Patrick Parslow

RedGloo: Experiences of developing and using an emerging technology in higher education

The article considers RedGloo, an online social network created for students of the School of Systems Engineering at the University of Reading in England in 2006. The creation of RedGloo and its use by students from 2006 both in formal and informal education are discussed. The use of other social media by students with access to RedGloo is discussed. Criticisms and praise of RedGloo by college graduates who used the network during its existence from 2006-2011 are examined. It is concluded that the growth of other social media effectively replaced the need for RedGloo as a means of communication in learning.

Evolving Complete L-Systems: Using Genetic Algorithms for the Generation of Realistic Plants

This paper introduces the idea of producing a platform, from which to set into motion the evolution of a virtual plant. The plants are represented and generated using the mathematical formalism of Lindenmayer Systems, with the genome being embodied by the production rules and variables of the L-System, for both the plant and its roots. Evolution is then simulated using Genetic Algorithms, which are driven by a user defined fitness function, in the form of an equation. This is all packaged in a Graphical User Interface (GUI), allowing the user control over the different genetic operators of the genetic algorithm.