A couple of weeks ago, I posted on a Virtual Climate Conference that was held in Second Life. I know you've been all awaiting with bated breath on the results. There were 30-50 participants (mostly educators) that participated from throughout the country. The virtual conference (held entirely in Second Life) was put on by NOAA with technical support from Raytheon from Sept 26-28th (2 hours each day). The conference was intended to be an experiment to see if this format is something NOAA should look at moving forward with online conferences (vs. standard WebEX, etc). It introduced participants to the NOAA Island in Second Life, common climate misconceptions, a national view of climate education efforts, various climate related interactive visualizations, and concluded with a treasure hunt. This was my first experience attending (and presenting) at a conference in Second Life so there was a bit of time spent orienting myself to the space (learning how to move, fly, adjust camera angles) and learning how to use the various presenter tools (virtual whiteboard, web viewer). I shared the NOAA Global Science Investigator (a 3D virtual globe) and had participants stand up and move their avatar on a virtual map (see below) as I posed various climate related questions. For example, I asked them them to stand where they thought major carbon dioxide sources would be before revealing the answer. All in all, I thought it was a good experience and allowed me to think a bit outside the box (i.e. how to encourage avatars to participate by moving through space). It did require quite a bit of technical assistance and there was a significant amount of time invested in getting both the presenters and participants up to speed on learning all of the tools in Second Life. The bottom line: For a long conference (spread out over several days) that uses assets in a 3-D world, Second Life may be a good alternative (i.e. saving costs and reducing carbon footprint) to meeting in person. If the conference or meetings last a day or two, it may be best to choose a synchronous tool like Blackboard Collaborate instead given the large initial time investment in Second Life.
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I have not spent much time in Second Life (SL), but I am attending a Virtual Workshop on Climate Change in the next couple of weeks in SL. I'll post more thoughts after workshop. See info below if you are interested. For those folks who do have experience with Second Life in an educational context: Do you find it as a useful educational tool?
___________________________________________________________________________On evenings of September 26-28, NOAA's National Ocean Service is hosting a virtual conference on climate change science and education in Second Life where participants will represent themselves as an avatar. This meeting will engage scientists and educators across the country in an interactive immersive environment. Topics will include: online visualization tools, impacts of climate change on human health, and addressing climate misconceptions in the classroom. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to break in small groups, cooperatively interact, go on a virtual tour of science places in Second Life and discuss the use of online tools and other resources, as well as consult with each other, NOAA educators and scientists on issues in communicating climate change science in formal and informal classroom environments. *There are only 50 participant spots available and registration closes COB September 15!* *Do not miss this opportunity!* *The Fine Print:*
Register at: https://docs.google.com/a/noaa.gov/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dEcwU294clJOVWFoT2lhbjVDalB2YlE6MQ&ndplr=1
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