I’m always on the look out for new gadgets and technology that will make daily activities easier. Having already picked up the fantastic Hama 61 tripod some weeks ago I thought I had everything that I needed in terms of a tripod for Kodak Zi8 usage. However as good as the Hama is, it is somewhat inadequate for indoor desk filming which is something I very much want to do. I could work around it but why would I when the fantastic Joby Gorillapod Original provides me with the perfect solution.

The Gorillapod is a small flexible tripod system which can be used in conjunction with any device with a standard tripod mount connection, digital cameras, camcorders etc. It supports devices up to 325g and stands 15 × 3 × 3cm making it very portable. The build quality is fantastic the unique tripod legs configurable into just about any setup configuration while providing a sturdy frame for video shooting. The diagram below outlines some of the key features:

The Gorillapod provides a unique locking system to make sure that whatever device is attached to the tripod it is secure while shooting. This makes attachment of devices quick and easy while at the same time providing a degree of security.

All in all I find the device invaluable for quick desk based videos and I’m sure I will be able to find other uses such as a quick method of steady image capture also using the Zi8. At just under £20 it is very affordable and highly recommended.

Rating:

I’ve taken something of a dislike to all things FPS of late, with the exception of MAG with it’s uniqueness in scale. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the genre, it’s more that I have started to find it rather tedious, repetitive and if I’m honest boring. I think Modern Warfare 2 was the final nail in the coffin of doubt, that game; despite the merits it has received; bored the crap out of me. Perhaps a further reason for my dislike is that lately a lot of my gaming time has been restricted to times when not a lot of people are online – I have been playing a lot of single player games and thus have not really gotten into the online aspects that many FPS games rely on for any sort of depth and longevity. Furthermore with exceptional single player experiences such as Heavy Rain, Dragon Age Origins and Bayonetta on offer, well I think my opinion is not unfounded.

So why on earth did I purchase Battlefield Bad Company 2 I hear you ask? The honest answer is I’m not really sure. I enjoyed the first game but failed to get into it’s MP elements, the single player was enjoyable but failed to offer anything really memorable. Thankfully the developers seems to have addressed many of the issues that I found with the first outing, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is enjoyable. From the moment you take control of the squad it feels like familiar territory, the banter and one liners are a little cheesy but they lend the game a semi comic value and the motivations of the character do something to offer something of a story element to what is otherwise lacking in proceedings. Visually the game is polished, some of the environments are stunning and everything plays solidly. There is a nice variety of weapons and tactics that can be employed to aid in the completion of the various objectives and the action always seems intense. This is helped greatly by the superb audio elements, gun fire, explosions and shell noise are honed to perfection.

While the game is well structured it does suffer from being a little on the short side, I have four missions left to play after only a few hours of game time. I suspect that the game could be completed in about 6 hours at a push, which is well under what I and many others will expect for £40. That said, as I mentioned previously, the longevity of any FPS is never going to be the single player element and BFBC2 offers a substantial MP experience. While there are only four game modes these are extremely well developed and take place over a series of very well developed maps. There are class builds to unlock and team work really is vital to success. I have spent some time playing and while I would still say that I prefer what MAG has to offer it is an enjoyable experience nonetheless. It’s not all perfect however, I would have liked for there to have been some more game modes and perhaps also classes to mix things up. The brevity of the single player experience also makes the game hard to recommend to others. In saying that I think BFBC2 has more to offer than most FPS experiences and as far as I am concerned has more soul in the first three encounters than I found in the entire Modern Warfare experience.

All in all a worthwhile experience but you may find better things to spend your gaming time with.

Rating:

Evolution pushes things forward, I take that as a given, however evolution takes many forms and not every type or step in that forward movement is exactly what I would term evolutionary or progressive. Take modern cinema, the recent release of James Cameron’s Avatar has been hailed by many as a pivotal moment in the time line of motion cinema, a true step forward for the medium. While I can agree that technological advancements have resulted in things looking prettier and sure there are moments of extreme technical genius on show, I don’t accept that it marks our entry into a new epoch of media. Film, even in all it’s 3D glad rags is still a very passive one dimensional experience, force fed to it’s viewers in predetermined angles and with uniformly heard sounds. I accept that Megan Fox fixing Bumblebee in Transformers one will have a different effect on different people, but nobody can argue that what is on screen is in fact exactly the same for everyone that watches the film.

