Oh! Virtual Learning!

VWBPE 2012!

2012-03-09T07:28:00.004-08:00

Break out of your silo. Treat yourself to a few hours next weekend learning more about what is REALLY going on in Second Life and other innovative spaces online. The Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference invites you to rub avatar elbows with the great and the would-be great educators who are exploring the "sense of place at a distance" value in these virtual environments. If you are not completely amazed and intrigued by something you learn by spending those few hours, please just let me know and I'll give you your money back.

Wait.

It's free.

Learn all about this weekend-long event:
http://www.vwbpe.org/ and http://vwbpe12.vwbpe.org/

Visit the Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/398504353497417/?ref=ts

Join the Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/67701516968/

Visit the ongoing event in Second Life:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/128/128/25

March Blog-o'-the-Month -- Late but Not Never!

2012-03-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

Happy March,

I'm a bit late getting this up at the site but I'm sure ya'll will understand, what with the little bit o' change we are experiencing. At any rate CONGRATULATIONS to the eLearning It CoP, a "virtual "Community of Practice" for educators, instructional designers and multimedia developers supporting Instructional Technology (IT) projects by addressing electronic learning of all types and technologies, while offering reliable research. ~ No critiques, thoughts, or opinions are offered by the moderator of this Blog. But your feedback may offer others better insights into the researchers'/authors' work by asking, "Is the study/works applicable or useless to practitioners?"Good stuff, and it won the poll of SL visitors by a 3 to 1 margin over its "competitors." Read on.

For anyoone wondering how it's possible this little exercise in blog sharing has continued for over 5 years, 3 of this month's polling object will feature four new blogs, all randomly chosen from the Edubloggers Awards nominees 2010. The field is ripe, and if you don't believe it, just go see.The 4th nominee is one that just looked interesting from the same organizations' "Best Use of a Virtual World" category. Why? Because I can...:-) For April, visit ISTE SIGVE in Second Life and vote for one of them!

Flights of Whimsy
Happy Hooligans by Jackie
voyeurism
or
300000questions

Intervention On the Wire

2012-03-02T03:26:00.000-08:00

Intervention--on the wire by Scott Merrick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Bye Bye Bloggers Hut!

2012-02-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday early a.m., the morning following the wonderful ISTE Island Memories party, I slipped onto the Island to dismantle my 5 years of work there. The video below details the process of taking back my prims, an act accomplished in 9 minutes and 4 seconds. We will be carrying on over at our new ISTE SIGVE parcel on Eduislands9. Come visit us. While you're there, please check out the details of a "noncompetition" to create the new HQ at ISTE SIGVE. There are $L involved!Quicklink to those details, sans SL client: DESIGN SIGVE!

More related links:
Shambles' rambles during the party 022112
Andy's and Scott's brief talks at the party 022112
Closing Party Chat (long!) from 022112
SIGVE Task Force Document for ISTE Island in Second Life

2012-02-22T07:12:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Chris Smith, who flew all the way in from Thailand to share this!

Tuesday, February 21, at ISTE Island! Join Us!

2012-02-14T03:58:00.000-08:00

March is the Month for Rebirth of ISTE SIGVE

2012-02-11T05:27:00.000-08:00

As of March 1, ISTE Island will no longer be. That's for sure.

Whether it rolls in like a lion or a lamb, March will roll in without ISTE Island in Second Life. The task force that examined options recommended two of them to the ISTE administration and and they accepted one, which involves rental space for ISTE SIGVE on Eduisland (fill in the number) and a SIGVE region in the Opensimulator world JokaydiaGRID. These will be our new homes, ya'll, and at least 'til the next fiscal year shall expire, we shall make the best of them!

Please join us for a virtual walk down memory lane, replete with fireworks, on ISTE Island in Second Life, Tuesday, February 21 (or Thursday, February 23--check back for the date), at 5 pm SLT (Pacific). Fireworks start promptly at 6 SLT, or 9 pm Eastern time. We can't say what other remarkable events may occur that evening, but you can be sure there will be surprises!

I've got to go fireworks shopping.

Hugs all around, virtually and really.

Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog is "Blog-o'-the-Month!"

2012-02-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Hello Mrs.February, nice to see you again. I hope I get to see you many many more timesbefore I don't. Our Blog-o'-the-Month for you is Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog, Runner-up at this year's Edublogger Awards but a winner in our book. You'll besitting right here in the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island all of February, and whoknows? You might be seeing the very last Blog-o'-the-Month at ISTE Island, which as ofthis writing may or may not exist in the Merry Month of March! Time, as sheever will, will tell.

For March,we decided to offer only blogs that have the word "eLearning" in their titles (Ireally like the way they don't agree on how to spell it). Your mission now, andthroughout February, is to help select the March 2012 Blog-o'-the-Month byvoting for one of the following nominees. This message will not self-destruct(unless it goes up in flames with the whole Island!). Here ya go:

http://elearning-it.blogspot.com/

eLearning ITCoP (Community of Practice)

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

The RapidE-Learning Blog

http://123elearning.blogspot.com/

E-LearningJourneys

http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/

eLearningBlog Dont Waste Your Time

Whilst yrhere, utilize your Google muscles by perusing some previously celebratedwinners--

Previously Featured:

Albert Ip'sRandom Walk in Learning

LotusGreen's Educating Lotus

Dave Lanke's"Virtual Dave...Real Blog"

JoshStumpenhorst's "Stump the Teacher"

Dean Groom's"Design for Learning"

EsmeQunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds"

"BloggingISTE" webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA ANDIN THE METAVERSE!

RawlslynFrancis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar"

KimberlyHendrick's "Computer Teacher"

RurikNakerud's "Ed Thought"

GourmetGadget Gal

"Abby's""Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"

EducationWorld's "Teacher Bea"t

KZero, Inc.,"We Are Worldswide"

EngageDigital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)

VirtualSchool Meanderings--Michael Barbour

BloggingISTE (special compendium page at iste.org)

The DariingLibrarian--Gwenyth A. Jones

WhyTechnology in Education Rocks in Virginia--various VSTE writers

Free Techfor Teachers--Richard Byrne

SuffernMiddle School in Second Life--Peggy Sheehy

OpenSimulator--assortedauthors

DusanWriter's Metaverse--Doug Thompson

CoolCatTeacher--VickiDavis

EdTechJen--JenniferRoland

Clive onLearning--Clive Shepherd

Technologyand Learning--Lee Kraus

PESDIsland--Noreen Strehlow

In a StrangeLand--Iggy O et al

Second Lifein New Zealand--John Waugh, Terry Neal, et al

HeyJude!--Judy O'Connell

LearningGames--Daniel Livingstone

LearningVisions--Cammy Bean

Dr. ZReflects--Leigh Zeitz

Hendron'sDigest--John Hendron

PhasingGrace--Grace McDunnough

From Mr. Ato Mr. Z--Jeff Agamenoni

Around theCorner--McGuhlin.net

Fleep's DeepThoughts--Fleep Tuque/Chris Colling

NMCCampus--New Media Consortium

PHSPrincipalBlog--Dave Meister

TeachingMath Technology Blog--Maria Anderson

2CentsWorth--DavidWarlick

The Story ofMy Second Life--Kevin Jarrett

Oh! SecondLife (now Oh! Virtual Learning)--Scott Merrick :)

ISTE Island to Close February 28

2012-01-25T05:56:00.000-08:00

This is not an announcement, but rather a call to contribute to re-imagining ISTE in Second Life.

ISTE Island HQ in Second Life

Many of us in the educational communities in virtual worlds have heard rumblings over the past few months that ISTE is revising its level of financial support for its activities in virtual worlds. Historically, that has been made manifest through generous ongoing payment to Linden Lab for a region called ISTE Island. Indeed, there was one long run where ISTE maintained four separate regions in Second Life. The virtual heyday, as it were. The realities of today's economy requires organizations to rethink financial commitments, and ISTE has done so.

As of the last day of February, 2012, payments will no longer be made to maintain ISTE Island, and ISTE Island will no longer be.

Andy Wheelock, aka Spiff Whitfield, currently Lowly High Grand Poobah of the Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments, has been leading a task force (yes, we do call it that) to investigate options. The group has coalesced much like any SIGVE group has, more or less come together on its own as interested parties have responded to calls for discussions and collaboration. Some configuration of the group has met a half dozen times over the past several months. Andy alluded to all of this and made the collaboration document available for one and all in the closing paragraph of his open letter in the recent publication of January 2012 issue of Virtual Education Journal.

Last night we met at the campfires on ISTE Island to discuss our findings and preferences with Jennifer Ragen-Fore, the revered original catalyst for ISTE Island in the first place. Here's a pic from that gathering. If you click to enlarge, you can see the nametags over the heads of those present, most of them at any rate. My tag doesn't show but I'm parked on the ground past Mandie.

In the spirit of sharing, I "call to comment"--either here at this post or on the document itself (which you should by all means read before you make your own suggestions or comments). Do you have any notions about how SIGVE should go about best use of a $500 per year budget for a space in Second Life? Now's the time to share them. A decision must be made by the end of the first week in February.

Please put Friday, February 27, all day and night, on your calendars: There will be a party. I'm putting out tissue boxes the day of. This morning, I set out a notecard dropbox at the welcome table at ISTE Island Headquarters. Do you have fond memories from your own experiences at ISTE Island in Second Life? We'd like to hear them. Feel free to comment here or type out your reminisces at your leisure, paste them into a notecard, and drop them in the box at ISTE Island in Second Life. It looks like this:

Thanks in retrospect for all you have shared with all of us at ISTE Island over the years. Thanks in advance for your sharing over this next month. Keep the faith, whatever it is for you.

Installment 3 of Virtual Education Journal is HERE!

2012-01-23T03:37:00.000-08:00

Seriously? A beautiful new issuu (sic) of SIGVE's Virtual Education Journal? Bring it on!!!

Open publication - Free publishing

Please share profusely. And do visit ISTE Island in Second Life before it moves to a new, smaller (but most likely more robust) space. You'll want to build a few virtual memories from the heyday of our tribe, now, wontcha?

