As we head into the final
year of the WIRED program
it looks to be an exciting
time. The three Cyber Cen-
ters are up and running
with their original contract
for $400,000 each and are
now dealing with the pleas-
ant problem of defining the
work to be done for the ex-
tension from December to
June in order to spend an
additional $150,000. Out of
the 13 Generation Two
Grantees we believe that we
are one of about three that
were granted six-month
extensions so the others will
begin the process of winding
down in the coming months.
A big Atta Boy to Bruce for
making that happen.
By the way, Bruce has
moved upstairs to the State
where he is in charge of
overseeing all of the State of
Ohio’s Department of Labor
grants and activities. Talk
about having a friend in
high places. Bruce will con-
tinue to be involved with
WIRED activities but now
as a representative of the
Governor. We will miss not
having his full time atten-
tion but with the contracts
and programs pretty much
in place our course for the
next year is clear.
The Kent State Tuscarawas
Center had an even stronger
summer than last year with
not only excellent sessions
for students and train the
trainers but also taking over
50 club members and advi-
sors to Siggraph in New
Orleans. For those that
have never been to a Sig-
graph it is a mind-boggling
experience of all of the un-
believable technology that is
in development all over the
world.
Next up will be the
Shawnee State University
Center with Shawnee 7.0 on
October 30. This year
should be the best ever with
Sidley Verbeck, CEO of The
Electric Sheep Company as
the keynoter. For those CSI
New York fans if you re-
member the series last year
where they tracked a killer
through Second Life and
even had a virtual world
crime scene where you could
collect clues and process
them in a virtual forensic
laboratory, it was Sidley’s
group that put that to-
gether. Electric Sheep is one
of if not the top interactive
digital media development
companies in the world.
Also Jason Conaway from
Electronic Arts, our key-
noter from last year will be
returning to do a concurrent
session. Additionally,
Shawnee State will cut the
ribbon on a state of the art
motion capture studio that
will provide a facility for the
region for both education
and commercial uses. So do
what you need to in order to
be at Shawnee 7.0 in Ports-
mouth on Friday, October
30 from 9 to 3.
Moving into spring look for
exciting activities at Ohio
University with an Interac-
tive Digital Media awards
event. This will be the third
year of their game develop-
ment efforts with games
developed by the GRID Lab
over the last two years un-
der active consideration by
major game development
companies. Also the VITAL
Lab had a major opening
this year with the launch of
the Smithsonian’s Latino
museum in Second Life.
Additionally, Credit Union
Island that was developed
by the VITAL Lab is in the
process of being commercial-
ized as a Financial Literacy
Simulation for youth and is
being marketed to banks
and credit unions.
So this year has the poten-
tial to be a real breakout
year. After years of laying
the foundation we are get-
ting dangerously close to
being in the right place at
the right time with the right
abilities. Remember, a defi-
nition of luck is when oppor-
tunity meets preparation.
We are well into the prepa-
ration part now it is time to
get ready for the knocking
sound.
From,
Bill Sams
THE MAKING OF A GREAT YEAR
Wired N
etw
ork
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ewsletter
2009
Volume 3, Issue 1
OCTOBER
Notes from the Collaboratory 2-3
Cyber Clubs visit to the SIGGRAPH conference 4
Trip to Valve Software in Washington 5
KST Cyber Club Summer Institute 6
Kamal’s Visions for Cyber Clubs 2009-2010 7
The WIRED Islands 8
Inside this issue:
The WIRED Collabora-
tory is a support service
to the Cyber Centers and
Clubs. The group exists
virtually and consists of
Roger Cable
rcable@workforceconnect
ions.biz who takes care
of the OVITA Web site
and BaseCamp, Seth
Knore
sknore@workforceconnec
tions.biz who provides
general technology sup-
port, Tom Stead
Second Life Developer
extraordinaire, Michelle
Gatchell
who handles PR, and Bill
Sams [email protected]
for ideas and contacts.
A visit to the WIRED1
Island in Second Life is
not to be missed. Tom
has created an un-
equaled array of items to
demonstrate proofs of
concept ranging from a
walk through universe
based on photos from the
Hubbell Telescope to an
Egyptian Tomb to a
complete coal fired elec-
trical power plant . The
training and educational
potential of the items
demonstrated on
WIRED1 are only limited
by your imagination.
Contact Tom for a guided
tour and feel free to use
our conference room in (Continued on page 3)
Notes from the Collaboratory
Page 2 V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 1
the sky for virtual meet-
ings. You can change the
background from a sea-
shore to a ski lodge in a
click and without a travel
approval.
The collaboration tool
BaseCamp provides a con-
venient place to store in-
formation and collaborate
on documents. Rodger can
get you set up in minutes
and the site is very intui-
tive as well as supported
by excellent short tutori-
als on the use of each fea-
ture. Uploads are limited
to 100 Megs for each file
which should be more
than enough unless you
are doing large video files.
Seth is the newest mem-
ber of the group and will
be coming around to visit
the Centers and Clubs. He
is way up there on the
digital literacy curve and
will be a major resource
for technology issues.
