Virtual Worlds in Education Conference @ ECU's Second Life Virtual Campus

Real Education in a Virtual World:
Using Online Virtual Environments for Teaching and Learning

The Virtual Worlds in Education Conference is focused on the uses of virtual worlds for instructional purposes. Examples of instructional activities including novel methods of presentation, simulation, and collaboration will be showcased. Research on using virtual worlds for instruction will be presented.

Hosted and sponsored by: East Carolina University.

East Carolina University (ECU) is a public, coeducational, research intensive university located in Greenville, North Carolina, USA. ECU is the third largest university in North Carolina with an enrollment of over 23,000 students and the fastest-growing campus in the University of North Carolina system.

When: November 10 and 11, 2008

Were: in Second Life on the East Carolina University virtual campus (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ECU%20II/112/107/26)

The conference will be over a 48-hour period. The schedule is designed to accommodate participants in different time zones.

Fee: Registration is free but participation is limited to registered attendees. There is a maximum avatar capacity on the East Carolina University islands; registration will be first-come, first-served.

Call for Proposals
The Virtual Worlds in Education Conference welcomes presentation proposals from individuals, groups and institutions currently making use of virtual worlds for instructional purposes. Examples of established instructional activities and research on virtual worlds for education will be given highest consideration.

Examples of presentation topics include, but are not limited to:
· Reports of research conducted on the use of virtual worlds for instructional purposes
· Educational simulations conducted in-world
· Building and design projects conducted in-world
· Social functions held in-world to promote or support educational activity
· Contests or competitions promoting problem-based learning held in-world

Dead-line: All proposals must be submitted on or before September 11, 2008 using the conference’s online submission system (http://vwec.ecu.edu).

Blind-peer review will be used to evaluate the first 300 proposals received.

A maximum of 80 poster sessions and 32 interactive presentation sessions will be accepted.
Proposal authors will be notified around September 30, 2008. Please note that although there is no registration or participation fee, presenters will be responsible for paying their own file upload fees within the Second Life environment.

I wish to thank Dr. Abbie Brown @ ECU for the invite.

One of the big Q's worth addressing is:
Web3D for Higher Education: Real potential or just an illusion?