IMAGINATION: Creating the Future of Education and Work
http://creatingthefuturetoday.com/
IMAGINATION: Creating the Future of Education and Work
The research and field work covered in this project began in January 2009. Rather than publishing results as a book or white paper, both of which are one-sided approaches to a subject that demands a conversation, an interactive site was chosen as the format.
| The Culture of Games | Inside the “Virtual Cave” | Immersive Training Spaces | Worlds Disappearing | Hybrid Education | A Modern Classroom | Learning from Robots | Collapsing Time and Distance | Creating Avatars | A New Way to See | Social Media | Media Trend | Flip Thinking | The Cloud | Learning Experiments | Finding Epic Meaning | Focus on STEM | Charter Schools | Quest to Learn | Creativity & Agility | Empathy & Vision | The Future of Work | Beating the Talent Mismatch | Workflow | Creating Jobs | Here I Stand | The Economic Machine | Grants |
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Virtual Economies in Virtual Worlds
http://scr.bi/hWSmsU
Virtual Economies in Virtual Worlds
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Open File Formats Technology Working Group
http://mediagrid.org/groups/technology/OFF.TWG/
Open File Formats Technology Working Group
The Open File Formats Technology Working Group (OFF.TWG) is responsible for defining, evolving and maintaining open, platform-neutral file formats that enable learning objects and experiences to be seamlessly deployed across Immersive Education technology platforms.
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3D/VR Format Unveiled by Immersive Education Initiative
http://www.youtube.com/ImmersiveED#p/u/0/cMhBiu0YJ3s
"Create Once, Experience Everywhere" 3D/VR Format Unveiled by Immersive Education Initiative
http://bit.ly/exvO4A
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Metaverse Standards Overview
http://www.metaversestandards.org/
Metaverse Standards Overview
The Metaverse Standards group is focused on developing the standards for virtual world environments.
The first phase is documenting all the currently known components and technical processes of a virtual world, identify standards that already exist for sub components, identify standards already in development that are addressing these requirements and finally identify the components from this list that should be included in a common metaverse standard.
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Journal of Virtual Worlds and Education
http://jvwe.org/
Journal of Virtual Worlds and Education
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Learning From Online Worlds
http://learningfromsocialworlds.wordpress.com/
Learning From Online Worlds; Teaching In Second Life was a research project at the London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London. The project was funded by the Eduserv Foundation. The team worked part-time on the project from June 2007 to May 2008.
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How Meeting In Second Life Transformed IBMs Technology Elit
http://bit.ly/9a2B5W
How Meeting In Second Life Transformed IBM’s Technology Elite Into Virtual World Believers (pdf) case study.
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Second Life Success Stories ... Case Sudies
http://work.secondlife.com/en-US/successstories/
Second Life Success Stories ... Case Sudies
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Second Life Educational Institutions and Case Studies
http://education.secondlife.com/successstories/
Second Life Educational Institutions and Case Studies
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Governance in Virtual Worlds
http://bit.ly/91peVV
Governance in Virtual Worlds
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Why Virtual-World Economies Matter
http://jvwresearch.org/index.php?_cms=1267120875
Why Virtual-World Economies Matter
In this special edition on virtual-world goods and trade, we are pleased to present articles from a global cohort of contributors covering a wide range of issues.
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Can avatars change the way we think and act?
http://www.physorg.com/news186342108.html
Can avatars change the way we think and act?
Researchers found that study participants who saw their own avatars running were more likely to exercise after they left the lab than participants who saw someone else's avatar exercising or saw themselves hanging out in a virtual room.
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Metaverses and 3D environments
http://bit.ly/bW7YaU
Metaverses and 3D environments
Conclusions of the work group Metaverses and 3D environments
This Work Team aimed to receive insights from different perspectives about the uses and possibilities of Virtual Worlds and 3D Environments.
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Virtual Environments Enable New Models of Learning
http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world
Virtual Environments Enable New Models of Learning
Hundreds of leading universities and school systems around the world use Second Life as a vibrant part of their educational programs.
Linden Lab works enthusiastically with education organizations to familiarize them with the benefits of virtual worlds, connect them with educational peers active in Second Life, and showcase their inworld projects and communities.
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IBM Case Study Showcases Value of Meeting Inworld
https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/workinginworld/blog/2009/02
IBM Case Study Showcases Value of Meeting Inworld
Well, if you've ever needed real proof that working inworld works, here it is.
