Archives for June 2009

healthGAMERS Part Two: Interview With Melanie Lazarus, MPH

June 30, 2009 Today in my Twitter feed (yes, I finally joined, see sidebar badge!) I immediately benefited from the 'following' phenom to shortcut my research time when a new friend/follower in Australia, Tania Andrusiak, pointed to today’s Scientific American story called “Take two video games and call me in the morning” ---('ReTweet' visual at left) Guess it's time for … [Read more...]

Hey Kids: Is There A Market for Healthy Games?

June 28, 2009 There's no question healthGAMERS are exploring the opportunities of using a "perceived problem as a solution" in the gaming world. Humana is now offering $5000 to create a healthy game concept, RWJF crowdsourced ideas in Teen Second Life with their Dream it. Do it. venture for healthier communities and Elf Island's already seeing therapeutic results in their … [Read more...]

healthGAMERS: Newly Launched Hub For Serious Gaming

June 26, 2009 Just as some kids can sniff out an ‘educational’ experience and shut the learning light switch off (or dim it at best) others do the same with the phrase "Serious Games." Though it's an accurate label for the new healthGAMERS site, I hesitate to use ‘serious games’ because it can send people bolting in the opposite direction faster than you can say ‘disease … [Read more...]

Social Media ABC’s: An International Opportunity

June 23, 2009 Changeblogger and informal learning pro Jasmin Tragas, (also one of my fellow NextNow Collaboratory global gal pals and co-contributors to the Age of Conversation Gavin Heaton and Drew McClellan's collaborative social media project for Variety, the Children’s charity) has put together a stunningly simple alphabet slide show that's Sesame-Street-easy in imparting … [Read more...]

Neda: Iconic, Insta-Media Shifts Us To Visual Story Threads

June 22, 2009 Youth culture is highly visual and iconic, no doubt about it. According to Graham Brown's article, Youth in Iran, about 60% of the population in Iran is under 25, so it's no surprise that the death in the streets of 26-year old “Neda” has become iconic very, very fast. As students and global citizens rally using social media mobilization to protest the … [Read more...]