Librarian Events in Second Life

Bringing "Salam" to Sudan: Youth Using Virtual World to Promote Peace in Africa

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:51 GMT

Global Kids, on behalf of the National Youth Leadership Council, is producing an innovative service learning project incorporating the virtual world of SmallWorlds as well as the social networking site Ning.com to promote youth actions to support peace in the country of Darfur. We recently got a nice write up in the SmallWorld's Chronicle about the project.

I just launched our first SmallWorlds mission for the project called "Sudan 101" where you can learn the basics about the country, the history and origins of the conflict, and why Sudan is so important. We'll be launching a second mission on Service Learning very shortly. If you are a member of SmallWorlds, just go to this link or under "Places" do a search for "Salam Project."

Here's what you can expect over the next weeks:

A kick-off virtual event this Friday, February 12, where you can participate in a virtual chat with Nisrin Elamin, a Sudanese peace activist, and two Global Kids youth leaders, talking about their work to educate others about the conflict and support peace in Sudan.
An online social network and a youth-friendly virtual world to get inspired about the project, share information with each other, and show the results of your work to others.
A 3D virtual service center where you can find out more about Sudan, the peace process, and service learning opportunities
A service learning curriculum for educators that you can use to support service learning actions by your students
And finally a live video simulcast on March 25 of the talk by Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan."

You can check out the project yourself at Sudanpeace.ning.com and visit our SmallWorlds space at this link.

Winter Olympics Display

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:32 GMT

During February Info Island's Special Display Room will promote the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Display will feature graphics and resources on events, sports, history, news and the host city, Vancouver, BC, Canada. So don't walk… speed skate over to Info Island and take a look at the display!

Here's a SLURL to the Special Display Room on Info Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/84/55/35

SLA Leadership Post Summit--Rescheduled for Tue, Feb 16 at 6 SLT

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:16 GMT

SLA Leadership Post Summit Sessions in Second LIfe

Curious about Anne Caputo's 5 top trends that are influencing us?
Want to know why "loyalty" is essential for professional relationships and how to instill it?
Have a question for your SLA President or President-elect?

Meet association leaders in-world next Tuesday for an informal conversation about Leadership Summit highlights, updates on the conference in New Orleans, and next steps for the Alignment Project. This is your opportunity to talk with our leaders - see you in-world!

Tuesday, 2/16/2010, 9pm ET/6pm PT

Speakers--Anne Caputo, Cindy Romaine, Janice Lachance (not all speakers at each session)

Location will be at the newly redesigned SLA space in Second Life.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22

P.S. Reminder--You must already have a Second Life account (which is free and must be downloaded to your computer) and an avatar to attend this meeting in Second Life. https://join.secondlife.com/ Let me know if you'd like some help setting this up.

What We've Been Tweeting About

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:01 GMT

What we've recently been tweeting about today...

09:09 "The Big House" Virtual Art Installation Celebrates the Declaration of Human Rights bit.ly/9JZ8kM
10:45 Get sneak peek of a virtual tomato frog by coming in-game & asking moderator how u care for this animal! blog.xeko.com (via @GamingforGood)
12:56 Study finds VWs good for medical education www.metaversehealth.com/2010/02/second-life-and-medical-education-new-study/
12:59 You plant virtual trees, company plants real ones: RT @Pathfinder: Neat tree-themed virtual world for kids. bit.ly/b7JY1D

Automagically shipped by LoudTwitter

OLN SL Monthly Meeting

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:45 GMT

When: Fri Feb 12, 2010 11am to 12pm PST

Where: OLN Island - http://slurl.com/secondlife/OLN%20Island/128/127/26/?title=OLN%20Island%20Second%20Life&sg=OLN%20Island%20in%20Second%20Life
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Ohio Learning Network in Second Life Monthly Meeting

2 New Videos for Accessing Second LIfe--Registration, Downloading Software and Logging in

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:57 GMT

HVX Silverstar, the avatar for an academic librarian in Second Life has created two new videos on how to register for an account in Second Life, download the software ahd log into Second LIfe.

Since the Second Life website has changed, I have made a video about registering for a Second Life account for a class I'm working with who are new to SL.
It's long...so it's in two parts... but might be of interest to help people through the initial registration, downloading and login. It goes through the entire process.. so it does take about 10 mins to get into SL with a quick dance around the website. I don't show the logging in to the account on the site... I think that people often confuse that login process with the logging in to the viewer. I wish I had mentioned that in it. oh, well...