Why the media theory? Well let me get this out there right from the outset – Heavy Rain is the most important thing to happen to the concept of modern media since Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera. It is also the most important and well developed video game that I have experienced in my life time.

Video games by their very nature are interactive experiences, they demand that players take control and make choices. All too often this boils down to clicking buttons and making selections without any real thought or consideration for the consequences. Players perceive multiple path branches, the choice of letting someone live or die and which direction to take as control. I guess in some limited sense it is but it is not control or choice in accepted terms of reality. Heavy Rain offers choice like I have never experienced before, stylistically presented in a film noir crime drama and with characters for which only the coldest of individuals will not form an emotional attachment with. Lets take an example from my own personal playing experience, some minor spoilers follow so I have implemented a spoiler prevention technique – the text will be blacked out but will show on mouse over.

In one scene playing as Scott Shelby, the down trodden private detective of the tale, I was asked by a man suffering a severe heart attack to get him medicine from the cabinet. I knew the man was a true stain on the fabric of humanity and deserved no mercy, yet his screams and pain contorted face forced me into action, I slowly retrieved the medication and returned to his side. Yet still my moral code kicked in, this asshole doesn’t deserve mercy I thought to myself. Knowledge of his actions overcame me and I refused to give him what he wanted, I got no further information for him but I did hear his last screams as I left his house, leaving him to die. Choice, cause, effect and consequence all tied together in a wonderful story with characters that got under my skin.

Heavy Rain is not just about choice however, the real key to it’s monumental achievement is it’s development of character and player association with such. Never before have I become so involved with a video game character, admittedly I’ve felt bad ass as Batman and fearful as Leon Kennedy but never have such a spectrum of emotions bombarded my consciousness in a video game. At one moment in the opening hour I actually had to snap myself back from contemplation into play, I felt so genuinely sad for one of the characters. I’ve felt that way before when watching a poignant documentary or moving film but never in a video game, I empathised with the characters situation and as sad and isolated I felt it was marvelous afterward thinking back on the experience. Teenagers and uneducated commentators have become somewhat fixated with the minute nudity in the game, perceiving it as nothing more than titillation for the main target audience of young males. It’s rich and lame – the nudity presented is brief, tastefully edited and functions to provide a greater human connection to the characters, particularly considering some of the traumatic ordeals they go through in the game’s progression.

On a technical level Heavy Rain is a masterpiece, the game is stunning on a visual level. The environments are punctuated with detail and the characters well developed. Lighting is moody and intrinsic to each and every scene. The four main protagonists are brilliantly developed and the scenes seem well tied to what you might expect of each individual. The voice work is sublime although one or two accents seem like weird choices. The musical score is incredible and a lucky bonus for those that picked up the collectors edition. The control system works really well with a great attachment to the real world events that one would expect, some will argue the case that it is cumbersome and spoils the experience – I and many others disagree completely. I find it intuitive, clever and tremendously well executed. Take the smart use of combined button presses, the developers knowing only too well which fingers you will use, or the scenes where it is almost impossible to complete the actions but which makes sense taking into account the present situation. These characters are not super human, they are every day individuals with limitations. It really is a thing of beauty and depth.

The plot and story are sublime, reminding me a lot of Se7en one of my favourite films of all time. The way the characters stories converge is both engaging and rewarding in every sense. It is completely uncompromising in it’s execution and presents the player with a harsh but reflective view of reality, life is not about happy endings and good triumphing over evil. Every day very bad things happen to very good people, disasters happen, people die, actions have consequences and quite often the best we can hope for is that we can make it through to the conclusion destined for us all with some sense of dignity and humanity intact.

