3D AIDS Quilting is Underway

World AIDS Day is coming up December 1, 2010, and I want to share an opportunity for anyone in the world who's lost someone to AIDS. The 3D AIDS Quilt project is accepting applications for those who want to make the extra effort to customize a template, an enclosed virtual room, with images, objects, text, or anything imaginable to celebrate that lost individual's life.

I have thankfully been spared great loss, but I did have one friend and co-worker decades ago, whose name was Buddy, who was lost early on in the epidemic. I spent an hour or two in thoughtful reflection, then another hour or two creating my Quilt piece, and when the Quilt launches on World AIDS Day I'll share the location with you. That finished Quilt, the brainchild of Jenaia Morane and Discord Schism (SL names) will be a marvel to behold.

If you wish to apply, please do so at http://www.3daidsquilt.com/3d-quilt-application-form/ and savor the creative experience. Then on December 1, visit and explore, reflect and celebrate. Peace.

Peggy Sheehy at SIGVE 3rd Tuesday Speaker Session

Just to share this out beyond the ever-growing wiki at http://sigve.iste.wikspaces.net, where each of the now 9 episodes of the ISTE SIGVE 3rd Tuesday Speaker Session is archived in audio format, here's Peggy Sheehy along with her impromptu co-guest Lucas Gillispie, conversing about WoW, Second Life, Teen Second Life, and more during their lively recent Session at the ISTE Island Auditorium in Second Life. Join us on December 21 when our guest will be Jo Kay, sharing about her prolific work in virtual environments from her Australian home and around the globe!

Pics:

Slideshow at Flickr

Chat: Chatlog ripe with links!

ISTE 2011 in Philly--Present or Preside!

Yes, good friends and global neighbors, it's time to think about ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To kick off SIGVE's call for presentations and Poobahs, we've set up forms for both at the SIGVE wiki, a still-growing one-stop-shop for all things Virtual Environments. Did you know that every 3rd Tuesday SIGVE Speaker Session held from the first one in February, 2010, is audio archived at the wiki? With a few clicks you can download these to your computer or your iPod and listen while you walk the dog, vacuum the flat, or load the dishwasher. It's the pinnacle of multi-tasking!

But I'm getting off-message. The message today is VOLUNTEER. Or is it APPLY?

Both. Please volunteer to serve as a facilitating Poobah, either onsite in Philly or in your favorite virtual world. And if you have something you'd like to share in our teeming metropolis of learning, please put in your application to present. Last year at the VE Playground we facilitated 35 pretty much back to back sharing sessions, really fascinating ones. This year we have fewer slots, since we're only running Monday and Tuesday of the conference (for a number of good reasons) so it will be even more important that you get your applications in completely and soonly.

Remember, due to the magic of 3D immersive worlds, you don't have to be in Philly to share! Events will once again be mirrored in Second Life and elsewhere, and we totally welcome platforms outside of Second Life. We learned many lessons last year in our 3Day house of mirrors, and we'll be applying the learning from those lessons this year to bring you the best ever immersive experience you can imagine. Really.

Also, shhhhhhh, watch this blog for an upcoming contest. We're working on its details right now and it'll be a doozy. 

Here's a video walkthrough of last year's Virtual Environments Playground to help motivate you to present or to preside: See you there!

November's Blog-o'-the-Month is KZero, "We Are Worldswide!"

Hey, ya'll!!!

Better late than never, I always say:

Announcing November's Blog-o'-the-month! Please enjoy the ever-informative KZero, Inc., virtual worlds research group's blog, "We Are Worldswide" at http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog

And during the month of November in the Bloggers Hut, will be choosing which educational blog we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of DECEMBER. These nominees are culled from the "Guide to Online Schools Top 200 Education Blogs" list.

Would you like to see a theme explored here? Email scott@scottmerrick.net with the theme or anything else you would like to suggest to make the Bloggers Hut mo' bettah. Be sure to subject-line: "Blog Hut Suggestion" so I'll get to it quicklike.

For December, visit the blog hut and select your favorite from the four nominees at the polling object. Choose between:

Red: This Week in Education
Alexander Russo
http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

Green: detention slip
your cheatsheet for education news
http://www.detentionslip.org/

Yellow: Teacher Beat
Stephen Sawchuck/EducationWeek
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/

and

Blue:  Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
for teaching ELL, ESL, and EFL
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Happy Exploring!

