AJ Kelton aka AJ Brooks

Jeremy Kemp aka Jeremy Kabumpo

Written by

Written by

Daniel Livingstone (aka Buddy Sprocket)

Visit the CoverItLive blog for the Second Life Educators 2008 Conference here.

Or just watch the Mogulus.com feed.

Using the Mogulus video-on-demand feature you can now watch:

• Keynote with Claudia and Pathfinder Linden (more info here)
• (The working group on Student Conduct/Institutional Policy was NOT recorded on Mogulus - It will be uploaded when the recorded content shown in-world is made available.)
• Case Study: The 2nd Life/Real Life Divide, Rockcliffe U.
• Keynote with Sarah Robbins-Bell
• (1/2 recorded session) Integrating SL in Humanitarian and Development Training
• Workshop: Building Educational Communities in SL with AJ Kelton

The new year is officially underway here at my school and today is our second day with students. For me personally, it’s incomprehensible to think of missing today to attend the Second Life Education Community Conference, now underway as we speak in Tampa, Florida. Still, as I peruse the wiki, twitter feed, Flickr stream, and a smattering of blog posts, I am astounded at the quality of this event, which is, unless I’m mistaken, effectively the first year it has run as a dedicated conference-within-a-conference.

At last year’s Second Life Community Convention, the education track featured some of the best and brightest researchers, practitioners, and STUDENTS in the metaverse. I know, I saw them and met them. I was there.

When the conference organizers (of SLCC, not SLEDcc) made the decision to have the event the first week in September, it was because that was the very best decision they could have possibly made given the available venues. Many in the education community (particularly K-12) were upset, including me. These things happen. Nonetheless, it’s VERY CLEAR that the people who committed to SLEDcc made a GARGANTUAN contribution to the event.

Take a look at this program. No, wait. Take a look at THIS program first. That is the overall Second Life Community Convention program for 2007. The items in GREEN are education track events. Unbelieveable!

This is by NO MEANS a slight on the people who put together SLCC 2007. Far from it! We would not be where we are today if it were not for them. But when you consider the depth, breadth, style and substance of the programs listed, you have to (in my view at least) agree that education is really, truly driving development in the metaverse. While businesses have come and gone, the educational community is thriving in Second Life. The reason? Dedicated individuals like Chris Collins, Jonathan Richter, Jennifer Ragan-Fore, Jeremy Koester, Scott Merrick, and so many others. You guys are KILLIN’ ME! I want to be there with you, but I *NEED* to be here with my students. :/

How far have we come? Check out the first-ever SLEDDies award competition. That’s the award rubric at the right. Look at those categories. Usability. Technical execution. Crossover & communication. Skills transferance. Innovation. What we are seeing here, folks, is the emergence of a new instructional medium, driven by educators, people woring with actual students on actual lessons in actual classrooms in actual schools, but also virtually, pushing the boundaries of learning into exciting new dimensions.

To be sure, Second Life is NOT the be-all and end-all virtual world. Far from it. No one claims it is. Many people, however, rightfully (in my view) claim that Second Life is, today, the most powerful, flexible, AVAILABLE and easy-to-use virtual world platform available today. It’s natural for educators to flock to an awesome, FREE, cutting-edge tool. The fun part: watching what these creative, driven, professionall learners come up with, and to imagine what learning will be like for our children’s children, whether it involves Second Life or some other immersive 3D environment. Educators are at the forefront of virtual world development!

Ok, gotta get going … I really, really wish I was there, but the bell will be ringing soon and I’ll have a class full of youngsters to care for. Enjoy the conference, congrats on pulling it off, and keep on innovating!

Best,

-kj-

Hey, a quick post to note the locations inworld where you can catch streaming content live from Tampa over the weekend beginning tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 5. The entire schedule of inworld events is at the SLEDcc wiki, but the quick list of streaming locations is this:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/128/124/25
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/206/134/40
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muse%20Isle/171/146/30

Cheerio, and I’ll be the man/avatar behind the camera for most, if not all, events! Maybe I’ll sneak up behind you in SL and sit down to join you!

Scottmerrick Oh

Thanks to Jeremy Kemp for this news:

Announcing: Second Life Educators (SLED) Mixer
Friday, 9/3, 7-9pm Eastern daylight time

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, in partnership with the mixed reality performance program Kidz Connect, and the Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning (ARVEL), a special interest group of the American Educational Research Association, are hosting a mixer for those interested in virtual learning research and mixed reality performance as cultural exchange.

Come unwind while getting inspired! We will offer refreshments
and computers if you’d like to show off your Avatar. Finishes at 9pm.

Only a few blocks from the hotel - at the TECO Theater, in the Patel Conservatory at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

This is a kickoff social event for the Second Life Education Community Convention.

Links:

Overview: http://www.kidzconnect.org/sled08-mixer/
Kidz Connect: http://kidzconnect.org/
ARVEL: http://www.arvelsig.com/
Patel Conservatory: http://www.patelconservatory.org/
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: http://tbpac.org/
SLEDcc schedule:
http://sledcc.wikispaces.com/Program+%26+Events

–Jeremy Kemp

Image credits: Rochelle Mazar’s blog

The Media Grid Project is one that I’ve been following for quite some time, a worthy goal–providing a public 3Di platform with access for all. How’s that going to happen? Check out the Media Grid website to see for yourself.

Meanwhile, if you can get into SL TOMORROW, Thursday, September 4, at 9:00 a.m. SL time, 11:00 CDT or noon EDT (that would all be the same time, Pilgrim), you should come hear its founder talk about the project. I’ll be there, barring unforseen rw distractions. From the notecard announcement:

Aaron E. Walsh is founding Director and lead architect of the Media Grid Institute, which promotes the use of a public uility grid to develop and deliver high end virtual rality and 2-D simulation programs. He’s also a faculty member at Boston College and an international best-selling technology author. Aaron will tell us about one of the Grid’s central projects, teh Immersive Education initiative.

When: Thursday, September 4, noon-1:00EDT
Where: Train for Success
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wolpertinger/173/87/51

Can’t make the live talk? Take sixteen minutes and 55 seconds to listen to this great eWeek “TechRising” podcast interview with Walsh?

Cross-post from Oh! Virtual Learning by Scottmerrick Oh