Part 1 (10 mins) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S237-nhTcFk
Part 2 (a bit shorter) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdWh1jlUW_A
(can be watched in HD if you have a fast connection and select 720p from the bottom right side menu bar on the youtube viewer)

playlist for choosing your avatar and logging into Second Life
http://www.youtube.com/user/HVXSilverstar#g/c/2C86DBE3E22D04D9

It was filmed on a mac, so the downloading is mac-centric... but i explain that if the person is on a PC, they would see a similar set steps that are shown in the mac example

ISTE SL Tour and Discussion

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:42 GMT

When: Sun Feb 7, 2010 11am to 12pm CST

Where: ISTE
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Join Esme and Janita for tours of educational sims in SL. IM Esme Qunhua for details. ISTE SL Tour and Discussion 9-10 am SLT Signup at https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aut40gF6ics8cjdHWHFsLWpMT3ZfZVJuaFpPbEE5a1E&hl=en

"The Big House" Virtual Art Installation Celebrates the Declaration of Human Rights

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:09 GMT

I unfortunately just found out about "The Big House" art exhibit in Second Life, a multi-artist installation celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is scheduled to close. A virtual prison seems like an odd place to celebrate human rights, but each of the individual "cells" show how the various artists represent the various rights, from the freedom of expression, association and religion to freedom from slavery and torture.

Head into Second Life today at this link to try and catch it before it derezzes. Sponsored by the Virtual Arts Initiative.

The full info card about the exhibit after the jump...

THE BIG HOUSE

"Free your mind and the rest will follow"

EXTENDED RUN THRU FEBRUARY 7, 2010

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caerleon%20Art%20Collective2/191/187/3734

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
"Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits."

THE BIG HOUSE is Caerleon's new multi-artist project that celebrates the rights bestowed upon all humans being by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which celebrates its 61's anniversary on December 10th..

THE BIG HOUSE, slang for prison, is just that -- A bleak gray institution surrounded by an oversized barbed wire fence and four guard towers that keep watch on 24 prison cells in which artists from around the world have created art installations that address specific rights contained in the 30 articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Incorporating various artistic styles and interpretations, including streaming video, these thought provoking works by the "imprisoned" artists demonstrate how our creative impulses, imaginations and spirits can liberate us from all prisons -- whether they be physical, political, social, economical or even virtual.

*** HELPING HAITI -- We have a new installation at THE BIG HOUSE exhibition -- "HELPING HAITI" featuring vibrant art by Haitian artists & direct donation links to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, The World Food Programme, Partners In Health and other credible organizations working tirelessly around the clock to help people in Haiti.

We hope you will come see this new installation that focuses on the uplifting works of art by Haitian artists that illustrate the joyful and resiliant spirit of the Haitian people in contrast to the bombardment of heartbreaking imagery we've been seeing since the earthquake struck on Jan 12. And we've made it super simple to donate directly and quickly by clicking on any one of the direct donation signs that will take you to the relief and aid organizations websites or by texting on your cell phones.

We hope you will join us in celebrating our universal human rights.

Participating artists:

Aequitas
Blue Tsuki
Cheen Pitney
Chuckmatrix Clip
Dekka Raymaker
Georg Janick
Juliette3D Quiznet
Luce Laval
Maryva Mayo
Mencius Watts & Taggert Alsop
Misprint Thursday
Olza Koenkamp
Penumbra Carter
Pete Jiminy
Pixels Sideways
Sabrinaa Nightfire
Shellina Winkler & Solkide Auer
Silene Christen
Ub Yifu
Zhora Maynard

ABOUT THE CAERLEON SIMS AND VIRTUAL ART INITIATIVE

The Caerleon sims are part of the Virtual Art Intiative. The original Caerleon Isle sim was founded in Second Life by Georg Janick in Feb 2008 and has since grown to four sims in Second Life : Caerleon Isle, New Caerleon, Caerleon Art Collective2 and Caerleon Erato and four new sims on Reaction Grid. The Caerleon sims are home to 31+ artist residents and educators and feature a wide range of art exhibitions, collaborative projects, art classes, lectures and workshops and also the Museum of Virtual Art on the New Caerleon sim. For additional information on Caerleon & the Virtual Art Initiative, please visit the VAI web site at: www.virtual-art-initiative.org