Virtual Pioneers History Conference 2012

2012-01-16T04:58:00.000-08:00

Good friend Andy Wheelock runs a robust community of virtual world pioneers called, intuitively enough, "Virtual Pioneers" and he holds an annual conference inworld in Second Life each year. It's coming up this Friday so make yourself useful and go see what it's all about! I'm not even going to make you click over to the web page with the schedule. I'm going to shamefully copy and paste it here. All times are Second Life Time (US Pacific) and from past experience I can say this shindig will be running on time and on schedule. Come be a pioneer your own self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* Need help with Second Life? Please go to this location first. There will be volunteers there to assist you. http://secondlife.com/destination/phoenix-wave-team

Friday, January 20
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Biomedicine%20Research%20Labs/107/107/472
3:00 pm SLT - Newcomer Welcome and Orientation
Ghost Ulich and the volunteer mentors will be available at the New Phoenixia Help Area to assist new residents.

4:00 pm SLT - Keynote
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/19/75/22

The Keynote Speaker this year will be David Klevan (SL- Eubie Doobie) from the US Memorial Holocaust- Kristalnacht Exhibit, one of the most powerful reflections of virtual learning environments. This digital re-creation of a historical time period provides the visitor with a minds eye view of this horrible period in world history by providing primary source documents, audio presentations, video reflection pieces, and graphic representations. It is an amazing companion to the Historical Museum’s main site in Washington D.C. In Real Life David is a Museum Educator at the US MM Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and does workshops and presentations about the Holocaust.

5:30 pm SLT - Tour of Renaissance Island
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Renaissance%20Island/128/128/27

Amza Hydraconis and other residents of Renaissance Island will show us the many features of the island including a replica of the Globe Theater. We will also have an opportunity to watch an authentic joust. Historical clothes are available in the shops, including some freebies.

*******************************************************
Saturday, January 21, 2012
9:00 am SLT - Explore America
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/19/75/22
Scavenger Hunt and Pictorial Collection Kick Off. Come join the fun and your chance to win 1000 Lindens. Notecards and directions available at this time.

10:00 am SLT - The Islands of Enlightenment
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/19/75/22
Spiff Whitfield will highlight his work using a Reaction Grid Open sim environment that gives students a glimpse into history as avatars. The Islands of Enlightenment has 2 Islands that have been developed for historical sims. One of the islands has the Understanding the Holocaust Project whereby students are guided through a series of activities involving the 1942-44 streets of Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family lay in hiding. Students can interact with the secret annex and learn from source material from PBS, Masterpiece theater materials.
We may get a sneak peek at the second island which is going to be used for a Medieval Roleplaying sim for 6th grade students to learn about the life and challenges of this age.

1:30 SLT - WoW
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/19/75/22
bigd Flanagan and Kimmer Jameson will present on WoW and the skills learned that enable students to build college and career readiness. WoW allows students to build collaboration skills with peers, technical skills as they interface with their own computer platforms, and perhaps most importantly, academic skills in a format where they have enjoyed a modicum of success, i.e. gaming. When the paradigm shifts from traditional classroom delivery models into a more supportive learning community, results can be impressive. BigD will incorporate students from his high school class into this presentation since they are true consumers of this product delivery. In addition, he will utilize existing websites and cite various sources.

1:00 pm SLT - Tour of 1920 Berlin
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/1920s%20Berlin/237/232/751

Jo Yardley will give us a tour of Berlin in the 1920s. This was a very interesting time, politically, culturally and in many other ways. They have recreated the atmosphere of this fantastic city in that amazing era. This sim is very realistic and authentic allowing the visitor to experience visiting this time in history..

2:30 pm SLT - Historical Photographs
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/19/75/22
CathyWyo1 Haystack will share her knowledge and love of history in A Non Researcher’s presentation on how to study photographs for history, traditions and culture. Cathy will share many photographs and how she has used them to learn about history. Time to dust off those old photographs in your closets and use them to better understand history.

4:00 pm SLT - Antiquity Texas
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Black%20Bear%20Island/115/193/31

Jacon Cortes, Texas Attorney General, will lead us on a walking tour of Antiquity Texas, an 1800's role playing sim. Jacon is an a creator and designer, craftsman by trade - some of his amazing work is on display and for sale.

5:30 pm SLT - End of Conference Gala Ball
At The Beautiful Duchy Ballroom
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Languedoc%20Coeur/42/41/45

Featuring Satin Galli and Erin68 Frog
This real life couple perform together in SL and have proven themselves in Second Life as top vocalists.
Scavenger hunt prizes will be awarded.
Come Join the Fun

Visit our Website for more information about our Group

http://virtualpioneers.weebly.com

ISTE SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground? You?

2012-01-13T04:23:00.001-08:00

Okay, ya'll, this is live at the ISTE SIGVE wiki, but I want to pop it in here as well. Do you have anything you would like to share with your fellow ISTE members at ISTE 2012 in San Diego this summer? Tell us. Tell us now!<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Random Walk in Learning Selected January 2012 Blog-o'-the-Month!

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2012! We had a 3 way tie for January's Blog-o'-the-Month and I broke it by choosing the one with the most recent update. Congratulations to Albert Ip's "Random Walk in Learning," subtitled "Random rumbling during our journey through the E-Learning wonderLand" for his blog's selection as January 2012's Blog-o'-the-Month!

As we move into the 6th year of the Bloggers Hut in Second Life (my how virtual time do fly) we're going to take a novel approach to perusing the Edublogger Awards 2010, announced just last month at http://edublogawards.com. We're putting forth our four nominees from the Runners Up, specifically the First. Proceeding on the assumption that these worth nominees from that process deserve some limelight too, select the February 2012 Blog-o'-the-Month from:

Red: First Runner Up for Best Class Blog:http://yollisclassblog.blogspot.com/Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog

Green: First Runner Up for Best New Blog:http://cecilialcoelho.wordpress.com/Box of Chocolates

Yellow: First Runner Up for Best Student Blog:http://www.hcchrisp.blogspot.com/Chemistry: It's "Elemen"-ary!!!

Blue: First Runner Up for Best Use of a Virtual Worldhttp://www.daynuv.com/daynuv

Whilst yr at the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life, utilize your Google muscles by perusing some previously selected winners--

Previously Featured:Lotus Green's Educating LotusDave Lanke's "Virtual Dave...Real Blog"Josh Stumpenhorst's "Stump the Teacher"Dean Groom's "Design for Learning"Esme Qunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds""Blogging ISTE" webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA AND IN THE METAVERSE!Rawlslyn Francis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar"Kimberly Hendrick's "Computer Teacher"Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought"Gourmet Gadget Gal"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"Education World's "Teacher Bea"tKZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"Engage Digital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)Virtual School Meanderings--Michael BarbourBlogging ISTE (special compendium page at iste.org)The Dariing Librarian--Gwenyth A. JonesWhy Technology in Education Rocks in Virginia--various VSTE writersFree Tech for Teachers--Richard ByrneSuffern Middle School in Second Life--Peggy SheehyOpenSimulator--assorted authorsDusan Writer's Metaverse--Doug ThompsonCoolCatTeacher--Vicki DavisEdTechJen--Jennifer RolandClive on Learning--Clive ShepherdTechnology and Learning--Lee KrausPESD Island--Noreen StrehlowIn a Strange Land--Iggy O et alSecond Life in New Zealand--John Waugh, Terry Neal, et alHey Jude!--Judy O'ConnellLearning Games--Daniel LivingstoneLearning Visions--Cammy BeanDr. Z Reflects--Leigh ZeitzHendron's Digest--John HendronPhasing Grace--Grace McDunnoughFrom Mr. A to Mr. Z--Jeff AgamenoniAround the Corner--McGuhlin.netFleep's Deep Thoughts--Fleep Tuque/Chris CollingNMC Campus--New Media ConsortiumPHSPrincipal Blog--Dave MeisterTeaching Math Technology Blog--Maria Anderson2CentsWorth--David WarlickThe Story of My Second Life--Kevin JarrettOh! Second Life (now Oh! Virtual Learning)--Scott Merrick :)

Happy Holidays, Both Virtual and IRL (In the "Real" World)

2011-12-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

December 2012 Blog-o'-the-Month is "Educating Lotus"

2011-12-03T06:06:00.001-08:00

Hey, all,Welcome to December, 2011's Blog-o'-the-Month, "Educating Lotus," the lovely work that its author, Jane Oitzinger, has subtitled, "A blog about virtual learning spaces and beautiful places." It's true. Go see why at Lotus Greene's "Educating" Lotus at http://educatinglotus.wordpress.com/. Or read it at the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life.

While you're there, peruse the stellar nominees and vote for January's choice from amongst the following four nominees--
Red: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/markchilds/ Mark's Blog
Green: http://www.digitalchalkie.com/DigitalChalkie
Yellow: http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/Knowledge Tree
Blue: http://elearningrandomwalk.blogspot.com/Random Walk In Learning

Or: Exercise your Google muscles by perusing some previously offered winners--Previously Featured:Dave Lanke's "Virtual Dave...Real Blog"Josh Stumpenhorst's "Stump the Teacher"Dean Groom's "Design for Learning"Esme Qunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds""Blogging ISTE" webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA AND IN THE METAVERSE!Rawlslyn Francis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar"Kimberly Hendrick's "Computer Teacher"Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought"Gourmet Gadget Gal"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"Education World's "Teacher Bea"tKZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"Engage Digital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)Virtual School Meanderings--Michael BarbourBlogging ISTE (special compendium page at iste.org)The Dariing Librarian--Gwenyth A. JonesWhy Technology in Education Rocks in Virginia--various VSTE writersFree Tech for Teachers--Richard ByrneSuffern Middle School in Second Life--Peggy SheehyOpenSimulator--assorted authorsDusan Writer's Metaverse--Doug ThompsonCoolCatTeacher--Vicki DavisEdTechJen--Jennifer RolandClive on Learning--Clive ShepherdTechnology and Learning--Lee KrausPESD Island--Noreen StrehlowIn a Strange Land--Iggy O et alSecond Life in New Zealand--John Waugh, Terry Neal, et alHey Jude!--Judy O'ConnellLearning Games--Daniel LivingstoneLearning Visions--Cammy BeanDr. Z Reflects--Leigh ZeitzHendron's Digest--John HendronPhasing Grace--Grace McDunnoughFrom Mr. A to Mr. Z--Jeff AgamenoniAround the Corner--McGuhlin.netFleep's Deep Thoughts--Fleep Tuque/Chris CollingNMC Campus--New Media ConsortiumPHSPrincipal Blog--Dave MeisterTeaching Math Technology Blog--Maria Anderson2CentsWorth--David WarlickThe Story of My Second Life--Kevin JarrettOh! Second Life (now Oh! Virtual Learning)--Scott Merrick :)

ISTE SIGVE presentation at NSYCATE!

