11th Annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education

Visit their official web site here: https://vwbpe.org/
Visit inworld by taking this direct link here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/179/132/38
Official Youtube Channel in case you miss something you wanted to see: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2FdFXompIUI4zmZ_wP5p0Q

(scroll to bottom of post for more of the "explore" type pics of the area)



Today is the last full day of the 2018 Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education annual event. Hurry over to see the many interesting and educational exhibits, lectures, explore areas, and workshops.  This is always a fun and interesting event encompassing many virtual platforms but held annually in Second Life, this being their 11th years.  If you are not familiar with VWBPE this is a well organized and attended annual event.  Presenters, often teachers and educators who many times incorporate virtual platforms in their first life instruction, or others who educate inworld or in first life on a wide range of subjects present, lecture, exhibit, play, learn, and socialize. This year's theme for the event is VRevolutions. The conference is free covered by donations and sponsors.  "Play, Explore, Engage, Immerse, Learn" and be sure to grab your swag bag and fun stuff.

I hit a few presentations this morning. There are still a lot of events happening today and it all culminates with the always fun and much anticipated social at the end.  I will copy/quote what is left of today's schedule here which also gives you a good idea about what goes on.. but don't miss out on the many cool exhibits, memorials, underwater explore and educational scenic caverns, tram tour ride etc.:

Day 3: Saturday, March 17 - VWBPE 2018 Event Schedule
All sessions of the VWBPE 2018 Conference are held in Second Life®. All times are in SLT (PDT). You may access this time zone converter for your local time: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html. At some times there are two events held simultaneously. You can use the VWBPE Public Transporter HUD to get around easily. This can be found in your Swag Bag, at Gateway, and many other locations.
VWBPE 2018 Gateway
SLurl: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/178/128/38

NOTE: Daylight Saving Time
In most of the United States and most locations in Canada, Daylight Saving Time goes into effect on Sunday, 11 March 2018, the weekend before the VWBPE conference. Is your location affected? Check http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2018.html to find out when (and if) Daylight Saving Time begins for you.
See the VWBPE Online Calendar http://vwbpe.org/program/vwbpe-calendar for full details.
Events will be streamed live at http://vwbpe.org/watch
Events are listed in chronological order
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Sat 3-17-2018 from 9am (time of this post)
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM SLT
Cultural Appropriation? Cultural Appreciation?
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area B
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%201/134/126/22
Presenter: Hsiao-Cheng (Sandrine) Han/Kristy Handrick (Avatar)
This presentation describes the findings from Visual recreation, culture appropriation: An Asian artist’s perspective of virtual world visual culture.

09:00 AM – 10:00 AM AM SLT
If They Build It, They Will Come!
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area A
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/92/86/60
Presenters: Carolyn Lowe/Clowey Greenwood (Avatar) and Amy Pihlainen/Elsie Ocello (Avatar)
The authors, working with children ages 10 through 14, have found that allowing the students to create the learning spaces increases engagement, deep learning, and motivation to learn and do more.

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM SLT
Enjoy the Exhibits! Pursue the Quest! This is the Time!
If you haven’t already, stop in at the Gateway to get your Swag Bag with the Public Transporter HUD--the easiest way to get around VWBPE 2018.
SLurl: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/178/128/38

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (noon) SLT
Flying Stickies, Easy Quests, VW + Unity for Edu
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area B
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%201/134/126/22
Presenter: Julie LeMoine/Juliein3D (Avatar) Artists, Designers and Builders The presentation will summarize a new and emerging virtual world API running on the Unity game engine that offers a lot of creation flexibility from VW classrooms without requiring much coding.

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (noon) SLT
Low Threshold Virtual Events
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area A
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/92/86/60
Presenter: Ulli Berthold/Torgon Woodget (Avatar)
Starting with a short talk on how, currently, setting up a virtual conference requires a lot of time and technical experience, I plan on showing the presentation participants a way to stage their own virtual events, simply.

12:00 PM – 01:00 PM (noon) SLT
Etopian Evolution for Real World Solutions
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area A
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/92/86/60
Presenter: G Ronnie Kraegel/Namaara MacMoragh (Avatar)
As an ever evolving project, Etopia is designed to bridge SL and RL by providing safe, educational space and activities for skills exploration with partners such as Peninsula College and Brain Energy Support Team.

12:00 PM – 01:00 PM (noon) SLT
Liberate Agency Amplification Via Avatar Identity
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area B
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%201/134/126/22
Presenter: Renne Emiko Brock/Zinnia Zauber (Avatar)
Let go of control. Instructors empower students through agency with active learning ownership, not with ultimate authority. Build validating lessons prior to entering virtual situations with surprising personal investigation, mood board creation, and character sketches.