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-08

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:27 GMT

RT @livingarchitect Architecture & Unconventional Computing conference http://post.ly/Ldac # Deserted Office Parks: The Exodus (to the virtual workplace) Continues http://archvirtual.com/?p=2126 # Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum Build Contest: http://archvirtual.com/ # Really – the meeting place in the first video is #opensim not Second Life? @torridluna @CathyLAnderson # Does anyone think #unity3D will ever go open source? I doubt they have much incentive, given their rapid growth, but just wondering… # Rapid prototyping and collaborative design of real-world galleries and exhibits in SL: http://archvirtual.com/?p=2145 # @Arkkitekktura #unity3d is bigger than gaming imho. might open source ...

NPC (Nonprofit Commons) Meeting on Fridays - NPSL: Nonprofits in Second Life

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:11 GMT

Recurring Event
First start: 2009-04-24 10:30:00 CDT
Duration: 5400
Where: Amphitheater, Plush Nonprofit Commons (88, 126, 26)
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Members of Nonprofit Commons meet each Friday at 8:30 PST/SLT at Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater. Visitors are always welcome to join us in making a difference one pixel at a time. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26 For more information, please email Megan Keane (megan@techsoup.org) or Susan Tenby (susan@techsoup.org) or IM Penguin Kuhn or Glitteractica Cookie in-world.

Genealogy Scribes Meeting on 2/7

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:02 GMT

When: Sun Feb 7, 2010 2pm to 3pm CST

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/175/222/33
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: We'll meet at the Genealogy Research Center

By Whitman, Biweekly! February 9th

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:12 GMT

By Whitman, Biweekly!
Tuesday February 9th, 4pm SLT
Caledon Library, on the Hub in Victoria City
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Victoria%20City/160/117/23

A Discussion led by Dame Kghia Gheardi of the works of Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is one of the works at the foundations of American poetry. Its expansive attempt to capture the spirit and landscape of the 19th century United States has influenced an entire culture's self-concept, and its rich language continues to inspire readers today as it has for the century and a half of its existence.

"By Whitman, BI-Weekly" will provide an opportunity to look closely at this beloved work. Each time we'll spend an hour discussing its context and examining the poetry of the 1855 first edition.

The series will also give those who love Leaves of Grass, and those who would like to learn more, an opportunity to explore Whitman's vigorous and heartfelt poetry together.

Below is the text we'll discuss this week:

SAUNTERING the pavement or riding the country byroad here then are
faces,
Faces of friendship, precision, caution, suavity, ideality,
The spiritual prescient face, the always welcome common benevolent face,
The face of the singing of music, the grand faces of natural lawyers and judges
broad at the backtop,
The faces of hunters and fishers, bulged at the brows . . . . the shaved blanched
faces of orthodox citizens,
The pure extravagant yearning questioning artist's face,
The welcome ugly face of some beautiful soul . . . . the handsome detested or
despised face,
The sacred faces of infants . . . . the illuminated face of the mother of many children,
The face of an amour . . . . the face of veneration,
The face as of a dream . . . . the face of an immobile rock,
The face withdrawn of its good and bad . . a castrated face,
A wild hawk . . his wings clipped by the clipper,
A stallion that yielded at last to the thongs and knife of the gelder.

Sauntering the pavement or crossing the ceaseless ferry, here then are faces;
I see them and complain not and am content with all.

Do you suppose I could be content with all if I thought them their own finale?

This now is too lamentable a face for a man;
Some abject louse asking leave to be . . cringing for it,
Some milknosed maggot blessing what lets it wrig to its hole.

This face is a dog's snout sniffing for garbage;
Snakes nest in that mouth . . I hear the sibilant threat.

This face is a haze more chill than the arctic sea,
Its sleepy and wobbling icebergs crunch as they go.

This is a face of bitter herbs . . . . this an emetic . . . . they need no label,
And more of the drugshelf . . laudanum, caoutchouc, or hog's lard.

This face is an epilepsy advertising and doing business . . . . its wordless tongue
gives out the unearthly cry,
Its veins down the neck distend . . . . its eyes roll till they show nothing but their
whites,
Its teeth grit . . the palms of the hands are cut by the turned-in nails,
The man falls struggling and foaming to the ground while he speculates well.