2011-11-27T06:55:00.001-08:00

I hope you will take a break from your work to view some of mine/ours. Thanks to good brother Andrew Wheelock/Spiff Whitfield for taking his time to pretty this up and post it!

How an International Special Interest Group Grew from a Special Community from andrew wheelock on Vimeo.

Why Teach in Virtual Worlds? A Visual Example

2011-11-10T03:43:00.000-08:00

Watch this:

November's Blog-o'-the-Month is Virtual and REAL!

2011-11-07T04:08:00.000-08:00

Hey, all,

Welcome to November's very rich offering, Dave Lanke's "Virtual Dave...Real Blog" at http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/. We're going all higher ed on you, but you'll love it, because the diversion comes with a librarian's slant. Dave is a Professor at Syracuse University and he's got work on his blog from all the way back to the ancient year 2002. Spend some time there--you'll be glad you did. Dave, if you want to brag, here's an image for ya:

For December? Let's look at some Second Life focused blogs:

Red--Daniel Voyager's Blog at http://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/my-5th-rez-day-in-second-life/

Green--Gracie Kendal's "1000 Avatars photography project at http://1000avatars.wordpress.com/

Yellow--Lotus Greene's Educating Lotus at http://educatinglotus.wordpress.com/

Blue--Selby Evans's "Virtual Outworlding" at http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/

Congratulations to the nominees. As of this morning, November 7, it's a four-way tie at the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island! Go vote! Nominees, feel free to grab an image for your site:

Previously Featured:

Josh Stumpenhorst's "Stump the Teacher"
Dean Groom's "Design for Learning"
Esme Qunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds"
"Blogging ISTE" webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA AND IN THE METAVERSE!
Rawlslyn Francis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar"
Kimberly Hendrick's "Computer Teacher"
Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought"
Gourmet Gadget Gal
"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"
Education World's "Teacher Bea"t
KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
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 :)

Universe Quest from ThinkingWorlds!

2011-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

A fascinating project, The Universe Quest Game is an element of Universe Quest (a US NSF-ITEST program) and is a collaboration between University of California, Berkeley (Space Sciences Laboratory), Girl Scouts of Northern California (Girls go Tech program) and Learnit3D Ltd. Watch this engaging video of engaged students from a traditionally underserved segment of our student population. What could other schools do with the pioneering progress already made with this program? Visit Thinkingworlds.com to learn how you can create your own Unverse Quest Game!

Stump the Teacher Blog-o'-the-Month for October 2011!

2011-10-02T05:49:00.000-07:00

Hey, all,Welcome to a cool, cool, blog by a prolific educator-blogger, Josh Stumpenhorst, a 6th grade Language Arts and Social Sciences teacher practicing his arts in Chicago, IL. We all have a lot to learn from his sharings: Go learn yourself, at http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com, "Stump the Teacher."

For November? Feast upon, then vote for...

Dave Lanke's "Virtual Dave...Real Blog" at http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/

Assorted authors at Kahn Academy's Blog, http://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog

Dave Saba's "virtual learning" at http://virtulearning.blogspot.com/

Jeanette Tranberg's "Diginalet" at http://ikt-diginalet.blogspot.com/ (In Norwegian! You'll have to use a translator!)

Previously Featured:Dean Groom's "Design for Learning,"Esme Qunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds,""Blogging ISTE," th webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA AND IN THE METAVERSE!, Rawlslyn Francis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar,"Kimberly Hendrick's "Computer Teacher,"Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought,"Gourmet Gadget Gal"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade,"Education World's "Teacher Bea"tKZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide,"Engage Digital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)Virtual School Meanderings, Michael Barbour's 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 Collins, 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 :)

Move on now, there's nothing more to see here...How about moving on to the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life!

Why I Still Second Life

2011-09-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

crossposted from scottmerrickdotnet

Lately I have been becoming interested in reviving my membership in learning communities there. I know, people think I'm nuts, and there are 10 (binary) kinds of people when it comes to understanding the value of 3D virtual "sense of place at a distance," those who are inworld(s) and those who aren't. I logged into SL this early Sunday morning to visit my new little shoppe (you have to pronounce the final "e") at Guthries Folk Club, which I blogged about recently here.

I was greeted by an instant message from one of my literally hundreds of "friends" in Second Life. Although many of those friends ("friends" in the social media sense) have become real-life actual friends over the years I've spent as an educator in SL, this one is really just a virtual acquaintance--think Facebook "friends." She dropped me a notecard in her instant message, and it is this that prompted this blog post. Perhaps it will help some of the 0 people (binary again) "get it."

Note that when Nymf says she read my "profile," that is simply one way to learn more about the people you meet in a virtual world. All it takes is a properly located right-click. Sometimes I wish real-life were so simple...

A picture of the Science Circle HQ (click to enlarge):

Here's Nymf's notecard, repurposed here with her permission:

Good day Scottmerrick,

Couldn't help reading your profile :)

I would like to inform you about “Nymf’s Science Circle”.

The Circle is an alliance of RL Scientists from various fields who gather twice a month. At each meeting a member of the science circle, will give a presentation on a subject of the presenter's choice. We normally seek offers from members of the circle some weeks in advance. Each presentation is followed by a Q&A and discussion session. The discussions are lively and informative, as our different perspectives inform the discussion. They are, however, also conducted with mutual respect and courtesy.

It is our aim to connect different disciplines, tickle creativity & inventiveness. Share knowledge globally and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas from our different disciplines. This is why we encourage members from all scientific disciplines to join us.

We aim to create the atmosphere of those fun, free-wheeling seminars of our early careers.

Until now we have had a wide variety of topics and participation;
1. “The Anthropocene Epoch” by Vic Machalak

2. “The Chinese Room and Strong AI” by Boythorn Ironclad

3. “Religions and Rome” by Perfututor Janus

4. “Technology and Evolution” by Darkeagle Darkstone

5. “Stem cells” by Alfa Roux

6. "Perception and limits of reality" by Deepthinker Oh

7. "Genome Expression and Internet Communications: An Interdisciplinary Comparison" by Vic Machalak

8. "Search Engines" (about the new Wolfram Alfa conceptual knowledge engine) by Vic Machalak

9. "Extending the human life span" by Deepthinker Oh

10. "Particle Physics" by Vic Machalak

11."Virtual World using OpenSim" by Darkeagle Darkstone

12."Aspergers, Autism & the Rainman" by Deepthinker Oh and Arisia Vita

13."The Monty Hall problem" by Deepthinker Oh

14. "Interdisciplinary Science in Second Life" by Vic Michalak

15. "Computer and Network Security" by Darkeagle Darkstone

We run a website as well, for uploading the seminars in PDF, interviews with our members, events, documentaries, weblinks, the Magazine "Gray Matters" and much more, have a look at http://nymfs.mine.nu/

If you are a RL Scientist… consider joining the Circle!

We are hosted at Nature Publishing Group

If you aren't a scientist but would like to be kept informed about Circle-meetings... join Nymfs Forum. Go to Search, button Groups, Type; Nymfs Forum and join.

For information and memberships IM Nymf Hathaway or email chantal@xylan.nl

P.S. Whilst crafting this post, my avatar Scottmerrick Oh received yet another announcement from yet another group of science educators, announcing a community gathering happening in 15 minutes (from this writing). It's rich inworld, ya'll...

As summer drifts into autumn in the northern hemisphere, temperatures drop, and our thoughts turn to cryogenics. Join us today at 10AM SLT to listen with us to the live BBC radio show, The Naked Scientists. Bring your mittens and earmuffs. SciLands (104,136,28)

New Shoppe at Guthries Folk Club

2011-09-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

In my ongoing program to revive my Second Life, I logged in yesterday and browsed the "What's Hot Now" thumbnails on the login page. It's a cool feature, obviously programmed to update as regions populate past a threshold, which on that morning looked to be about 17 avatars. On the 2nd screen (of 8) I saw Guthries Folk Club, at that time hosting 25 avatars. That looked good to me, so I popped into the location and ended up spending an hour and a half listening to three acoustic guitar player-singers entertaining a full house. It was fun, and sure enough it did remind me how Second Life can be entertaining and an opportunity to socialize with new acquaintances. The three entertainers were Brendan Shoreland, Dusty Smythe, and Twostep Spiritweaver. All three were wonderful, though

New World Notes offers a heavily commented post seeking people's favorite folk, country, and bluegrass performers in Second Life. I pulled some names from that list for future music field trips inworld. You can too.

Guthries has a richly populated online calendar, at http://tinyurl.com/guthriessl, and I encourage everyone to drop by and linger. You can dance, sit, stand, or wander around the shops outside while listening to the stream, which, when live music is not available, serves up Folk Alley (I'm listening to fellow Nashvillian Matraca Berg on that stream as I type this. It's my kind of music, and Guthries Folk Club hosts it for all of us.

Oh, I almost forgot. I was so impressed with the venue that, in keeping with my SL revival theme, I leased a little storefront, which I gussied up with links to my blog, my music, and a few little for-sale furniture pieces and objets d'art that I have created over the years. Here's a SLurl, and here's a pic:

and another, of the exterior. I'm the top floor shoppe (be sure and pronounce the "e" :-) ) nearest the venue.

Dean Groom Live all Month at the Bloggers Hut!

2011-09-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hey, all,

Hello.

Dean Groom. September 2011 Blog-o'-the-Month!

'nuff said.

