Category: Events

VWBPE 2014: panels announced

Posted on by Inara Pey

2014 banner

The seventh Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) conference, taking place in both Second Life and OSgrid, will commence at 11:00 SLT on Wednesday April 9th, 2014 with an informal meet and greet between 12:00 and 13:00, and will close on Saturday April 12th with a special ceremony at 18:00 SLT, followed by a party at 19:00 SLT.

On March 9th, I provided coverage of the keynote speakers announcement. At that time, Ebbe Atlberg’s keynote address hasn’t been defined, however, this has now changed. The keynote is titled Reconnecting with the Education Market, and is described as sharing his initial thoughts on “the importance of supporting educational use of Second Life, the company’s interest in rebuilding and strengthening the connection between Linden Lab and the community of educators using the platform”, and will primarily comprise a brief opening statement so that the majority of his time can be devoted to a Q&A / discussion.

As well as the keynote speakers, VWBPE have also released details on the key panel discussions taking place over the course of the conference. These are:

Thursday April 10th

08:05-09:05 SLT: OpenSimulator’s Role in the Future of Virtual Worlds Research and Education

A discussion of OpenSim’s education community and AvaCon’s contributions to education and research, especially in regards to how the OpenSimulator Community Conference has been a powerful tool for this advancement.

Panelists: Joyce Bettencourt RL/Rhiannon Chatnoir SL, Chris Collins RL/Fleep Tuque SL, Crista Lopes RL/Diva Canto SL, Melanie Thielker RL/Melanie Milland SL, Michael Cerquoni RL/Nebadon Izumi SL.

Location: Second Life VWBPE Main Auditorium.

14::00-15:50 SLT: Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable: A Best Practices Influence

A discussion on the kinds of trends that the VWER has seen over the course of its existence, and to what extent it may have influenced and advanced best practices in the use of virtual worlds for education. The connections established by the group have bonded a band of educators that share ideas weekly, and it is the persistent popularity of these meetings that make it such a noteworthy group in Second Life.

Panelists: Evelyn McElhinney RL/Kali Pizzaro SL, AJ Kelton RL/AJ Brooks SL, Shailey Minocha RL/Shailey Garfield SL.

Location: Second Life VWBPE Main Auditorium.

Friday April 11th

09:00–10:50 SLT: The Science Circle: Connecting Different Disciplines, and Inspiring Creativity and Inventiveness

The Science Circle consists of over 200 scientists, educators, entrepreneurs, and students on four continents. The VWBPE Panel will share the story of its development and the challenges faced and overcome in establishing a functional and lasting community with members of diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Panelist: Chantal Snoek RL / Nymf Hathaway (Chantal) SL, Jesse Stannard RL / Jes Cobalt SL, Phil Youngblood RL / Vic Michalak SL, Hajime Nishimura RL / Yan Lauria SL, Steven Van Hook RL / Kip Roffo SL, Deepthinker Oh RL/SL.

Location: Second Life VWBPE Main Auditorium.

Saturday April 12th

09:00-10:50 SLT: Connecting the Past, Present, and Future of Second Life

“It is the essence of good management that an effective advisory board, properly composed and structured, provide informed guidance in the quest for superior corporate governance. That includes opportunities to seek out dissenting viewpoints that challenge the status quo and forces executives, and board members, to re-evaluate long-held beliefs which may be holding back growth and profitability. Third party expert opinion provides a safe harbour which new executives can realise new opportunities without being prejudiced by internal politics.”

The objective of this panel is to develop a position paper which can help guide and inform Linden Lab’s new CEO on the opportunities, risks, cost benefits, and potential returns on investment based on a thoughtful analysis of the issues facing our communities of practice.

Panelists: Botgirl Questi SL, Will Burns RL/Aeonix Aeon SL, Terry Beaubois RL/Tab Scott SL, Kevin Feenan RL/Phelan Corrimal SL.

Location: Second Life VWBPE Main Auditorium.

16:00-15:50 SLT: The Freedom Project: How Artistic Expression Transcends Real Life Challenges

The purpose of this panel is to discuss how The Freedom Project helped spotlight artistic expression for people with invisible illnesses or other disabilities. Through this effort, people who have real life challenges can develop a connection to a community and be able to transcend real life challenges.

Panelists: Jay Jay Jegathesan RL/Jayjay Zifanwe SL, Alice Krueger RL/Gentle Heron SL, FreeWee Ling SL, Dianne Elton SL.

Location: Second Life VWBPE Main Auditorium.

Notes on Attending

The VWBPE conference is free to attend, and those wishing to do so 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.