This face is bitten by vermin and worms,
And this is some murderer's knife with a halfpulled scabbard.

This face owes to the sexton his dismalest fee,
An unceasing deathbell tolls there.

Those are really men! . . . . the bosses and tufts of the great round globe.

Features of my equals, would you trick me with your creased and cadaverous
march?
Well then you cannot trick me.

I see your rounded never-erased flow,
I see neath the rims of your haggard and mean disguises.
Splay and twist as you like . . . . poke with the tangling fores of fishes or rats,
You'll be unmuzzled . . . . you certainly will.

I saw the face of the most smeared and slobbering idiot they had at the asylum,
And I knew for my consolation what they knew not;
I knew of the agents that emptied and broke my brother,
The same wait to clear the rubbish from the fallen tenement;
And I shall look again in a score or two of ages,
And I shall meet the real landlord perfect and unharmed, every inch as good as
myself.

The Lord advances and yet advances:
Always the shadow in front . . . . always the reached hand bringing up the laggards.

Out of this face emerge banners and horses . . . . O superb! . . . . I see what is
coming,
I see the high pioneercaps . . . . I see the staves of runners clearing the way,
I hear victorious drums.

This face is a lifeboat;
This is the face commanding and bearded . . . . it asks no odds of the rest;
This face is flavored fruit ready for eating;
This face of a healthy honest boy is the programme of all good.

These faces bear testimony slumbering or awake,
They show their descent from the Master himself.

Off the word I have spoken I except not one . . . . red white or black, all are deific,
In each house is the ovum . . . . it comes forth after a thousand years.

Spots or cracks at the windows do not disturb me,
Tall and sufficient stand behind and make signs to me;
I read the promise and patiently wait.

This is a fullgrown lily's face,
She speaks to the limber-hip'd man near the garden pickets,
Come here, she blushingly cries . . . . Come nigh to me limber-hip'd man and give me
your finger and thumb,
Stand at my side till I lean as high as I can upon you,
Fill me with albescent honey . . . . bend down to me,
Rub to me with your chafing beard . . rub to my breast and shoulders.

The old face of the mother of many children:
Whist! I am fully content.
Lulled and late is the smoke of the Sabbath morning,
It hangs low over the rows of trees by the fences,
It hangs thin by the sassafras, the wildcherry and the catbrier under them.

I saw the rich ladies in full dress at the soiree,
I heard what the run of poets were saying so long,
Heard who sprang in crimson youth from the white froth and the water-blue.

Behold a woman!
She looks out from her quaker cap . . . . her face is clearer and more beautiful than
the sky.

She sits in an armchair under the shaded porch of the farmhouse,
The sun just shines on her old white head.

Her ample gown is of creamhued linen,
Her grandsons raised the flax, and her granddaughters spun it with the distaff and
the wheel.

The melodious character of the earth!
The finish beyond which philosophy cannot go and does not wish to go!
The justified mother of men!

[Feb 8] Bliss Couture Lover's Hunt and Falling Into Bliss Fashion Show!

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:27 GMT

Bliss Couture

6 February 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Contact: Annette Wilder, Wilder Public Relations Firm Inc. for Bliss Couture

Re: Bliss Couture's Lovers Valentine Hunt and Valentine's Fashion Show!
-----------------------------
Bliss Couture proudly presents its Lovers Hunt beginning February 8th! This will be the first Bliss Couture couples hunt that will feature items for males as well as female hunters. During this Valentine month what better way to spend time with your loved one than by participating in a couples hunt? Amutey Decuir, Owner of Bliss Couture, will not only have this fabulous hunt from February 8th through the 21st, she will also have a gorgeous Valentine gift for members only. The members only February Valentine's dress is a dazzling short dress and definitely a gift that your significant other would love to see you in. In order to receive this very generous group gift you must join the in-world Bliss Couture group, so what are you waiting for, go ahead and join now!

