News From The West
Vancouver – Inspirado Games has opened their Competition Sunshine for entry. Competition Sunshine is an opportunity for the Game Development community to give a voice to individuals passionate about video game design, through a fun and worthwhile game design competition. To enter, participants must make a donation to the Child’s Play Charity of $20 (USD) or more (100% of entry fees go to charity) and conform to the design criteria. Finalists will be judged by a panel of experienced game design professionals – with winners receiving prizes and, of course, bragging rights.
This competition is intended to give individuals in the gaming community an opportunity to showcase their talent. A profile will be written about the winner (with their permission) and published online for all to see. Please note that all Intellectual Property Rights (copyright) of the submitted design concept will remain the sole property of the entrant – and who knows – entrants may get their game developed! Entry deadline is December 13th, so get that design concept in now.
Vancouver – The F5 Expo has opened its site for the April 7 2010 conference in Vancouver. F5 Expo is a forward thinking resource meant to jump start businesses into “the know” on future trends within the online space.
The event converges interactive exhibits, peer idea-collaboration amongst fellow Owners, Executives and Buyers, and edge-of-your-seat conferences into one explosive day. The focus is on refreshing business strategies through captivating content and storytelling with an “AHA” factor on such topics as mobile apps, search marketing, business blogs/webinars, social media, web 2.0 and more.
I’ve visited previous F5 expos (under the Massive Technology incarnation), and have always come away with new insight into business and technology – I highly recommend attendance.
Burnaby – Knowledge.ca has launched a new, interactive space for British Columbians. With a fresh look and creative design, Knowledge.ca extends the television experience by streaming full length programs and promos, motivating interaction with programming, and providing new revenue opportunities. For users of all ages, Knowledge.ca offers exceptional functionality, navigation and search capabilities for an intuitive and easy-to-use experience.
“Knowledge.ca is an experience that will deepen user engagement with our broadcasting service”, says Rudy Buttignol, President and CEO of Knowledge. ”By delivering digital broadcast content in an interactive environment anywhere, anytime, Knowledge is connecting British Columbians to local and global perspectives, and most importantly, to each other.”
Knowledge.ca offers a compelling new design and content showcasing Knowledge programming. Key features include:
* View program schedules integrated with on-air video promotions
* Rate and comment on specific programs
* Browse upcoming programming and sort by title, topic, video or viewer ratings
* View a selection of full-length programs online
* Set email reminders for upcoming Knowledge programs
* Donate or renew your partnership with an improved donation process
* Design complements the broadcast experience of Knowledge
Today Knowledge also entered the world of social media with the launch of its Facebook and Twitter pages. Both are accessible from Knowledge.ca. Fans and followers can receive the latest news from the public broadcaster and interact by sharing ideas and comments. Mobile applications are currently in development.
Knowledge partnered with Vancouver digital agency Work at Play to build Knowledge.ca. Work at Play specializes in digital strategy, design, development, social media and applications for the music, gaming and entertainment industries. Working with major brands and entertainment properties around the world, they offer clients strategic consulting, website design, online development and user experience services. Work At Play built the site using several open source software products and is powered by Drupal, a content management system.
“We are very excited about the new Knowledge.ca and we are honored that Knowledge has chosen Work at Play to be their partner during this transformation,” says Jordan Willms, Digital Strategist for Work at Play. “Through this new website, Knowledge is able to service their existing audience better and truly capture the engagement-generation via interactive features and full length online programs.”
Calgary – Elluminate, Inc., a leader in web, audio, video and social networking solutions that support 21st century teaching, learning, and collaboration, announced today that its Fire and Ice initiative was awarded iNACOL’s Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice award, which was announced at the organization’s annual Virtual School Symposium held November 15-17 in Austin, Texas. The award recognizes an individual, team, or program whose innovative practices or policies have ultimately led to student achievement and serve as a model for other K-12 online learning institutions.
“It’s an incredible honor to be selected for the iNACOL Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice award,” said Stace Wills, Elluminate’s Fire and Ice Global Coordinator. “It validates the tremendous impact that collaboration technologies (such as Elluminate Live!) and school-to-school collaboration projects (like Fire and Ice) can have on development, particularly in rural and remote areas restricted by bandwidth limitations and unstable internet connections.”
Fire and Ice connects K-12 schools in the Northern Hemisphere (ice) with those in mainly rural developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere (fire), engaging them in highly collaborative projects with universal themes like climate change and poverty reduction using enabling technology that includes the Elluminate Live! virtual classroom.
Since its inception in 2006, Fire and Ice has authored highly creative international content and generated unforgettable learning experiences for thousands of students in over 25 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Colombia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Elluminate is committed to breaking down geographical barriers and providing access to knowledge and education in over 170 countries, including some of the world’s most remote regions,” said Elluminate Founder and CEO Nashir Samanani. “We are now excited to expand the admirable Fire and Ice programs to include innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable training for areas that have traditionally been left out.”
Recent training projects include training healthcare workers in Burkina Faso, West Africa, to combat malaria and providing English as a second language (ESL) training to K-12 students in China and teachers in Colombia.
