Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education is Winding Up

I've been very busy in "real life" and in other arenas of my "virtual life" this weekend and I have to admit that I haven't really spent all that much time participating in the VWBPE (Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education) online conference in Second Life this weekend. I dropped into the booths for a bit this morning and looked around, snapping some pics,

then attended a portion of a presentation tonight, and caught portions of two others. This one tonight was a bit confusing, likely because I dropped in late and was chatting with friend Joie off in im, but also because there was an effort to demonstrate an inworld roleplaying/drama procedure that just didn't work for me. The presenter was one Kim Pasternak, and to his credit there were scores of people in attendance, but the response to his call for questions at the end of the session demonstrated for me that those in attendance were pretty much as nonplussed as was I.

Still, I want to applaud the fierce determination of the fine folks at VWBPE for putting together the conference. I've been privvy to the emails all along and though I didn't weigh in (note aforementions bizzyness) I have to admire the massive commitments and collaborative engagement of those who did. Check the wiki at http://wiki.vwbpe.org for some measure of the scope of what they put together. Thanks, too, to the fine folks at ISTE for providing the space for many of these events to happen. The ampitheater pictured above, for example, is located at the juxtaposition of four sims, allowing many more people to be present without lagging out or crashing the platform. Yay!

CSO TalkTalks Monday April 6!

I'll remind everyone about the event the day before and the day of, but for those of you who are more fastidious in their calendar maintenance than I, here's the announcement for CSO Talk Talks session 3, to be held at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach's HQ on Lighthouse Learning Island at 6 pm SLT, Monday, April 6. We'll gather for an hour of chatting and sharing centered around one of four suggested TED videos.

This past week's CSOTT went great, by the way! There's a blogpost describing it with pics at the CSO Talk Talks wiki.

Here are four Talks we'll choose from this time, listed by voting booth color. GO VOTE! Voting ends promptly at 6:05 "the day of," and the movie will start promptly at 6:10:

Red:Jill Bolte Taylor:Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for : She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions disipated.

Green:Richard Baraniuk: TED Talks What if Napster stocked textbooks? Engineering professor Richard Baraniuk talks about his vision for Connexions, an open-source system that lets ...
Yellow:Ray Kurzweil:Futurist Ray Kurzweil foresees body and brain enhancements leading to an ... If this collection of provocative speakers proves even partially right, ...

Blue:Malcolm Gladwell:Malcolm Gladwell: What we can learn from spaghetti sauce.

Second CSO Talk Talks Monday, March 23

Come one, come all, at 6 pm SLT on Monday, March 23, to the second in a series of bi-weekly get-togethers in Second Life, featuring a vote-chosen TED Talk with robust backchat and collegial conversation. Come early if you can, since the voting ends promptly at 6:05 and the movie airs at 6:10.

You know you wish you "had time" to enjoy more of these thought-provoking videos, and you know it's more fun when you watch them with friends and colleagues. Now's your chance!

The voting object is up and running now at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach's Headquarters on Lighthouse Learning Island. Here's a SLurl! Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach HQ

CSO TalkTalks Monday March 9!

CSO TalkTalks opens quietly for a friendly shared experience amongst science educators on Monday, March 9 at 6 pm SLT! Sometime between now and then, please visit the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach HQ in Second Life and when you rez in click on the Vanderbilt teleporter. Once at the CSO building, enter and vote for the TED video you'd like to share and talk about. Only one vote per avatar! Then we'll see you Monday night at 6 pm SLT to view and chat!

There will be a brief period at the beginning of the one hour session to give the folks who haven't yet voted to express their opinion, then we'll all count down together and click to play the video. Chatting allowed in text during the event--ENCOURAGED, in fact!

While you're there feel free to look around the Center HQ!

Here are the options for Monday and their corresponding polling object colors. See you on Monday, March 9!
Red:
Aubrey de Grey: Why we age and how we can avoid itCambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey argues that aging is merely a disease -- and a curable one at that. Humans age in seven basic ways, he says, all of which can be averted.

Green:
Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seenYou've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world." and the more recent follow-up,

Yellow:
David Keith:
A surprising idea for "solving" climate changeEnvironmental scientist David Keith proposes a cheap, effective, shocking means to address climate change: What if we injected a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere to deflect sunlight and heat?

Blue:
Juan Enriquez: Why can't we grow new energy? Juan Enriquez challenges our definition of bioenergy. Oil, coal, gas and other hydrocarbons are not chemical but biological products, based on plant matter -- and thus, growable. Our whole approach to fuel, he argues, needs to change.

Blogger's Hut Nominees for April! No FOOLING!

Congratulations to Second Life Education in New Zealand for its choice by vote as featured "Blog-o-the-Month!" at the ISTE Island Blogger's Hut! Visit the blog, then visit the Blogger's Hut and cast your own vote for one of the stellar suggestions for the merry month of April!

For April's nominees we're once again going international, honoring the "International" in the ISTE! All blogs are Second Life or virtual worlds relevant and are concerned with teaching and learning, of course! Think Danish, Canadian, American with international collaborators, and a Britisher in Spain. That about does it!

Help yourself to a look-see from the urls below, then simply touch the appropriate color on the polling object to vote....uh-uhhhhh, only one vote per avatar!!!

In a Strange Land--Iggy O et al
Travels in virtual worlds with an eye to the academic and the inane http://iggyo.blogspot.com/

Bryn Oh--Bryn Oh
Bryn Oh is a sort of second life "Ghost artist" for a Toronto Oil painter. She is already cooler than the real life version http://www.brynoh.blogspot.com/

Mariis Mills --Mariis Mills
exploring Dynamic Didactic Design http://milmariis.wordpress.com/

That’SLife--Gavin Dudeney
On Second Life & Other Things http://slife.dudeney.com/

Oh! :) If you're a nominee and want to grab a "Nominated!" badgie thingie for your blog, here 'tis:

NECC 2009 in Washington, D.C.!

A crosspost from scottmerrick.net. I (duh) realized I should put it out here.

Our two workshops at NECC2009 are now scheduled!

These are both 3 hour workshops, one for "n00bs" and one for "experienced users only" and they're limited to 30 participants each, so hurry on out there and get registered for the conference then get your housing (filling up fast!) and sometime in mid-February, when the workshop program is announced, go back online and get registered for the workshop that fits your needs! I'll remind you here once the schedule is public!

Here's the skimmy:

TA405 Introduction to Education in Second Life: n00bs UNITE! [Workshop : Hands-on] (43604107) Scheduled: Tuesday, 6/30/2009, 8:30am–11:30am
Co-presenters Cathy Walker, John Miller, Lisa Linn, Peggy (Norton) Sheehy, Jane Wilde, and Jeff Agamenoni

and

WA507 Educators' Toolbox and Skill Set: Instruction and Presentation in Second Life [Workshop : Hands-on] (43605147) Scheduled: Wednesday, 7/1/2009, 8:30am–11:30am
Co-presenters Cathy Walker, John Miller, and Marianne Malmstrom

Yay!!!

Virtual Worlds Waiting in the Wings?

Twitter's all atwitter recently about a loooooong transcript of a Call-in session held in November 2008. It features thoughts from Tish Shute and Bruce Damer, two folks with long experience in all manner of virtual worlds, in conversation with Donald Schwartz, Tech Coordinator for Fast Company, a magazine that specializes in "uncovering best and 'next' practices" in business. Call-in participants voicing opinions from a distance include RJ Lavallian, Paul Robbins, Greg Pfister, Paul Rowland, and unidentified "others."

I'd give it a read if I were you.