The 2022 Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) conference will be taking place between March 31st and April 2nd inclusive, and both a call for proposals and a call for volunteers to help run things has been issued.
The core schedule of events for the conference has been officially announced, and highlights include (all at the main auditorium and times SLT, unless otherwise stated):
March 31st:
08:00-08:50: Kick-off event at the VWBPE Gateway.
11:00-11:50 SLT: What’s up at the Lab? with Patch Linden and hosted by Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), VWBPE Director; Rockcliffe University Consortium.
April 1st:
08:30-08:50 SLT: Keynote address – Randall Sadler, Professor of Computer-Assisted Language Learning Telecollaboration (incl. Virtual Worlds and Virtual Reality
April 2nd:
18:00-19050 SLT: Closing ceremony.
This might sound like a brief set of highlights, and direct keynote events are limited this year, but the conference more than makes up for this in the range of presentations, workshops and education-focused Above the Book sessions that are to be held – so be sure to check out the schedule in full.
Call For Volunteers
Volunteers are still being sought to help with the conference. The organisers are looking for people willing to get involved in the following areas:
Event hosts.
Mentors.
Steaming support.
Technical support.
Those wishing to give of their time should visit the volunteer page and look at the tabs and then click on the volunteer button.
About VWBPE
VWBPE is a global grass-roots community event focusing on education in immersive virtual environments which attracts over 2,000 educational professionals from around the world each year, who participate in 150-200 online presentations including theoretical research, application of best practices, virtual world tours, hands-on workshops, discussion panels, machinima presentations, and poster exhibits.
In the context of the conference, a “virtual world” is an on-line community through which users can interact with one another and use and create ideas irrespective of time and space. As such, typical examples include Second Life, OpenSimulator, Unity, World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and so on, as well as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest or any virtual environments characterised by an open social presence and in which the direction of the platform’s evolution is manifest in the community.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
February 28th, 19:00: A World Out of Time
After being cryogenically frozen in the 1970s to await a cure for his (then) incurable cancer, Jaybee Corbell awakes after more than 200 years – to find his own body destroyed and his mind and memories transferred into the “mindwiped” body of a criminal. And that’s is not all that has changed: the Earth is now overseen by an oppressive, totalitarian global government called “The State”, and Corbell’s existence is to be determined by a “checker”; if he is found wanting, he will be discarded.
However, Peerssa, the checker, recommends Corbell as ideal fodder in The State’s attempts to seek out exoplanets suitable for terraforming – whether he wants to join the programme or not. Disgusted by his treatment, Corbell works out a way to take control of his one-person ship on its otherwise one-way mission, and heads toward the galactic core. Entering suspended animation, he is unaware his vessel skims close enough to the super-massive black hole at the centre of the galaxy to experience time dilation.
Emerging from his suspended state, and believing only 150 years have passed, Corbell returns to the solar system to find it again vastly changed: more than three million years have passed, and the Sun has become a bloated red giant, and Earth – well, Earth appears to have been relocated to an orbit around Jupiter, whilst humanity itself had endured extensive changes; and Corbell must face an entirely new set of challenges if he is to survive.
Caledonia Skytower reads the fifth of Salman Rushdie’s major publications and his first since The Satanic Verses.
Written for the younger reader, but with plenty with it suited to older ears, it is of an allegorical nature and addresses a number of societal problems, particularly those found in the Indian subcontinent.
Dedicated to Rushdie’s son, the book looks at the issues it raises – including that of censorship (unsurprisingly, given the reaction following the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988) – through the eyes of Haroun Khalifa, the son of a doctor and master storyteller.
Both father and son are struck by afflictions related to Haroun’s mother deserting them; Haroun has a form of attention-deficit disorder, whilst his father is prone to bouts of depression. Both can only be relieved of their afflictions should Haroun’s mother, Soraya, return.
Before then, however, Haroun is set for an adventure and discovery.