February may be the shortest month but it will also be a very busy month at the Bliss Couture sim. February 13th at 11AM SLT Bliss Couture will have a Valentine's Themed Fashion Show, "Fallin' Into Bliss," that will feature Bliss Couture's most romantic gowns. This will also be the first fashion show in which Miss Bliss 2010 winner Melanie Sautereau will be representing as the Face of the Bliss Couture brand. Jewelry featured during the fashion show will all be from Virtual Impressions, created by Chrissy Ambrose. Amutey Decuir has a keen sense of style and she keeps giving us a glimpse of what is inside that creative mind of hers with each new fashion piece she brings our way. Each design is uniquely crafted with immaculate detailing, luxurious fabrics, and beautiful bold colors that are sleek and stylish enough to make every woman feel sexy. The bold use of color leaves a footprint in your mind of the outfit you have just seen and really makes the detailed design work stand out. So go ahead, embrace your inner Goddess and reward her with a beautiful Bliss gown. Be gorgeous, gracious, feel like a Goddess...in Bliss

*We ask that those of you who will attend the fashion show try to arrive thirty minutes early in order to be sure to secure a seat. Please help our models to have as much of a lag free show as possible by turning off your ao's and being seated upon your arrival.

For more information regarding Bliss Couture, please contact Caymon Zhora-Manager. Media wanting to interview or setup appointment with Amutey please contact Annette Wilder-Wilder Public Relations Firm Inc™ Owner.

Date: February 8, 2010
Venue: Gown
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gown/147/163/295

Bliss Couture blog:
http://bliss-couture.blogspot.com

Media may also contact Wilder PR by e-mail:
wilderprinc@gmail.com

To learn more about Wilder PR visit our website:
http://www.wilderpublicrelationsfirminc.com

© A WILDER PR INC. PRESS RELEASE FEBRUARY 201

Dan Holt's Advice for First-Time SL Teachers

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:23 GMT

Location: My SL Office

I recently sat down with Dan Holt (Sl: Profdan Netizen) of Lansing Community College to discuss his first term of teaching writing with SL (Fall 2009).

Dan's an experience teacher for both creative writing & composition (academic writing–a better name–for my U.K. readers).

We had a wide-ranging discussion and I learned a great deal; Dan avoided some of the errors I made my first term, in 2007, in a similar course! Notably, he spent time in-world before bringing in a class of students.

Here are some notable points from the transcript of the interview:

Work with students throughout the orientation and first hours
Educate yourself and administrators before going in-world with students
Anticipate resistance from administrators who think online courses should be primarily asynchronous
Find a key ally (as I did at Richmond)
Exploit SL's low overhead costs. These make it attractive for hybrid and online courses at community colleges
Address concerns about SL's content and “addiction.” First to Dan (and me), fears bout SL are no different from concerns about the Web in the 90s. Second, showing off good educational uses and content of the world can convince some doubters
Find colleagues. Dan has had a little more success than I have recruiting other faculty. I attribute this to the different environments: Richmond's publish-or-perish pressure can be a disincentive for tenure-stream faculty to experiment with technologies
Measure your class against others not using SL. Dan's students did a little better in a comparative assessment.

I look forward to talking to other teachers about their first semesters in SL. The complete transcript of Dan's and my chat can be found here .

Have You Noticed Some Changes in the SLA Virtual World's Blog?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:24 GMT

We have changed our name to SLA in Virtual Worlds blog Yes, we are still in Second LIfe. (Come and visit the new SLA space in Second LIfe. You will be hearing more about it soon! SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22) But Second LIfe is not the only virtual world out there. You will be hearing more about this as it gets closer to Annual Conference time!

We have also enabled the capability of following the blog on Twitter. Find out the latest news and events.

Have you noticed the new banner for the blog?

Keep reading to find out more!

Rapid prototyping and collaborative design of real-world galleries and exhibits

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:21 GMT

Ironically, one of the most unique and memorable highlights of my time spent exploring virtual worlds had to do with music, not architecture. The ‘Wikisonic' collaborative music installation, first prototyped in Second Life with help from John Street was later chosen for construction at The Tech Museum of innovation in San Jose. Team member Anne Ogborn and I were flown to San Jose for the gallery opening, where we had the chance to play the ‘real life' Wikisonic installation, built by The Tech's brilliant team of technicians led by ...

Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum Build Contest in Second Life

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:46 GMT

Friday, February 5th, 6pm – Build Contest at the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum The Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum (now licensed with the architect's official foundation) is holding a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Build-Off! It's a fun competition to see who can create the most functional and appealing building within the parameters of the Usonian ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright. The kick-off party begins at 6:00 PM at The Breeze on the museum sim. The actual construction begins at 6:30pm and will continue until Sunday evening on a special build-off ...

