Enzo Silva blog » life http://enzosilva.com Learning together... Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:07:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 An Unofficial Look into Steve Jobs’ Life and Career http://enzosilva.com/blog/2011/10/06/an-unofficial-look-into-steve-jobs-life-and-career/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2011/10/06/an-unofficial-look-into-steve-jobs-life-and-career/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:08:17 +0000 enzofsilva http://enzosilva.com/blog/?p=889 The All About Steve Jobs website is an unofficial yet comprehensive source of information about Steve’s lifestyle, career, key people in his life, genius on stage, and genius at work.

The neatly-curated and well-presented information on this website includes interviews with colleagues, family, employees, and the man himself. Here you can have a glimpse at the way he worked with people on a daily basis, how he led Apple to mainstream success with his vision and “gut feeling” for good design, how he alone (and hist good taste for what simply works) was the consumer-testing department for every new product  at Apple.

A timeline shows Steve’s accomplishments at a glance.

An interesting fact about this website is that it has been built by a true fan over the years, not as a homage after Steve’s passing.

Image source: All About Steve Jobs.com

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2011/10/06/an-unofficial-look-into-steve-jobs-life-and-career/feed/ 1 Second Life’s Decline? – Whatever Happened to Second Life? http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/05/second-lifes-decline-whatever-happened-to-second-life/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/05/second-lifes-decline-whatever-happened-to-second-life/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:42:11 +0000 enzofsilva http://enzosilva.com/blog/?p=660 This post by Barry Collins for PCPro highlights the author’s adventures in Second Life and the decline of his interest in the virtual world. As many of us when we first get into something new and cool, he a peak of interest which then started to turn into boredom as he experienced and saw more of the same every time he walked into the world of Second Life.

The last points he raises such as goals and rewards would probably make users stay in Second Life longer. Besides the social interaction and some interactive attractions in Second Life, there is not much to it if designers/developers don’t put much effort in creating new experiences rather then only replicating what we already see in real life.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/05/second-lifes-decline-whatever-happened-to-second-life/feed/ 0 Article by Avatar Languages – 3D Virtual Worlds for Language Learning http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/02/article-by-avatar-languages-3d-virtual-worlds-for-language-learning/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/02/article-by-avatar-languages-3d-virtual-worlds-for-language-learning/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:53:53 +0000 enzofsilva http://enzosilva.com/blog/?p=657 3D Virtual Worlds for Language Learning

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2010/01/02/article-by-avatar-languages-3d-virtual-worlds-for-language-learning/feed/ 0 Uses of Second Life in Education http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/04/11/uses-of-second-life-in-education/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/04/11/uses-of-second-life-in-education/#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:40:55 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=417 Excellent list on the SLEducation wiki on the use of Second Life for immersive learning. Some very interesting islands are highlighted like the ISTE island.

Explore the list here.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/04/11/uses-of-second-life-in-education/feed/ 0 Stigmergy in Virtual Worlds http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/02/25/stigmergy-in-virtual-worlds/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/02/25/stigmergy-in-virtual-worlds/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:58:28 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=385 Many researchers have been talking about stigmergy in Web-based environments. Sarah Intellagirl Robbins has been doing research in facets of Virtual Worlds and their potential for education. Stigmergy is one of the affordances she identified (or put the name to the face) in working with Virtual Worlds.

From Wikipedia we have:

Stigmergy is a mechanism of spontaneous, indirect coordination between agents or actions, where the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a subsequent action, by the same or a different agent. Stigmergy is a form of self-organization.

For stigmergy in other contexts visit: 

Web Stigmergy

Definitions of Stigmergy

Stigmergic Collaboration

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2009/02/25/stigmergy-in-virtual-worlds/feed/ 0 Alternate Second Life Viewers http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/09/12/alternate-second-life-viewers/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/09/12/alternate-second-life-viewers/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:15:15 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=227 Many people complain about Second Life’s drain on processor performance. 

Linden Labs created this wiki page with alternative Second Life viewers that might be of interest to those trying to experiment with Second Life. Some of them claim offer a cleaner, easier to navigate user interface. 

I am experimenting with some right now and will let you know (Mac users) my opinion about them. Other Mac users and also Windows users are more than welcome to post their favorites and opinions here as well.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/09/12/alternate-second-life-viewers/feed/ 0 Tips for Teaching and Learning in Second Life http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/08/25/tips-for-teaching-and-learning-in-second-life/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/08/25/tips-for-teaching-and-learning-in-second-life/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:17:36 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=208 CollegeDegree.com posted a list of resources, link,s tips and tutorials for those who want to teach or provide learning experiences in Second Life. This list compiled by Heather Johnson is definitely worthwhile.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/08/25/tips-for-teaching-and-learning-in-second-life/feed/ 0 Google Lively – 3D Chat/Virtual World http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/07/09/google-lively-3d-chatvirtual-world/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/07/09/google-lively-3d-chatvirtual-world/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:39:56 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=132 As if Google wasn’t already trying to be the know-it-all and the have-it-all of the Web, now they also try to compete with 3D chat rooms and virtual worlds in this new release in beta phase:

Lively – “Chat and interact with your friends in rooms you design.”

“Customize your avatar and stream personal photos and video.”

“Invite your friends to chat and help decorate.”

The look an feel resembles virtual worlds such as CyWorld, for instance. Many others are compared on this chart by TechCrunch. The Blue Book published by the Association of Virtual Worlds contains and enormous list of Virtual Worlds…

It might be worth giving it a try. I am just not sure whether we need yet another virtual world combined with a chat room capability… mmmm… All in all, It might be just another move for Google to place their ads all over the Web , this time on the 3D Web…

By the way, no Mac version as of now…

Also, take a look at Karl Kapp’s list of Alternative to Second Life.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/07/09/google-lively-3d-chatvirtual-world/feed/ 1 How NOT to teach in Second Life http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/05/20/how-not-to-teach-in-second-life/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/05/20/how-not-to-teach-in-second-life/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 22:34:05 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=51 An interesting interview with Milosun Czervik on the use of Second Life for teaching and how most people just replicate flawed real-life environments and approaches when using MUVEs for learning.
Interview conducted by Kevin Lim.

]]> http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/05/20/how-not-to-teach-in-second-life/feed/ 0 Second Life Hands-free Immersive Experience http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/05/13/second-life-hands-free-immersive-experience/ http://enzosilva.com/blog/2008/05/13/second-life-hands-free-immersive-experience/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 15:10:13 +0000 enzofsilva http://tweaklearning.wordpress.com/?p=46 NOW we can have immersive experiences that involve our body movements in MUVEs.

This was something experienced mostly by Nintendo Wii users when playing boxing and dodging a punch. Well, Linden Labs has been doing some research on the use of 3D cameras that allow you to control your avatar throught body movements, no keyboards, no mouse.

Imagine what this can bring to educational experiences:

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