If you want to learn about the Basics of Blockchain, we worked with the ISTE Games & Simulations Network to develop discussions and professional development while we were reading Don and Alex Tapscott’s Blockchain Revolution.

Blockchain Revolution Book Club site
https://sites.google.com/site/metagamebookclub/cs-blockchain

Intro to the Blockchain discussion recording with a bit of bitcoin too.
(Feel free to second screen it like a podcast)
https://youtu.be/xjkA30gnRiQ

Learning on the Block: Could Smart Transactional Models Help Power Personalized Learning? http://www.knowledgeworks.org/learning-block-smart-transactional-models
Learning on the Block discussion https://youtu.be/8lskl06ezQ4

List of all Bitcoin/Blockchain Videos
https://sites.google.com/site/metagamebookclub/cs-blockchain/blockchain-hangout-videos

And just for fun, this is what a bitcoin miner looks like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO2k1-uOQ2g

Gridcoin Miner by kaezenovka, on Flickr

Library 2.018 mini-conference, "Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession," will be held online (and for free) on Thursday, June 7th, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm US-Pacific Daylight Time

This is a free event, being held online. Click here and also receive the "Library Blockchain Bonus Guide" with 95 special resource links!
REGISTER HERE
to attend live or to receive the recordings links afterwards.

This event is being organized in partnership with Drs. Sue Alman and Sandra Hirsh from the San Jose State University School of Information as part of their IMLS-funded investigation of the potential uses of blockchain technology for the information professions.

See mini-conference topics, and full descriptions at http://www.library20.com/page/blockchain.

Participants are encouraged to use #library2018 and #libraryblockchain on their social media posts leading up to and during the event.

SHELFIE WEDNESDAY by kaezenovka, on Flickr

The Fourth Annual Running of the Trolls in World of Warcraft #TrollRun2k17

This is annual in-game charity event to celebrates Pride Month and raises funds for the Trevor Project. #TrollRun2k18

Read about the #TrollRun2k18 on reddit.

The run starts at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT but like any run, you should plan to be there 2 hours ahead of time. Meetup is in the troll starting area on Feathermoon on the Horde Side.
If you don’t already have World of Warcraft, You will need to download it which can take a few hours.You can run on a free account.

Contact Trish Cloud at gamesmooc@gmail.com if you would like to join other ISTE members in the run. We will be using Discord for communication and also be livestreaming on the Games MOOC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFsJTl2GxF8

Troll Run 2018 by Que Jinn, on Flickr

On Sunday Sherry Jones led us through an Ethics & Games webinar on To The Moon.
You can see the slides http://bit.ly/tothemoonslides

To the Moon (published 2011, 2014, 2017)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/206440/To_the_Moon/

The indie game above received a 10/10 score from steam folks. It is K-12 friendly, takes 4.5 hours to play and is available on many platforms such as Android and iOS.

A film is scheduled to be made of game in 2018.

The game is so good that users have translated the game into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Polish, Catalan, Slovakian, and many more languages. See this page on the community's fervor for this little game: http://freebirdgames.com/forum/index.php?board=55.0


Everyone's Gone to the Moon by Mel Cabeen, on Flickr

Dr. Jena Kiekel, Assistant Professor at University of St. Thomas is asking for respondents for a survey on a research project on school climate around the subject of school violence. It is estimated that it will take 10 - 15 minutes to complete the survey.

Join us for ISTE Games and Sim Network's monthly webinar on Ethics & Games with Sherry Jones over Google Hangout https://youtu.be/DJjHO5TZIqg. This month we will look at To The Moon.

This indie game received a 10/10 score on STEAM. It is K-12 friendly and takes 4. 5 hours to play. The game is so good that users have translated the game into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Polish, Catalan, Slovakian, and many more languages. See this page on the community's fervor for this little game:
http://freebirdgames.com/forum/index.php?board=55.0


To The MOON - Ethics and Games Webinar by kaezenovka, on Flickr

We are in the process of finalizing our leadership team. We didn't want to miss anyone, so If you are interested, we want to invite you to collaborate with us. Our vision for next year is to continue to build the network, increase the knowledge base on games and simulations in learning, and advocate for the use of games and simulations to foster deeper learning, engagement, and inclusiveness in education.

In the leadership group, we play games and simulations, talk about games and simulations, consider instructional strategies that can be used to frame games and simulations discussions, and then figure out how to use them in our F2F and online classrooms. These slides are from an introduction presentation about our network that we offered earlier this year. We are a chatty group, but we do most of our chatting synchronously on Google Hangouts and Discord.

We are willing to try out new technologies and are always looking at virtual reality and augmented reality applications. At the same time, we continually look for great interactive fictions and board games that can be used for educational purposes.

We are game designers and we love it all - mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, and narratives. If you are just starting to learn about games and simulations - that’s fine. We’re looking for enthusiastic collaborators, not experts. We are all learning while we are doing this.

During the year, we create professional development webinars and material on a monthly basis. We have two or three book clubs a year. We participate as a network in online events in digital games and virtual worlds. We also try to send out the Virtual Connected Educator email blast at least once a week.

Fair warning: April through June are our busiest months and we go all hands on deck for everything during this time. During the rest of the year, we expect leadership to participate in or facilitate at least one professional development event per quarter. We also expect you to help us with outreach efforts by broadcasting our events via emails and social media to at least one large group. You can be really creative about who that large group is.

If you are interested, please take a look at our form https://goo.gl/forms/nta2MR5Lf2vpTE6h1 and fill it out if you would like to join us. If you are a member of ISTE, we are looking for an outside group of collaborators and advisors too!

LitFest by Que Jinn, on Flickr