Heavy Rain is the best game I have played in my life time to date, it may well be the best game that I get to play before the process of evolution reaches it’s natural inevitable conclusion. I am delighted to have witnessed such mastery of the art form, one which has provided me with countless hours of entertainment and social connection for decades. It is both equally exceptional and emotional and anyone who considers video games of any significance in their lives owes it to themselves to play it. There will always be those that just don’t get it, but thankfully they are in the minority. Everyone that I love and care about, everyone that I know who cares and loves video games and everyone the opinion of which I appreciate, loves Heavy Rain. Lets hope evolution takes care of the rest : )

Rating:

I have already discussed Mahara and the wonderful range of features it offers in an earlier post on the blog and have received some inquiries regarding it’s implementation. While the initial setup process is fairly straightforward I can appreciate for those not technically minded or with the same knowledge and experience with computers as myself it may prove more of a challenge. Indeed although the basic setup and usage of the platform is fairly intuitive, Mahara provides a wealth of features and functionality that can really only be understood by persistent experimentation. Thankfully the guys at Packt Publishing, providers of instructional material for a wide variety of open source software applications, offer the fantastic Mahara 1.2 E-Portfolio Beginners Guide.

The book has just recently been published and is available in both print and e-book format, a characteristic of the Packt Publishing service. Needless to say my love of the electronic format and fascination with the Mahara software resulted in a day one purchase, something which I can recommend to anyone wishing to learn more about the open source e-portfolio solution. Mahara 1.2 E-Portfolio Beginners Guide is written by Richard William Hand, Derrin Michael Kent, Glenys Gillian Bradbury and Margaret Anne Kent – educational developers, Mahara learning designers and geeks one and all, which is evident as you read it’s pages. The book provides a step-by-step guide to building an impressive professional e-portfolio using Mahara. It covers the key features of Mahara that will help you set up your customised digital portfolio and display artifacts in your preferred way allowing contribution from selected users only.

It introduces the reader to the exciting features of Mahara framework and helps the reader develop a feature-rich e-portfolio. Sections deal with features such as how to create folders, upload multiple files like journals, project documents, pictures, and videos and share them with your friends. You will learn to set up views of these files,  choosing to make them visible to your chosen friends only or be shared with whatever people you desire. You will learn to create blogs and forums and get connected to the rest of the world. Customisation and administration of your Mahara site will become easy after you have gone through this book. Imagine how good you will feel when you will see your knowledge, success, and ideas going live and available to your chosen audiences for their inputs.

The pacing is just right with a logical progression followed from the opening chapter through the various aspects of Mahara configuration and usage. I have always found the Packt Publishing books to be informative and educational but I believe this titles along with some of their Moodle books raises the bar in terms of instructional content. Each page provides valuable knowledge and insight into the use of an application which fascinates me and furthermore provides an invaluable service to my students at absolutely no cost. Packt Publishing’s targeting of open source software provides a unique resource for those embracing the new media culture and indeed the emerging culture of e-learning. The provides knowledge for just about every aspect of Mahara installation and use, some of the key concepts learnt include:

•    Create folders in Mahara
•    Upload multiple files – journals, reports, presentations, videos, and sound clips – easily and set permissions for your group to view, edit, and delete them
•    Create a blog in Mahara
•    Make an impressive profile using Mahara profile fields and tailor your own profile view
•    Create a new web page entirely from scratch and customize it to allow much more flexibility and control over who sees what and when
•    Set an environment to receive public or private feedback on your pictures, videos, and articles
•    Connect with other Mahara users and get social: discuss topics of common interest in forums and share views with each other
•    Customize and administer your Mahara site to our own preferences using a number of configuration settings for easy administration

I believe this book to be an incredible resource for anyone working in education or developing learning solutions, particularly those interested or working in the field of e-learning. It assumes no prior knowledge and covers in clear and concise detail everything that an academic, student or developer needs to know about the Mahara platform. It has provided me with hours of informative and engaging reading and resulted in the implementation of my own Mahara resource.

Rating:

Competition

The lovely people at Packt Publishing have kindly offered to provide blog readers with the opportunity to win a copy of of one of their e-publications. The competition offers the winners to select any title from the Packt range more than three months old. The competition is open from now until the 12th March with one winner selected on Friday 5th March and another on the 12th. Entrants need to leave a reply to this post stating how they would use Mahara in their work flow to  support and enhance the learning process. Packt Publishing offer a great range of titles so I’m sure that everyone will find something of interest. Good luck.

This week on the show I talk about Sony getting things on track & my growing admiration for what their game platforms offer, I talk about Heavy Rain, Moodle & Mahara, Halo Legends & some ideas for future shows.

