TLP Blog

Update:
Play the archive of the presentation.
Download the PowerPoint slides.

This presentation was delivered live online for Wimba’s Desktop Lecture Series on January 27, 2009

Description: A growing trend in education is the use of virtual worlds to complement or replace physical and web-based classrooms. With the availability of services like “Second Life”, the barrier to entry is being lowered dramatically. This presentation will examine the strengths and challenges of using Second Life from two perspectives and two institutions: a faculty member using SL to teach Business concepts at University of Northern Iowa and an educational developer supporting Nursing faculty and students who use SL at Cal State University, Chico. Please join us as we explore effective practices in use and deployment of Virtual Worlds.

The Louisiana Regents Estate will be hosting the Louisiana Invitational Conference: Virtual Worlds in Higher Education on Friday, December 12, 2008, 8:00am – 2:30pm Pacific Time (SLT) in Second Life. The conference will cater to an international audience from universities world-wide. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to participate in one of this year’s most unique events. To sign up, just click the Register button at http://virtualcampus.uno.edu/

I was introduced to the Ted talks about a year ago and learned that not only are these talks informative, they are also very inspirational. I highly recommend watching Philip Rosedale’s talk where he explains the logistics of Second Life and what inspired him to begin this massive project.

I happen to enjoy traveling in-world and thought it was about time that I shared a few of the spots I have found that are worth a look. Some of these SLurls (Second Life URLs) are only available for a brief time, so be sure to look to see if there is an end date.

Happy and Safe Traveling!

Spacexcape – open until Dec 3 – A Must See
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spacexcape/7/234/22

Ub Yifu Sculptures
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ub%20Yifu%20Sculptures/98/141/36

Beneath the tree that Died - until 1/09/09 – An AM Radio / University of Kentucky sim
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20KY/72/126/29

Plasma 3 – a Rezzable sim
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rezzable%20Design/217/101/3568

SLSBA – Second Life Simboarding Association – great if you love to surf, sail, or skateboard
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dream%20Horizon/128/128/95

7 Days Magic Bakery – Simply Magical
http://slurl.com/secondlife/7Days%20Magic%20Bakery/249/10/25

Hogwart’s – Harry Potter goes to Second Life
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Liquid%20Heat/241/81/68

Mouse World – Disneyland in SL
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mouse%20World/110/10/2

Chakryn Forest – Amazing and a Top Spot
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chakryn/128/128/2

Dresden Museum – An Art Lover’s Paradise
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dresden%20Gallery/123/128/26

Princeton South
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Princeton%20South/217/210/66

Hollywood in SL – If you cannot get to California, try it in Second Life
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hollywood/61/92/21

Midsommer Isle – Wonderful Scenery
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Midsomer%20Isle/149/124/27

Acropolis Gardens – Beautiful Building
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mood%20Indigo/69/155/23

NASA Headquarters
http://slurl.com/secondlife/NASA%20CoLab/244/111/23

Dublin, Ireland
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dublin%203/214/151/25

SS Galaxy Cruise Ship
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Galaxy%20AFT/59/44/22

SL Literary – Globe Theater
http://slurl.com/secondlife/sLiterary/137/138/26

Macbeth
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Macbeth/42/49/55

Hybrid Productions Sci Fi Iceland
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Flavor%20Country/128/128/250

The Wasteland
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hambone%20Slash/208/208/2

When: October 1, 2008 at 6pm to October 2, 2008 at 6pm
Location: Adobe Connect
Event Type: Online Conference
Organized By: Alliance Library System
For More Information: Click Here

If you want to learn more about post-secondary teaching and learning in Second Life, this is a great place to start.

Event Description:
A take on that 1960’s movie, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!”, at times the work we do in virtual worlds can feel like we’re all running in various directions hunting for treasure. Virtual worlds like Second Life have been a part of our work now for a few years and we are doing wonderful things on various levels. Some efforts are highly organized and funded while others are somewhat more loosely collected, organic and serendipitous. All of our efforts are creating fantastic accounts of lessons learned and insights for better understanding and refining the approach and effort for greater impact.

Join us for two days as we discuss virtual worlds and librarianship. Note that this online conference will not be taking place in Second Life. We’ll be using Adobe Connect for the sessions. We’ll be convening online on October 1 and 2 to discuss topics such as, “Virtual Worlds Development”, “Scaling Graduate LIS Instruction in Virtual Environments”, “Academic Libraries and Virtual Worlds”, “Building a Library Presence in the Virtual World of Second Life” and “Creating Educational Tools in Second Life for Libraries”. A panel of the conference speakers is also scheduled in which your questions will feature prominently.

To register or learn more about the conference you can click on the link above. Questions? Please email info@learningtimes.net.

The New Media Consortium (NMC) announced today the call for proposals for the 2008-09 NMC Virtual Learning Prize, a $100,000 competitive program of awards intended to create a compilation of novel open-source learning practices that make use of the unique characteristics of a virtual learning environment. As many as 20 NMC Virtual Learning Prizes will be awarded in 2008.

“Projects funded under the NMC Virtual Learning Prize program will be those that make learning fresh or novel, or that illustrate concepts that are usually very difficult to teach,” explains Dr. Larry Johnson, NMC’s CEO and director of NMC Virtual Worlds.

For further information, or to download a proposal submission form, please see the Virtual Learning Prize website.