Thursday, March 3rd 19:00: Science Fiction Thursday
The 2022 Home and Garden Expo (HGE) in support of Relay for Life of Second Life and the American Cancer Society, is now open, and runs through until Sunday, March 20th. Taking place across nine regions (Hope 1 through 9), the event offers some of the finest in home, garden, and furnishing designs available across the grid.
With multiple exhibitors taking part, the event offers something for anyone who is looking for a new home, ideas for furnishing and décor, wishing to improve their building (or other) skills, or who just wishes to keep abreast of the latest building / home trends in Second Life.
As always, the Expo there will be a range of events and activities, including entertainment, focused on the main stage at Hope 1, talks and presentation focus on the auditorium at Hope 3, artists, auctions, breedables. and more.
Once more returning the the event is the Home and Garden Decorating Competition, which this year offers fourteen different builds, including two of seven different styles, including beach houses, tiny homes and one with a distinctively Mexican style. These will be made available to fourteen finalists, who will have a 350 land impact allowance with which to decorate a both a house and its garden.
Home and Garden Expo 2022 brings a rich variety of styles to the Home Decorating Competition – large houses, small houses, lighthouses, barns, trailer homes…
These finalists will be chosen by a raffle draw and will be assigned one of the fourteen houses, based on their preferences. Finalists can be individuals or teams, and must decorate their house in keeping within its style, and must include at least three purchased from RFL vendors at the Expo. With winning design will be decided on the basis of a popular vote by those attending the Expo.
The time line the competition is thus: entries for participation to be submitted by the end of Friday, March 5th, with selected finalists able to decorate their houses been noon SLT on Saturday, March 6th and the end of Friday, March 12th. Voting will then take place between Saturday, March 13th and Wednesday, March 17th with votes cast via donations make through the kiosks placed outside of each house. The winner(s) will be announced on Thursday, March 18th.
Home and Garden Expo 2022: Auditorium – the focus of Lantern Ceremonies, talks and presentations throughout the event
One thing that will not be present at this year’s event will be any reveal of an upcoming Linden Homes theme. While such reveals have formed a part of events like the RFL Home and Garden Expo and the Christmas Expo, the overall schedule for Linden Homes development is not in any way tied to these (or other non-Lab organised events). The most recent theme to be announced, the Newbrooke, was previewed in December 2021 and apparently garnered multiple negative reviews, prompting its withdrawal for an update. This may have given rise to a false expectation of an updated preview / new reveal at this year’s Home and Garden, but as Patch Linden has noted, theme will be revealed & made available when the Lab is ready.
For the most up-to-date info on the event, do be sure to keep an eye on the official website and be sure drop in the the Home and Garden Expo, tour the houses, look at the furnishing and enjoy the entertainment. And even if you’re not in the mood to buy anything, please consider to drop a donation or two into the RFL kiosks and help support ACS and RFL of SL in their world-wide endeavours.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
February 21st, 19:00: When They Came
I was never afraid of monsters—at least, not until They came: the visitors from outer space.
Now They’re in our skies, on our streets, always watching, forever waiting.
At seventeen, I’m just about to graduate from the Juvenile Education System and declare my career of choice. The Midnight Guard—who protect our community from the vicious things that lie outside our walls—calls to me.
It’s hard, dangerous work, with gruelling hours that offer little sleep, but it’s the one thing I know will help make a difference in our ever-changing world.
– Ana Mia, When They Came
Having graduated from the juvenile education system, Ana Mia decides to join her sister as a part of Fort Hope’s Midnight Guard. Fort Hope is a stronghold, protecting its inhabitants from Earth’s alien invaders; and the Midnight Guard forms the eyes, ears and guardians of the stronghold’s Wall.
Without the Guard and without the Wall of the stronghold, the aliens would be free to harvest humanity, using their ships and the Coyotes who form their eyes and ears in opposition to the Midnight Guard.
Caledonia Skytower reads the fifth of Salman Rushdie’s major publications and his first since The Satanic Verses.
