Daniel+Livingstone

Dr Daniel Livingstone lectures in Computer Science at the University of the West of Scotland, specialising in Computer Game Technology and Virtual Worlds, teaching classes from Real Time 3D software development with OpenGL through to Collaborative Virtual Environments. Daniel is an active researcher in the educational applications of multi-user virtual environments. His first experiences of MUVE’s led to him becoming a wizard in an LPMUD – despite which he managed to graduate from the University in Strathclyde with a degree in Computer and Electronic Systems. This was followed by a Masters in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Essex and then a PhD in the computer modelling of the evolution of language and languages at the University of Paisley (now University of the West of Scotland) – since when his active research interests have taken him back to virtual worlds. In recent years, Daniel co-chaired the Second Life Education Workshops in 2006 and 2007, and founded the Massively Multi-Learner series of workshops for the HEA-ICS in the UK, and recently completed co-editing a volume on Researching Education and Learning in Virtual Environments (RE-LIVE) to be published in 2010 by Springer. He is a co-founder of the open-source SLOODLE project - the world's first project attempting to formally integrate multi-user virtual environments with web-based virtual learning environments. Dr. Livingstone was the lead-investigator in the EDUSERV funded project “Online Learning In Virtual Environments with SLOODLE”, a US$240,000 project to further develop the SLOODLE software and community. This two-year grant awarded in 2007 is now nearing completion, and has seen SLOODLE grow from an idea into a tool that has been used by dozens of educators around the globe, with class sizes ranging from less than ten students to classes of hundreds. Dr. Livingstone's research interests also include Artificial Intelligence in games and the use of handheld devices for game based learning. Dr. Livingstone’s alter egos include Buddy Sprocket (Second Life, Home) and dlivingstone (MetaPlace). He no-longer has a Club Penguin avatar, as he had to give that to one of his daughters.