New Promo Video for Second Life Nonprofit Commons

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:46 GMT

My friends at TechSoup and the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life have released a new promo video, produced by award-winning machinimatographer Draxtor Despres. It's a nice introduction to nonprofit activity in virtual worlds for those new to the field. And always nice to see Glitteractica and Penguin in both real life and the virtual world.

Nice work, guys!

Osama Bin Laden’s Legacy-STEVE COLL

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:36 GMT

When: Wed May 12, 2010 4:30pm to Wed May 12, 2010 6:30pm PDT

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Guest speaker - Presentation title STEVE COLL - Osama Bin Laden’s Legacy Steve is a Pulitzer-winning journalist, is president of New America Foundation, and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. Previously he spent 20 years as a foreign correspondent and senior editor at The Washington Post. Author of six books, including two about Bin Laden. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe Global Agenda is hosted by Ralph Begleiter Rosenberg Professor of Communication Distinguished Journalist in Residence Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent IM Firery Broome for more info.

Political Islam: The Graphic Novel - NAIF AL-MUTAWA

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:31 GMT

When: Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:30pm to Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:30pm PDT

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Global Agenda 2010 - Speaker Series - Understanding Political Islam Naif Al-Mutawa - Political Islam: The Graphic Novel Naif is the creator of THE 99, the first superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. A Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, with degrees from Tufts and Columbia universities, his contact with prisons and with people tortured for their religious and political beliefs led to his writing a UNESCO prize-winning children’s tale on tolerance. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe Global Agenda is hosted by Ralph Begleiter Rosenberg Professor of Communication Distinguished Journalist in Residence Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent IM Firery Broome for more info.

Understanding Islamism - MAAJID NAWAZ

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:27 GMT

When: Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:30pm to Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:30pm PDT

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Global Agenda 2010 - Speaker Series - Understanding Political Islam Maajid Nawaz - Understanding Islamism Maajid is Director of the Quilliam Foundation in London. For 14 years he was involved in the Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK, Denmark and Pakistan. He served four years in an Egyptian prison, where he gradually changed his views until he renounced Islamist Ideology for traditional Islam and inclusive politics. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe Global Agenda is hosted by Ralph Begleiter Rosenberg Professor of Communication Distinguished Journalist in Residence Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent IM Firery Broome for more info.

Muslims in Iran and the U.S. - GENEIVE ABDO

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:19 GMT

When: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:30pm to Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:30pm PDT

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Global Agenda 2010 - Speaker Series - Understanding Political Islam Geneive Abdo - Muslims in Iran and the U.S. Geneive was a foreign correspondent for many years in the Middle East and the Islamic world, and the first American journalist based in Tehran after the United States cut ties with Iran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. She is a fellow at The Century Foundation, and previously worked at the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations to improve relations between Western and Islamic societies. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe Global Agenda is hosted by Ralph Begleiter Rosenberg Professor of Communication Distinguished Journalist in Residence Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent IM Firery Broome for more info.

Living with Political Islam-NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:15 GMT

When: Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:30pm to 6:30pm PST

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Global Agenda 2010 - Speaker Series - Understanding Political Islam Nicholas Schmidle - Living with Political Islam NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE lived and reported among the Taliban in Pakistan from 2006-08, before being deported. He has also worked in Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. He speaks Persian and Urdu, and is a graduate of James Madison and American universities. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe Global Agenda is hosted by Ralph Begleiter Rosenberg Professor of Communication Distinguished Journalist in Residence Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent IM Firery Broome for more info.

Rethinking the Islamic World Paradigm - SHIBLEY TELHAMI

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:01 GMT

When: Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:30pm to 6:30pm PST

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/56/150/26
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Global Agenda 2010 - Speaker Series - Understanding Political Islam Guest speaker Shibley Telhani - Rethinking the Islamic World Paradigm Shibley was advisor to the US Mission to the UN (1990-91), advisor to former Congressman Lee Hamilton, and a member of the US delegation to the Trilateral US-Israeli-Palestinian Anti-Incitement Committee, established by the Wye River Agreements. He served on the Iraq Study Group and on the US State Department’s Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, and he co-drafted its report, Changing Minds, Winning Peace. He is Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland. Global Agenda and speaker: http://bit.ly/9eNMwe IM Firery Broome for more info.