Well, maybe I should say that you should visit, enjoy, and comment on Dean Groom's "Design for Learning: Taking Down Web 2.0 One Pixel at a Time" this month, and easily done by clicking here or clicking on the RSS feed at the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life.

And VOTE! There's a great selection in the pollster this month for October. Make your voice heard!

Cheerio,
Scottmerrick Oh

The contendahs (sic) for Octobah (sic) are:

Walter's Blog--Looking Ahead, at http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

Stump the Teacher at http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com/

Will Richardson at http://willrichardson.com/

Edutopia Education Reform blogs at http://www.edutopia.org/blogs

Deanboy, pick up this for your bloggie:

And you contenders, try this on for size:

Previously Featured:

Esme Qunhua's "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds"
"Blogging ISTE" webpage featuring scores of blogs for ISTE11 in Philadelphia PA AND IN THE METAVERSE!
Rawlslyn Francis's "Adventures of an Academic Avatar"
Kimberly Hendrick's "Computer Teacher"
Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought"
Gourmet Gadget Gal
"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"
Education World's "Teacher Bea"t
KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
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 :

Happy August from the Bloggers Hut! Still Going Strong in Second Life!

2011-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Back at my Bloggers Hut post after a wild summer featuring ISTE11, our team's recognition as the first official virtual school in the state of Tennessee, and some family travelling, we put up my dear friend Esme Qunhua's blog, "Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds" as the Blog-o'-the-Month for August, 2011. Yay, Jane!

You know, we've been celebrating educational blogs since 2006! We're a freakin' INSTITUTION! Come visit and see why. Do you have a blog or know of blogs you'd like added there? Just click the little rotating box and leave a note and I promise it'll join the dozens of others in the blog windows! Have no clue what I'm talkin' about? Maybe it's because you haven't visited?! Come vote!!!

The voting for September is on, ya'll, so get ye over to ISTE Island's Bloggers Hut and choose your fave from the following worthy nominees, as wide a range of those as you will hope to see. They are, along with the colors on the Pollster device to click to vote for them:

Red--The Metaverse Journal at http://www.metaversejournal.com/

Green--Mrs. Brogley's Blog at http://mrsbrogley.com/blog/?p=1822

Yellow--Design for Learning, Dean Groom's Blog at http://deangroom.wordpress.com/

Blue--Web 2.0 Tools in Teaching and Learning, Bath Spa University at http://bathspaweb2.edublogs.org/

Pics from Second Life Event via ISTE11 in Philadelphia and in the Metaverse!

2011-07-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

A detailed summary and thank you is coming this weekend, but I hasten to share this great flickr pool created by attendees in Second Life at ISTE11's SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground. Dig this:

Keep up with the wiki at ISTE SIGVE for updates and archives from the week long conference. It was a blast! Thanks so much to everyone who made it all both possible and FUN! Especially to Jane Wilde/Esme Qunhua!

From SLED Listserv this morning

2011-06-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

Excellent posting in SLED by our own Esme Qunhua this morning! I copy:

All Virtual Educators!
ISTE 2011 !!!! Can?t get to Philadelphia on June 25th-28th? NO Problem!
SIGVE speakers will be presenting their topics on the 27th and 28th at ISTE
Island.

Location
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/96/58/501

The schedule of Presenters can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/SIGVE-SCHEDULE

You can also pick up notecards at the slurl above.

30 plus fantastic speakers to choose from!

NO traffic, NO Hotels, just grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up and join
in from the comfort of your home!!! Come for one session or plan to spend
the day or two.
Any questions? Please contact:
Darwin Daxter in SL or
Esme Qunhua in SL or by email: esmequnhua@gmail.com
--
Esme Qunhua/Jane Wilde
Geek
Faculty, Marlboro College Grad Center
Marlboro College Graduate School
28 Vernon Street, Suite 120
Brattleboro, VT 05301

JamParty4Education Shares its Free-to-Schools software at ISTE Speaker Session 16

2011-06-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

There are also some pics from an earlier session in this set, but the first 10 you'll see are from last night's stellar hour at the ISTE Island Auditorium in Second Life. The JamParty build we shared at the end will be permanently installed up at the ISTE Skypark! Watch the archive at Blackboard Collaborate courtesy of LearnCentral.org's "Host Your Own Webinar" feature/group (THANKS!) and learn how you can

Get your own unlimited installation copy of this amazing software for FREE from JamParty4Education
Take your kids up to the Skypark for some skills-targeted fun!

Ya'll join us in Second Life for the ISTE SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground next week as we mirror the Playground in Philly into the Metaverse!!! More right here then!

ISTE SIGVE SpeakerSession 1
June 21, 2011, Cathy Walker, Dan Sullivan, and Scott Merrick on JamParty4Education

Blackboard Collaborate archive at LearnCentral.org--Session is about an hour in on this 2 hour archive! The first hour is a nice chatty meetup of ISTE SIGVE folks.

Cheers!

Congrats to Our Pioneer Class of 2011!

2011-05-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

I'm proud enough to bust, and I'll be shaking the hands of these 7 pioneering virtual learners onstage on Monday. They're off into the world(s) after that! I've been building out a space in ReactionGrid, not yet available to our learners, but it will be. I took a few minutes to add a lasting tribute to these students that their future schoolmates will enjoy for years to come:

Tuesday--Please Join Us for a VERY Special SIGVE Speaker Session--in JIBE!

2011-05-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Pay attention now, this will take a little more effort than usual. We guarantee it will be worth every ounce of it:

SIGVE- Speaker Series
Special Guest: John Pathfinder Lester

WHEN: Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
WHERE: ISTE Island SIGVE Playground, Second Life, AND Jibe
Platform (see details below)
TIME: 5pm SL time

PRESENTATION: "Virtual Worlds in your Browser"

John Lester will speak about the use of web-based virtual worlds as
platforms for learning and collaboration. He will be hosting his
presentation in Jibe, a web-based multiuser virtual world platform
based on Unity3d and developed by ReactionGrid. John will speak about
the unique affordances of web-based multiuser virtual worlds, how Jibe
can be integrated with web-based learning management systems and
web-based collaboration applications, and how the game-based
development tools of Unity3d can be used to create immersive learning
experiences.

To join the meeting in John's Jibe world, just go to
http://jibemicro.reactiongrid.com/pathfinderlester. The presentation
will be given in voice, so be sure to install the Vivox plugin (there
will be a link to install it on the Jibe page).

The mirror in Elluminate at LearnCentral will not be available this month due to a conflicting Event in the "Host Your Own Webinar" Group.

How to Launch Quest Atlantis for your Middle School or Elementary School Students

2011-05-12T04:05:00.000-07:00

I have had amazing experiences over the years working in Quest Atlantis with my 4th graders, and now that I'm off in Virtual School planning and implementation world, Aussie Stephen Caldwell has put together a series of videos, 2 of 3 of which have now been published on YouTube, demonstrating for one and all how implementation can be introduced with a discussion about heroes. I'm watching with great interest and I can predict that once we are a full-blown K-12 virtual school, I will be holding sets of training sessions with teachers in MNPS and they will be centered around how to use this beautiful program to inspire and motivate learning in our students.

I'll likely start off an early session with...

VEJ is Out and Available for Your Reading Pleasure!!!

2011-05-10T09:18:00.001-07:00

ISTE SIGVE star Rosie Vojtek has spent hours and hours and correspondence after correspondence to drum up articles from some of the pioneers of virtual environments for education and here it is, the very first and BEAUTIFUL issue of VEJ, the Virtual Education Journal! Pick up your own copy of this stunning 40 page publicaton inworld in Second Life at ISTE Island Headquarters, read it right here at the embed below, or visit ISSUU.com to read it, download it, and share it on your social networks--even embed it in your very own bloggie! Thanks to Rosie/Roxie for her untiring efforts of community support and innovation and to her husband Bob/BJ for all his work and support to make this premier issue a reality!

And now...

Open publication - Free publishing - More education

Music Island Wins for May!

2011-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

And so should it. These folks have been bringing music on a global scale for a good long while. It's high time they got recognized. Just look at Kate Miranda's blogger profile.

This woman rocks. Or "classicals." More likely the latter. Point being, if you are at home on a rainy day and want to join some friends, new or old, in Second Life for really musical music, well, Kate's your girl. Just visit http://music-island.blogspot.com/ and you are there. She's cooking up Livestream events, all kind of things, and only because she has a passion for the arts. Just look at a recent lineup:
Thom Dowd, Apr. 16 @ 12 noon

SOLOS AND DUOS FOR RECORDERS
MUSIC ISLAND
12 p.m. SATURDAY 16 APRIL 2011
Françoise Prongué- Hofstetter, Marie Gillard,
Gorse Ferarris, Thom Dowd
Recorders

PROGRAM:
Sonata in C Major for Alto Recoder and B.C. Georg Philipp Telemann 1681-1767
Cantabile, Allegro, Grave, Vivace,
Sonate No.3 OP. 3 in F Major, for Alto Recorder and B.C., JOHN LOEILLET OF LONDON, 1680-1730
Adagio - Allegro - Larghetto - Allegro
Ballette Gravesand with variations, Jacob van Eyck, 1590-1657
Philis Schoone with variations, Jacob van Eyck, 1590-1657
Sonata No.4 in B flat major, Robert Valentine 1661-1747
Adagio, Allegro, Adagio Siciliana, Allegro Giga
Sonata No. 5 for 2 Alto recorders Georg Philipp Telemann
Largo, Vivace, Gratioso, Allegro

That's what I'M talkin' about.

Kate Miranda's Music Island Blog will run the month of May in the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in the RSS feeder. Come by, grab a chair at a one-of-a-kind table (designed by a deceased avatar who was a master at the tortured prim), and read what Kate Miranda has to say.

