ARGs in Education

…for not being clear/posting for so long. The reason has been trifold.

1) I got a new job. An amazing new job, at Tate. Yes Tate Tate. From September 24th I’m going to be the Editor of Tate Kids. You know what that means people…yes ARG time, bitches. As part of the interview, I had to put together a proposal of what I would do to the site (as I have to revamp it completely – see the job description) and of course, an ARG was an idea mooted. Think – galleries are great places to hide clues and be great fun for kids (6-12) to go tearing round them, pissing off stuffy types. I can’t go into to much detail on the ideas, because I don’t want other galleries ripping it off, but I think I could tie it into an event they do called Secret Tate. Loves it. Would probably make the game very short – just lasting an afternoon, and we would provide all the technology – possibly PDAs. God. I’ve said too much, haven’t I? I can see it being a distant relative of Hotrocket’s CIE. Sort of.

Anyway, the plan is to ‘Web 2.0′ the whole site, so keep checking it please. Actually don’t worry, as I will no doubt be posting all details here. So yes, I couldn’t go public with the news, EdComs forbade (is that a word?) me. Embargo lifted, mofos.

2) From the previous post, you can see I went to the Mind Candy offices. Whoop. How privelliged am I? Basically Michael Smith had been reading this very blog (!), and was thinking of ways I could possible get involved with their work. I was beyond flattered – to the point to of puking actually. I was the archetypal dickhead hammy fan, but it rocked. Spookily I had the Tate interview just an hour before I met them, so I felt properly in demand. Thanks for your time MC – I’ll be back.

3) This blog was created as part of a my MA, and I am now no longer obligated to maintain it. However – I love it too much to ditch, it rocks.

 So yeah, a new chapter all, and a real chance to get this ARG made.

It looks like I might have an ARG to study for my dissertation afterall!

There is a group of Facebook called Transmedia, where Transmediums (!) like myself discuss the finer points of cross-medianess. It’s an open group, so join in if you are interested.

Through the group I have got in touch with Alexa from Belgium who is willing to show me their intial research etc.

She blogs here.

Very kindly, she sent me a number of links to get me started, which I am happy to share with you. Once I have had a detailed read, I will post a response up here.

Her pilot in Poland

The eMappps project

OK everyone, I’ve decided I’m going to start blogging about social networks, virtual worlds and education here too.

So, in the sprit of things,  here is an article from The Guardian re the aquisition of Club Penguin, a sort of SL for children, just bought by Disney. They also list the other major virtual worlds:

Webkinz
Habbo Hotel
Stardoll
Neopets
Gaia Online

I’ll also be blogging about Kate Modern, a new online interactive drama from Bebo, from the creators of Lonelygirl15.