SLA Virtual Worlds Council Annual Report, March – December 2009

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:29 GMT

To read the full report click Download SLABoard-SLAVirtualWorldsCouncilReport2009

Background

The SLA Virtual Worlds Council was created in March 2009. President Gloria Zamora appointed the council with the following direction:

Six members appointed for overlapping terms of two years each. The Advisory Council shall:

Recommend short and long-term direction for SLA ’s presence as an association in virtual worlds.
Oversee SLA’s presence in virtual worlds.
Interface with other SLAunits, including the Innovation Lab Task Force, ClickU and the Professional Development, Public Relations and Student Academic Affairs Advisory Councils, to:

a. consolidate efforts
b develop and promote opportunities for members to participate and build virtual world skills.

Investigate and estimate the cost of creating, maintaining and promoting virtual world activities and recommend funding sources and report findings to the CEO.

The council members are:

Council Member 2009: Scott Brown

Council Member 2009: Heather O'Daniel

Council Member 2009: Patricia Alderman

Council Member 09-10: Cindy Hill

Council Member 09-10: Marcella Dulka

Council Member 09-10: Christy Confetti Higgins

Board liaison 2009: Stephen Abram

Staff liaison 2009: John Lowry (March-September) – Constance Denning (October – December)

Jill Hurst-Wahl is our first Honorary Member

2009 Goals: At our first few meetings we discussed and agreed to several goals:

1. Bring SLA leaders into a virtual world environment

2. Explore other virtual worlds beyond Second Life, evaluating their potential usefulness for SLA members

3. Revisit and evaluate current SLA space in Second Life to determine if it needed renovating

4. Increase visibility of the potential of virtual worlds to the SLA membership

Stephen Abram, board liaison, encouraged the council to evaluate every opportunity for the lessons learned, repeatability, and to capture that information for future use by SLA

members.

Accomplishments:

1. Renovated the SLA space in Second Life: Worked with Jainschigg, (World2Worlds.com) on the redesign/remodeling of our space. Based on the Council’s input, the space is designed to be “not normal” meeting space, but a space that invites people to think differently and interact more easily with other SLA members; to lower or remove communication barriers, and to experiment with emerging social media tools. It is projected to be completed in time for the post-Leadership Summit session.

2. Hosted ClickU series about Virtual Worlds, focusing on Second Life. Three 2-part sessions were provided to SLA members in 2009. They were modeled after the first sessions offered by the original task force, with updated information. The first session was in WebEx and the second session was in Second Life.

3. Hosted sessions in Second Life for SLA members. These events are opportunities to reach members in new venues, provide a 3-dimensional meeting experience, and be learning opportunities for SLA leadership to experience presenting in a virtual world environment.

· February 2009: SLA CEO, Janice Lachance, and SLA President, Gloria Zamora highlighted the Alignment Project and the 2009 Leadership Summit.

· November 2009: PR Council members and ambassadors discussed the Alignment Project with SLA members and guests

· 2010 schedule: SLA CEO, Janice Lachance, and SLA President, Anne Caputo, will host a conversation in SL, providing 2010 Leadership Summit highlights

4. Assumed responsibility for monthly Second Life Alliance Virtual Library “Library Buzz” events. These events are opportunities to increase the visibility of SLA, the value of SLA membership, the importance of information and knowledge sharing in a virtual environment across all information professionals (public, academic, government, corporate, students, etc.) and learning opportunities for the speakers to experience presenting in a virtual world environment. At least three of the speakers were first-timers in giving a presentation in a virtual world.

The council created and hosted 7 events in Second Life:

· July 30, 2009 - Scott Brown (SLA member), “Putting Social to Work: Real-Life Examples of Organizations and Info Pros Using Social Networking Tools”

· August 25, 2009 – Marcy Rodney (SLA member), “What Doors Did You Leave Open?”

SLA Leadership Post Summit Sessions in Second LIfe

Curious about Anne Caputo's 5 top trends that are influencing us?

Want to know why "loyalty" is essential for professional relationships and how to instill it?

Have a question for your SLA CEO, President or President-elect?

Meet our three leaders in-world next Wednesday for an informal conversation about Leadership Summit highlights, updates on the conference in New Orleans, and next steps for the Alignment Project. This is your opportunity to talk with our leaders - see you in-world!