This week’s show contains information about a competition, the full details for which will appear on the blog later tonight.

As always please feel free to leave a comment : )

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Student exams have provided me with a brief opportunity to update the blog while I normally would have to wait until much later this evening. I just wanted to announce to the world in a statement of utter joy that my copy of Heavy Rain was dispatched this morning, with any luck it shall be residing in my PS3 tomorrow evening!!

To say that I am excited would be something of an understatement, I honestly consider Heavy Rain to be the most significant game released in my life time. I’m not alone in my assertions, many journalists, academics and indeed gamers share my enthusiasm and admiration. I hope to have a full review up on the blog on Friday along with podcast content relating to the game. I am even considering a short video discussion relating to the matter. My classes for the day finish in just over an hour, but I intend to work late in an attempt to completely free up my Friday evening. I really want to be able to sit back and enjoy every single glorious minute.

So between now and then it’s a case of head down and getting stuff done.  I know it will be worth it, this weekend, all being well, will be one I remember for years to come.

Heavy Rain is a game I have been looking forward to for over five years now. It’s one of the main reasons I invested in a PS3 and will be in my opinion a game that changes the video game landscape forever. That’s quite a bold statement and it’s not one I make likely out of fanboy admiration. I have enjoyed playing video games for over twenty years, have been formally educated in their creation and have taught subject matter relevant to their design – I consider myself well informed. Although I haven’t played the full game as yet, what I have sampled in the demo and what others have made clear in several leading publications this Friday is going to see the release of something very special.

Sure there will be the doubters, people who will jump on board for no other reason other than something to say. There will be others who will fail to understand Heavy Rain’s majesty due to immaturity or under developed insights into the medium. I do however think that anyone who gives a crap about video games and has the intellect to appreciate greatness will marvel at what I believe will redefine the video game medium. This week I hope to have several blog posts relating to the release leading up to a review / video review on Friday.

So to begin some clippings from this weekends press.

I love everything about Japanese culture, here are a few reasons why : )

Recently I was lucky enough to get my hands on a review copy of Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques distributed by the wonderful people at Packt Publishing. I have long been an advocate of Moodle and indeed of all things open source, so I must complement Packt Publishing on the excellent job they do in providing educational material on a wealth of open source software. I have ordered several e-books from them over the past few months, with each delivered quickly and securely, while saving me money by eliminating any print costs. Packt Publishing offer books in printed format as well but I really like the quick availability of e-book content and knowing I have an electronic copy with me wherever I go. Books available cover a wide range of areas; from e-learning, e-commerce, coding, web development and e-portfolios. For more information check out the website – Packt Publishing

Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques by Susan Smith Nash and William Rice offers guidance on creative ways to utilise Moodle to support teaching and learning through the development of online courses. Moodle, for those unaware, is a powerful open source LMS or learning management system which provides a framework for the delivery of teaching and provision of assessment. It is used by many colleges and universities throughout the world supporting small classroom environments and whole universities. Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques provides step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions and learning theory to give you tools and techniques to support learning within Moodle. It aims to provide educators with a clear and developed processes which can be used to communicate with students online, and aid teachers in developing an enthusiastic, open, and trusting relationship with their students and with their colleagues.

It is important to note that this book is not a how to guide for Moodle, Packt offers other titles which are more suited to that requirement, it is more a guide to developing good, solid, dynamic courses that will last by making sure that your instructional design is robust, and that courses are built around satisfying learning objectives and course outcomes. In saying that the book does an excellent job of informing the reader of some of Moodle’s key features and provides suggestions as to how these might be utilised. The core objective of the book is to provide educators with insight into the development process allowing them to produce dynamic and engaging content for their students. The following should be possible upon completion:

• Build a learning outcome-focused approach that enables your students to perform well
• Different techniques for creating a dynamic learning environment
• Put all the ideas you’ve wanted to implement, but never could, into action to create unique courses with reusable elements
• Motivate your students to collaborate and demonstrate what they are learning and to create projects together
• Develop materials you can re-use in your future courses
• Incorporate Web 2.0 features to encourage student sharing of resources
• Create online workshops and galleries for your students to make presentations about what they have learned
• Build e-portfolios for students to collect their work and demonstrate mastery of the units
• Engage your students in team work that helps them connect course content with their experiences and prior learning
• Feel confident in finding ways to accommodate your students’ learning styles and preferences to guide them to a successful outcome for the course
• Develop high-quality courses that will last and stay useful and relevant to create a personal inventory you can use and re-use

I have been using Moodle extensively for a number of years yet still found value and worth within these pages, at times I was a little frustrated that the techniques were not explored or showcased as explicitly as I would have liked but overall I found reading to be informative and worthwhile. Knowing how to use Moodle is one thing but knowing how to develop learning materials and construct a sound learning environment is another. This book provides knowledge on how to do both.