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM SLT
Games and Fun On the Social Plaza
VWBPE Social Plaza
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20South%203/65/112/21
Kurt Morales, an exceptional trivia player himself, will host a trivia contest on the Social Building Plaza. Questions will follow the conference and venue themes. The winner will receive a prize and bragging rights! Greedy games will be available too.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM SLT
Compass Points Roundtable Discussion: Meta Manifesto: Think Tank 4 Effective Tactics
VWBPE 2018 Quadrivium
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/6/196/26
Presenters: Kae Novak/Kavon Zenovka (Avatar), Cynthia Calongne/Lyr Lobo, Chris Luchs/Abacus Capalini, and Trish Cloud/Trish Cloud
Using the learning that happens outside the classroom, let’s go META by considering the Most Effective Tactics Available. This round table invites participants to a think tank on tactics for virtual worlds (VWs), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and games.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM SLT
You're Grounded! Theorizing Virtual Learning Space
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area A
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/92/86/60
Presenter: Yen Verhoeven/TheoreticallyBlue Resident (Avatar)
The digital landscape has opened a range of possibilities for understanding the different ways we learn in a virtual environment. To explore these ways, a new multidimensional learning theory, called Interactive Spatial Learning Theory (ISLT), was developed from a qualitative study in Second Life.

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM SLT
Avatars as Data Points
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area A
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/92/86/60
Presenters: Mary Ellen Gordon/Pebbles Hannya (Avatar) and Aaron Griffiths/Isa Goodman
This presentation will introduce a new approach to teaching basic data science by using avatars as data points in data visualizations. The approach is intended to make this topics more approachable — particularly for those who may have math anxiety or limited prior quantitative background.


3:00 PM – 4:00 PM SLT
Bridging Worlds: Learning in a Strange Land
VWBPE 2018 Lecture Area B
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%201/134/126/22
Presenters: Cynthia Calongne/Lyr Lobo (Avatar) and Bradley Hodgins/Zalomar Resident
Learning in 3D comes alive through the mind of eight-year-old Jack. Join us as we explore the creation of Jack’s World, a Jurassic simulation that runs on OpenSimulator at Virtual Harmony.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM SLT
Quadrivium Networking Topic: Waiting for the VR Evolution
VWBPE 2018 Quadrivium
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/6/196/26
Facilitator: PD Alchemi/Paul Rudman
Assistant:Amari DiRicchezi/Zia Rivera-Clarkson
Meet us at our quadrivium where we hope to entice you into a discussion on the VR Evolution. For many who have embraced change and have been early adopters, waiting for the rest of the world to catch up has not been easy.

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM SLT
Live Music Performance: Nina Bing
VWBPE 2018 Main Auditorium
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/23
Relax with us at the Main Auditorium before the Closing Ceremony and enjoy the music of Nina Bing. Nina is a classically trained vocalist who has been singing for as long as she can remember.

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM SLT
Closing Ceremony
VWBPE 2018 Main Auditorium
SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/23
Join us as we reflect upon the highlights of the conference, with closing remarks from Phelan Corrimal and other VWBPE Committee Chairs. This event is hosted by the one and only Pooky Amsterdam, CEO of Pooky Media. The 2018 Thinkerer Award Recipient will be named during this ceremony.

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM SLT
St Patrick’s Day U2 Tribute Concert
VWBPE Social Building
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20South%203/71/77/23
You won’t want to miss VWBPE18 Closing Party with Lightning Production’s U2 Tribute Concert. In honor of St Patrick’s Day dig out your “Okelly” green clothes, shamrocks, and your most comfortable shoes!

8:00 PM – 9:30 PM SLT
Dance The Night Away @ VWBPE Social Building
VWBPE Social Building
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20South%203/71/77/23
Immediately following U2 Tribute Concert, join DJ Coz Okelly for our traditional end of the conference “Dance The Night Away” party!
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~ End of Day 3 ~
Please feel free to explore the Exhibit and Social areas at any time! Your Public Transporter HUD, found at the Gateway and other locations, is the fastest way to get around!
VWBPE 2018 Gateway
SLurl: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/178/128/38
Conference Hall Map
https://vwbpe.org/conference/conference-hall-map
Exhibit Map
https://vwbpe.org/conference/exhibit-map
The VRevolution Caverns: A Quest Underwater
http://vwbpe.org/conference/the-vrevolution-caverns-a-quest-underwater
Our Sponsors
https://vwbpe.org/sponsors-2018




click directly on any pic to get to my Flickr to see more pics if desired.

8th Annual Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education-March 18-21

Official web site here: http://vwbpe.org/
It's time to register and plan for the annual Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education.  Visit their web site for all the details.