We released a joint IBM/Linden Lab case study entitled, "How Meeting In Second Life Transformed IBM’s Technology Elite Into Virtual World Believers."
It details two IBM Academy of Technology events that were held inworld that were not only extremely successful, but also saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel and meeting costs. Plus, the teams had the opportunity to meet colleagues across the globe, socialize, and network, too.
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Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds
http://bit.ly/aHg44A
After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds
The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Using Second Life for Medical Education
http://www.jmir.org/2010/1/e1/
Learning in a Virtual World: Experience With Using Second Life for Medical Education
The results of this pilot suggest that virtual worlds offer tremendous opportunity to provide a space for constructivist learning at its best and to enhance learning outcomes beyond that provided by traditionally designed CME courses.
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SL improves Test Scores
http://tr.im/rReP
Case Study: Loyalist College Massively Improves Test Scores and Training Outcomes Using Second Life
In this new case study, entitled, “Virtual World Simulation Training Prepares Real Guards on the US-Canadian Border: Loyalist College in Second Life,” we explore how training simulations in Second Life directly result in improved test scores and directly apply to real-world on-the-job performance. The real result? A safer border.
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Train for Success: Archive of SL Meetings
http://tr.im/oeS3
"Train for Success" is a series of weekly meetings held in Second Life ... these meetings are usually a presentation about new initiatives and research in Virtual Worlds (not just Second Life)
Archives (video and Audio) and details of past and future meetings can be found at this website.
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The i-web Singularity Redux
http://tr.im/oeOr
The i-web Singularity Redux
Four vectors are on a collision to creat the i-web: Immersive, Interactive, Immediate and Intuitive.
When this world-wide, three-dimensional, avatar-mediated Cognosphere emerges we will truly reach a singularity: a point where technological progress reaches infinity as it relates to leveraging and enabling human capital.
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eTeaching in Second Life
http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/66169/
Learning archetypes as tool of Cybergogy for a 3D educational landscape: a structure for eTeaching in Second Life
This paper considers issues of validity and credibility of eTeaching using a 3D Virtual World as a delivery medium of eLearning pertaining to the transfer of authentic real life skills. It identifies the game like qualities perceived therein, recognising that these very attributes may, when experienced superficially, be a contributing factor to the potential educational demise of the platform.
It goes on to examine traditional educational theories in the light of the affordances of a virtual world seeking to adapt and apply them to the construction of a new conceptual framework of a pedagogy reflecting the affordances and understanding of on-line learning which incorporates the implementation of Learning Archetypes (models of activities) to maximise the essence of a virtual world, in as much as it is able to facilitate learning experiences delimited by physical world constraints.
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IBM Case Study Report (pdf)
http://tinyurl.com/bgu9vr
IBM Case Study Report
How Meeting In Second Life Transformed IBM’s Technology Elite Into Virtual World Believers
After holding the Virtual World Conference and the Annual General Meeting in Second Life, the AoT agrees that virtual worlds will have a big impact on business, on IBM, and IBM’s clients.
And, the best way to learn about virtual worlds is to use them—which IBM is now committed to doing.
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Serious Virtual Worlds report (Nov 2008)
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/seriousvirtualworldsreport.aspx
Serious Virtual Worlds report
The Serious Virtual Worlds report focuses on virtual worlds for educational uses, and explores the ‘serious’ – as opposed to leisure-based – uses of virtual worlds.
The aim of the report then is two-fold: to provide a context for learning practitioners and policy makers, aiding with their understanding of virtual worlds and how they can be selected and used in tertiary education; and to highlight how learners, through greater empowerment, may play a different and enriched role in the process of forming collaborative learning experiences and engaging in activities which may support their own learning and meta-reflection.
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Virtual Worlds Research from Forrester
http://tinyurl.com/csf9ok
Virtual Worlds Research from Forrester
Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.
Forrester works with professionals in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, consumer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs.
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K Zero
http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?page_id=2092
K Zero is a virtual worlds consultancy. We are specialists in connecting real worlds brands and companies with the residents and environments of virtual worlds.
Since 2006 we have been examining and assessing the drivers affecting virtual world adoption and the marketing opportunities presented by the metaverse.
There are some excellent visuals on the website showing "Virtual Worlds by Sector" and "Virtual Worlds registered Accounts"
K Zero is the industry-leader in understanding the marketing dynamics relating to virtual worlds. This includes the analysis of virtual world populations, usage analysis of residents inside these worlds as well as examination of marketing strategies for brand owners.
