Conference in Second Life Begins Today

Location: Ready to go to VWBPE

Time to put on a suit and look professional, in case any mainstream media show up for the Virtual Worlds: Best Practices in Education.

The schedule for Friday can be found here, and for Saturday here.

See you at VWBPE 2010. The picture above is from last year's event, where I toured Virtual Harlem.

Pathfinder Linden Leaves

Location: Montclair State Amphitheater

I was setting up for Roundtable when this news came in:

https://lists.secondlife.com/pipermail/educators/2010-March/038468.html

Note from John Lester's e-mail this line: "Due to recent reorganizations at Linden Lab, my current position (Evangelist, Market Development) has ceased to exist. There are no alternative positions available to me, so as of March 12th I will be leaving the company."

One must wonder at this. Spin it how you wish, but Mark Kingdon has said very little about the role of education in SL.

To lose Pathfinder, who spearheaded the U Texas system's large investment, is a heavy blow to those of us who teach with and about SL. Path's magic hat, which threw fireballs if you touched it, is a big hat to fill.

I'm hoping that Claudia and George Linden, long-time friends of educators, won't also be leaving.

CSU Chico Deans Visit Usher

Location: House of Usher Visitor Center

Olivia Hotshot teleported over to interview Viv Trafalgar and me about the university's House of Usher simulation. We hoped to give non-SLers, Deans from the CSU Chico campus looking "over Olivia's shoulder" an idea of what goes into a literary build in SL.

I even wore my best suit and gave the ravens a bone to keep them quiet.

Rezzable's Valley of the Kings To Launch

Location: Howard Carter's Camp, 1922

I've had a preview of what visitors see at the redone Valley of the Kings in Rezzable's Heritage Key virtual world. Viv Trafalgar's photoset at Flickr gives a sense of the changes at hand.

This is going to be stunning, in terms of visual appeal and educational potential. The quests, prizes, and improved performance all promise great things for educators. The new avatars and equipment at the Learning Center should deepen visitors' immersion in the experience.

I commend Rezzable's team for working so hard to address issues my class and others identified in the past year. Now the treasures of King Tut will be accessible to more visitors in a meaningful and entertaining way. Click over the Rezzable and begin exploring.