Written for the younger reader, but with plenty with it suited to older ears, it is of an allegorical nature and addresses a number of societal problems, particularly those found in the Indian subcontinent.
Dedicated to Rushdie’s son, the book looks at the issues it raises – including that of censorship (unsurprisingly, given the reaction following the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988) – through the eyes of Haroun Khalifa, the son of a doctor and master storyteller.
Both father and son are struck by afflictions related to Haroun’s mother deserting them; Haroun has a form of attention-deficit disorder, whilst his father is prone to bouts of depression. Both can only be relieved of their afflictions should Haroun’s mother, Soraya, return.
Before then, however, Haroun is set for an adventure and discovery.
Thursday, February 24th 19:00: Science Fiction Thursday
Sometimes also referred to as motor neurone disease (MND) or by the synonyms Lou Gehrig’s disease and Charcot disease, ALS is a specific disorder that involves the death of neurons that control voluntary muscles. For about 90-95% of all diagnosed cases, the precise cause of the disease is unknown; for the remaining 5-10% of diagnosed cases, it is inherited from the sufferer’s parents. There is no known cure, and symptoms generally first become apparent around the age of 60 (or 50 in inherited cases). The average survival from onset to death is three to four years. In Europe and the United States, the disease affects about 2 people per 100,000 per year.
Harvey Memorial Ensemble ALS Awareness Week 2022
The Ensemble officially kicks-off at 14:00 SLT on Sunday, February 20th, 2022, with a live set by singer Soso, and will conclude with a final music set commencing 16:00 SLT on Sunday, February 27th. Between these two times, the event will offer daily mixes of live performer and DJ sets, commencing at 07:00 SLT and running through until 18:00 SLT daily, giving plenty of opportunities for Second Life Residents from around the globe to drop in.
Whilst visiting, people are encouraged to make donations to AISLA in any one of a number of ways:
By clicking the donations kiosks in front of the event stage.
By clicking on the AISLA information boards to go directly to AISLA’s donations web page, where credit / debit cards or a PayPal accounts can be used to make a direct donation.
By purchasing a Paola Mills tee-shirt design from the vendors on the west side of the arena, between the 2D and 3D art displays.
By purchasing one of the special Harvey Memorial Rabbit paintings by Terrygold (L$200 each) – these can be found on the west side of the events schedule board.
By entering the Ensemble Week prize draw to win a MotoDesign Chopper motorcycle – the draw is a limited entry event (90 numbers), and located on the east side of the events schedule board – thewinning draw will be made in Sunday, February 27th, 2022.
By participating in the Art Auction.
100% of L$ donations and payments, with all winning bid payments from the Silent Art Auction, will be forwarded to AISLA a the conclusion of the event.
Harvey Memorial Ensemble ALS Awareness Week 2022: 2D Artists
The Art Auction has been expanded this year to feature a total of 16 2D and 3D artists. It runs from the opening of the event through until closure on Sunday, February 27th, when the winning bids will be ascertained.
The 2D artists participating are: GlitterPrincess Destiny, Nur Moo, Blip Mumfuzz, LeMelonRouge Onyett, Terrygold, Tarozaemon Rossini, Maddina Tremor, and Karma Weyman. Each has donated three pieces of art that are being auction as unique, single lots (so people are bidding on all three pieces by an artist rather than the individual pieces).
The 3D artists have donated a single piece each, and comprise: Giovanna Cerise, Mistero Hifeng, Livio Korobase, Bryn Oh, Barry Richez, Eupalinos Ugajin, Ciottolina Xue and Moki Yuitza.
Harvey Memorial Ensemble ALS Awareness Week 2022: 3D Artists
The Harvey Memorial Ensemble ALS Awareness Week in Second Life is always an engaging and fun festival, with even more added to the mix this year yo make hopping along and participating even more worthwhile – so why not take the time during the week to do so?