(Note: I didn't make this ad/see the web site linked above to actually register and for more information)

Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education July 24-27

Visit here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%202/128/128/38

Official web site here:  Visit here:http://www.vwbpe.org/ 

Thursday July 25th schedule here:
http://www.vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-2013-schedule/action:stream/exact_date:7-25-2013/
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VWBPE is up and running full swing with a schedule full of cool conferences. My good friends Sonicity Fitzroy, Belinda Barnes, and Lowe Runo will be presenting the following on Friday and Saturday.  I will be out of town busy this weekend so unfortunately will have to miss out.  Check out the link above for the full schedule or visit the two following presentations:

Sonic Immersion Part I: Hearing is Believing, Case Study: Sound Studies in Second life, Southern Illinois  Presentation Format:  Lecture Presenters: Phylis Johnson(RL)/Sonicity Fitzroy(SL) Belinda Barnes  here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Resource/128/128/0                 
@ Second Life: Builder's Brewery Auditorium. Jul 26 @ 08:05 – 08:55 Best Practices Showcase history recreation immersive experiences

          

Method Teaching as Method Acting: What Would Angelina Jolie Do? Presenters: Phylis Johnson(RL)/Sonicity Fitzroy(SL) Lowe Runo, Belinda Barnes.  Jul 27 @ 15:30 – 16:20 Best Practices Showcase      Method Teaching as Method Acting: What Would Angelina Jolie Do? Presentation Format:  Lecture Presenters: Phylis Johnson(RL)/Sonicity Fitzroy(SL) Lowe Runo, Belinda Barnes You have your curriculum    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Epic! WBPE

Visit here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/150/105/25 or direct link here: VWBPEHere.

Virtual Worlds 5th annual Best Practices in Education 2012 is right around the corner, March 15-17th. The theme this year is to "Be Epic"! Attendance is free and more information can be found on the official web site here: http://www.vwbpe.org/ or direct link here: VWBPEWebHere.

Their site states, "This three day conference provides opportunities for sharing and further understanding of virtual world technology. Whether your epic adventures take you to Second Life, OpenSim, World of Warcraft, Minecraft or Club Penguin – this is your community event." The confrence brings together leaders in the field of virtual immersive education sharing resources. I attended several sessions during last year's conference and had a fun educational time and am sure there will be more of the same and new this year. There were over 2400 attendees last year reprsenting 95 countries.

Sponsors include Treet TV, Builder's Brewery, Rockcliffe University, Designing Digitally, Sambiglyon, Virtual Ability.

Machinima Book by SL Authors is At the Publishers!

Well it's about time I get my friends back after a year of their hard work researching, interviewing many many machinimatographers (or is it machinimists? machinimisters?-not sure) and writing their book about machinima with a heavy focus on Second Life but including interviews and information from various other platforms such as World of Warcraft, The Sims and others.

Word Woman, Sonicity Fitzroy, and Machinima Man, Lowe Runo, (I swear I'm going to make them the super hero outfits to match my secret pet names for them some day), have completed their book which is out to the publisher and Soni has written about the book at their web site: Magnum, The Machinima Review, a monthly blog Soni does here: http://magnummachinima.blogspot.com/ and direct link here: MagnumHere.

I'll quote the blog here a little, but go and check it out for yourself......"many did contribute to the making of Modern Machinima: Aesthetics and Practice in Game and Virtual Film making. The manuscript now awaits the first round of review by the publishers and the process continues through the summer months, with a Fall 2011 release scheduled."

So, yeah.. Yay! They are done! Well... it seems their work is never done and I am very sure they are both on to other major projects even as I write this. Many SL avatars are mentioned in the book and I think it will be a fun read for a lot of people especially since we will recognize many of the key players who provided expert insight for their book. I sat in on one of their round table interviews and was a bit in awe of the experience and knowledge the group had. They did include amateurs as well as many professionals in their open discussion groups for a good variety of skill levels and insight. But the leg work was done by these two hard working individuals who have a end product they should be very proud of in RL and SL. Their individual experience and skills blend exceptionally well for a team that is very productive. Soni herself is a RL educator in the media field, is previously published, has a great deal of long term experience in RL/SL media and machinima and of course Lowe is the machinimaster with the amazing special effects and SL/RL photography and video skills and experience. Search my blog for past information on both of these two if interested.

If you really want to see these two in action check them out this Friday at 2 SLT when they present at the Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education Conference in SL. I've previously blogged about this as well. They are both great speakers with a passion for teaching and assisting others in learning more about machinima. Check it out! O, btw, did I mention they are friends of mine? heheh : )