While you're there, vote for the June Blog o' the Month from these options:

http://anytimeanywherelearning.blogspot.com Anytime Anywhere Learning , Kipp Rogers

http://leonardolinks.blogspot.com/ Prof. Leonardo's Links Leonardo Ornellas (Brazil)

http://academicavatar.squarespace.com/ Adventures of an Academic Avatar, Rawlslyn Francis

http://gridjumper.net/ Gridjumper's Blog. Noreen Strehlow

Virtual Learning in Virtual Worlds--Possibilities

2011-04-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

Good day! I just had a fun morning with my pal Andrew Wheelock onsite at the receiving end, presenting a sort of Virtual Field Trip to a group of administrators with Erie 1 BOCES up there in western New York. I'm back in the office at MNPS Virtual Learning and just wanted to share out my "slides" with all concerned.

Here's the Prezi!

Virtual Learning in Virtual Worlds-- Possibilities on Prezi

"Computer Teacher" Blog Accedes to Blog-o'-the-Month!

2011-04-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kimberly Hedricks's blog, "Computer Teacher" for being chosen by vote as the ISTE Island Bloggers Hut's "Blog-o'-the-Month" for April 2011! Kim's been blogging since 2006 and her vast repository of posts is well worth the exploration. Take some time at "Computer Teacher" to do so!

For an example of how immediate Kim's style is, check out this post from December 2009, entitled Response to Little Kids, Big Possibilities. Then just have at it! I'll be interested to see what happens when she puts her Promethean Board through its paces!

For May, it's a diverse group to pick from. Visit the Bloggers Hut and vote for your favorite from these four blogger/blog nominees:

John Lester
Be Cunning and Full of Tricks--Strategies for Pioneers in Education, Online Communities and Virtual Worlds

http://becunningandfulloftricks.com/

Ellie Brewster
Exploring the Virtual Classroom--Pedagogy and Second Life
http://ebrewster.wordpress.com/

Kate Miranda
Music Island--real music in a virtual world
http://music-island.blogspot.com/

Ira Flatow
Science Friday
http://www.sciencefriday.com/blog/author/IraFlatow/

Curious about how that looks? I took a pic of last month's votes to share, As you can see, the voting was close!:

ISTE SIGVE Meetup and Speaker Session Tuesday-- MISSION US!

2011-03-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

SIGVE- Speaker Series

Special Guest: Joanne Henning and Kimmer Jameson

MISSION US- A New Way of Learning History

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

WHERE: ISTE Island Auditorium, Second Life

and mirrored in Elluminate at Learncentral.org!

TIME: 5pm SL time

Remember when History class was dull? Well, no more. Mission US is part role-play, gaming system, and virtual environment. This web based or downloaded program combines powerful content with an engaging format for middle school age (grades 5-8) students. Please join us as we meet MISSION US AZ Teacher of the Year - Joanne Hennin along with PBS Ei8ht’s Kimmer Jamison. They will share Joanne’s award winning project -- and why it was such a successful implementation model for students, as well as share the resources for MISSION US.

Important Links:

http://www.m

ission-us.org/

http://www.thirteen.org/

http://www.asset.asu.edu/new/mu_az_teacher.html

http://innovateclassrooms.blogspot.com/2010/05/opportunities-in-second-life-learn-more.html

ISTE Second Life Blog-o'-the-Month: "Ed Thought" from Rurik Nackerud

2011-03-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, ya'll!!!

Announcing March's Blog-o'-the-month! Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought" at http://rurik.nackerud.net/ !!! This is a very recent addition to the blogosphere and we are thrilled to be able to encourage (via YOUR votes at the Bloggers Hut in Second Life), budding blogger and nearly graduated (Masters in the Art of Teaching) grad student Rurik (Rory) Nackerud. Visit his blog often, comment, and help propel him into the ongoing dialog.

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.

During the month of March in the Bloggers Hut, we will be choosing which educational blog we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of April. This month, like last month (that turned out fine, didn't it?) I'm making it up as I type it. Be happy. Don't worry!

Here are my nominees:

Red--Stephanie Sandifer's "Change Agency"

Green--Kimberly Herbert's "Computer Teacher"

Yellow--Quentin d'Souza's "Teaching Hacks"

Blue--Mrs. Durff's "Durff's Blog"

Happy Exploring! And don’t forget to vote!!!

Previously Featured:

Gourmet Gadget Gal
"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"
Education World's "Teacher Bea"t
KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
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 :)

Open Letter to Tennessee (and WORLD) Technology Coordinators

2011-02-28T04:09:00.000-08:00

Greetings, All,

Those of you who know me and my professional history—14 years as a technology teacher at University School of Nashville and now Virtual Learning Curriculum Coordinator at Metro Nashville Public Schools—may also know that I am deeply involved at a national level in the field of virtual environments for teaching and learning and in various other projects tied to positive change in the way we teach and learn.

On January 26, 2011 the PC version of one of those other projects launched - JamParty:Remixed. Console versions for xBox, Playstation and Wii will be released in the near future. The console versions will have a live social interaction component.

Arkansas educator and dear friend Cathy Walker was involved and helped with the design of this program and along with her I am now serving as Education and Charitable Communities Liaison for the project. I receive no compensation for this role. It has been our hope and the hope of the “game’s” creator, Dan Sullivan, that the gift of music creation finds its way to the hands of children and to the child within the rest of us.

This is a unique gaming experience and has a Studio Mode where music can be created, played, and shared. Using this mode, students can create their own music (.mp3) mix for PowerPoints, videos, dance routines, etc. I personally am enjoying using the program to make intro, outro, and background music for instructional videos and podcasts—yes, I use JamParty:Remixed in my work!

Long story, short: We have PC versions that I can give away for free to schools, children's hospitals, community centers and such. I asked if I could start by offering it to folks at home ... you guys here in Tennessee. My wish was granted. This Education Donation project differs from “freemium” programs in important ways:

Many free programs are either “Trial” or “Demo” versions of the software they are trying to promote. The JamParty:Remixed software your school will get is the complete, fully functional version that is offered for sale at the Zivix site for $29.99. Nor is this an old program the makers just want off their shelves to promote a newer one: It’s only been available anywhere for one month!
Most freemium offers limit installation to a single computer. You will receive a version licensed for UNLIMITED installation within your school. We even show you how to open up the entire program with a cheat code so your kids don’t have to “level up” to open up sound banks and genres
Other offers like this (not that I think there really is one) will charge you a hefty shipping fee to send you any physical product. You don’t even pay shipping here!
Many other softwares send you their program knowing that you won’t be happy just having it--you’ll want to spend dollars later on further functionality. Again, this is a fully functioning version. We’ve even created our own JamParty4Education website that will be populated with lesson plans, downloadable add-ins, and more and it will be there for you in perpetuity. It’s already shaping up with videos, tutorials, links to relevant research to support adoption in your school, and a growing FAQ.

Contact us at jamparty4ed@gmail.com if you are interested, or simply go to jamparty4ed.com to learn more and apply for your very own school (unlimited install) copy of this amazing, potential-laden software. Bookmark that website: See number 4. above.

Importantly, we are not sure how long this free donation program will be available. If you want your own school copy with unlimited installation license, now’s the time to get it.

Please be patient. I obviously won't be responding to requests during school hours and both Cathy and I have busy families: This is a weekend avocation for us.

This message, by the way, is in no way sponsored by any of my professional organizations and does not reflect any of my employers' or professional organizations' views or interests.

Warm Regards,

Scott Merrick

--
It's all at http://scottmerrick.net

It's Learning About Cooking, Ya'll. Seriously!

2011-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hey, ya'll!!! No, I haven't gone off the deep end! We've simply gone looking for non-"schooly" learning in blogs around the world! This could be the start of something grand!

Announcing February's Blog-o'-the-month! Gourmet Gadget Gal is a blog celebrating food and the comfort and ongoing learning that a love of food and its design can bring to your life. Call it a whim, call it madness, but GGG was nominated for January and win it did. This is a timely reminder that there's more to life and to living it than educational research and dialog, but if you look closer (and we do encourage you to do so), there's lots of learning and teaching going on in blogger Jane Gaither's ongoing efforts to share her passion for cuisine!

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.

During the month of February in the Bloggers Hut, we will be choosing which educational blog we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of March. This month I'm making it up as I type it. Be happy. Don't worry!

Here are my nominees (I can't _wait_ to see what they are!) and the color to click to vote for your fave:

Red--Rurik Nakerud's "Ed Thought"
http://rurik.nackerud.net/

Green--Gerald Aungst's "Quisitivity"
http://www.quisitivity.org/

Yellow--The eJulez Perspective
http://ejulez.blogspot.com/

Blue--Reflections from the Trenches
http://reflectionsfromthetrenches.blogspot.com/

Wow! I found some great blog candidates, and all of them from the Blog Windows at the Blogger's Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life! Come visit!!!!! Happy Exploring! And don’t forget to vote!!!

Congrats to March nominees. Grab an image for your blog here and post it!

Previously Featured:

"Abby's" "Jazzing Up Eighth Grade"
Education World's "Teacher Bea"t
KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
Engage Digital--(formerly Virtual Worlds News)
Virtual School Meanderings--Michael Barbour
Blogging ISTE (special compendium page at iste.org)
The Daring 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 :)

Tomorrow Night, Paul Preibisch (Fire Centaur) in Second Life and Elluminate!

2011-01-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

From my LearnCentral listing of the event:

Second Life is a powerful meeting place for educators interested in learning, teaching, and having fun with other educators. The International Society for Education recognizes as one of its 20 "SIGs" the Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments, and our group hosts the SIGVE 3rd Tuesday Speaker Session in Second Life every month.

January 18th host Spiff Whitfield's (Andy Wheelock in real life) guest is none other than educator Paul Preibisch, (Fire Centaur in Second Life). Come join us an hour before Paul's session for a SIG meetup either in Second Life or at LearnCentral over Elluminate, then stay for the 7 pm Speaker Session as SIGVE broadens its reach to embrace educators not yet in SL.

Time(s):

Meeting: 4 pm SLT (Pacific), 5 pm MT, 6 pm Central, 7 pm ET
Speaker Session: 5 pm SLT (Pacific), 6 pm MT, 7 pm Central, 8 pm Eastern

Registration is not required, so join us as you can and will!

Second Life SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/201/46/23

Join us either in Elluminate or in Second Life!