Michelle will be putting
out a monthly email and
online newsletter so
please send her any items
of interest. We need to
move from being a well-
kept secret to a prime ex-
ample of the world-class
talent that is being devel-
oped in Appalachian Ohio.
Bill is turning his focus to
how social networks fit
into interactive digital
technology and program
sustainability. On the
sustainability end Bill is
working on a concept
called Youth Works that
involves the creation of
certifications for Cyber
Club members who would
then be qualified to work
as consultants for small
local businesses to assist
them with various tech-
nology issues. The funda-
mental concept is to find
a way to connect the
evolving technology
needs of small local busi-
nesses with the inherent
technology skills of our
youth in a manner that
is a win-win for every-
one. If you have an inter-
est in such a program
please contact Bill.
On the social network
end, while Facebook is
the popular area
LinkedIn has a stronger
tool set for professional
collaboration. Bill is
seeking inputs on the
interest in establishing a
WIRED LinkedIn Profes-
sional group to share
ideas and best practices.
Since Bill is still strug-
gling with texting and
twitter the soon to be
outdated email system is
still his preferred
method of contact. In a
survey of OU Freshmen
texting and twitter were
their top two methods of
communication, email
was at 1% (too slow) and
don’t even think about
paper.
Tom and Bill are also
available for community
and industry presenta-
tions. So if you have a
group that would like to
know more about
WIRED and Interactive
Digital Technology and
its potential for work-
force training and eco-
nomic development send
us an email.
The bottom line of the
WIRED Collaboratory is
to do what we can to help
you be successful.
V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 1 Page 3
Fifty five members of the Kent State Uni-
versity Tuscarawas Cyber Club network
which was initiated in September 2008
including the five Tuscarawas county high
schools: New Philadelphia, Dover, Clay-
mont, Tusky Valley and Indian Valley
traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to
attend the 36th international SIGGRAPH
conference. The Conference on Interactive
technologies and Digital Techniques fea-
tured the highest quality, most timely
educational experiences the community
has to offer, presented by world renowned
and most engaging leaders in computer
graphics and interactive techniques. Con-
ference Keynote speakers included Will
Wright Video game designer, creator of
Spore™ and The Sims series, Randy Thom
Pioneer in sound and two-time Academy
Award® winner, Steve Duenes Graphics
Director, New York Times, Chris Landreth
Academy Award-winning director of
"Ryan", Peter Ludé Senior Vice President,
Engineering, Sony Electronics
Executive Vice President, SMPTE Board of
Directors ITVS and Bob Whitehill
Stereoscopic Supervisor, Pixar
Animation Studios.
While in New Orleans, the Cyber
Club students and advisors at-
tended the Computer Animation
Festival and the Real time Render-
ing demonstrations.
In addition to the educational ex-
perience, the students had an op-
portunity to enjoy the cultural and
historic sites they visited during
the August 4 – 8 trip.
Page 4
Cyber Clubs visit to the SIGGRAPH conference
“While in New Orleans, the Cyber Club students and
advisors attended the Computer Animation Festival
and the Real time Rendering demonstrations.”
W i r e d N e t w o r k i n g N e w s l e t t e r
Kent State University Cyber Center Checks-In
V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 1
These courses were
identified by the Cyber
Club advisory council
and the Cyber Club
steering committee
during the 2008 -09
academic year. It is
anticipated that addi-
tional courses will be
targeted for offering
during the 2010 –
20111 AY covering an
array of engineering
technology disciplines.
Starting late in August, 2009, KST Engineer-
ing Technology department is offering two
courses to area high schools. During the Fall
semester, Electric Circuits I ( 4 credit hours ),
and Technical Computing (3 credit hours) are
offered to students who are attending the
course at Claymont high school using the
newest technologies in web assisted as well as
videoconferencing instruction. During Spring
2010, Electric Circuits II ( 3 credit hours ) and
Applications in Computer Aided Design (2
credit hours) will be offered.
The Imagineers trip to Seattle involved 24
students from the KST Imagineers and the
KST Cyber Club to visit Valve software, a
world leader in game development. The
students toured Valve’s facility in Bellevue
and Seattle. After the tour the students had
an opportunity to meet with Matt Russell,
supervising animator of the movie Jimmy
Neutron, as well as Karen Prell, a character
animator whose credits include the Red
Fraggle from Fraggle Rock and character
animation with Pixar Studios before moving
onto Valve. During this meeting, the stu-
dents had a unique opportunity to ask ques-
tions related to their career goals on a one-
on-one basis with some of the best in the
animation and game design industries.
After their animation presentation Robin
Walker, the creator of Team Fortress 2,
discussed Valve's design and manage-
ment philosophy. Further sites in
Seattle included the Seattle Art Mu-
seum, Olympic National Park,
the Space Needle, the Seattle
Aquarium and the Experience
Music Project where they re-
corded a song. There were also
a number of cultural dining
experiences including local and
Thai cuisine.
