virtual worlds
NMC CEO Larry Johnson Metanomics Interview
Posted May 5th, 2008 by Alan Levine
On Friday April 25, NMC CEO Larry Johnson was a guest interviewee for the Metanomics series, the weekly live show that takes place in, and is broadcast live from Second Life.
As part of an event atClever Zebra's vBusiness Expo, in this interview, Metanomics host Robert Bloomfield asked Larry about the NMC's Virtual worlds programs and then discussed more on Larry's recent experience testifying before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the US Congress.
You can also find an audio recording of this interview plus soon a transcript, at http://metanomics.net/larry-johnson
Immersive Worlds: A New Home Campus?
Posted April 6th, 2008 by longpdI created this four page handout for a talk on Immersive Worlds given at the 2008 University Continuing Education Association conference.
UCEA Handout (PDF 10.2 Mb)
FIT hosts conference "Teaching and Learning in Four Dimensions"
The Fashion Institute of Technology is hosting a "Technology Day" conference, "Teaching and Learning in Four Dimensions" on friday, April 25. The conference is on the intersection of teaching, learning and technology, with a special focus on 3d technology and virtual worlds in the fashion industries. Guest speakers include W. James Au , Louise Guay of My Virtual Model , Shenlei Winkler , and Elaine Polvinen. Click here for more information and to register.
NMC Launches Open Virtual Worlds Project
Posted February 24th, 2008 by Larry JohnsonToday the New Media Consortium (NMC) announced a $250,000 two-year collaboration with Sun Microsystems to launch the Open Virtual Worlds Project, an effort that is aimed at making it easier to learn, work, and exchange ideas in virtual space. The project will develop a range of standards-based, portable open-source educational spaces, content, and objects, and use them to extend Sun Microsystems’s open source Project Darkstar and Project Wonderland virtual world platforms.
Fantasy Regnant (2007 NMC Summer Conference Opening Keynote)
Posted June 21st, 2007 by NMC
For years, gaming technology has been considered an area of opportunity for universities. Edward will argue that the opportunity phase has passed, that we will now be forced to adapt to the new world that digital fantasy gaming is creating. That new world is more than 3D; more than immersive; more than online; more than entertainment; more than communication. It is all of those things, and one thing more, a new source of Meaning - a critical contribution of the games industry, very little noticed. All together synthetic worlds make a new frontier, and frontiers dramatically disrupt the old world. Edward will talk about how the new world, with its new maps of meaning, will reshape society within a generation.
NMC Joins Immersive Education Initiative to Advance Virtual Learning
Posted June 7th, 2007 by Larry JohnsonDuring the NMC Summer Conference today the New Media Consortium (NMC) announced that it has joined the Media Grid’s Immersive Education initiative to participate in the development of best practices and standards for virtual learning and game-based learning platforms. NMC is an international consortium of over 250 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. NMC member institutions are found in almost every state in the United States, across Canada, and in Europe, Asia and Australia. Among the consortium’s membership are an elite list of the most highly regarded colleges and universities in the world, innovative museums, research centers, foundations, and forward-thinking companies.
NMC Conversations #2: Virtual Worlds (and Beyond)
Posted May 22nd, 2007 by Alan LevineIn our second podcast, we turn to virtual worlds– as many people know, NMC has been heavily involved these past 15 months with our NMC Campus in Second Life, but wanted to point out developments we are tracking in broader realm as part of of the NMC Virtual Worlds efforts.
Listen to this podcast as we discuss the Media Grid, Sun's Wonderland Project, Google's Burning Man Earth, Croquet, and the Torque Game Engine.
NMC Announces Services for Virtual Worlds
Posted January 30th, 2007 by NMCToday, the New Media Consortium announces the launch of NMC Virtual Worlds (http://virtualworlds.nmc.org), a services unit under the NMC umbrella that will provide a full palette of support to educational institutions wishing to explore, build, or establish a presence in a range of virtual worlds.
The program offers all of its services to educational institutions and museums on a simple cost-recovery basis, resulting in deeply discounted pricing for qualified institutions. NMC members will receive an additional discount.
The mission of NMC Virtual Worlds will be to help learning-focused organizations to explore the potential of virtual spaces in a manner that builds on community knowledge, is cost-effective, and ensures high quality. NMC Virtual Worlds will provide a comprehensive set of premium development services for education and training, as well as conduct an ongoing series of events, conferences, and programs.
A suite of pro bono services and fellowships are a central aspect of the planning, and reflect the deep commitment to learning and access central to NMC's vision for the new unit.
Please see the attached press release for additional details. A press packet can be downloaded at
http://www.nmc.org/downloads/press_packet-NMC_Virtual_Worlds.zip
Two to Three Years: Virtual Worlds
Posted January 23rd, 2007 by NMCVirtual Worlds
Time-to-adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years
In the last year, interest in virtual worlds has grown considerably, fueled in no small part by the tremendous press coverage of examples like Second Life. Campuses and businesses have established locations in these worlds, much as they were creating websites a dozen years ago. In the same way that the number and sophistication of websites grew very quickly as more people began to browse, virtual locations will become more common and more mature as the trend continues. Virtual worlds offer flexible spaces for learning and exploration—educational use of these spaces is already underway and growing.
Overview
2006 NMC Regional Conference
Posted December 5th, 2006 by NMCNovember 8, 2006 - November 10, 2006
NMC Regional Conferences are one-of-a-kind events, each very much a reflection of the host institution. In fall 2006, the NMC came to Texas for a very special regional event that was held on the campus of Trinity University and hosted by the Center for Learning and Technology.
Befitting the rich traditions of Trinity and its sister institutions across the southwest, the conference brought together scholars & technologists from across the region to explore new ideas, discuss the issues which surround them, and share stories of successful efforts. Attendees stayed at an historic Spanish hotel located downtown on the famous River Walk, an area steeped in the traditions of Old San Antonio.