Blue Mars and the Future of Virtual Worlds

2011-01-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

Thx to Gia Rossini, I just digested two good reads about the announcement from Blue Mars, just today, that they are pulling out of the PC platform and planning "to focus solely on Apple's iOS. As a result, Blue Mars is now Blue Mars Mobile.

That quote is from the announcement on Massively, which is just that, and interesting; but the more intriguing read is at Andromeda Media, from Will Burns, aka Aeonix Aeon. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Virtual Worlds for education or any other reason.

While citing Blue Mars for "memory loss," for failing to recall the mistakes of virtual worlds platforms and developers over the past couple of decades--primarily "centralization," it's interesting that Burns doesn't really mention OpenSimulator, the offshoot of opensource Second Life, where the movement is really more toward collaborative decentralization. Maybe there's hope for OpenSim where the others have all but abandoned all of that commodity.

Check out http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/16/second-life-competitor-blue-mars-drops-pc-development-for-apple/

and
http://cityofnidus.blogspot.com/2011/01/requiem-for-blue-mars.html

To see what I'm talkin' about!

Cheerio,
Scott

First Student Blog Feature at the Bloggers Hut Blog-o'-the-Month!

2011-01-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hey, ya'll!!!

Announcing January's Blog-o'-the-month! Jazzing Up Eighth Grade is a student blog from 8th grader "Abbey," and it was also nominated this year at edublogawards.com as student blog of the year. This is the first K12 student blog ever featured at the Bloggers Hut. Maybe it needs to be the first of many!

During the month of January in the Bloggers Hut, will be choosing which educational blog we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of February. This month we're going off the beam and looking at blogs from three arenas we haven't really featured in the past. We've got cooking, music, art, and just to keep it off-balance (since we can't get too conventional, even when we go all thematic), math.

If you'll look at each one of these blogs you'll see that the authors share one thing--a passion for their topic. How to vote? How to vote? That's for you to decide. Read:

Red--Jane Gaither's "Gourmet Gadget Gal"
http://gourmetgadgetgal.blogspot.com/

Green--Natalie Wickham's Music Matters Blog
http://musicmattersblog.com/

Yellow--"Ebony's" Art Teacher Blog
http://art-teacher-blog.blogspot.com/

Blue--Ms. Cookie's Math Teacher Mambo
http://mathteachermambo.blogspot.com/

Nominees can pick up "NOMINATED!" badge for their blog by copying this image:

Happy Exploring! And don’t forget to vote!!!

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.

Previously Featured:

EducationWeek's "Teacher Beat"
KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
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 :)

Welcome to my new Linden Home

2010-12-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hey, all,

As you may know, I like to move around in Second Life, maybe a spin off from my thoroughly Nashville-grounded existence irl. At any rate, I've now abandoned my home (easy to do with a few clicks) in Bee Springs and moved into a new on at a Linden Home ("free" to Second Life users with a paid membership) sim called "Spring Azure." You are welcome to drop in anytime!

This one is a bit cozy, certainly cozier than my last home, a California style split level that I never really filled up with the 117 prims alloted to Linden Home residents. I've set out pretty much my whole inworld inventory of sketches, drawings, paintings, photographs, and poems for anyone who visits to enjoy. Want your own Linden Home?

Here are a couple of pics from my new digs--click to view larger:

the exterior with a big tortured prim privacy screen

and a rainbow that starts and stops at home :)

sitting room with giant screen tele and links to my blogs

along with the "moneyshot" from ISTE 2010

VE Playground

gallery room with my "art" pieces I've brought inworld

bedroom with my book of poetry on a stand and 2prim bed

patio with campfire and "relaxin' stones"

December 21's ISTE SIGVE Speaker Session Mirrors in Elluminate!

2010-12-14T07:33:00.001-08:00

I just had a brainburp this morning and realized how useful it might be to take advantage of LearnCentral.org's "Host Your Own Webinar" feature to schedule our SIGVE monthly "meeting" and our 3rd Tuesday ISTE SIGVE Speaker Session (this month featuring New South Wales's Jo Kay (see previous post) in Elluminate!

For low-bandwidth connections, educators too busy to login to Second Life, and those who don't even possess an avatar, here's your chance to participate in live inworld professional development! HYOW also archives the session, so there'll be a full archive of the event there, and I'll of course pull off the audio for our growing bank of .mp3 podcasts at the SIGVE wiki.

Do this:

Christmas Me -- Embrace the Season!

2010-12-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Deck the Halls! I want to shoutout my intention to wear my elf ears through the holidays, sterling silver Christmas Tree earring and all, and to enjoy my Linden Home at Bee Springs throughout the holidays. Feel free to drop by and explore my drawings and paintings (as well as some other art from my real life home), my photos, my websites, and my book of poetry, Speculativity, which I've published in Second Life with my ThinkPress printing press. The poetry book resides on a book stand upstairs, and you are welcome in my home anytime.

True to my Gypsy nature, I plan to dismantle all of my current Linden Home sometime in January and to try out another of the Linden Home styles. Read about the Linden Homes Program at Linden Lab here.

Here's a pic of the book, along with a shot of me in profile. The pony tail? Ah. Well I did have one from the age of 19 until I was nearly 30. Now I have it again without having to go through the mullet stage!!!

Hold on to those you hold dear. I do.

Scott

December 21's ISTE SIGVE Speaker Session Features Jo Kay!

2010-12-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

The December 2010 SIGVE Speaker Session at the Auditorium on ISTE Island will commence smartly at 5 pm Second Life (Pacific U.S.) time on the evening of the 21st.

We are proud to feature Jo Kay, Jokay Wollengong in Second Life, as our guest. Onstage with our own Spiff Whitfield, Jo will be sharing her exemplary work in Second Life, ReactionGrid, and practically everywhere else over the past years and into the future! Do you have questions for her? Add them below!

Visit Jo Kay's website for question fuel!

<p>Loading...</p>

2010-12-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

I blogged about this project a while ago, and I'm revisiting it because it's now open and available for touring: The 3D AIDS Quilt is a gentle memorial to individuals lost by individuals.

Decades ago, the public knew very little about HIV or AIDS, the epidemic was just beginning to rear its ugly head in the U.S. I was working as a bartender at TGI Fridays, enjoying the rich community that working with so many creative, talented, and personable young people offered. At the time my friend Buddy contracted AIDS and died, I had just divorced and I was in transition in many ways. Times were different, in many ways. I was not really close to Buddy, but I valued him as a co-worker and a friend and often enjoyed shifts with him and our colorful clan of servers, as well as after-work drinks and community. I was falling in love with the jewel who would be my wife, a tasty young lady 11 years my junior who remains just as tasty as she approaches 50.

Here's a snapshot from one of the quilts, done by Marty Snowpaw in memorial of "Stephen."

and here's mine, more of an abstract take on the "assignment:"

Currently, there are only 10 pieces, but a visit is well worth it. I visited this morning with my friend Gia, and though I did comment at one point that "This whole place is kind of a big gulp of sad..." it is a most interesting project, and I hope it continues to grow, if only for a testament to the fact that an epidemic really is composed of individual trials and losses, both of life and loved ones. Here are the first quilt pieces, from the notecard available at the site:

3D Quilt Rooms

(Visit the rooms of the contributors below)

1. Russell - Submitted by Paul

2, Steven - Submitted by Marty Ketlz

3. AIDS Orphans - Submitted by TGHC

4. Bobby - Submitted by Darlene

5. Donato - Submitted by Aksha Divisadero

6. Buddy - Submitted by Scottmerrick Oh

7. Anna - Submitted by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills Center for AIDS Research

8. The Victims of AIDS - Submitted byRTI

9. Sandra - Submitted by her twin Cary

10. The Window Dressers - Submitted by ARteer Olivia

(Check back often as new pieces are added)

Teacher Beat: Welcome to December's Blog-o'-the-Month!

2010-12-02T03:18:00.000-08:00

Hey, ya'll!!!

Announcing December's Blog-o'-the-month! The policy, news and research geeks have it this month with Stephen Sawchuck/EducationWeek’s “Teacher Beat” at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/ .

And during the month of December in the Bloggers Hut, will be choosing which educational blog we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of JANUARY. These nominees are all at Edublogs.com, found in a quick search of featured blogs in the education category!

Would you like to see a theme explored at the Blogger's Hut? Email scott@scottmerrick.net with the theme or anything else you would like to suggest to make the Bloggers Hut mo' bettah.

This month, Choose between:

Red: From a Student’s Perspective at http://blogs.angelo.edu/student_leonor_constancio/

Green: portableradio at http://portableradio.edublogs.org/

Yellow: Jazzing up Eighth Grade at http://abbeyr.edublogs.org/

and

Blue: Fred Koch: K-4 Tech Coach at http://fredkoch.edublogs.org/

Happy Exploring! And don’t forget to vote!!!

Previously Featured:

KZero, Inc., "We Are Worldswide"
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 :)

3D AIDS Quilting is Underway

2010-11-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

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!"

2010-11-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2010-11-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-11-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

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

Virtual Pioneers Online History Conference!

2010-10-18T03:53:00.000-07:00

Come and join in the 3D immersive fun and learn while you do it!

Second Life and OpenSimulator, two important artifacts of future history, are continually providing new ways to see, hear, and personally experience the past. Other 3D platforms are doing so as well, and in the course of these presentations over a two day period, as you drop in when your own schedule allows, you will see what all this can mean for learning and teaching over the next generation. Read the press release for the conference.

Andrew Wheelock (Spiff Whitfield) has facilitated into being a group of around 200 educators interested in exploring history in virtual worlds. The Virtual Worlds Pioneers has been going strong for years now, having started out in a Ning and migrating to grou.ps (as did so many other communities) when Ning dumped their free-for-education policy. The new address is at http://grou.ps/virtualpioneers/home and I heartily encourage you to join.

Why? Because VWP consistently offers events in virtual worlds where educators can share a passion for history. In doing so, they build friendships that can last a lifetime. Two lifetimes, even...

If you don't have a Second Life avatar, now's the time. Simply visit Secondlife.com and get one for free. Play around with it for half an hour prior to the conference so you will be able to sit or walk without sitting on someone's head (considered rude in any historical period or culture) or bumping into others embarrassingly.

