LAT Report on Mark Puterbaugh's Gaming & Libraries

Here is something to watch! Mark D. Puterbaugh, Information Services Librarian at Eastern University, explained how the university has used gaming technology to develop a virtual interface to their academic library. Their \"VBI ChatWorld\" includes a virtual library tour and virtual bibliographic instruction. Future plans include "bots" to give directions and using multimedia to provide real-time virtual research and chat services. The library used software from the virtual reality platform provider ActiveWorlds to create this virtual library space. Is there an avatar in your future?

Gaming in Education

While not part of any conference presentation, we wanted to be sure you are aware of some of the research and development that is going on in the area of gaming in education. If you have not already read \"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants\" by Marc Prensky, we highly recommend you do so now. After reading this article we have a much better understanding of how growing up in a digital world has shaped the millennial generation. You will also notice that "digital native" and "digital immigrant" have become colloquial terms. Marc Prensky's website includes links to all of his articles, many of which are fascinating. We highly recommend \"In Educational Games, COMPLEXITY MATTERS\" for a good description of what is meant by educational games and how they differ from "educational games" of the past.

Karen Mitchell and Jane Reeves

Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES Library Automation Team (LAT) Members