Ninmah's Blog – March 2010 Archive (19)

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I just ran across this game, Power Up, developed by IBM to teach kids about issues related to energy. I only played it for a moment as I'm on a research mission for work, but I want to explore it further later. Looks like you can play it single-player or collaboratively online. Continue

My EVOKE inbox has 79 messages. All of these go to my regular email address too (I know, I can change that setting, but then I'll miss the ones I DO want to see). I understand, and patiently tolerate, people's need to drive others to their posts by sending out messages to their entire friends network, or worse, to the the wh*** community -- I know I get messages from people not on my friends list. Continue

This objective has been the most difficult for me so far. I admit, I thought it would be hard to work up the courage to carry out my plan for ACT2, but this one has been harder. My skills center on organizing people, helping groups to achieve actual results, and making communication between people smoother -- not on inventing things. I can be resourceful, and when I have a small need I can figure out a way to… Continue

I'm so excited -- tomorrow is Power Day! It's the first global holiday. It commemorates the year the world stopped being dependent on oil, 2018. On Power Day, everyone spends the day unplugged from the grid. Any power that we need is generated by our own work. The holiday is not celebrated on the same day all over the world; it's planned for the spring season, warm mild weather, so it's on a different day depending on where you live. But everyone celebrates it. Continue

When I do my good works on behalf of EVOKE, here is the symbol I will leave as my mark:

What's yours?



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Challenge the Network: Your Agent Symbol

* Create a symbol to use as your mark when you serve the EVOKE network and the world.

* Upload it in a blog post, picture, or video,… Continue

This is a response to agent Ed Dragar's challenge. I'd like to add to what he and others have already said.



Something that is key, I think, is engaging with one another -- reading (or viewing) each… Continue

I found several interesting projects or companies, but I'm still doing research. There's just so much out there to learn! Here are a few that I wanted to highlight first:



Voltree

Voltree Power has created a Bioenergy Harvester that changes plant energy into electricity. It is mostly used in "mesh networks," where small amounts of power are needed over very large… Continue

Hi teachers,



Evoke Agent Paul Allison is convening a conference call for EVOKE teachers via Skype. Interested in joining us for some teacher talk? The first call will be tomorrow:

Join the EVOKE Teacher Conference (via Skype)

Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Time: 6pm PT / 9 pm ET (…

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My Selected Issue

I chose to investigate sustainable fishing and the effects of poor fishing practices for my local food security issue. I was in Monterey, CA last weekend, so I took the opportunity to go over to the aquarium and learn about the history of the cannery and how that was related to fish populations in the area. I also spent some time talking to their Seafood Watch experts and learning about sustainable fishing and how to tell if the fish… Continue

I'm having friends over tonight, and each is bringing a dish to share. I'm preparing the main dish: grilled wild Alaska salmon. I know the fish population is healthy and that fishing is carefully managed to avoid overfishing. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the poorer alternatives available at all lately. I'm glad -- finally the word got out, and people started demanding better practices. I'll season it with herbs I grew myself, and just grill it very simply to allow the delicate flavor of… Continue

I'm still working on my LEARN2 objective, but I have been pulling together some research on sustainable fishing practices, since seafood is big in California and since overfishing affects so many people around the world. I had the opportunity to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium today and picked up some information -- and took some pictures -- which I will be folding into a blog post or some other evidence soon, but here's a little taste.…

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What It Is

My NEXTSTEP is underway: I'm trying to help teachers on EVOKE (1) find each other, (2) come up with ideas for possible projects, and (3) connect with others who can help them plan and implement those ideas. I also have a project in mind that I'd like to collaborate with teachers on, if any are interested.



The strengths I bring to this are planning, organizational ability, and a background in teaching. I know that getting organized… Continue

I was thinking this morning about how EVOKE could look in a school (I'm thinking K-12). Since a lot of what makes EVOKE work is that people want to go read what's new and comment on other blogs, I can see issues in classrooms where there are only one or two computers, or where kids are only able to be in a computer lab for a short time. Many classrooms and schools don't have computers for all the kids. It got me to thinking, what would EVOKE look like without the Ning network? Picture… Continue

My EVOKE friend Amanda came up with this little game-within-a-game, Power Evocation. The rules are simple: Select one of the EVOKE powers, explain what it means to you, and name a real-world example or two (from your life, or your hero's, or any other example you like). Tag the post "game1" and the name of the power you chose, and Amanda will come by and give you a power-up. See… Continue

Today is one of my in-school days. I volunteer a couple days a week in local schools, playing games with the kids and helping the teachers plan lessons using all kinds of games. I love it. The kids in these classrooms are so excited, so interested. Today I'm working with a group of kids and teachers who are creating a school-wide alternate reality game that ties into this month's learning theme.



During a break, one of the older kids asks how I got into this line of work. I think back… Continue

I select Jane McGonigal for my hero.



I almost didn't, because although she is very hero-worthy, she's also involved with creating EVOKE, and I thought that might be a little weird. But then I realized that that's another great reason to pick her as a hero, since EVOKE is exactly the kind of thing I want to be creating.



Jane gave a talk at SXSW 2008. I was there. I saw her do the Soulja boy dance after giving a kick-ass… Continue

Ethan Zuckerman advises, "Don't fight culture. (If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make them a better stove instead.)" This secret of social innovation is incredibly important. Sometimes well-intentioned people try to help another group of people solve a problem that the group doesn't really have. Social innovators are able to distinguish between their own problems,… Continue