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Real Growth in The Virtual World
http://allvirtual.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/real-growth-in-the-virtual-world/
Real Growth in The Virtual World
With a recession stifling business activity across the globe, what economy is expected to generate growth in 2009? The virtual world economy, of course! I believe that with consumers affording less these days, they’ll naturally spend an increasing amount of time online (in social networks and virtual worlds) and in video games.
Consider the following chart from Linden Lab ....
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2008 Educators in Second Life Survey
http://www.nmc.org/news/nmc/2008-sl-survey
NMC Publishes Results of 2008 Educators in Second Life Survey
In May of 2008, the NMC conducted its second annual survey of educators in Second Life, provided as a yearly snapshot of the demographics and activities of educators who are active in Second Life.
A link to the survey was sent to by email to individuals within the NMC's Second Life communities and to the Second Life Educators Listserv (SLED).
This year, 358 individuals responded to the survey, a 170% increase from the number who answered our 2007 survey.
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UK Higher and Further Edu developments in Second Life
http://www.eduserv.org.uk/foundation/sl/uksnapshot102008
An autumn 2008 "snapshot" of UK Higher and Further Education developments in Second Life
This report summarises an investigation into the use and uptake of Second Life (SL) by UK Higher and Further Education. The research, carried out in the period up until October 2008, had four main goals:
-to determine the "state of play" of SL developments within the Higher and Further Education sector,
-to discover how these developments are supported, in terms of time, funding and other resources,
-to explore the functionality of these developments, i.e. which types of media or interactive service they incorporate,
-to establish how "busy", or well-used, the developments have been and discover any impacts resulting from their implementation and use.
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Training Simulation Improves Test Scores
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/09/simulating-succ.html
Simulating Success: SL-to-RL Border Guard Training Simulation Improves Test Scores By 28%
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Metaverse Roadmap
http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/
Metaverse Roadmap
Key info you should know about the 3D and virtual future, now to 2025.
What happens when video games meet Web 2.0? When virtual worlds meet geospatial maps of the planet? When simulations get real and life and business go virtual? When you use a virtual Earth to navigate the physical Earth, and your avatar becomes your online agent? What happens is the metaverse.
Taking its name from the immersive virtual world imagined by Neal Stephenson in his visionary novel, Snow Crash, the Metaverse Roadmap (MVR) is the first public ten-year forecast and visioning survey of 3D Web technologies, applications, markets, and potential social impacts.
Areas of exploration include the convergence of Web applications with networked computer games and virtual worlds, the use of 3D creation and animation tools in virtual environments, digital mapping, artificial life, and the underlying trends in hardware, software, connectivity, business innovation and social adoption that will drive the transformation of the World Wide Web in the coming decade.
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The Student User Experience in Second Life
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~sanchez/
The Student User Experience in Second Life
Collaboration in Virtual Worlds - The Educators Coop
Avatar Priming and Social Stereotypes
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Three Steps to Encourage Corporate Investment in VWs
Gartner Identifies Three Steps to Encourage Corporate Investment in Virtual Worlds
Gartner Identifies Three Steps to Encourage Corporate Investment in Virtual Worlds
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Jackie Fenn, Gartner VP
http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/08/qa-jackie-fenn.html
Jackie Fenn, Gartner VP and Fellow, on Public Virtual Worlds and the Hype Cycle
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Gartner Report
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=503861
Gartner Says 80 Percent of Active Internet Users Will Have A "Second Life" in the Virtual World by the End of 2011
Analysts Identify the Five Laws for Virtual Worlds During Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2007 Emerging Trends, Analysts Say IT Leaders Must Take the Initiative to Innovate
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Intute
http://tinyurl.com/6qesvd
Intute is a free online service providing you with access to the very best Web resources for education and research.
The service is created by a network of UK universities and partners.
Subject specialists select and evaluate the websites in our database and write high quality descriptions of the resources.
The database contains over 120,000 records.
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Second Life Researcher Resources
http://tinyurl.com/45x2sr
Second Life Researcher Resources
Presentation ... Second Life Researcher Resources PF Anderson, pfa@umich.edu a.k.a. Perplexity “Lexi” Peccable (SL)
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Medicine and Heath : Second Life
http://tinyurl.com/5cxdog
Medicine and Heath : Second Life ... simulations research
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The SaLamander Project
http://www.eduisland.net/salamanderwiki/
The SaLamander Project
The SaLamander Wiki - a folksonomy of practical and theoretical applications, builds and designs in the Virtual World of Second Life for the purposes of teaching and learning.
