Sun, Jul 31, 2005
Create Your Own Mini-Comic
Cartoonist Jessica Abel provides an online guide to producing mini-comics, which are xeroxed, self-published comics on whatever subject you dream up. 
Jessica is the author of a cool guide to creating radio programs developed for the This American Life radio program, as well as lots of other comics, available via her ArtBabe website.
Using this technique, combined with a program like Comic Life (Macintosh only) that makes it easy to make comics using photos and drawings from your computer, students could quickly be in the business of producing their own comic books.
Fri, Jul 29, 2005
enRole, Research, React, Resolve, Reflect: Developing and using online role play learning designs
In 2001 the Australian Universities Teaching Committee commissioned several sets of online resource materials that explain and support the use of different Learning Designs that take advantage of advances in technology. One of these core methods is the Online Roleplay. The resource site for this is known as “enRole, Research, React, Resolve, Reflect: Developing and using online role play learning designs” and it is chock full of useful tools for creating roleplays. 
While I liked the various tools I reviewed, I was particularly pleased, given my interest in campus conflict resolution, to see that their QuickStart Roleplay #2 uses a university controversy as the subject of its sample scenario. In addition to templates and checklists, the roleplay Designers Guide provides video clips from people who have developed online roleplays or participated in them. Lots of good stuff here.
So You Want to Be an Online Moderator - A Learning Module on Building Communities and Managing Commu
Developed by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework group, the free Building Communities - Managing Community Content learning module is structured around a fictitious storyline. You are asked to play the role of a new moderator who takes a job with the fictitious Fiveways Regional Council. This involves assisting the CEO and your boss to prepare for the launch of the online community environment and then dealing with situations that arise during online community interaction. The unit has 8 interactive sections, plus a glossary of terms and definitions.
This unit was designed for people who are responsible for the management, resourcing and moderation of virtual or online communities. This may include the job roles of:
- Moderator
- Educator
- Online tutor
- Web producer
- Event coordinator
- Intranet administrator/coordinator
- Manager and supervisor of these roles.
Thu, Jul 28, 2005
Earthquake in Zipland - A Game to Help Children of Divorce
While I don’t usually post about commercial products, I thought this game, apparently due for release in September of 2005 might interest family mediators and perhaps school-based mediators as well. The game, entitled Earthquake in Zipland was developed by two family therapists with backgrounds in solution-focused therapy. Perhaps the easiest way to get a feel for the product is to view the short video promo found here (in Windows Media Player format). More information is available from .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
As the developers describe it, the goal for the product was to create:
- A psychological edutainment product presented as an adventure game full of challenges and fun.
- A game designed to help children with divorced or separated parents cope with their new reality.
- A game that incorporates techniques and therapeutic insights from the fields of clinical psychology, family therapy, child therapy and divorce/separation therapy.
- A game for children from 7 -14.
The Story and the Game:
- The game begins in Zipland, a small paradise island, which represents the marriage of the parents (the King and Queen), comprised of two parts held together by a zipper. Suddenly an earthquake rips the island into two, leaving the King and the Queen on separate islands.
- “Moose”, the “hero”/ Prince, sets out on a quest to build a new zipper and re-combine the islands so that life can go on as before.
- The game then takes the players on a “Quest” through three dimensional scenery, filled with dozens of colorful characters.
The Psychological Aspects:
Each episode is built around an emotional theme, which is dealt with through:
- The dialogue, which combines gravity with humor and wit.
- The ability to express feelings in a diary.
- Characters that represent different philosophical and therapeutic points of view.
- A unique game interface.
“Earthquake in Zipland” intends to enable children:
- To identify with situations in the game that are parallel to the emotional situations they are struggling with in their own lives.
- To distance themselves from personal experiences and approach feelings that they tend to ignore ,e.g. anger, helplessness, blame, shame and loneliness.
- To cope with both the separation and the fantasy of bringing their parents back together again.
- To express painful, repressed feelings, by writing in a diary, and thus enable desensitization of the pain caused by their parents’ situation.
- To enjoy many hours of entertainment with intellectual challenges.
“Earthquake in Zipland” intends to enable the parents:
- To talk about painful issues, which the child is usually reluctant to express.
- To broaden their knowledge and understanding of the impact of the separation on their child.
- To play alongside their child and nonverbally address personal family issues under non-threatening circumstances.