Wednesday, 2/10/2010, 2pm ET/11am PT

Speakers--Anne Caputo, Cindy Romaine, Janice Lachance (not all speakers at each session)

Location will be at the newly redesigned SLA space in Second Life.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22

P.S. Reminder--You must already have a free Second Life account and an avatar to attend this meeting in Second Life. https://join.secondlife.com/ Let me know if you'd like some help setting this up.

[Feb 15] VWBPE 2010: Call for presentations

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:11 GMT

Call for presentation proposals are out! Deadline is 15 Feb.

The theme this year is Imagination Around the World. Come share with us the amazing work you are doing with teaching and learning in virtual worlds.

Please check the website for information on the conference and how to submit proposals.

The conference format is 48 hours starting 12 March, FREE, and entirely within Second Life (with visits and tours to other virtual worlds). We are expecting attendance to top 5000 avatars from around the world.

[Mar 12] VWBPE 2010 - Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:02 GMT

Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference 2010 is a completely in-world conference on ... virtual worlds, best practices and how they are used in education. It is not uniquely focused on Second Life however obviously there is a very strong SL bent to the conference owing to where it is being held.

Website URL :: http://www.vwbpe.org

Unlike a number of other virtual world conferences this one is BIG - it is also FREE with the expenses for the conference being paid for through sponsorship. When I say big I mean like 1700+ people in 2007 and 3600+ people in 2009 and we are expecting 5000+ for 2010.

This year we are upping the ante.

The conference is going to be 48 hrs from 12:01a on March 12 to 23:59p on March 13.

The conference is going international with active representation on the proposal committee from around the world
Through generous support by a number of organizations we've managed to obtain 20 sims to accomodate the conference
We are hoping to have transcription services available for those with hearing imparements, and...
We are hoping to be able to broadcast at least 40 hours of live video (flash based) to the web along with another 8-10 hours of HD video (QT)
Treet.TV has gone through a major revamp of their website so if you want to see video from last year the new link is http://business.treet.tv/shows/bpeducation/episodes.

Deserted Office Parks: The Exodus Continues

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:45 GMT

Following part 1, part 2 and part 3 - posted almost 2 years ago, I wanted to combine a few references from this week that underscore the premise of the incoming exodus to the virtual workplace. First, an excerpt from an ‘All Tech Considered‘ post, describing Frontline's recent special, “Digital Nation.” “In filming at the IBM offices in Westchester N.Y., we were astonished to find the huge, slick office park almost deserted. We learned it was a byproduct of the fact that so many IBM employees telecommute from home or hotels. “In fact, now, IBM is ...

Applications Open for Virtual World Professional Development Opportunity in March

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:01 GMT

On behalf of Global Kids, a leading nonprofit in the field of virtual world education, we would like to invite your organization to apply to participate in a series of free professional development trainings in virtual worlds for nonprofits. Supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the Virtual Worlds Capacity Building for Nonprofits Program aims to facilitate nonprofit organizations in developing an informed strategy on how to integrate these new media tools into their missions.

Over the month of March 2010, Global Kids will be working with a cohort of 5-8 civic and cultural organizations to introduce them to the myriad applications of virtual worlds for the public sector. The "Virtual World Capacity Building Program," now in its 3rd semester, is a three-week crash course in virtual environments, specifically tailored to the interests and needs of nonprofit institutions. Participating organizations will get to explore different virtual worlds, test out different tools and applications, and learn about cutting edge projects run within these 3D, online spaces.

For the first time, Global Kids is soliciting applications for the Winter 2010 session from any civic or cultural organization, anywhere in the world. All interested organizations are encouraged to apply. Selection preference will be given to organizations that are mostly closely associated with Global Kids' core values of education, youth development, civic engagement, human rights and international affairs. Unfortunately, we are only able to accommodate up to eight organizations for a given semester. Applications are due by February 8, 2010. We will inform selected participants by February 15 via email.

Sample topics of the Winter 2010 Capacity Building Program:

How organizations are using virtual worlds to enhance their real world conferences and events
Why educational institutions from K-12 to university are interested in virtual worlds
What networks and communities of practice can help your organization get started in virtual worlds
How to budget and plan your first virtual project

For more information and to apply, please see our website at http://tinyurl.com/virtualworldtraining. Remember, applications are due by February 8, 2010.