Follow-up Course

The main conference will be followed by a 3-week Massively Open Online Course (MOOC). This is intended to highlight examples of educational design from many immersive environments. In the past, presentations have included environments such as Club Penguin, Eve Online, World of Warcraft, Spot on 3D, inWorldz, Sococo, and a host of other virtual platforms. Details on the MOOC are generally posted to the VWBPE MOOC website, although information on the activities for 2014 have yet to be posted – check the main VWBPE website for updates.

Related Links

With thanks to Bevan Whitfield

Seanchai turns six!

Posted on by Inara Pey

seanchai 6I’ve been covering the events at Seanchai library SL for the last couple of years, providing a weekly overview of their upcoming events to tie-in with their own preview published weekly on the Seanchai Library blog.

Times mean I don’t often get to attend events in person, although I’ve attended a number of special events co-hosted or organised by Seanchai, such as The Dickens Project (Storyfests SL) and The War of the Worlds, and I can as a result, recommended all of the Library’s events, and those of Storyfest SL.

However, Thursday March 27th marks a very special date in the Seanchai Library calendar, being the official celebration of the Library’s sixth anniversary, as Caladonia Skytower explains:

In 2008 our founder, Derry McMahon, founded the West of Ireland Library and Cultural Center into what would become the Seanchai Library.  Who knew?  Thousands of stories and thousands of hours later, Seanchai Library can be proud of six years of bringing stories of all kinds to life in Second Life through live voice presentations.

To mark the event, members of the Library, past and present, are gathering at the Library’s headquarters on Imagination Island,  and an open invitation is extended to all who enjoy the spoken word in Second Life to attend.

The Seanchai Library
The Seanchai Library

Related Links

 

A festival of tales, travels around fairylands and anniversary celebrations

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library SL, together with Storyfest 2014.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday March 23rd,11:00-17:00: Storyfest IV 2014

storyfest-2014Join members of Seanchai Library and storytellers from across Second Life in a special celebration of the spoken at the Story Circle in Bran, in aid of War Child North America. The day of storytelling will feature 30-minutes sets by some of SL’s most well-know storytellers:

  • 11:00: Dubhna Rhiadra
  • 11:30: Shandon Loring
  • 12:00 noon: Crap Mariner
  • 12:30: Lycanthia Wolfhunter
  • 13:00: Break
  • 13:30: Luna Branwen
  • 14:00: Corwyn Allen
  • 14:30: Caledonia Skytower
  • 15:00: BigRed Coyote
  • 15:30: Kaikilani
  • 16:00: Singh Albatros

Monday 24th March, 19:00 – From an Alien Point of View

When humans interact with aliens who are actually alien, we run into the fact that we’re as weird to them as they are to us. This can cause the most remarkable misunderstandings. More thought-provoking sci-fi from the collection of Gyro Muggins.

Tuesday March 25th, 19:00: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

FairylandFaery Maven Pralou reads from Catherynne M. Valente’s tale about twelve-year-old September. Living in Omaha, she has a very ordinary life until her father goes to war and her mother goes. leaving her at home on her own.

One day, she is visited by a Green Wind who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland, where the new Marquess, of about the same age as September, is unpredictable and fickle.

This Green Wind tells September that only she can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t, then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. And so begins an extraordinary adventure, which sees September travelling through Fairyland, accompanied by a book-loving dragon, and a boy named Saturday …

Wednesday March 26th, 19:00: Tír na nÓg

Tir-Na-nogTír na nÓg (“Land of the Young”) is, in Irish folklore and mythology, one of the names of the “otherworld”, in part a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. It is also the title of the first volume of Marni L.B. Troop’s The Heart of Ireland Journals.

In looks, the Faerie are folk little different to humans, other than their pointed ears, although they are vastly different in other ways, and Casey is a princess among them.

She is horrified when a stranger from Iberia arrives on the shores of Ireland, home of the Faerie, believing them to be the gods of his people, but the kings of the Faerie respond to his overtures by having him slaughtered.

Thus the Faerie kings bring down the vengeance of the Iberian people upon their own folk, and war comes to their land. Caught in the middle, and herself in love with an Iberian called Amergin, Casey tries to find a way to bring peace between the two peoples so that they might live together. Unfortunately for her and her beloved, things do not go as she had hoped.

Join Caledonia as she continues reading this intriguing faerie tale.

Thursday March 27th

16:00: First Nation Tales

Caledonia Skytower and Dubhna Rhiadra sit down to bring us more native tales from the first peoples of the North American continent.