Rating:

My involvement with education over the past number of years has spawned an intrinsic fascination with educational technology. Not only has my career required exploration of the field to support my teaching but I have become passionate about the use of technology & software to enhance the learning process. Nothing frustrates me more than educators who refuse to embrace the wealth of resources available to them, often for free, and remain stagnant in established, antiquated. out dated & redundant forms of teaching. Perhaps two of the greatest tools available to support learning through technology or the concept of e-learning are Moodle & Mahara.

I have talked a little about Moodle in the past and will do so again in the very near future on the blog but I would like to focus this post on Mahara. It is perhaps a little less well known but nonetheless an invaluable tool in supporting 21st century learning. Mahara is an open source e-portfolio platform and can be best understood by exploration of the concept of an e-portfolio.

E-Portfolios

An electronic portfolio or ePortfolio is a generic term encompassing as wide a range of types and products as there are reasons for using them. The simplest starting point is to consider an ePortfolio as an extension of the paper based-portfolio, bringing with it the obvious benefit of making a portfolio of evidence portable and shareable anywhere that you have Internet access – “the new generation of the three ring binder” JISC My World Project Final Report, Roberts. 2006

I really enjoy a good drama, not the type that life flings my way just about each and every day, I’m talking more of the type I can lose myself in while lying in bed. There’s nothing like chilling out in front of the TV with an ice cold drink and some quality TV to take your mind of the stresses of everyday existence. While there are some great locally produced shows, the BBC in particular offer some great ways to pass an evening, I find particular enjoyment in TV that originates from the US. Some of my favourites include, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica, Alias, Flashpoint and Stargate Universe – each has provided me with hours of top notch entertainment and are worthy of exploration by each and every geek on the planet.

In the past few weeks I have discovered some new and great shows that I thought worthy of discussion on the blog. First up is Spartacus Blood & Sand a classic retelling of the tale of a rebel come legend. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are prime time entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures  constantly test him. It’s a very stylish show with a rich colour palette, clever use of camera angles and visual effects. It reminds me a lot of the film 300, lots of action, blood & gore and a good helping of sex.

The cast comprises Australian actor, Andy Whitfield as Spartacus, Lucy Lawless as Lucretia, John Hannah as Batiatus and Peter Mensah as Doctore. Episode 4 aired last night and each and everyone of them to date has been an absolute joy to watch, I love the concept and the explicit nature of the execution is perfectly suited to the brutality of the era. Episodes 1 & 2 are available through iTunes along with several behind the scenes special features.

Next is Caprica – the prequel to Battlestar Galactica. Set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families – the Graystones and the Adamas – as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the peaceful 12 Colonies, living in a society close to our own. Entangled in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe, blending action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.

Although a sequel to the space sci-fi masterpiece Battlestar Galactica this is a much different beast, it’s much more of a slow burner and extensively more drama and story driven. It is no less enjoyable and brilliant though, just don’t expect epic space battles with cylons, rather the origin of the species. The story centers around Daniel Graystone, a computer genius, and owner of a large computer corporation that is spearheading the development of artificial intelligence. He and his wife Amanda, who’s a brilliant surgeon, are both relentless in their scientific pursuits. The Adama clan is helmed by Joseph Adama, a renowned criminal defense attorney and father of future Battlestar commander William Adama. When tragedy strikes both families, lines are drawn that will determine the fate of the human race. It really is highly recommended viewing and if you needed an extra reason to check it out then all I can say is that cylons are hot, even the very first one!!

Episode 10 of the GeekCaster podcast, discussion of Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain and Kodak Zi8 usage.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download