This is the first ever VWP online history conference, but it won't be the last. Themed "Re-Create, Educate, Illuminate--Learning History Virtually," it runs Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30, coming up in just under two weeks. I'll be wrapping up the conference with a closing keynote on Saturday, 4 pm SL (Pacific) time, to be followed by a "Closing Celebration- Socializing, dancing, prizes, and music!" The entire schedule is available online at the conference website and it looks to be a doozy!

Heck, I'll save you a click or two:

Saturday, October 29:

Date	Time (SL time)	Session	SLURL
10/29/10	1-2pm	Kimmer Jameson from PBS Eight will inspire us with her blend of great teacher resources that can adapt to Virtual Environment history.	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters
10/29/10	2-4pm	Csteph Submariner will lead us on a tour of this unbelievably detailed and historically accurate sim that highlights the trials and poetry of this era in world history.	Western Front
10/29/10	4-5pm	Jacon Cortes will take us on a tour of Antiquity Texas, an 1800's role playing sim in the Antiquty Community of Victorian Sims and ruled under the gracious hand of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Antiqutiy. Jacon has a superior knowledge of this time period as well as tremendous skill as a Second Life designer and builder. Please join us on this fantastic tour.	Antiquity Texas
10/29/10	5-6pm	Eureka Dejavu- Understanding Islam in Virtual Worlds	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters
10/29/10	6-7pm	Tamsin Barzane- The Yoruba Light Project (still under construction) connects the past and present of the West African Yoruba people to Salvador da Bahia in Brazil and to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.	Yoruba Light

Saturday, October 30:

Date	Time (SL)	Description	SLURL
10/30/10	10-11am	BigD Flanagan- Join BigDin a discussion of team teaching Social Studies in the secondary setting. BigD has 17 years of History teaching experience to bring to this topic. The subject lends itself to a wide array of teaching approaches and practices.	VP SKYBOX
10/30/10	11-12pm	Shenlei Flasheart-Overview of the 1:1 simulation of the Gettysburg Battlefield being developed in the openSim-based ScienceSim grid. Discuss how educators can become involved in this large-scale, big picture project to fully simulate the critical, 3 day Battle of Gettyburg.	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters
10/30/10	12-1pm	Norma Underwood -Historical Building by Students. Come see the Lincoln Memorial and a Holocaust Memorial built on a Second Life Teen Estate and moved to the Reaction Grid. If you are interested in re-enactments or role-playing, this shows what 13 and 14 yr olds are capable of doing.	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters Reaction Grid
10/30/10	1-2pm	DrM Magic- Connections Through Cultural Dynamics DrM & Students will present a cultural quilt of history and familial dynamics that bring educators and students together through a historic poster presentation blanketing their comforting past, gingerly gifting it to 21st Century learners!	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters

10/30/10	2-3pm	Ydnar Seljan-A Walk Through History with Language	Professional Development Cruise
10/30/10	3-4pm	Nany Kayo- Dias de Los Muertos-The Day of the Dead -Exploring this unique Mexican holiday.	Smithsonian Museum of Latino Music
10/30/10	4-5pm	Closing Speaker- Scott MerrickOh- Will wrap up our conference as only Scott can, by inspiring us with the future of virtual environments and education.	Virtual Pioneer Headquarters
10/30/10	5-6pm	Closing Celebration- Socializing, dancing, prizes, and music!	Olive's Bistro

2010-10-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey, ya'll!!!

Announcing October's Blog-o'-the-month! Please enjoy the ever-informative "Virtual Worlds News" at http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/. Despite light voting in September, VWN, managed by EngageDigitalMedia, was the clear winner.

And during the month of October in the Bloggers Hut, we are sticking to our Virtual Environments theme and and choosing which we want in the RSS feed for the entire month of NOVEMBER. Would you like to see a theme explored at the Bloggers Hut? Comment here with the theme suggestion or anything else you think would make the Bloggers Hut mo' bettah.

This month, choose between:

Terra Nova
a blog about virtual worlds
http://terranova.blogs.com/

Virtual Environments
cisco
http://blogs.cisco.com/virtualworlds/

SLA in Virtual Worlds
Sharing learnings and initiatives around SLA in Virtual Worlds
http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life/

and
We are Worldswide
KZero
http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/

Happy Exploring!

For a video tutorial on this voting thingy, visit http://sleducation.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1537868%3AVideo%3A1506!

Previously Featured at the Bloggers Hut:

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 :)http://virtualworldsnews.com

KZero Report is Informative and Comprehensive!

2010-10-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I just got my high-res versions of several reports recently released by kzero.co.uk, and I'm very very impressed at the scope and depth of the information compiled therein. I plan to spring the 6 bucks it'll cost me to print a large poster of their "Virtual Worlds Registered Accounts Q32010" for my cubby at work, just to keep there to remind me just how huge the field is getting.

From their site: "Our Q3 2010 Universe Chart has just been completed and the major headline to report is that total registered accounts have reached 1bn (1.009bn to be exact).

That’s a 51m increase in accounts from Q2 2010 and a 350m increase over the last 12 months. The chart below shows quarterly growth from Q1 2009."

I won't reproduce the fabulous circle graph here, because you should visit the KZero site and explore for yourself, even request your own high-res versions, but here's a graph from the site, showing registered accounts in all surveyed (none was included which have fewer than 1million registrants) from first quarter 09 to date:

The complete graphic depiction at the site is amazing, so detailed that to effectively view it onscreen it needs must be broken down into quarters segmented by age groups--ages 5 through 10, 10 through 15, 15 through 25, and 25 through eternity. Predictably, the largest registrations in the group of older adults that is sneaking toward eternity reside in something called Second Life. Around age 9, Poptropica leads with 110 million participants. That happens to jibe with my personal teaching experience, but I can also add that a single child may register multiple times, as Poptropica does not collect user information and kids tend to forget thier original logins, logging in from the start the next time and saving with a new username at the end of their play. I wonder how many of KZero's finding may be similarly skewed. No matter, actually, as this is marvelously engaging work no matter how flawed it may be! I enjoy just blowing up the main graphic to 200% in my .pdf viewer and navigating around. Who knew that Barbie Girls, with 19 million registrations, beats out WebKinz, with its still impressive 16 million? And who's heard of "Fantaqe," "Ekoloko," or "Dofus?"

As Lowly High Grand Poobah of the ISTE SIGVE, the Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments, I thank KZero for its work. This gives us alot to chew on between now and ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia!

Plaiedes Information Session and iPad PahtyTime!

2010-09-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight at 5 pm SLTime at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eduisland%206/37/227/21 on Atlantis Rising Campus come here about a new initiative to create an online 3d world absolutely dedicated to educators! That's all I know. Come learn more with me!

AND:

Mark your virtual calendars for Thursday, Sept. 30, at 6 pm SLTime, when Chris Smith, aka Shamblesguru himself, will lead an iPad Apps party at the campfires on ISTE Island. Come learn about the best apps, come share your favorites or your not-so-favorites, and have a pahhhhty with your colleagues together over the globe. Chris, by the way, will be coming to us from his own geolocation in Northern Thailand, and doing so the next day at that!

Thanks to our own Louise/Terra for setting this one up. It should be the very most wonderful fun.

Pics from ISTE SIGVE Speaker Session "Speedchat" Panel last night!

2010-09-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

I'll put these at the ISTE SIGVE wiki within the next day or two but it was quicker this morning to slap them up here. Just to share a really interesting and enlightening and inspirational hour at the ISTE Island Auditorium last night with fellow ISTE Second Lifers and Kyle and Chris from ReactionGrid last night. The first pics in this slideshow are from a much earlier speed chat session, but stay in there--first pic from last night is the one of the small group at the SL ISTE Island campfire. Click to go full screen then option to show captions (I'll fix that soon so it's automatic) and enjoy. Cheers!

Here's a direct link to the ISTE SIGVE Speed Chat set!

What Happened to SIGVE?

2010-09-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here on September 10, I'm musing about that. What happened? We came off of a faboo experience in Denver last early July with renewed energy and commitment to learning and teaching, fueled by an intense three days of sharing and celebrating at the ISTE2010 Virtual Environments Playground. At the SIG Leadership meeting that week, SIGVE's creation of ISTE Islands 1 and 2 in ReactionGrid was singled out as one of the SIG's accomplishments in 2009-10.

The ISTE SIGVE 3rd Tuesday Speaker Series was also mentioned, and our own Catherine Parsons, aka Victoria Gloucester, proved the praise on target by sharing a very personal history of virtual worlds exploration and her own perspective on the value of the 3D internet at the July Session.In August we took a Fall Break from the series, as did Kevin Jarrett's excellent broader-themed Speaker Series and the ISTE Thursday Socials. Now it sort of feels like we need to rez some animated tumbleweeds blowing through ISTE Island in Second Life in order to reflect the mood of the place.

What happened? Well, clearly, SIGVE members, like educators everywhere, rightly turned their attention to the start of a new academic school year. First and foremost we owe attention to our new students, the children for whom we serve in loco parentis for so many of their waking hours. For me, my students are not in a classroom anymore. I guess that makes me in loco loginquitas. Did I mention that I left my K-4 Independent School Technology Coordinator position of 11 years for a new one as Metro Nashville Public Schools' "Virtual Learning Coordinator?" But I still owe my students all my attention. And that is what, like so many of us, I have been paying them.

My feeling with respect to our avocation as innovators in virtual learning environments is that it's been a good break. Now, let's not lose our focus on our students, but let's roll up our sleeves again and continue to explore how virtual environments can best serve the students of the future.

[assumes Rod Serling voice] Item number 1, for your consideration: Next Tuesday, September 21, at 4 pm Second Life Time (SLT), I'll be at the campground at ISTE Island to chat with any and all. There's a lot to talk about. The agenda is open.