Wed, Jul 27, 2005
Air Force ADR Program’s Mediation Compendium for Workplace Disputes
In 2003 the Air Force ADR Program won the Organizational Lawyer as Problem Solver award from the ABA Dispute Resolution Section recognizing their pioneering work within the federal sector. They have continued to innovate and share their materials online. The AF ADR Program recently posted their revised third edition of a guide to mediating workplace disputes. The 126 page compendium entitled How to Mediate Civilian Personnel Workplace Disputes is available online and as a Word document or PDF file. You can have a look at a detailed table of contents via this link. Don’t miss the Appendix, which contains a variety of useful forms and “cheat sheets” for the mediator. Readers might also be interested in the introductory powerpoint slides on Interest Based Negotiations on provided by the program for briefing new negotiators.
While it is not likely to be publicly available, it is interesting to note that The ADR Program Office has developed an ADR Awareness e-Learning course, which will be made available online very soon to Air Force personnel. The highly interactive module is designed around a case study format that takes the user through a workplace dispute scenario. The case study presents the user with opportunities to decide how the dispute should be handled. In the process, the user will be introduced to a range of alternative dispute resolution options and techniques and will learn some of the potential benefits of ADR over traditional choices for resolving disputes.
Tue, Jul 26, 2005
ADEPT Tool for reducing conflicts over the awarding of university tenure
Georgia Tech has developed an multimedia toolset that they hope will help ease the tensions and conflict associated with a faculty member’s quest for tenure at their university. Known as ADEPT (Awareness of Decisions in Evaluating Promotion and Tenure), the instrument is a tool that allows learners to participate in simulated promotion and tenure committee meetings. One of the primary goals of the instrument is to assist users in identifying forms of bias in evaluation processes to achieve fair and objective evaluations. It consists of a downloadable application package (currently PC only, with Mac version “coming soon”) that contains case studies (also viewable separately from the application) and related activities appropriate for group discussion or individual use by candidates, members of committees, and other faculty.
ADEPT presents two sets of activities, those designed to enhance a candidate’s abilities to prepare his/her record for evaluation (called “Navigate Your Career”), and those designed to help members of unit-level promotion and tenure committees understand the subtleties of bias in the evaluation process (called “Simulated Meeting/Cases and Questions”). The candidate portion of ADEPT includes guidance in building a strong dossier, while the committee member activity involves the user in fictional evaluation meetings featuring mock P&T case studies.
These ADEPT activities are linked to an annotated bibliography of research focusing on a broad range of forms of bias related to gender, ethnicity, choice of publication venues, engagement in interdisciplinary research, assignment of service activities, allocation of resources, mentoring, disability, and more.
Thu, Jul 21, 2005
Media the Matters Film Festival - online short films on social issues
Sixteen creative short movies are now available online from Media that Matters. Sustainability, Justice, Civic Engagement — these topics and more are tackled by the Media That Matters Film Festival. Launching June 1st, 2005, the Festival seeks to bring high-impact shorts and Take Action tools to audiences around the country. The Festival’s film and video shorts tour the country through community screenings, and are played on cable and satellite television channels. A Festival DVD with special features will be available for educators and activists in fall 2005. The Media That Matters Film Festival is produced by MediaRights, a nonprofit organization that connects filmmakers, activists, educators and youth through a variety of online and offline projects. By developing relationships between filmmakers and nonprofits, MediaRights promotes the exhibition of documentaries in a wide range of community venues. 
10 Reasons to Mediate video from EEOC’s National Mediation Program
The EEOC has released a new video entitled 10 Reasons to Mediate that introduces businesses to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s National Mediation Program. 
According to the EEOC, “Mediation is usually a preferable alternative to a traditional EEOC investigation and to enforcement and litigation steps that may follow. Mediation allows the parties involved in a charge of discrimination to resolve their differences quickly and amicably without a determination by the EEOC on the merits of the case.”
You can view the trailer for the video in Windows Media format. For a free copy of the “10 Reasons to Mediate” video, available on compact disc, send an e-mail request to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call (202) 663-4823. The video runs 14 minutes and is open captioned.
