At the NMC, we're always doing research. Even as I am typing this, I am stopping mid-sentence to check my RSS feeds :) So we love stumbling upon new books, websites, journals, etc. that provide us with great perspectives on emerging technologies and learning approaches. That being said, we highly recommend Transforming Virtual World Learning (Cutting Technologies in Higher Education) as a wonderful resource for any educator looking to create engaging virtual worlds courses. NMC Virtual Worlds has been an extremely successful project of ours for a number of years, and that is due to the amazing things our member institutions have been doing across our campus. It's about time someone put together this helpful guide! And that someone is Randy Hinrichs, CEO of the virtual worlds company 2b3d and Affiliate iSchool Faculity at University of Washington.

A little bit about the book:
Transforming Virtual World Learning is a practical guide on how to transform your ideas from virtual world course ware to virtual world learning experiences. This book argues that setting up learning in 3D virtual worlds requires a transformative approach. The advice given in this book comes from real world implementers of virtual world learning. The models presented here show how to transform your thinking in 3D spaces and achieving your organizational learning goals while motivating your learners. The practical articles and lesson plans come from those pioneers who have used virtual worlds to learn, teach and support their learners with in-world presence. Transforming starts with recognizing virtual worlds as a place, and then using the space to plan in 3D, design real-time and implement a 'virtual biodome effect' for continuous learning. It is our hope the book inspires current educational institutions to think about creating persistent, scalable communities that thrive on communication, global collaboration and sustainable interactivity. The results are the same for K-12, community college, university, industry and lifelong learners. It's not just about being in a virtual world, it's about doing something engaging there to educate and entertain the work force of the interconnected internet.

> Buy your own copy on Amazon or from the Emerald bookstore. (On the date of this post, the book is out of stock on Amazon but will be available in a few days, so you can still order it now.)