Item number 2, for your consideration: Following that meeting, join us for a one hour ISTE SIGVE Speaker Session, 5 pm to 6 pm SLT. This will be a "speed chatting" session akin to the original one-minute-per-panelist experience we had early on, on the topic of Educators in "ReactionGrid." This time each speaker will get two whole minutes a turn. Our stalwart Spiff Whitfield will moderate. On the panel will be (hopefully) Marianne Malmstrom, Noreen Streyhow, Mary Miner, Kelly Irish, Kyle Gomboy, and moi, with the addition of others who wish to join, to a maximum limit of 10 participants. We'll start at 5:05 and end at 5:45 so that others in attendance have a chance to ask and answer.

Item number 3, for your consideration: Following that session, we'll be hosting an Educators Evening in ReactionGrid, where our clever subcommittee has put together some "best-of" sites in RG to visit, and dancing and socializing will prevail. We hope that you can join us for that event, and if you can't, plans are in swing for sharing a desktop at the auditorium in SL so you can just hang out and watch there!

Item number Infinity: Let's keep having fun with this, ya'll. Come play with us.

See http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net for everything and to add to it! Questions for the panel? Visit http://typewith.me/XSsHPeGKjW and add them. See you there.

September Blog-o'-the-Month at ISTE Island: Congratulations!

2010-09-02T03:36:00.000-07:00

All the buzz about the closing of the Teen Grid, Linden Lab's reported rudeness to Eduisland3 owners in refusing a needed rollback(see quoted email below), and the ongoing debates about the increasingly tenuous relationship the Lab has to education does tend to distract from our commitment to Second Life, but the Bloggers Hut presses on. Maybe it's time to mirror it for backup at the new ISTE Islands in ReactionGrid!

Congratulations to September 2010's ISTE Island Blog-o'-the-Month "Virtual School Meanderings," Michael Barbour's informative treatment of all things related to online learning opportunities. I'll admit to a bias in the choice of nominees for this month: My new work is in the field of virtual schools, and it pleases me that Barbour's blog won the (admittedly very light this month--where ARE you people? It must be the first month of the school year or something!) vote at the Bloggers Hut on ISTE Island in Second Life.

Bloggers Hut Nominees for October are (and I'll promise to change the theme for November--I'm having too much fun discovering virtual schooling themed blogs!):

Red: VirtuED Virtual Educaton
http://virtued.wordpress.com/
Stan Trevena and others

Green: virtual learning
http://sclater.com/blog
Niall Sclater

Yellow: Virtual Learning Worlds
http://www.virtuallearningworlds.com/
Barton Pursel

Blue: Virtual Worlds News
http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/
Chris Sherman

Here's that note from Fleet about Eduisland 3, sent to me in a forwarded email from my friend Bernajean Porter. What gives, Linden Lab?...

Hi again,

Regarding the earlier notification that Eduisland 3 had been damaged and I had ordered a rollback: the Lindens have notified me that they are refusing to do a rollback because they have changed their policies, and will now only rollback for - quote - "catastrophic technical failure". They claim that too many people have abused rollback in the past in order to get free copies of objects.

I am obviously furious about this but have no way to do anything about it other than spend a considerable amount of time manually putting packages of objects in my 'Lost and Found' folder carefully back into place tomorrow.

If you are an Eduisland 3 resident then please check the 'Lost and Found' folder of your inventory for any items belonging to your avatar that may have been returned to you and re-rez them in the appropriate locations as best you can.

I apologize deeply for the inconvenience to our Eduisland 3 tenants. Obviously this change in policy goes far beyond Eduisland 3 in its ramifications, meaning that we cannot auto-repair future damage to other sims either. Naturally, Sambiglyon will draft a new policy to address this issue.

Best wishes!

- Fleet

Laying Out the "Campus"

2010-08-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's real-life residue, buildings that look like buildings, but I'm beginning to work on the design for my kids' new virtual campus in ReactionGrid and I'm beginning with an OpenVCE .oar file from which I deleted some stuff, moved some around, and replicated some in ways that the makers likely did not intend for them to be replicated. I love the OpenVCE setup because it seems just the right mix of land and water and it features that wild water-filled volcanic pit mountain with the landing zone level cap. I wonder what we'll end up putting _in_ the mountain? A soda shop? Skateboard park! That's IT! Both!

Here's a first draft map after only about 3 hours total inworld design time:

and I'm sticking to it (at least for now). In the lower right hand corner, the "Dorms" are stacked 5 high (will be 7 high, and contain a computer lab meeting place where kids can sit together and login and do their online class work while chatting. There's a big drawing board in one window, a Jeff Lowe Brainboard in another, and there will be sprawling stations with relaxing poses on the Persian rugs I laid out. I'm just beginning, you understand, and the idea for dorms, places each student can call home, just came to me yesterday morning.

I haven't locked down anything yet, and I'm sure that I'll need to at some point, so the mountain feature sports a big sandbox with a filled texture giver for building. Offices for the admin team will be in the center right building, and the open roofs will give some flexibility for take-off and landing. Campfire stations in the open green, a dance area which will have music, and an ampitheatre round out the place for now.

I haven't heard any complaints from neighbors, but the two-megaprims each walls around the region's perimeter are intended as much to save my neighbors from the sprawl I hope to maintain in my region as it is to tidy up the horizon for my students. They are coded phantom, so fly right through and visit anytime! Oh, the sim name is "MNPSVirtualLearning."

OpenSimulator Work Begins for MNPS Virtual Learning

2010-08-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

Woot. I successfully managed to get OpenSim running on my laptop this past weekend and I'm sharing some pics right here to prove it. I have the embryo of a plan and it's developing nicely. With any luck we'll have our virtual world up and running for Tennessee students sometime by the beginning of 2011. I want to make sure it's rolled out right, and that it's thoughtful, welcoming, functional, and most of all, sustainable. We'll soon mount our world on a little used server in an adjacent room at our physical location so we can team-collaborate in its design, and we'll likely soon transform my "Scottsperiment" space in ReactionGrid to an MNPS Virtual Learning Island, where activity of different scale will take place and where approved Students and Teachers will have access to the burgeoning wealth of educational resources in ReactionGrid.

Speaking of that last, mark your calendar right now for Tuesday, September 21, at 5 pm Second Life time at ISTE Island in Second Life, when the ISTE SIGVE 3rd Tuesday Speaker Session will host a panel of dynamic and innovative educators working in ReactionGrid. Following that Session, we'll move into ReactionGrid for an Educators' Evening, an hour or two of touring, socializing, and learning which will feature the ReactionGrid ISTE Island Grand Opening party!

One more pic from the local iteration (I have since fixed the flag on the left! lol:

And a couple pics from Scottsperiment, where I've been playing around toward demo'ing potentials for my team:

Teen Second Life Eulogy

2010-08-15T04:22:00.000-07:00

Barry Joseph, invoking a long and brilliantly crafted reference to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" in his introduction, created a group over at the REZed community that is "invitation only"--simply for sharing thoughts about Linden Lab's recent announcement that it is closing its Teen Grid and opening up Second Life to older teens (looking forward to understanding the ramifications of that move, and to learning more details about it) I just replied and I wanted to share those early morning musings with ya'll. So....

Thanks for creating this group, Barry. I'm not surprised at this decision from Linden Lab, and like Wesley, I am hopeful for the future. Just yesterday, in my explorations that will hopefully lead to implementation of some virtual world as a synchronous meeting place for students in a new public school's version of "online virtual school," I ran OpenSimulator for the first time on my Dell laptop, locally. It was invigorating and exciting! The fact that I have not even taken a peek at SL Teen Grid for this project might have been prophetic. In their vacuum-tight security policies and their doomed efforts to at least break even and perhaps to maintain some semblance of profitability in TG, Linden Lab still managed to imagine, create, and maintain the pioneering iteration of a world where kids can be safe, guided, and motivated to learn. This is a legacy no one can deny. The ways that you used TG, the ways that Peggy Sheehy muscled her kids into it, Wesley's fabulous creations, and those of others, will stand as examples of record alongside the visions facilitated by Claudia L'Amoreaux as Education Community Manager in the adult grid and ISTE's pioneering community-building there.

Prophetic too was the morphing of the "Playground" that was ISTE's "Second Life Playground" into the "Virtual Environments Playground" this last summer at ISTE2010 in Denver, CO. Our 35 back-to-back mostly half hour shareouts, both from ISTE Island in Second Life to Denver and vice versa, and also from several other platforms--including OpenSim (ReactionGrid, 3rd Rock Grid), Quest Atlantis, AWEDU, and others--dramatically demonstrated that Teen Grid wasn't the only game in Town. Sense of presence and community of place at a distance continue to be the mainstays of virtual environments, and I am guessing that my colleagues at ISTE's SIGVE will help show me the way(s). Let's continue to archive and share (if you haven't seen the archival fallout at the SIGVE wiki from Denver, go look) and, most importantly, let's keep it as open as we can. That delicate balance between caring/sharing and earning a living has always impeded progress, and that's not going to change. I encourage us all to err on the side of open discussion. You who are in there, if you can machinima your little tushes off before the Teen Grid evaporates, please make that an urgent priority!

Keep the faith, ya'll, and even if we don't find that purple banana, we'll bolster one another's creativity by continuing the dialog and sharing the creative work. Let's (to continue Barry's analogy) pahtay like it's 2099!

Check out Tatero Nino's musings on the closure at her "Dwell On It" blog.

Intro Welcome to SIGVE

2010-08-14T04:03:00.001-07:00

The Daring Librarian! August Blog-o'-the-Month!

2010-07-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Gwyneth Jones, "The Daring Librarian," for having been selected the "Blog-o'-the-Month" at the ISTE Island Bloggers Hut in Second Life! Her blog is not only interesting and informative, but fun as well! For the entire month of August, visit the Bloggers Hut for the regularly updated RSS feed and keep up to date with Gwyneth's adventures in learning and teaching from a librarian's point of view. Why should you visit it in Second Life when you can just google it and read it online? Well, because you never KNOW who's going to show up on ISTE Island to chat. I've made so many good friends amongst educators I never would have otherwise met that it's a staple of my work week to drop into Second Life, either just at ISTE Headquarters or to the Bloggers Hut, which I have maintained for over two years, and see who's there. Try it!

I'll flesh out this post with the nominees for September later, all of whom represent virtual schools and their opportunities for learning and teaching!

Cheers,
Scott