For Immediate Release
ASU helps test Lively by Google before official release
ASU’s My World offers virtual education environments using Lively by Google
(Tempe, AZ–July 8, 2008) — Arizona State University (ASU) helped test Lively, a new product by GoogleTM for creating interactive virtual environments, before its official release on July 8, 2008. Two thousand ASU students joined Google’s Trusted Tester program in September 2007 to try out Lively and provide feedback as part of ASU’s alpha-testing project, codenamed My World.
Rooms in Lively are unique, three-dimensional online spaces that are completely Internet-embedded, enabling users to link videos, photos and other Web-based media into their experience. Users can create their own characters to move around in different virtual spaces, use objects, and communicate with others over the Internet. Users can also build their own rooms and integrate them into any website, including personal blogs or Facebook.
ASU is introducing Lively by Google to the ASU Community as My World, a place for students to interact with their professors and peers, and plans to use this technology as an integral part of several educational initiatives. ASU will use Lively by Google to provide Advanced Placement (AP*) Calculus instruction to students preparing for the Calculus AP exam.
“My World, powered by Lively, is the latest in a series of advanced technologies that are helping to enrich the online student experience. We’re pleased to have helped Google in their release of this important new capability and look forward to continuing to work with them to accelerate innovation in academic technology,” said Adrian Sannier, University Technology Officer at ASU.
ASU will use My World to offer virtual study halls to students where they can collaborate with other students on subjects like English or math.
“I think [My World] offers an exciting new experience and great opportunities for online socialization and networking that no other application has been able to offer,” said Kirk Morales, ASU student. “The possibilities of integration with other services are endless.”
An ASU-themed room called The Arizona State Café will debut with the release of Lively by Google and will be available for public use.
Lively by Google software is only available for the Windows platform at this time.
To learn more about Lively by Google, visit the Web site http://www.lively.com.
For more information about Lively by Google at ASU, email .
*Advanced Placement and AP are trademarks owned and registered by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.