Mixed Reality Events

Mixed Reality Events= RL + SL participation

I have been exploring "mixed reality" events in Second Life......where face-to-face (Real Life "RL") meetings join with participants in Second Life (SL) such that "Mixed Reality" events comprise RL+SL participation. I have discovered that this remote access makes it feasible for those in geographically disbursed locations to access events in RL and have a "voice" in the conversation. I will outline 3 experiences I've explored in the venue of mixed reality events:

1) Recently, I joined in a SL discussion as Linden Labs unveiled their beta "enterprise" version of Second Life (see: http://lindenlab.com/pressroom/releases/04_11_09 ) intended for organizations wanting to add SL "behind-the-fire-wall". At this mixed reality event, the CEO of Linden Labs spoke in California to a RL audience and it was streamed into SL at various locations. I was "inworld" at Rockliffe University listening to the press conference while interacting with others in the SL environment as we explored the implications for organizations.

According to www.massively.com: "Already, 14 organizations are participating in the beta program for Second Life Enterprise. This list includes: IBM, Northrop Grumman, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, DefenseWeb Technologies, Case Western Reserve University, The New Media Consortium, among others." (see: http://tinyurl.com/yjdwkxv)

2) Educause: this event took place in RL in Denver, Colorado, but I joined in the conversation in SL at the Montclair University campus & heard AJ Kelton conduct the Virtual Worlds Constituent Group meeting in real time.


(see: http://virtualworldsedu.info/educause/educause2009.html for a written transcript and additional photos). Others joined in the discussion from Heritage Key as well.



3) Texas A&M University's Second Life User's Group meeting: I joined the others who were present in RL in College Station, Texas, while I was "present" in Second Life and could hear my colleagues' comments on their experiences with student learning in this virtual environment.




So, what did I learn from these 3 meetups? I see that SL is a viable option for distance learning, group meetings and virtual conferences!! The ROI: increased "presence" in distance learning experiences, savings in travel time, travel expenses, and greater attendance and diversity of participants from geographically disbursed locations. It's a win-win solution!

"Creating the Largest Virtual Community in Existence"

Yesterday, I visited the UTMB building spot. As you may know, the University of Texas System has invested 6 figures into purchasing about 48 islands in the virtual world, Second Life to link remotely to it's 16 institutions which include UT-Tyler, UT Medical Branch, and UT Southwestern Medical School. See: http://tinyurl.com/ycpna6j

According to press reports, UT System is creating

"The largest virtual community in existence".

Think of all those possibilities for virtual training and virtual learning!!

How cool is that??!

Exploring Teaching & Training Tools

Tonite, I met with Jennette Forager [see: http://epochinstitute.blogspot.com/]
and the Immersion group @ the SMART HOUSE @ Epoch Institute as we looked at some cool teaching and training tools in Second Life. While there we had many interesting previews and discussions.

One discussion centered around the fact that many universities have been investing heavily in Second Life spaces for teaching and learning. This fact coupled with alerts that most universities are giving as of late regarding contingency plans and warnings for flu outbreaks made us muse about the possible use of SL when students are home sick but needing to continue meeting with classmates. We all agreed that SL was a wonderful immersive technology that could easily be done from home as long as students have a little training.

Texas A&M University's Second Life Campus

I've been very busy in Second Life on the development team who is building the Texas A&M University's Second Life campus. This virtual space will be enhancing and enabling distance and oncampus learning for students at TAMU.

See more pictures at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8212794@N05/sets/72157622050726848/

It's been a busy year!

It's been quite a while since I blogged...not because I haven't been active in the SL community, but rather the contrary--I've been very busy so I want to recap some of my memorable adventures in SL as of late.

Since my last posting, I've participated frequently in the SL Educator's Roundtable Group where educators from K-16 come together from around the world to discuss timely issues [see: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44078263753&ref=share ];





I captained the Relay for Life "Team Texas Aggie" where the Second Life community as a whole raised an astonishing $270,388 for fighting cancer (see: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=19490) ! Go Relay! The most meaningful part was cheering on Cancer Survivors and Caregivers as they Relayed. Many of them commented that it was their only chance to participate in RFL due to their health, time and distance constraints. Relaying in a virtual world like SL just "makes sense".













I've also been busy as well as helping with the Texas A&M University virtual campus due to come online soon!

As time has progressed, my efforts in SL have focused on enhancing learning and making the "real world" a better place.