Just came across this through a tech blog (tuaw.com). This is really interesting and exciting as this appears to be the first immersive (multiplayer) gaming environment directed toward ecological learning. This has the potential to be a major breakthrough application for online learning in the environmental sciences. The project is being developed by the Minnesota Zoo and Eduweb with support from NSF (0610427) so the underlying science should be robust.
The description from the website (http://www.wolfquest.org) is as follows: Join a wild wolf pack and venture into the wilderness in this innovative 3D computer game. Playing alone or with friends in multiplayer missions, you'll join a wolf pack and hunt, fight, and socialize, all while doing your best to survive. The WolfQuest experience will go beyond the game with an active online community where you can discuss the game with other players, chat with wolf biologists, and share artwork and stories about wolves. The first version of the game, WolfQuest: Amethyst Mountain, will be released in December 2007. I strongly urge you all to take a look at the preview video at:http://www.wolfquest.org/preview_video.html For those of us who are thinking about the role of digital media and online learning, we need to pay very close attention to the progress of this project. This goes well beyond the squiggly lines of Populus or the flatlands of Ecobeaker and NetLogo. ========================================== David Kirschtel [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