Drawing on  number of sources and resources, Cale and Dubna have, over the years, drawn together collections of stories and legends from across a number of First Nation tribes, including the Zuni, Omaha, Paiute, and Hopi as well as legends from Kwaikutlsome in Western Canada. Some of these stories have been published, others of which have come from the long tradition of the spoken word, with archetypal tales handed down through successive generations.

“We have everything from Raven stealing the moon, to how Winter and Summer came to be, and the Creation of Corn,” Cale says of the stories. “The thing I like about them, is the imagery and the “themes” are almost Aesopian. They are all lesson/moral/cautionary tales.”

Join Cale and Dubhna as they delve into this treasure chest of tales and legends.

19:00: Seanchai Library’s Sixth Anniversary Celebration

Join staff and members and supports of Seanchai Library SL as they come together to celebrate the Library’s sixth anniversary.

—–

Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for March and April is Project Children: building true and lasting peace in Northern Ireland one child at a time.

Related Links

Winter Games postponed but facilities open

Posted on by Inara Pey
The SL Winter Games bobsleigh run.
The SL Winter Games bobsleigh run.

As much as it pains me to have to say, the Winter Games are being postponed until December of this year. Initially, they had been postponed one week, due to some extenuating circumstances, but after much deliberation, they’ve been moved back to December. To be completely honest, I might have been too ambitious, with my initial date of mid-March. This being my first major event, I might have tried to rush things a bit. But I must say, people have really rallied around this concept, and we have got some really special things to show you for the Games.

So speaks Drewski Northman in announcing the SL Winter Games, about which I first reported back in January, have been postponed until late 2014.

Personally, I think he’s being a little hard on himself in terms of ambitions; putting together an event in SL is a matter of a finger in the air and hoping the prevailing winds favour you – especially when it’s your first crack at a major event. As such, you can plan for months in advance only to have an eleventh-hour upset, or you can put a hugely successful event together in just a few weeks.

The skyborne curling sheet with a surrounding speed skating practice rink
The skyborne curling practice sheet with a surrounding speed skating practice run

As it is, the Games are only postponed  – not cancelled, which means nothing has been lost. Indeed, for those of us in the northern hemisphere at least, the timing is perhaps more appropriate.

An incredible amount of preparatory work has already gone into the Games and their facilities, which everyone involved in the project should take justifiable pride with. There’s curling, speed skating, bobsleigh and snowboarding venues ready to go alongside (and over!) the existing facilities at Chamonix City.

Trying my hand at speed skating - it's fun!
Trying my hand at speed skating on the practice run – it’s fun!

Everything is open to public use, whether you want to get in a spot of early training for the Games, or if you simply want to brush-up on your winter sports either on your own or with friends. There’s even a practice centre for curling and speed skating, and which includes a figure skating rink as well.

Drewski has some shots of the facilities on the blog post announcement, but I’d thought I’d hop over and grab a few of my own. If you’ve not tried any of the activities on offer, I can thoroughly recommend them.

Sunset at the long run speed skating arena
Sunset at the long run speed skating arena

Even with all the work carried out so far, there is more to come, so while the specific dates for the Games have yet to be confirmed, what’s already on offer should more than whet the appetite. So why not go try them out – and perhaps even Contact Drewski or Marianne McCann in-world about entering a community team!

In the meantime, congrats to Drewski, Marianne and the team on all that they have already created!

Giving curling a go in the arena
Giving curling a go in the main arena

It’s another feast of stories at Storyfest!

Posted on by Inara Pey

storyfest-2014Storyfest 2014 arrives a Bran on Sunday, March 23rd, and with it comes a host of storytellers with tales to delight and enthrall.

This year marks the fourth anniversary for this one-day event, presented by Branwen Arts and Stories Unlimited.

“Stories help us feel connect and unique all at the same time.  They can provide both the questions you want, and the answers you seek,” Says Caledonia Skytower, one of the organisers of the event, “At their very core, they delight and inspire.  There’s a mushroom or a rustic bench waiting for you!”

The even will kick-off at the Story Circle in Bran at 11:00 SLT, and all donations made during the course of the day’s events will benefit War Child North America.

Those participating in the event are (all times SLT):

  • 11:00: Dubhna Rhiadra
  • 11:30: Shandon Loring
  • 12:00 noon: Crap Mariner
  • 12:30: Lycanthia Wolfhunter
Some of those taking part in Storyfest 2014 (top left-bottom right): Lycanthia Wolfhunter, Crap Mariner, Dubhna Rhiadra and Caledonia Skytower, Singh Albatros, Kaikilani, Big Red Coyote
Some of those taking part in Storyfest 2014 (top left-bottom right): Lycanthia Wolfhunter, Crap Mariner, Dubhna Rhiadra and Caledonia Skytower, Singh Albatros, Kaikilani, Big Red Coyote
  • 13:30: Luna Branwen
  • 14:00: Corwyn Allen
  • 14:30: Caledonia Skytower
  • 15:00: BigRed Coyote
  • 15:30: Kaikilani
  • 16:00: Singh Albatros

There will be a break in proceedings at around 13:00 SLT, and do note the schedule is subject to possible last-minute revision.