Metaverse Fashion Week SL: the Jonathan Simkhai collection by Blueberry, February 2022
As I noted in In Vogue (+ Elsewhere): Second Life and Designer Fashion(and courtesy of the likes of Vogue and UK Glamour), Second Life has been making headlines in the world of fashion of late, coinciding with the “Big Four” fashion cities – New York, London, Madrid and Paris – host their semi-annual Fashion Weeks.
The reason for all the media interest – with still more to come! – is because amidst all the on-going hype around many fashion designers diving into the waters of NFTs and the like, New York fashion designer Jonathan Simkhai decided to go a step further and team-up with Blueberryxx and her Blueberry team to offer a special preview of a selection of pieces from his Autumn / Winter 2022 (AW22) at a special show in Second Life ahead of the items being unveiled at his New York Fashion Week show – with the added element that some of the collection would later be made available for sale within Second Life.
Metaverse Fashion Week SL: the Jonathan Simkhai collection by Blueberry, February 2022
In all, 11 of Simkhai’s AW22 collection were given a Second Life “makeover” by the Blueberry team (with one being given that special SL zing, converting from a shimmer gown to a leotard whilst worn). These were initially presented to a special gathering of VIPs from the physical world – models, influencers, celebrities, and journalists from the fashion, technology and lifestyle industries – at a previewing show held in-world on Tuesday, February 15th, 2022 – itself an interesting challenge, one worth of exploration – and Blueberryxx was willing to take the time to do so with me.
As people frequently point out, for those unfamiliar with Second Life, getting to grips with the platform is no easy matter; just getting comfortable with the viewer and figuring out the basics controls can be difficult enough, leave alone anything else. And when you have a group of dignitaries coming into the platform to see a show, you need to be able to make everything as seamless as possible, and add a little fun to the process.
To achieve this, the Blueberry team did a number of things. Ahead of the event, they prepared bespoke avatars for each of the VIPs, modelled around a photograph of each guest’s face. Each guest was also able to select an item from the SL “Simkhai collection” in which their avatar could be dressed.
On the day of the event itself, the VIPs were able to log into SL and there avatars at the venue, where the real magic began, as Blueberryxx explained:
We wanted to make sure the outside press would have an easy time therefore and so shine a more positive light on SL. We knew that if they had to learn how to cam during the show they were going to have a hard time. And while we would have loved to have models controlled by humans, the mainstream press hasn’t always been kind to Second Life, and we didn’t want to risk distractions and negativity in having a model crash or fall off the runway or anything like that; we wanted guests focused on the show and the outfits
So we made it almost like watching a short movie: we scripted a Second Life Experience which could take the VIP avatars, seat them at the main runway, and then control their camera for them as the models moved. Then we used Corrade to control the models, allowing us to move them smoothly and have pre-loaded animations ready to play on them.
– Blueberryxx
For those unfamiliar with Corrade, it is an open metaverse scripted agent (bot) library that has a lot of extensibility. For the Second Life Metaverse Fashion Show, it meant that the 11 models (plus the Jonathan Simkhai avatar) could be placed on a “base vehicle” pre-loaded with animations (a basic walk and a series of modelling poses), which could then follow a scripted path along the catwalk runways (each base turning transparent just before the model appear on the catwalk), giving the illusion each model was “walking”, with keyframes being used to halt each base and trigger the poses.
All of the movements of the bots on their “vehicles” was coordinated by a central script system, resulting in a smooth, professional show easily equal to any physical world catwalk show, perfectly timed and executed and with none of the pitfalls of using “regular” avatars. Meanwhile, the venue’s Experience ensure the VIPs received smooth views of the passing models and their outfits, unencumbered with having to worry about the complexities of using the viewer.
