Virtual Worlds and Second Life

In coordination with the Virtual Worlds Hot Topic Discussion at lsat years EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, a group was starting in Second Life.  That group had its first meeting on Monday, June 9th.  Following is the edited transcript of that meeting (edited for clarity and readability).

If you are in Second Life, please join the group EDUCAUSE VIRTUAL WORLDS or contact AJ Brooks in world for an invite.

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The island of Sophia in Second Life now features an immersive depiction of the flight deck of the NASA Space Shuttle (actually, it's the high fidelity mockup at Johnson Space center in Houston). This is a visual representation only - the controls don't work - but it is a compelling effect. The display uses a Virtual Reality Room (VRR), an immersive, photo-realistic environment developed through a partnership between the New Media Consortium (NMC), the Info Island Archipelago, the Commonwealth Islands for not-for-profits, and Stephane Desnault (aka Stephane Zugzwang in SL).

In this 31 minute podcast we feature a conversation from the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. The topic is Second Life and virtual worlds. How can virtual world participation help students become active learners? How can instructors approach virtual worlds with an eye toward their own curriculum. Are there any privacy or safety issues that must be breached in getting your students on Second Life? Particpants in this discussion include:

On this podcast we feature a plenary session from the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. The presenter is Sarah Smith Robbins, PhD Candidate, Ball State University, with a topic entitled, "Virtual Worlds as Web 2.0 Learning Spaces".

Virtual worlds such as Second Life offer powerful teaching and learning opportunities by integrating participatory, social, and immersive media for student-centered learning. Learn about Second Life, its use as a learning space, and its predictive role in the future of learning.

The full program is now available for the ELI 2008 Spring Focus Session, "Real-World and Technology Rich: Learning by Doing, Learning in Context," being held March 18–19 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Register by February 19 to save money with low, early-bird rates.

Some of the featured sessions and speakers will include:

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet Mark Childs from Warwick, in the context of his short visit to CARET. Over an informal lunch, a bunch of CARET researchers and learning technologists battered Mark with questions about his work on interesting projects such as DIVERSE (developing video resources for students) and his PhD research on Learners' Experiences of Mediated Environments.

We had a very enjoyable group discussion around the issues and challenges associated with researching learning in relation to students' lived experiences, and how patterns of learning and student behaviours alike are increasingly mediated by technology. Mark had a lot of stories to share, particularly in relation to using qualitative methods, and the challenges posed by researching learning in mediated environments. He is especially interested in issues associated with "presence" in virtual worlds, such as Second Life. Thanks to Mark for his time and input!

Attached is a very brief overview of a project to be presented in a poster session at the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. If you would like more information after listening, please see the poster session page, visit the home page of Notre Dame's faculty learning community on virtual worlds. or go to the island of Sophia in Second Lfe.

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Find below the entire chat history from the Virtual Worlds Hot Topic Discussion that took place at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference 2007 in Seattle, Washington.

This chat history is actually a combination of two that were captured, mine and Chris Collins from the University of Cincinatti.  A HUGE thanks to Chris and all of the many volunteers who made the event possible.  Also, major thanks go to Peter DeBlois and everyone at EDUCAUSE who made this possible, especially Justin James and his AMAZING team of techs - these guys are the best.

Before the chat, here are some pictures you might enjoy. (Special thanks to Joanna Robinson for the pictures - if you have pictures you'd like to see posted here, please email me with the URL)

I am thrilled to announce that EDUCAUSE has scheduled a Virtual Worlds Hot Topics Discussion for this year's Annual Conference in Seattle.  The conference will take place from October 23rd to the 26th at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

Details on the full convention can be found here - http://www.educause.edu/e07

The Virtual Worlds Hot Topic Discussion will be held on Thursday, October 25th from 12:45pm to 2:15pm (PDT) in Room 211.  The description of this event is:

I thought I would post this video I made about Second Life a few months ago. This video was part of a presentation I gave to the Austin Technology Forum and many asked me to post it. I'm finally getting around to it. Enjoy. If you are interested in learning about the process of making the video and more on virtual worlds i often blog at http://educatorscoop.org/blog