barcodes that will link others to the content you provide. Or put simply: Mark things like buildings, books, airplanes, cars or whatever with small Semapedia Tags that let others be an entry-point for more information. Essentially you go to Wikipedia (if you don't know what WIKI is, you need a refresher course on 21st century technology) and look up something that has an interesting reference to something in the real world. You copy this URL into a predesigned form that gives you a printable 2D bar code that you can print as a pdf file. Take this printout (preferably on an adhesive label) and stick it somewhere where the reference would be helpful. ( the site recommends that you get permission before you begin sticking these up all over the place).

Now anyone walking by with a camera phone can take a picture of the 2D-bar code and get the link of information instantaneously on their phone. While hard to image the relevancy of doing this beyond a very creative scavenger hunt, I'm sure there will be practical applications in the not so distant future.

Another new and evolving technology involves Virtual Worlds. Do you have your own avatar? What am I writing about you ask? According to Wiki, virtual worlds are defined as follows:

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. This habitation usually is represented in the form of two or three-dimensional graphical representations of humanoids (or other graphical or text-based avatars). Some, but not all, virtual worlds allow for multiple users.

The world being computer-simulated typically appears similar to the real world, with real world rules such as gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication. Communication has, until recently, been in the form of text, but now real-time voice communication using VOIP is available. This type of virtual world is now most common in massively multiplayer online games.

Does this sound like the 21st century version of our Atari and Pac-man? Well, somewhat but actually its much more than just a computer simulation game. Read the following description according to the Horizon Project web site on virtual worlds and their education relevance:

Overview of this Trend's Impact on Education Current Impact While slight in numbers, current examples do exist of how virtual worlds are impacting education. Many high schools are taking advantage of virtual worlds, using them to work with other schools or study things and places that otherwise they would never be able to see. Some colleges are accepting the use, creating campuses and providing classes in Second Life (SL). Very few elementary level educators see the benefits of the revolutionary learning tool, but the possibilities are there for the youngest of students as well. Studying Marco Polo? Why not meet him? Learning about different types of rocks? Why not go inside of one? Virtual Worlds provide these opportunities to students of all ages.

Augmented Reality Augmented Reality is a type of virtual world that uses an actual physical space. Students have a laptop or cell phone (something with a screen) and a GPS tracker. When the student reaches a previously specified area of the designated space, the GPS triggers a video to start on the screen. That video would lead them to another space, triggering another video. It would be like a treasure map, with the final lesson at the end. The process is an interactive learning method.

Future Eventually virtual worlds will permeate into every aspect of education. They (virtual worlds and education) will be one - inseparable, impossible to distinguish or differerientate. People will be able to attend a school solely in virtual worlds. Classes, from kindergarten to college, will be able to go inside a whale's stomach or visit ancient Rome, even design entire cities. The possibilities are endless and available. We need only to take advantage of them.

So, does all of this sound a little like an old Star Trek show? Well the reality is that it's here and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in how these technologies will impact our lives and our classrooms.

Stay tuned......