Wednesday April 9th, 2014 marks the start of the 7th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) conference, which will be taking place in both Second Life and OS Grid.
The theme for this year’s event is Connections, and as I’ve previously covered, it will include a series of keynote speakers and a series of panel discussions across the four days of the conference, and more besides.
To help spread the word / remind people of the event, Mal Burns has published a promotional video on You Tube.
Full details on conference events can be found on the VWBPE conference calendar. However, for ease-of-reference, here’s a quick rundown of the keynote speakers and the discussion panels:
Wednesday April 9th
- 13:00 SLT – opening keynote: Philip Rosedale, CEO High Fidelity Closing the Gap: Virtual Reality & Education at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life.
Thursday April 10th
- 07:00 SLT – keynote: Justin Clark-Casey, President OpenSimulator umbrella Overte Foundation Connections in an Open Place at the VWBPE Main Auditorium, OSGrid.
- 08:05-09:05 SLT – panel discussion: OpenSimulator’s Role in the Future of Virtual Worlds Research and Education at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 10:05 SLT – keynote: Maria Korolov, Editor in Chief, Hypergrid Business The Coming 3D Future Shock at the VWBPE Main Auditorium, OSGrid
- 14::00-15:50 SLT – panel discussion: Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable: A Best Practices Influence at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life.
Friday April 11th
- 07:00 SLT – keynote: Andrew Hughes, CEO Designing Using Virtual Worlds and Gamification to Enhance Learning at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 09:00–10:50 SLT – panel discussion: The Science Circle: Connecting Different Disciplines, and Inspiring Creativity and Inventiveness at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 13:00 SLT – keynote: Ebbe Altberg, CEO Linden Lab Reconnecting with the Education Market at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
Saturday April 12th
- 07:00 SLT – keynote: David Gibson, Associate Professor at Curtin University in Perth, Australia Design Implications of Game-Based Analyses at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 09:00-10:50 SLT – panel discussion: Connecting the Past, Present, and Future of Second Life
at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 13:00 SLT – closing keynote: Dr. Larysa Nadolny, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University “There’s always room for a virtual zipline”, and other lessons from SciEthics Interactive at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life
- 16:00-15:50 SLT – panel discussion: The Freedom Project: How Artistic Expression Transcends Real Life Challenges at the VWBPE Central Auditorium, Second Life.
Notes on Attending
The VWBPE conference is free to attend, and those wishing to do so in-world should register via the conference registration page on Eventbrite. Attendees will also need accounts for both Second Life and OSgrid in order to attend all events on both grids.
Useful Links
- VWBPE website
- VWBPE ticket page (in-world attendance)
- VWBPE 2014 calendar
- VWBPE Watch Live (when the conference is running)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
So looking forward to this. Wish I could be in world for more of the events, but at least I should be able to watch the stream for some of them.
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Next Connective #vwbpe #vwbpe14 Step >
#iED Immersive Education Initiative “Education Grid” Requirement Specifications http://ht.ly/vy6h5
Second Life Fails to Comply!
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As far as I can ascertain from an admittedly quicly look through them, those specifications are a) draft; b) inclusive of SL and other grid-based VWs. SL is even given as an illustrative example.
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