Welcome to AECT on Community of Academic Virtual Educators (CAVE) Island
In June 2009, the AECT Board of Directors approved funding of the AECT-SL Project for
2009 to reconstruct a presence in Second Life. The VWC Project Manager set goals, periodically report progress of construction, a continuation of Site Manager
(SM) exists to coordinate island security, access rights, membership, notifications, and fees (if applicable). The Events Director (ED) will conduct in-world activities, manage public relations and communications with membership, and provide information to the AECT VWC Webmaster to update the site. There is Property Developer (PD) assigned to work with the Site Manager and Events Director to create and maintain the ongoing AECT-SL site and facilitate events. Our Associations Representative (AR) develops relations with other organizations on the island, named Community of Academic Virtual Educators (CAVE); these organizations are now becoming visually present on the island.
VWC is now focusing on the following areas:
1) Construction
Representatives from divisions, affiliates and others contacted us at the convention to discuss space in AECT_SL. Our primary goal until December 31st will be to complete construction of these spaces. LaLisa will do most of the construction but may need input from us. I'm aware of the Schools Division but know there are others. Please let me know which groups need our attention. Ana Donaldson was appointed by the ECT board to provide information on the foundation. I have designated the cave room for Grad students. D&D VP of Communication, Deniz Eseryel (eseryel@ou.edu) asked for help on their space. Please follow up on these groups and any others you talked with during the convention while their enthusiasm is high. Get LaLisa involved with immediate construction of their concepts before our funding expires.
2) Communications
Our next focus is re-messaging our information for post-conference. This includes notecards, signs, prims, and web posts. Basically, we need to replace references to convention activities with new information or remove them. Retool the spaces to support meeting events and highlights from our successes. Most of the information (docs, pics, vids) need to appear in our library space on CloudNine. I'd really appreciate Bill overseeing that process with help from Cheryl, Mark, & Chris. Help Chris with whatever he needs for the pod transport tour notes.
3) Phase II
To begin the next phase of the project, we need to consider opportunities for events, publications, and collaboration. Aimee Byk (bykad@mail.uc.edu) will coordinate newbies by providing LaLisa and Cheryl with information about how to help new members in AECT_SL. Yu-Chang Hsu (yzh109@psu.edu) will direct our efforts for research and applications leading to publications, Aline Click will direct our efforts to expand into other virtual worlds like OpenSim. I would like Bill Freese to direct our library services (archives, presidents, publications, audios, images, videos, etc.). Brian Wilson (brian_wilson@asu.edu) will address issues for graduate students in AECT_SL. We should encourage use of meeting space by the divisions, affiliates, and AECT officers and promote AECT members that want to bring their students for demonstrations in SL. A Cyber Theme was announced for next year's convention that will inlcude a track for virtual world presentations. We may simulcast and record some of the events at the 2010 convention but will need to submit a plan to the AECT Board to support that process. Please let me know if anyone else would like to help us on the project.
Designated meeting spaces are available for divisions and partnerships for members is available and supported by various forms of media and kiosks. The AECT_SL space was officially unveiled on Thursday, Oct. 29th during the 2009 convention. Pictures of the event are available on the Archives site from the 2009 AECT Virtual Celebration.
If you would like to join the AECT_SL group or work with the development team contact:
Project Manager (PM) – Tom Atkinson - Professor Tomsen
Associations Representative (AR) – Lisa Dawley - Mali Young
AECT members and non-members started meeting for special Second Life events in 2008, hosted by various educational organizations. As the
most successful global virtual environment in terms of adoption and growth, Second Life
represents a vehicle for AECT members to share and gain expertise as well as network with
other professionals, other virtual worlds such as MetaVerse, are now being included as part of AECT's educational virtual organization allowing users to join at no cost, and attend in-world presentations and events modeling a variety of works within these cutting edge environments.
As a leader in the field of educational technology and communications, AECT’s presence in
this virtual world offers the opportunity to expand its professional activities, provide service
to its members and affiliates, and advance scholarship and practice to enlarge the field's
knowledge base. Virtual worlds, such as
Second Life (SL) and MetaVerse, offer user-created content, social networking and educational events to its users. The virtual
environments are completely user-generated and Basic accounts are free in SL, MetaVerse is set up on private servers at individual institutions.
It's easy to start and join AECT once you have a Second Life account. Your SL account will allow you to participate at events, develop and upload content and network with friends and colleagues across the globe, thus this world is limited
only by one’s creativity, skills, and a bank account, if you want to purchase items in-world.
The benefits when enrolling into a full AECT real-life membership is rewarding for those interested in education and professional development related to educational and technological publications, and with technical communication organizations. As a member you receive conference discounts, publication discounts and access to all the Springer Publications in eBook format. High energy conferences are held annually both virtually and real time in various cities across the U.S. where networking for work, education and pleasure make this a simple solution to expand your professional horizon. For more information click on the Membership link at the top of the page.
Get started in Second Life with these basic steps (Linden Labs, 2007):
1. How do I get started using Second Life (SL)? Begin at Second Life's website!
To sign up, download SL, and create an avatar . Complete the Tutorials on Orientation Island, where your avatar will be modified. By doing this you will have an opportunity to get the hang of maneuvering your avatar so you can walk, sit, fly and teleport to other areas in SL. Click Terminology for instructions about how to communicate inworld with others. Next, start creating landmarks at your favorite locations so you can teleport frequently to and from the areas you have saved in your inventory. Here is the AECT_SL landmark: http://slurl.com/secondlife/CAVE/161/61/25/
2. What will it cost me?
Basic memberships are free and so are many items you will acquire. A paid account allows you to own land, upload certain content to your account or purchase items inworld. (See Membership Plans )
3. How do I join AECT in Second Life?
In SL, visit the following SLURL, AECT on CAVE Island to teleport to AECT's headquarters. There you will find a sign about AECT group membership. Click on the "Join Our Group" sign at this location and you will receive a note card providing instructions about group membership. Set AECT_SL as your HOME destination. After joining the AECT group, the "halo" above your head will state your name and membership affiliation with AECT. Group affiliations can be changed anytime by selecting the Groups tab under your avatar's profile information.
4. How do I attend AECT events in Second Life?
Make sure that you are on the AECT Membership list-serv and become an AECT member inworld. You will begin receiving notices and emails about events. Click here to join the AECTSL@aect.org list-serv.
Log in to SL and click on the SLURL in the message to easily teleport to our location. There is a Blog, Wiki and multiple Forums. The New Media Consortium holds classes for newcomers. Many AECT members are also associated with educational institutions that own and operate land in SL, who also present training and building classes that are generally free of charge. To participate, you may need to join their group too.
If you have further questions, please contact the VWC members listed above inworld or by email.
Welcome to the 2009 AECT Convention Events Live and Virtually in SL!
10/30/09 - The AECT Virtual World Committee will be hosting several Convention Events on C.A.V.E. Island, October 29th and 30th. The event includes virtual worlds presentations, discussing research and teaching and other educational technology techniques within virtual worlds. There will be guided tours of the island, presentations, an orientation tutorial and even some training events for the folks new to SL and virtual worlds. We will also host exhibits demonstrating current SL projects and educational tools, available to see as you tour the island.
Teleport to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/CAVE/161/61/25/ to see the events first hand.
Schedule for VWC Convention Events (all times for Louisville, ET)
AECT_SL Live Demo (Thurs Oct 29th, 9am-3pm). