Now that Minecraft has officially gone retail (or out of beta), creator Markus "Notch" Persson is stepping down as lead developer and reportedly taking a break. Co-developer Jens Bergensten is now taking the reigns, but Notch said he'll still help out with the sandbox PC game while also starting work on a new project. "[Jens] will have the final say in all design decisions, so he will kinda sorta become my boss, I guess," Notch said on his blog. "I’ve promised him to not pull rank. We’ve been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I’m amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game. And when we don’t agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result. He’s truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him." Missing its projected "gold" date of November 11, 2011, Minecraft was finally released on November 18 after years of development. The game entered alpha in May 17, 2009 followed by a beta on December 20, 2010.
A "Pocket Edition" made its first appearance on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play phone during E3 2011, but was later released on all Android handsets on October 8. An iOS version landed on Apple's App Store on November 16, and a version for the Xbox 360 is currently in the works. That said, it is now time for s break... at least for Notch. "Personally, I will now rest for a while, then get back to work refreshed and eager," he said. In related Minecraft news, YouTube member ParadiseDecay is making waves across the industry with a video he created using the popular sandbox game. In fact, he recreated the entire Death Star run from the original Star Wars movie (aka Episode 4, A New Hope). Naturally there's nothing really moving save for the camera panning in and out of the set and the occasional wandering zombie, and the special effects are down to one or two explosions at best. Still, it's a great use of "camera work" and excellent -- if not extremely patient -- set building. Torches lighting up the interior of Darth Vader's TIE Fighter = too funny.
Zombies walking across the face of the Death Star = priceless.Written, directed and produced by a team of Star Wars superfans, the final installment of the stop motion Go Rogue YouTube series debuts today. The four-part series previews key toys from the new "Rogue One" line before they hit stores Sept. 30, a.k.a. Force Friday. We also have three photos from this last stop motion video that you can check out below the short.The Go Rogue video series follows the imagined adventures of Rogue One toys seeking LEGO Star Wars Death Star set building instructions that have been misplaced by the Empire (no film spoilers here!). In the exciting conclusion, the Rebels must rely on their wits, courage and building skills to rescue one of their own from Director Krennic and escape with the LEGO building instructions. The fate of the Galaxy hangs in the balance.The Go Rogue series conclusion will feature new LEGO Star Wars toys in action, such as AT-ST Walker, Krennic's Imperial Shuttle, along with new minifigure characters Jyn Erso, Director Krennic, Cassian Andor, K-2SO, Baze Malbus, Chirrut Imwe, Death Troopers and more.
In all, more than 20,000 LEGO bricks were used in this production. Long favored by stop motion animators, LEGO-related videos account for more than 20 percent of Star Wars fan-generated content on YouTube.Chapter 4 brings the fan-created toy-sized adventure to a close and leads into a global user generated content (UGC) contest for fans to create and enter their own 2-minute videos beginning Sept. 30. Winners will attend an advance film screening at Lucasfilm in San Francisco and see their own story on the big screen. Fans also can join the global #GoRogue conversation on social.The Go Rogue series was created by a team of superfans led by James DeJulio at Tongal, written by Kevin Ulrich, and brought to life by stop motion animators and directors Dan MacKenzie and Tucker Barrie. There will be many more Star Wars toys available for purchase on Force Friday in just a few short days, as we get closer to the December 16 release of Rogue One: A Star Wrs Story. Take a look at the final Go Rogue short and three photos from this short film series leading into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, hitting theaters December 16.
56 of the best iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus wallpapers we've found ... Image Size: 727x1292 px / #482190 / File Type: jpg Using YouTube to pioneer a new avenue of digital learning, Dr Chris Tisdell from the University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) School of Mathematics and Statistics has recently been approached by YouTube to become an official ‘Partner in Education’.Using the UNSW’s YouTube channel to broadcast maths lectures across the globe, Tisdell has reached almost 180,000 hits, with a recent survey of engineering and maths students revealing that 92 per cent of students who watched the videos thought they were a valuable learning resource.When were you approached by YouTube and asked to become an official partner in education? I have been making mathematical education videos for about two years, and YouTube approached me six months ago to become a partner in education. UNSW also has a partnership with YouTube in its YouTube EDU movement, where universities around the world can share their video lectures.
How successful has your UNSWelearning YouTube channel been? Students have been very encouraging of my YouTube initiative, both here at the UNSW and also around the world. Recent surveys from a large second-year engineering mathematics subject reveal that 70 per cent of students viewed at least one of my videos and 92 per cent of those student viewers believed that the videos were a valuable learning resource. Encouraging comments from around the globe are posted on my YouTube web page almost every day.What age groups do your viewers fall into? My viewers tend to fall into three categories: Students at UNSW taking mathematics courses as part of their degree, students at other universities -- both in Australia and overseas -- and self-learners, including the practicing engineer who needs to brush up on some aspect of mathematics as part of their work. Due to the global reach of YouTube, the second and third groups outweigh the first. What role does YouTube play in your teaching and why did you chose to use social media to engage with your students?
I record my lectures live using an ELMO P30S document camera, and then edit and upload the video files to YouTube where students can revisit the lecture in their own time. Students have been using these resources as a revision tool rather than replacing physical attendance in lectures.I chose YouTube because video is a powerful tool in learning and it is free to access. The free access to YouTube aligns with my beliefs in the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement, whose aim is to make knowledge and learning resources freely available to the world. My YouTube videos are my contribution to the OCW.How do you keep your audience returning to your teachings and engaging with social media? I believe the key is to keep your YouTube page dynamic by regularly posting new material. I try to post my video lectures as soon as possible after the lecture, as students probably see the value of course materials decline with time. People are more likely to keep visiting my YouTube page if there is new material for them to view and learn from.