Success of the First Annual Second Life Virtual Education Fair
Written by Snow Scarmon
Early last fall I sent out an invitation to participate in the College/University Fair in the exhibit area at Community Virtual Library on Info Island.
As I said then, this past year has seen an explosion of new educational centers of all kinds. Some real world schools have a SL campus; other schools may operate entirely in SL. Several schools offer classes both in SL and at a physical campus. What I hoped to see happen is that by providing a space free of charge to gather we would help build a social network for those interested in the future of virtual worlds as a learning environment and as a global information resource.
SL has many residents interested in learning more about schools in SL and many schools interested in reaching residents, but the scope of SL can make it difficult if not impossible for people to connect to the institutions. The goal of this fair was to connect people with educators they might not otherwise meet. In the original plan the display space would be available from November 16th to 30th, but as it turned out we have been fortunate that the displays have been allowed to stay up until the next exhibit is ready.
I am constantly surprised by the number of locations with a small cluster of schools that may be aware of one or two other groups but are unaware of the dozens of other learning centers scattered throughout SL. Many SL programs have similar goals, and the open exchange of ideas between groups and programs can support achievements that might not be possible alone. This fair offered a low risk opportunity for schools to share information with the public and with each other.
It went surprising well considering that I started with an idea but no clear plan for explaining idea to others. I found that people were interested but unsure what to expect, and hesitant to make the commitment to participate. Slowly the fair started to take shape and I went from being worried that there would be empty spaces to not having enough room to accommodate all the last minute requests.
These small successes are encouraging and give me reason to think that next year’s Second Life Virtual Education Fair will be bigger and better.
Be sure and mark your calendar now - November 17-30, 2012. Smile
Participants:
As I said then, this past year has seen an explosion of new educational centers of all kinds. Some real world schools have a SL campus; other schools may operate entirely in SL. Several schools offer classes both in SL and at a physical campus. What I hoped to see happen is that by providing a space free of charge to gather we would help build a social network for those interested in the future of virtual worlds as a learning environment and as a global information resource.
SL has many residents interested in learning more about schools in SL and many schools interested in reaching residents, but the scope of SL can make it difficult if not impossible for people to connect to the institutions. The goal of this fair was to connect people with educators they might not otherwise meet. In the original plan the display space would be available from November 16th to 30th, but as it turned out we have been fortunate that the displays have been allowed to stay up until the next exhibit is ready.
I am constantly surprised by the number of locations with a small cluster of schools that may be aware of one or two other groups but are unaware of the dozens of other learning centers scattered throughout SL. Many SL programs have similar goals, and the open exchange of ideas between groups and programs can support achievements that might not be possible alone. This fair offered a low risk opportunity for schools to share information with the public and with each other.
It went surprising well considering that I started with an idea but no clear plan for explaining idea to others. I found that people were interested but unsure what to expect, and hesitant to make the commitment to participate. Slowly the fair started to take shape and I went from being worried that there would be empty spaces to not having enough room to accommodate all the last minute requests.
These small successes are encouraging and give me reason to think that next year’s Second Life Virtual Education Fair will be bigger and better.
Be sure and mark your calendar now - November 17-30, 2012. Smile
Participants:
- Algonquin Collegecollege fair algonquin
- Community Virtual Library
- Faculty of Information & Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
- Johnson and Wales University
- Rockcliffe Universitycollege fair rockcliffe
- San Jose State University
- University of Hawaii
- University of Patrascollege fair patris
- University of San Francisco
- SUNY Empire State College
- Texas Woman’s University
- University of Washingtoncollege
- VWBPE (Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education) Conference 2012
