ISTE Speaker Series Strikes Again!

From an email from our pal KJ Hax (Kevin Jarrett irl) about an event you may not want to miss. Pop into ISTE Island (SLurl below) for what looks to be an informative hour this very evening!
Just a quick heads up regarding tomorrow’s ISTE Speaker Series session, targeted specifically for the higher education community … join Marcius Dowding (RL: Larry Dugan) and Crash Thebaud (RL: Terry Keys) who will be presenting their work on the SUNY LIVE (Learning in Virtual Environments) project, which was created to give the opportunity for up to 64 campuses the opportunity to investigate the uses of VLE’s. 22 campuses signed up and participated in this year long project, utilizing this “donut” approach to island developing and training. The results, trials, tribulations and successes will be discussed at this presentation, which will utilize voice. Please ensure you have a working voice setup prior to the event. Location: ISTE Island Bandshell: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/128/128/25

Date: Tuesday, 10/7
Time: 6:00 pm SLT (click here for your local time zone)

See you there!

While you’re there, mosey on up to Headquarters and take a good gander at the new SL entry portal resources that have been baking up there for a month or so. I blogged about it a while back, and it’s come a long way since, due to the dedicated efforts of ISTE volunteers who have tirelessly realized the joint vision of Linden Lab and ISTE. You might take a minute to click on that big ol’ FEEDBACK sign there to offer your opinion and suggestions about how the entry might be improved.

From fearless ISTE Second Life pioneer Kittygloom Cassady, “Currently, an educator visiting the education page of the Second Grid web site (http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education) can sign up for Second Life using a simplified registration process and at the end will be dropped directly on ISTE Island for more resources and educator-friendly help.

Cheers, all! And see you tonite if you can make it!

Posted by Scottmerrick Oh

Barry Joseph delivered a WONDERFUL and engaging 50 minutes to us at SLEDcc2008 in Tampa. In addition to the several hundred on-location attendees, at any given time we had 30-40 or so people at a distance enjoying his talk from the feeds and at one of the three locations in Second Life there were approximately 25 avatars, also from all over the world. Didn’t see it? No problem. Sit back and enjoy. And hey, share it with at least one dubious colleague :

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

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

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

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

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

Cross-post from Oh! Virtual Learning by Scottmerrick Oh

If you’re planning to attend the SLCC in Tampa, Florida (or inworld in one of the many venues that will be hooking up to it) next week, you may be confused by the multitude of internet presences. This is a hands-built event, and the history of its Web iterations reflects that. Its online “face” started out with a Wordpress blog, moved to a  new address that basically revised its Wordpress design but maintains the blog look and aspect; and then, to my mind thankfully, blossomed into a very tidy and comprehensive wiki. That’s the one you want, ya’ll.

Let me be very clear: This is NOT a criticism, only an observation, and an attempt to highlight the process by which beginning efforts can, with community collaboration (and in a very short time) become extraordinarily rich and helpful. Useful linkage means everything to busy people. This site has it!

The SLCC Wiki!

Posted by Scottmerrick Oh

Metanomics “On the Spot” - Fleep Tuque Discusses SLEDcc 2008

On Monday, Metanomics host Robert Bloomfield (SL: Beyers Sellers) put Education Correspondent Fleep Tuque “On the Spot” about the upcoming Second Life Education Community Conference 2008 (SLEDcc), part of the official Second Life Community Convention in Tampa, FL from September 5 - 7th.

(Click the image to view video)

Fleep discussed the genesis of the SLEDcc name and gave an overview of the six conference strands and upcoming sessions in Tampa.  She also talked about the SLEDcc Working Groups, a new component of this year’s program, that will bring participants together to address four topics to generate useful resources for members of the Second Life education community.  Educators are invited to contribute to the SLEDcc Working Group discussions in the SLEDcc08 group on RezEd prior to the conference:

• Developing Template Language About Second Life for Course Syllabi/Parent Notices
• Creating an Institutional Use/Student Code of Conduct Policy for Second Life
• Organizing a Directory of Institutions & Courses Using Second Life
• Feedback to Linden Lab:  What Would Educators Like from Linden Lab in the Next 1-3 Years?