Page 5
Dual Enrollment Initiative
KST Imagineers and Cyber Club students trip to Valve Software in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington
Kent State University Cyber Center Checks-In
“Valve created games such
as:
Half Life, Counter Strike, Day of
Defeat, and Team Fortress 2.”
The KST Cyber Club Summer Institute
offered 3 – 4 day training courses which
served all high school students in the
Campus service area. These courses were
designed to be Application Based-Project
Based (ABPB). The courses were:
Computer-Aided Design
3D-Character Sculpting
Digital Visualization and Multimedia
Interactive digital Control Applications
Robotics design & Applications
Video Game Design
Game Design for the I-touch & the I
phone platforms
In addition, Train-The-Trainer classes
were offered to area teachers on TRIZ
and on the Adobe CS4 Software suite.
Page 6
KST Cyber Club Summer Institute
The rest of the meetings for the 2009 –
2010 AY are scheduled as follows, all in
Business Conf. Room A in Founders
Hall:
Wednesday, September 16
Wednesday, October 14
Wednesday, November 18
Wednesday, December 16
Wednesday, January 13
Wednesday, February 10
Wednesday, March 10
Wednesday, April 7
Wednesday, May 12
W i r e d N e t w o r k i n g N e w s l e t t e r
Kent State University Cyber Center Checks-In
V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 1
I am excited about so many things, but here are just a
few that I hope to see in the next year:
• Addition of 2 Cyber Clubs to the current six (5
high schools and KST) in Fall 2009, with 2 addi-
tional to join Spring 2010. The two for the Fall
have already been selected and have joined the
CC group during our September 16 meeting. They
are Carrollton High School and Strasburg High
School.
• The total Cyber Club student membership for all
(8) clubs has increased from the current 180 to
240 student members.
• Additional focus on entrepreneurship in planned
activities for Fall and Spring.
• Expansion of the pilot implementation of the Dual
Enrollment initiative in service area high schools.
Currently there are four courses offered during Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. Starting August 31st, 2009 two courses are currently
taught under this initiative: Electric Circuits I ( 4 credits ) and Technical Computing ( 3 credits ). During Spring 2010, Electric Cir-
cuits II ( 3 credits ) and Applications in CAD ( 2 credits ) will be offered. These courses are taught at 2 high schools; Indian Valley and
Claymont. It is our hope to increase the offering to 3 courses each semester for next year, offered at 5 different high school.
• Exposure to exciting career opportunities in IDT and Engineering related disciplines through selected trips to visit companies,
shadow professionals, summer internships and attendance of conferences.
• Offering of a variety of mini courses and workshops for teachers and cyber club members.
• Actively continuing the engagement of a high school student development team on Second Life. This initiative was started June 2009.
It is planned to be continued for AY 09’ – 10.
• Expanding the use of the Remote Login and
Render farm pool capability by teachers and
students at the cyber clubs
• Developing course material for the courses tar-
geted for dual enrollment to be delivered on the
iTouch and iPhones.
• Completing the development
of the social and professional net-
working Web site started Summer
09 to include e-portfolios, job opps,
blogs for Cyber Club members and
networking with employers, cur-
rent students and KST alumni.
• Increasing planned Competi-
tions for Cyber Clubs in various
related disciplines of interest.
• Planning and hosting an IDT art gallery Spring 2010 to display and celebrate CC achievements in IDT.
Dr. Kamal Bichara, Director Engineering Technology
Kent State University
Page 7
Kamal’s Visions for Cyber Clubs 2009-2010
Kent State University Cyber Center Checks-In
The WIRED Islands are located in Second Life (www.secondlife.com) and sponsored by a WIRED
Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Training Administration to the State of
Ohio for developing workforce in Interactive Digital Technology (IDT).
WIRED Island One is the possibility island. The immersion factor in virtual worlds can be util-
ized to develop powerful packaged experiences for your web visitors that go far beyond ordinary
two dimensional sites. Experiences such as this "map" in many parts of the brain simultaneously
to enable powerful memories. This island's many platforms house environments, concepts and
projects that were built as small examples of the endless possibilities.
We know that you'll likely think of many ways that you might use parallel ideas to further your
own needs and goals. When you combine the ability to develop these created experiences with the
included free world-wide voice you will see the possibilities for a green method of opening all
kinds of discussions and training. You'll see in our IDT Plaza how many Fortune 500 Corpora-
tions have made major commitments to developing these spaces for their own uses.
WIRED Islands Two, Three and Four are
operated by our University Cyber Center
partners and used as teaching spaces for the
students involved in the sponsored Cyber
Clubs at many high schools, community col-
leges and colleges. WIRED Island Two is
Kent State University's space, WIRED Island
Three is Ohio University's space and WIRED
Island Four belongs to Shawnee State Uni-
versity.
If you would like a tour contact Tom Stead [email protected] Second Life Developer
extraordinaire, Michelle Gatchell [email protected], or Bill Sams [email protected].
The WIRED Islands
Wired N
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