virtual worlds
Conference Program
Posted October 8th, 2008 by Nancy ReevesRock the Academy, the twelfth in the NMC’s Series of Virtual Symposia, will explore the kinds of ideas and activities that are changing the shape of education today.
The symposium will examine themes such as open education resources and open content; social networking and global connections; guerilla learning, games, and activist learning; the next killer apps for education; alternatives to course management systems; real-time data, maps, and mobiles; backchannels and alternative communication tools; students who do research in their fields; and any technology or practice that shows promise for engaging students and supporting subversive teaching and learning. Proposals are encouraged under any of these or related themes.
Invitation to visit University of Pacific in Second Life
Posted September 5th, 2008 by Alan LevineOne of the NMC Virtual Worlds projects this year was construction of the virtual campus for the University of the Pacific which included a mixture of replication of campus structures, such as Burns Tower, and creation of new spaces which only exist on the virtual campus.
Since the ribbons were cut May 7, 2008, faculty and staff at the University have been busy using the space and developing new applications for therr virtual learning space.
They are inviting you to learn more about their Second Life campus and how it has already been put to use in this new machinima video:
Virtual Learning Prizes Awarded
Posted July 9th, 2008 by Alan LevineThe New Media Consortium (NMC) has announced the 2008 cohort of Virtual Learning Prize (VLP) awardees. The NMC Virtual Learning Prize, part of a $100,000 competitive program of awards, is intended to create a collection of innovative open-source learning experiences that make use of the unique attributes of a virtual learning environment.
The NMC Virtual Learning Prize is envisioned as a way to surface and realize creative ideas for how to make optimal use of a virtual setting, using a process that provides recognition, financial incentives, professional development services, and a return for education as a whole.
NMC Announces $100,000 in Virtual Learning Prizes
Posted May 15th, 2008 by NMCThe New Media Consortium (NMC) announced today the call for proposals for the 2008-09 NMC Virtual Learning Prize, a $100,000 competitive program of awards intended to create a collection of innovative open-source learning experiences that make use of the unique attributes of a virtual learning environment. (See the press release.)
As many as 20 NMC Virtual Learning Prizes will be awarded in 2008. Each of the US$5,000 awards will provide a cash incentive paid to the awardee of $500 as well as $4,500 in expert development assistance from the NMC Virtual Worlds team to create the learning experience. The range of inworld services available to awardees to actualize the proposed ideas includes professional building, scripting, design, animation, avatar design, and/or related services.
NMC CEO Larry Johnson Metanomics Interview
Posted May 5th, 2008 by Alan Levine
On Friday April 25, NMC CEO Larry Johnson was a guest interviewee for the Metanomics series, the weekly live show that takes place in, and is broadcast live from Second Life.
As part of an event atClever Zebra's vBusiness Expo, in this interview, Metanomics host Robert Bloomfield asked Larry about the NMC's Virtual worlds programs and then discussed more on Larry's recent experience testifying before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the US Congress.
You can also find an audio recording of this interview plus soon a transcript, at http://metanomics.net/larry-johnson
Immersive Worlds: A New Home Campus?
Posted April 6th, 2008 by longpdI created this four page handout for a talk on Immersive Worlds given at the 2008 University Continuing Education Association conference.
UCEA Handout (PDF 10.2 Mb)
FIT hosts conference "Teaching and Learning in Four Dimensions"
The Fashion Institute of Technology is hosting a "Technology Day" conference, "Teaching and Learning in Four Dimensions" on friday, April 25. The conference is on the intersection of teaching, learning and technology, with a special focus on 3d technology and virtual worlds in the fashion industries. Guest speakers include W. James Au , Louise Guay of My Virtual Model , Shenlei Winkler , and Elaine Polvinen. Click here for more information and to register.
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NMC Launches Open Virtual Worlds Project
Posted February 24th, 2008 by Larry JohnsonToday the New Media Consortium (NMC) announced a $250,000 two-year collaboration with Sun Microsystems to launch the Open Virtual Worlds Project, an effort that is aimed at making it easier to learn, work, and exchange ideas in virtual space. The project will develop a range of standards-based, portable open-source educational spaces, content, and objects, and use them to extend Sun Microsystems’s open source Project Darkstar and Project Wonderland virtual world platforms.
Fantasy Regnant (2007 NMC Summer Conference Opening Keynote)
Posted June 21st, 2007 by NMC
For years, gaming technology has been considered an area of opportunity for universities. Edward will argue that the opportunity phase has passed, that we will now be forced to adapt to the new world that digital fantasy gaming is creating. That new world is more than 3D; more than immersive; more than online; more than entertainment; more than communication. It is all of those things, and one thing more, a new source of Meaning - a critical contribution of the games industry, very little noticed. All together synthetic worlds make a new frontier, and frontiers dramatically disrupt the old world. Edward will talk about how the new world, with its new maps of meaning, will reshape society within a generation.
NMC Joins Immersive Education Initiative to Advance Virtual Learning
Posted June 7th, 2007 by Larry JohnsonDuring the NMC Summer Conference today the New Media Consortium (NMC) announced that it has joined the Media Grid’s Immersive Education initiative to participate in the development of best practices and standards for virtual learning and game-based learning platforms. NMC is an international consortium of over 250 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. NMC member institutions are found in almost every state in the United States, across Canada, and in Europe, Asia and Australia. Among the consortium’s membership are an elite list of the most highly regarded colleges and universities in the world, innovative museums, research centers, foundations, and forward-thinking companies.