SLEDcc will also have a full program in-world, with streamed sessions from Tampa and an exciting schedule of tours, socials, poster sessions, and presentations.  Register for the in-world SLEDcc here!

Metanomics Guest - David Kaskel on Language Lab

Following the “On the Spot” segment, Beyers turned to the show’s main guest for the day, David Kaskel (SL: Edgeware Marker), CEO of Language Lab.  Language Lab teaches foreign languages in Second Life and their novel curriculum uses a staff of instructors and actors to immerse people in a foreign land, where they must use the native tongue in homes, restaurants, dance halls, job interviews and even airports.

Learn more about Language Lab’s innovative use of virtual worlds for language instruction - click the image above to play the video!

This week marks a pretty interesting milestone in the gradual mainstream acceptance of virtual worlds as valuable education spaces. This week, the SL Bar Association hosted a seminar that was the first professionally accredited legal seminar in Second Life. Professional development is an important, but often inconvenient, aspect of many accredited fields. Teachers, doctors, lawyers and many other professions who operate with an accredited license are required to attend classes and earn credits on a regular basis. However, finding a class in your area being held at a time that suits your schedule and at a price you can afford may be nearly impossible at times. The Bar Association is setting a great example of Second Life’s use to not only educate but also make that education more available to more people.

The SL Bar Association’s next general meeting is Saturday, July 19, 10a.m. Pacific, and the next MCLE session is Tuesday, July 22, 12 p.m. Pacific. More info on both can be found at http://slba.info.

The SLCC Education committee is hard at work organizing lots of fun for SLCC in September. Among the current efforts, the organizers are refining the system for the First Annual SLEDDIES!!! With lots of great categories, a voting system, and awesome gold statues (well maybe not those but we’ll do our best), the SLEDDIES are bound to be a highlight of the SLCC Education track. Watch for more updates soon about nominations and voting.

Also, if you’re in SL and you’d like to check out the current plans for the education track be sure to pop over here, on Chilbo island, to see the room layouts and the beginnings of the schedule!

* Book Talk with Robert Shemin, May 13, 15.

* UPenn Student Mashup Video Screenings, May 14.
* Beijing Cuisine Lectures, May 15.

* Second Life Peace Park Discussion: “Online Religious Practice Through the Looking Glass: Spirituality and the NetWeb”, May 15.
* International Sharing Second Life Stories Day, May 16.

* Siemens PLM Software Analyst Conference Velocity Launch live in Second Life, May 20.
* CCIU Open House Social, June 2.

* JT Open Translator to Second Life Prims, June 3.
The events above have been added to the SLEDevents in SL public Google calendar, which shows events in Second Life of interest to SLED subscribers, and which may be viewed in your web browser at:
http://sledevents.blogspot.com/

* Celebrate Pangea Day in Second Life, May 10.

* Stepping Into History Conference, June 10.

 The events above have been added to the SLEDevents in SL public Google calendar, which shows events in Second Life of interest to SLED subscribers, and which may be viewed in your web browser at:
http://sledevents.blogspot.com/

•  Student SciWriting Immersion Projects, May 5.
• Metanomics Rebroadcasts, May 6 & weekly through May.
• E-Learning in 3D: Open Lecture On Campus Hamburg, May 6.
• Community Challenge, USC Network Culture Project, May 6.
• Collaboration Technology and Engaging the Campus 2008 Conference - Live Broadcast, May 8.
• MediaCampBucks08, May 17.  

The events above have been added to the SLEDevents in SL public Google calendar, which shows events in Second Life of interest to SLED subscribers, and which may be viewed in your web browser at: http://sledevents.blogspot.com/ BDSommerville