Six of the bots backstage “walking” on the animation stands that (when transparent), moved them along the catwalks to give the illusion they are “walking”. The gaps between them would be filled as the remaining five return to their “rest” points
Following the VIP show, Blueberry hosted a total of 8 “public” shows across Thursday, February 17th and Friday, February 18th 2022 for Second Life users. For these events, members of the Blueberry bloggers group were able to witness the show just as the physical world VIPs had, joining the Experience and then letting that take over seating them, etc. Non-group members could then view the shows from adjoining regions, with the 11 models completing walks around runways that extend out and around the venue from the end of the main catwalk.
This split between “VIP” and “non-VIP” apparently caused some grumbling at some of the shows, as it hadn’t been fully communicated ahead of the event. But on the whole, everything worked well: the extended catwalks around the main venue region meant those on the adjoining regions still had plenty of opportunities to appreciate the designs as model parade along them.
Metaverse Fashion Week SL: the Jonathan Simkhai collection by Blueberry, February 2022
Despite the grumbles that were voiced, the majority of the “non-VIPs” at the public shows (myself included) were content to sit at the edge of the main venue region and cam over to watch things (which also gave me the opportunity to sneak some backstage looks to see how things were being run!). And the Blueberry team is certainly keen to make improvements in the future.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive (I was prepared for the worst!), and we’re grateful for the understanding shown with the parts we messed up; we promise to do better in the future – more interactive features for watchers, more seating and even swag bags!
– Blueberryxx
One of the attractions of the public shows was that Vogue had indicated the Simkhai / Blueberry outfits seen in the show would be offered for sale in-world. As there were no vendors at the venue (which would have perhaps been an ideal place to commence sales to SL users), Blueberryxx was happy to explain what was happening:
We will be offering a sub-set of those in the show, with the actual styles still subject to selection by Jonathan. We’re also discussing future opportunities for styles to be produced and sold in Second Life. However, they will all be charged at Blueberry prices; there is no premium to be charged.
– Blueberryxx
The scripted agent representing Jonathan Simkhai and his models on the main catwalk
In this, it is important to note that the garments produced by the Blueberry team for Second Life are not the same as the six NFT items being produced and sold by Everyrealm, and which were also referenced in several of the articles published after the VIP show.
Those NFTs (which Everyrealm are calling a “Metaverse Fashion Week Wearables Collection“), are being produced for use via the Ready Player Me platform, theoretically allowing them to be use across multiple games / platforms – although they do come at a premium: prices range from US S250 to – wait for it – US $2600 for the “one-off”.
Metaverse Fashion Week SL: the Jonathan Simkhai collection by Blueberry, February 2022
All of which perhaps underlines a further value of Second Life; a major issue with NFTs is that despite the claims of “democratisation” of art, etc., they largely lean in the other direction – exclusivity through scarcity.
However, within Second Life, everyone has the opportunity to be included in the experience of appreciating / wearing luxury fashions at prices that aren’t going to hurt the bank balance. And this is something that an exploratory partnership between a top New York fashion designer and a top Second Life fashion label can only expand – and hopefully it will if Blueberryxx has a say in things, as she noted to me as we ended our conversation.
My brand is all about approachable and comfortable and a easy to enter community, something Jonathan understands, so we are in discussions about a possible future permanent collection collaboration.
– Blueberryxx
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to setting some of the initial Blueberry versions of Simkhai’s designs becoming generally available in SL, and – hopefully to seeing the discussions of around further collaborations bearing fruit in the future.
My thanks to Blueberryxx for her time and assistance in writing this piece, and to Sophia Harlow for putting us in direct contact outside of SL.
After being cryogenically frozen in the 1970s to await a cure for his (then) incurable cancer, Jaybee Corbell awakes after more than 200 years – to find his own body destroyed and his mind and memories transferred into the “mindwiped” body of a criminal. And that’s is not all that has changed: the Earth is now overseen by an oppressive, totalitarian global government called “The State”, and Corbell’s existence is to be determined by a “checker”; if he is found wanting, he will be discarded.
Caledonia Skytower reads the fifth of Salman Rushdie’s major publications and his first since The Satanic Verses. 
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 