UNICEF World Heroes Game
The UNICEF World Heroes game challenges kids to help the world by becoming virtual volunteers delivering needed supplies. The flash-based game requires increasing levels of skill as you work to catch materials dropped from a UNICEF cargo plane. In the process, players learn about UNICEF’s major program areas and the real conditions children endure throughout the developing world. UNICEF World Heroes won the top prize for Amusement at the 2005 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Web Awards. 
Wed, Jul 20, 2005
Northern Ireland Conflict Curriculum
Northern Ireland: A Struggle to Co-Exist is a high school level curriculum module created by Keith O’Connell from Penn High School that provides a historical outline of the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. The unit consists of two lesson plans based on PowerPoint presentations. Lesson 1 outlines the history of the conflict and identifies the main political and paramilitary actors. Lesson 2 presents examples of popular murals in Belfast and Londonderry.
Tue, Jul 19, 2005
Video Introduction to Oka Conflict
Using archival footage from the CBC Television network, I put together a Video Overview (link goes directly to the 10+mb Quicktime movie) of the 1990 conflict between Mohawks and the Canadian government over the expansion of a golf course in an area near Oka, Quebec, Canada. Using the new OurMedia site and a free “library card” at the Internet Archive, I was able to upload the video to the public area of the Internet Archive for viewing. You’ll probably need a broadband connection to have it play properly. 
Flight to Freedom - Underground Railroad Simulation
Flight to Freedom is a learning simulation exploring the experience of southern slaves as they attempt to use the underground railroad and escape to free land to the North. Professor Patrick Rael of Bowdoin College’s History department created this resource in conjunction with the College’s Educational Technology Center. The simulation takes place on a map of the United States in the years before the Civil War. By controlling a historical character, players move across the map from point to point. An attempt at a move constitutes a new turn, during which a new event is “pulled” from a database of hundreds of events, all culled from historical and primarily narrative sources. The range of possible events to be displayed next varies depending on the character’s gender, health, location and more. The changing selection of events keeps the game fresh for replaying, but does require some suspension of disbelief because of inconsistencies that may arise across events in a characters back story or the movement of time as they move through the various locations.
In addition, the developers provide this caveat regarding the simulation: “We warn you: it may not always be pleasant. We have taken from the pages of history—from the words of those who actually escaped servitude to write their own stories—in an effort to give voice to those who have remained for too long without a voice. The great abolitionist Wendell Phillips once said that only when men stopped writing history would the story of the lions be told. It is time to hear the tale of the lions.” 
Fri, Jul 15, 2005
War News Radio - College Students as Broadcasters
Swarthmore college students are now producing a radio broadcast entitled War News Radio. Their hope is that War News Radio can fill the gaps in the media’s coverage of the war in Iraq by airing new voices and perspectives, both personal and historical, in a balanced and in-depth manner. The show is archived as mp3 files listed in a weblog so you can catch up on the show whenever you have time by subscribing to their blog newsfeed.
Recent shows (links go directly to the mp3 files) include:
War and Peace at 120 Degrees
President, Interrupted
Exit Strategies
Custer’s Last Stand
Mon, Jul 11, 2005
Working Collaboratively - a learning object for students
Programs of study at the University of South Australia are required to teach and assess the capacity of students to work collaboratively, to communicate effectively and to problem solve. This interactive web site entitled Working Collaboratively has been developed to provide teaching and learning support for developing skills in working collaboratively. It uses a “wheel” metaphor to explain what is involved in successful group work.
Content areas covered include:
Introducing the wheel model for group function
Understanding the variables that influence group function
When groups are not working
Personal responsibility for change
Assessing group work
Recording achievement of collaboration skills
Resources
Distributive Justice Interactive Web Site
The Distributive Justice Interactive Web Site takes an interdisciplinary and cross-national look at concepts of justice and fairness. The site, which as been developed over the course of several years, includes games, interviews, statistics and more. Requires shockwave flash to play properly. As the developers describe it,
Distributive justice is not only a central issue of moral and political philosophy, but also an object of common-sense moral reasoning. Everyone is sensitive to the question of his/her share of the common good. Even those who get the best peace of the social pie are in need to justify the actual model of distribution. It has become a truism that most people (especially in the transition countries) experience their own social position as “unjust”, relying on certain intuitive principles of distributive justice. Multidisciplinary project “Distributive Justice” is a work in progress designed by people with different backgrounds (art, philosophy, sociology, photography, design, programing). The project deals with the topic of distribution of goods in a society.
