@derekrobertson's...

Endless Ocean has a rival....

I had the very good fortune of being asked to present at a teacher preview evening at the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre. This CPD event  was aimed at teachers interested in Moving Image Education and also gave the Arts Centre the opportunity to showcase their up-coming Discovery Film Festival for young people.

I decided to use my 20 minutes to showcase Endless Ocean and the work that has been done by Kim Aplin and her class up in Meldrum Primary School. It was sheer bliss getting the chance to play Endless Ocean on the cinema screen, what a blast! My next house will have a wall that size, I will make sure of it ;-)

I have talked about Endless Ocean before in previous blog posts but I just wanted to show a wee video of a competitor to Endless Ocean that is coming over the horizon. Take a look at Aqua for the PS3 which is due out next year:

This looks phenomenal. Also some screen shots can be viewed here.

The PS3 looks as though it will go from strength to strength in terms of becoming a device that can be used in classrooms as more material like this comes out. Looking forward to trying this one but still beguiled by Endless Ocean...

Some more virtual pets to look after...

The world of virtual pets is something that I have been exploring in relation to teaching and learning in recent months. Nintendogs is for me an incredible resource but there are two new ones on the scene that I am about to, or, am eagerly awaiting to try.

Moshi Monsters is an online game where you have to look after your virtual monster. Packed with puzzles and chalenges as well as all the options to personalise your new pet horror it looks as though this might be somnething that we can use in the teaching and learning domain.

Secondly, have a look at this. I thought the EyeToy for the PS2 was good but felt that the EyeToy for the PS3 had sooooo much potential. Well just check this out:

Don't you want one?! I most certainly do and I look forward to this creature being released in my house. Remember, no cleaning up after it...yes, the ultimate pet. ;-)

Little Big Planet: Enough to make you buy a PS3

If you 're uncertain about whether to splash out on a PS3 then stop the uncertainty now for Little Big Planet is coming. Made by the creative minds at Media Molecule this sandbox/game creation world will allow you to play,create and share. It looks fantastic and is I'm sure something that will not only be a huge hit at home but can also be put to excellent use in schools.

The general idea is that you can make your own games that other people can play. But the tools and options for the game creationlook limitless, only bound by your imagination or lack of it. You can even use the eyetoy to take snapshots that can then be used a textures in the game. Have a look:



Here is another video with someone talking through the game design procedure


Finally, an interview from Aleks Krotoski's Guardian site with the makers of Little Big Planet.

BBC iplayer for the PS3

I remember the battle between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s. My dad plumped for a cracking Sanyo Betamax model because it was reputed to be the best system and I've still got some heavy metal Betamax videos such as Stryper in Japan in the cupboard somewhere! The Blu-Ray vs HD DVD battle never reached the Hearns vs Hagler heights of the 1980s video recorder battle but it really is all becoming irrelevant these days...my video recorder hasn't been used for months. It's not broken, I've got money to buy tapes and yes I do know how to programme it. It's just that it is redundant technology...

From hard drive recorders from Sky and Virgin, watch again facilities on TV servies and now BBC's iplayer, you've no excuse to miss your favourite programmes.

The BBC have stolen a march in making the iplayer accessible via the Wii but if you don't have one do not fear, there is now an unofficial site that will allow you to access the iplayer through your PS3.

If you can pull yourself away from GTA IV then happy viewing. ;-)

The PS3 is on the march: Elefunk

Here's another game for the PS3 that schools will no doubt be able and willing to use. Elefunk is a problem solving world that involves making bridges of increasing size and complexity over precipitous drops that will enable your elephant/s to cross. I remember working on a bridge building workshop with the PGCE(P) students at Dundee University and am sure that this game would have greatly enriched the whole session. Have a quick look:

You can get this from the PS3 store but I'm not sure if it can also work on the Sony PSP. Now that would be cool, imagine having this as a PSP activity to get you settled in first thing in the morning in school.

Must get this downloaded and help those elephants cross the bridge.

The PS3 is on the way: Echochrome

I used to have a diary that had a number of Escher's paintings in it. Not real ones obviously! Well there's a game coming out that Much of the work that I have been doing in schools has revolved around the Nintendo DS and Wii. There has been quite a number of projects that have used the PS2 but so far little or no work with the PS3. Initially I was not hugely interested in the PS3 mainly because the earlier tranche of titles seemed to be aimed at the more hard core gaming world and as such they didn't easily lend themselves to the work that I do in retro-fitting commercial off the shelf games into the Scottish curriculum. However it looks as though things are starting to change. Take a look at Echochrome for the PS3 which is coming soon to the Playstation Store. You might want to think about Escher's art as you look at this and think how this game could allow you  to cross over into the cognitive challenge domain.

The above trailer explains the laws of Echochrome and this clip shows how the game plays out. Here's a clip of the 'laws' in action:

....and here's another:

This looks rather tasty and appears to me to be yet another game that can be used to facilitate that cognitive challenge that we are finding is so hungry in young learners via the commercial games consoles.