The project mission is to enlist people to collaborate to find, index, and discuss aspects of the 3D Virtual World "Second Life" that has educational value and share in the research, development, and training opportunities associated with those factors. Please register and contribute to the growing index of useful teaching and learning sites in the SaLamander Wiki!
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Emerging “Best Practices” for Campus Builds in SL (pdf)
http://tinyurl.com/69u8xh
Emerging “Best Practices” for Campus
Builds in Second Life ... pdf file
As educators begin to explore the affordances
of Second Life for teaching, learning, and
research, new institutions look to the early
adopters of the technology for examples of
best practices as they plan their own foray into the environment.
To that end, researchers atthe University of Cincinnati performed an observational study of educational institutions in Second Life to provide a benchmark of current practices. From this study, a set of commonalities across educational institutions with a land presence in Second Life began to emerge.
The observational study was conducted upon
the 51 institutions found to have a land
presence in Second Life, with 102 unique
variables collected about each institution.
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SL Research Group on Diigo
http://groups.diigo.com/groups/second-life-research
SL Research Group on Diigo
The purpose of this group is to collect resources on educational uses of Second Life/Teen Second Life.
This group is a repository of materials discussing specific projects, approaches, and research on virtual worlds in education.
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Virtual Worlds by Sector
http://tinyurl.com/668lq3
Virtual Worlds by Sector ... a single graphics .. nicely done.
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Virtual Worlds white papers, guides and reports
http://cleverzebra.com/knowledge
Virtual Worlds white papers, guides and reports
Published by Clever Zebra ... a new kind of company. We live and work in virtual worlds, and in fact have never met in the physical world.
We operate from the US, Canada and Denmark. Our "office" is a connection to the 3D web.
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Second Life and VW Research papers
http://socialnets.wikispaces.com/Papers-Research
Second Life and VW Research papers ... listed at the Social Networking wiki
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Slrl -- Second Life Research Listserv
http://list.academ-x.com/listinfo.cgi/slrl-academ-x.com
Slrl -- Second Life Research Listserv
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GROOVE
http://groups.google.com/group/groovegroup
GROOVE - Graduate Researchers Of Online Virtual Environments
The GROOVE group promotes the sharing of resources and experiences, enables discussion and networking, and build community amongst postgraduate (Masters, Doctoral or similar) researchers of online virtual environments.
We welcome current or past students, or those intending to study in this area.
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Virtual Human Interaction Lab
http://vhil.stanford.edu/
Virtual Human Interaction Lab
The mission of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab is to understand the dynamics and implications of interactions among people in immersive virtual reality simulations (VR), and other forms of human digital representations in media, communication systems, and games.
Researchers in the lab are most concerned with understanding the social interaction that occurs within the confines of VR, and the majority of our work is centered on using empirical, behavioral science methodologies to explore people as they interact in these digital worlds.
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ARVEL SIG
http://www.arvelsig.com/
Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning Special Interest Group (ARVEL SIG)
Affiliated with the American Educational Research Association http://aera.net
The mission of the ARVEL Special Interest Group is, "to steward a robust community of educators, scholars, and practitioners dedicated toward research in and on virtual 3D environments.
Using a variety of research methods, we support a diverse approach to understanding the optimal use of virtual worlds and environments for educational purposes.
We're interested in developing a comprehensive research agenda intended to encompass the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances, challenges, and shortcomings of immersive virtual learning environments."
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Criminal Law in Virtual Worlds
http://tinyurl.com/6z3kmv
Criminal Law in Virtual Worlds
When does conduct by an online player in a virtual world game trigger liability for a real-world crime? In the future, will new criminal laws be needed to account for new social harms that occur in virtual worlds?
This short essay considers both questions.
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User Acceptance of Second Life
http://www.fetscherin.com/UserAcceptanceVirtualWorlds.htm
User Acceptance of Second Life ...
An Explorative Study about Second Life
Our report assesses the user acceptance of Virtual Worlds, specifically Second Life. By means of a survey with almost 250 respondents this report provides first empirical results of the user acceptance of Second Life. The data has been gathered during spring 2007.
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