About Storyfest SL

StoryFest Events produces four annual festival events on the Second Life grid: StoryFest (March), Bard on the Virtual Beach (August), BOOFest (October), and The Dickens Project (December).

Of travels to Switzerland and Ireland

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library SL.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday March 16th,13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

Tea-time at Baker Street sees as Caledonia Skytower, Corwyn Allen and Kayden Oconnell reading stories from His Last Bow.

A 1917 anthology of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, His Last Bow originally comprised seven stories published byThe Strand Magazine between 1908 and 1917, but an eighth was added to later editions.

In this episode, Sherlock Holmes steps back from the spotlight as he dispatches John Watson to Lausanne, Switzerland, to investigate The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax.

Unwed, and denied what should be wealthy inheritance, Lady Fairfax is given to writing to her former governess every other week, wherever she may be – but for five weeks, nary a letter has been received, and fearing for her safety, the governess has contacted Sherlock Holmes.

Reaching his destination, Watson learns that Lady Carfax had been ensconced in the Hôtel International for several weeks prior to leaving suddenly, possibly the result of her being hounded by a large, bearded man. Watson also learns that Lady Carfax paid her maid a hefty £50.00 prior to the latter leaving her employ.

Thus the good doctor is faced with a series of riddles to solve: where did Lady Carfax go? Who was the bearded man and is he somehow involved in her disappearance? Why did she pay her maid so handsome a sum? And where did the maid go after leaving her employ?

Find out more by joining Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden!

Monday 17th March, 19:00 – The Quiet Man

quiet-manReleased in 1952, John Ford’s The Quiet Man is regarded as a classic Irish-American romantic comedy / drama. Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara (and assorted members of their RL families!) and Barry Fitzgerald, it is a popular choice among critics and film-lovers.

The screenplay for the film was drawn in a large part from a short story of the same name originally published in 1933 in the Saturday Evening Post, and penned by Irish author, Maurice Welsh. Together with a number of other short stories by Walsh, The Quiet Man was gathered into a single volume of his short stories, The Quiet Man and Other Stories, which dealt with many recurring characters living in rural Ireland of the 1920s, and set against the backdrop of the civil unrest which affected the country at that time, while examining the complexities and occasional intrigues of life, love and Irish traditions.

Join Caledonia Skytower as she reads Walsh’s original tale of The Quiet Man, Paddy Bawn Enright.

Tuesday March 18th, 19:00: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

FairylandFaery Maven Pralou reads from Catherynne M. Valente’s tale about twelve-year-old September. Living in Omaha, she has a very ordinary life until her father goes to war and her mother goes. leaving her at home on her own.

One day, she is visited by a Green Wind who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland, where the new Marquess, of about the same age as September, is unpredictable and fickle.

This Green Wind tells September that only she can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t, then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. And so begins an extraordinary adventure, which sees September travelling through Fairyland, accompanied by a book-loving dragon, and a boy named Saturday …

Wednesday March 19th, 19:00: Tír na nÓg

Tir-Na-nogTír na nÓg (“Land of the Young”) is, in Irish folklore and mythology, one of the names of the “otherworld”, in part a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. It is also the title of the first volume of Marni L.B. Troop’s The Heart of Ireland Journals.

In looks, the Faerie are folk little different to humans, other than their pointed ears, although they are vastly different in other ways, and Casey is a princess among them.

She is horrified when a stranger from Iberia arrives on the shores of Ireland, home of the Faerie, believing them to be the gods of his people, but the kings of the Faerie respond to his overtures by having him slaughtered.

Thus the Faerie kings bring down the vengeance of the Iberian people upon their own folk, and war comes to their land. Caught in the middle, and herself in love with an Iberian called Amergin, Casey tries to find a way to bring peace between the two peoples so that they might live together. Unfortunately for her and her beloved, things do not go as she had hoped.

Join Caladonia as she continues reading this intriguing faerie tale.

Thursday March 20th

16:00: Irish Tales

With Dubhna Rhiadra and Aoife Lorefield

19:00: Haunted Irish Tales

With Shandon Loring.

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

Details still TBA, so please check with the Seanchai Library blog as the week progresses.

—–

Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for March and April is Project Children: building true and lasting peace in Northern Ireland one child at a time.

Related Links