Previously Featured Blogs-o'-the-Month!:

Engage Digital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)
Virtual School Meanderings--Michael Barbour
Blogging ISTE (special compendium page at iste.org)
The Dariing Librarian--Gwenyth A. Jones
Why Technology in Education Rocks in Virginia--various VSTE writers
Free Tech for Teachers--Richard Byrne
Suffern Middle School in Second Life--Peggy Sheehy
OpenSimulator--assorted authors
Dusan Writer's Metaverse--Doug Thompson
CoolCatTeacher--Vicki Davis
EdTechJen--Jennifer Roland
Clive on Learning--Clive Shepherd
Technology and Learning--Lee Kraus
PESD Island--Noreen Strehlow
In a Strange Land--Iggy O et al
Second Life in New Zealand--John Waugh, Terry Neal, et al
Hey Jude!--Judy O'Connell
Learning Games--Daniel Livingstone
Learning Visions--Cammy Bean
Dr. Z Reflects--Leigh Zeitz
Hendron's Digest--John Hendron
Phasing Grace--Grace McDunnough
From Mr. A to Mr. Z--Jeff Agamenoni
Around the Corner--McGuhlin.net
Fleep's Deep Thoughts--Fleep Tuque/Chris Colling
NMC Campus--New Media Consortium
PHSPrincipal Blog--Dave Meister
Teaching Math Technology Blog--Maria Anderson
2CentsWorth--David Warlick
The Story of My Second Life--Kevin Jarrett
Oh! Second Life (now Oh! Virtual Learning)--Scott Merrick :)

Announcing the slartclectic2010 Higher-Resolution Image Scavenger Hunt! Find! Win!

Announcing the slartclectic2010 Higher-Resolution Image Scavenger Hunt! Find! Win!

For several reasons, the art on slartclectic 2010 panels and about the room is of modest resolution, but (at least) five higher-resolution images have been mounted around the room to suggest how amazing it would be to create this or any other art show by taking and uploading hi-res images of every single piece.

Can you find the hi-res pieces scattered about the build?

If you can, click on any of the guestbook objects mounted at the corners of the room and leave your comments, adding that you have completed the Scavenger Hunt. In the appropriate (last, optional) field, type the names of the five artists whose panels house individual higher-resolution images.

The first correct entry will be announced on Friday, November 26 and will be awarded L$1000. The second entry to have been entered by that date will be awarded L$400, the tenth L$200, and the twentieth and thirtieth (assuming there are that many entries) will also each find an extra L$200 each in their accounts.

Some fun now.

Visit slartclectic2010 at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isla%20Sonoita/224/208/37 now!

You're Invited! slartclectic 2010!!!

"slartclectic" is an experimental art gallery created to extend and share globally the annual University School of Nashville annual art show and gallery, "artclectic."

Every year, dozens of volunteers and paid workers transform USN's gymnasium into a world-class art gallery, hosting 50-60 artists from a field of hundreds who apply.

The only criteria the juror has for his/her work is artistic excellence. Informing that is the tradition for artclectic work to be "eclectic," but traditional art is not ruled out. The juror's work is done in the summer, then the process is truly underway for the show that is held the third week in every October. This year's show was the 14th iteration and next year promises to be even more polished, even more fun, and even more successful.

It really has to be seen to be appreciated. So that those who might not otherwise be able to see it can do so, I created  "slartclectic2010!" Those of you who know me personally may be aware that my lovely wife, Lee Ann, is the Woman-in-Charge. This real-life extravaganza would not happen without the hard work she puts into it year-round.

Join Second Life visitors in a tour of the show at its virtual iteration on property generously donated by Josain Zsun and Isla Sonoita. slartclectic is currently slated to run only through November, so visit soon before it is gone for good! A landmark:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isla%20Sonoita/223/195/37

Feedback through Guest Book signing is encouraged!!!

Hints:
*Best viewed with your graphics quality and speed set to "high"
*Click any panel to visit the artist's website (if he or she has one).
*Turn on your media for tunes while you browse (you may need to select the station from the tuner by the door!)
*Have a dance or two on the dance floor (the "real" artclectic didn't have one, but we do!)
*Have yourself a cocktail of your choice (click the bartender!)
*The panels are fairly low-res, for a number of reasons, there are 5 high resolution images in the room. Can you find them all?

*Click the big artclectic sign to visit the richly populated artclectic 2010 website. Oh heck, I'll save you a few clicks copy and paste this into your browser:

http://artclectic.org

 :)

Virtual Pioneers Online History Conference Keynote Archive

Thanks to the folks who attended my closing keynote for the two-day Virtual Pioneers History Conference in Second Life last evening. Spiff/Andy had asked me to close with some visions for the future of education, and I kind of went wild. Though one attendee rather rudely backchatted his boredom during the opening wrap up and summary, I appear to have stifled his criticism, at least to some degree, with the following presentation. I spiffed it up (pun intended) a bit after subsequent dinner conversation with my lovely wife, who serves up the best pushback from the point of view of a parent and educator. The backchat text file is at http://goo.gl/xiro .

Here 'tis. I may add some audio, but for now as you view it you should likely put on the Beatles "Revolution" or virtually any Ratatat, either one played very loud...

Utopianfutureofeducation

View more presentations from Scott Merrick.

crossposted from scottmerrickdotnet