melanie mcbride.net

“In search of diamonds” Blocky mix (minecraft machinima) Last week I finally got around to playing the lavatacular 8-bit sandbox PC game Minecraft! In addition to having lots of fun, I’m also thinking all the great forms of learning it engages.  Bryan Alexander, was among the first to identify the educational virtues of the game’s [...]

In my ongoing quest to locate the pedagogical value of games (via game play, research and dialogue), I have come across an interesting example of situated learning in WoW: The random dungeon, or “PUG.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, here is an excellent and educator friendly overview. “A PUG is a “pick-up-group,” [...]

Best. Run. Evar! Worlds collide in the most interesting ways …

I must roll a bigger Katamari for the King of All Cosmos (even though it’s his fault that all the stars have disappeared. How Freudian). My heart’s desire is to make enough beautiful and majestic Katamaris to fill the sky back up with stars so I can  make The King (and the modular Japanese family [...]

Ever envy the birds and their graceful giss? Join them with flyguy! click anywhere on the image below – and make sure your speakers are turned on, the music is lovely: I absolutely love Flyguy! It’s so playful, so inspired, so dharma! A truly brilliant use of flash animation that is both mindfully aware and [...]

“The orb of the undead is filling the streets with zombies,” says my boyfriend, from the couch, just moments ago. He is playing Baldur’s Gate on the new PS2 (our early xmas gift from dad). This is music to my ears after the shame of this historic past week.

Screenshot from “The Virtual Hallucinations Building” in Second Life. Courtesy of Wagner James Au “I cannot experience your experience. You cannot experience my experience. We are both invisible men. All men are invisible to one another. Experience used to be called The Soul. Experience is an invisibility of man to man is at the same [...]