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Giunti Labs, Exchange House, 494 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2EA
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5th September 2007

Giunti Labs collaborates with Cisco and the Serious Games Institute to demonstrate leading-edge learning technology

Giunti Labs, Europe's leading vendor of e-learning and mobile learning content management solutions, is collaborating with Coventry University’s newly formed Serious Games Institute (SGI) and Cisco, the leading supplier of networking equipment and network management for the internet, to provide demonstration software showing what can be achieved in combining mobile and virtual worlds e-learning.

The result of this collaboration between the SGI, Giunti Labs and mobile learning specialists Ambient Performance will be on display at the 'Serious Virtual Worlds' (www.seriousvirtualworlds.net) conference being held at the TechnoCentre, Coventry University Technology Park, on 13th and 14th September.

The conference will also feature the launch of Coventry University's Second Life island and highly visual and interactive demonstrations including presentations from the Institute’s industry and academic partners. Among those making presentations at the conference are Cisco, Forterra, Linden Labs, Giunti Labs, Daden ltd, Ambient Performance, PA Consulting, IBM, and Trusim.

“The extraordinary success of virtual worlds such as ‘Second Life’ as virtual social spaces for play is leading us to examine the potential for the serious uses of these worlds,” said the SGI’s director, David Wortley. “The theme for this first Serious Virtual Worlds conference is ‘The Reality of the Virtual World’ and examines how virtual worlds are now being used for serious professional purposes.”

The conference aims to attract professionals with interests in using technology for communication and collaboration; education and training; scenario planning, and for commercial activities, as well as from corporates, the media, multimedia development organisations, public sector organisations, consultancies, technology solution providers, and researchers.

“SGI is focusing on virtual worlds and immersive environments because these are key elements for serious games,” Wortley explained. “The SGI is going to be the place in Europe to find expertise in virtual environments as applied to learning – especially as they are used to link virtual and real environments.”

Angus Turpin, manager for Giunti Labs in the UK and Ireland, commented: "Giunti Labs are supplying the SGI with back-end development, consultancy and software based on our flagship e-learning and mobile learning content management platform learn eXact, Europe's leading solution for learning content production and authoring now adding mobile and virtual learning worlds authoring capability."

This will enable:

* The SGI to demonstrate drag and drop positioning of digital learning contents, 3D hotspot positioning, triggering and tracking of learning content by the avatar into those zones.

* The SGI to have the tools and functionality to allow the creation, packaging, management and tracking of SCORM compliant contents which will be contextualised and delivered to Windows Mobile 5 PDAs within the SGI Cisco Wi-Fi network.

* The X, Y, Z co-ordinates of the mobile devices for use by other applications, such as Second Life.

“Giunti Labs are proposing to supply the tools, training and support to enable the creation and repurposing of content using its authoring suite and to test extended third party deployment via this test suite, as well as offering the requisite training and support,” said Turpin.

“We’re delighted to be joining with Cisco and Ambient Performance – both world leaders in their fields – to help the SGI to demonstrate the latest, state-of-the-art learning technology. Learning via virtual worlds represents a quantum leap for e-learning technology and it’s heartening to see the SGI take a lead in promoting this not just in the UK but also within Europe.”

End

Notes for Editors

About the Serious Games Institute (SGI)

The Serious Games Institute (SGI) is the first of three new Institutes being opened at the Coventry University Technology Park. The SGI, the first of its kind in the UK, aims to support regional development through bringing together subject matter experts, applied research and dedicated showcasing and demonstration facilities to support the development and application of virtual world applications, game-based learning and interactive digital media resources for a range of uses.

The Serious Games Institute (SGI) is a regional development project, founded by Advantage West Midlands, which has grown out of a desire to identify and encourage growth areas for West Midlands industry. With computer games companies already being well established in the Leamington Spa and Solihull areas, many of the skills in evidence in this sector can be transferred to the serious games sector.

The SGI is a centre of excellence and a hub for serious games which aims to provide access to:

• Relevant applied research through Coventry University;

• Office space for serious games companies, and

• Facilities for demonstrating and showcasing serious games and immersive environments.

About Giunti Labs:

Giunti is unique in the international publishing industry.

In 1497, Giunti publishers and typographers in Florence, together with others in Venice, began modern book manufacturing. Over the years Giunti has built a 'historical catalogue' of huge dimensions, through a gradual process of 'fusion' of different publishers, but also through the creation of new brands, including Giunti Labs. Giunti Editore now includes 20 companies in the publishing sector.

Giunti Labs, which has its EMEA headquarters in Italy and offices in Milton Keynes (UK), Frankfurt (Germany) and in Boston (US), provides a wide range of services, in response to any content, learning and knowledge management need, covering:
• Content production
• Research and development
• Technological solutions for content, learning & knowledge management
• Architectural and technological solutions for mobile & wireless
• Training and consulting

Giunti Labs provides the learn eXact® suite, Europe's leading e-learning and mobile learning content management technology. This suite is interoperable with all major vendor-driven and open source LMS and VLE solutions in the market including Plateau, Oracle, SumTotal, Saba, WebCT, Blackboard, Sakai, LRN and Moodle.

Moreover, Giunti Labs does not just adhere to the international standards relating to the LMS/LCMS world, it is one of the organisations that helps to determine and drive these standards: co-writing and developing them. Giunti Labs plays a key role in most of the international institutions for the definition of eLearning specifications (IEEE LTSC, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC36, CEN/ISSS WSLT, AICC, IMS, ADL-SCORM and OKI).

About Giunti Labs' learn eXact® suite

Giunti Labs' learn eXact is an e-learning and mobile learning content management system (LCMS) that enables users to create, manage and deliver content based on learning objects, XML, standards and international specifications. It delivers learning content to location-based mobile devices, interactive TV and wearable computer devices.
 

Further information from:

Angus Turpin, Giunti Labs, +44 (0) 7733 365063
Minna Leikas, Giunti Labs, +39 3489 399127
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405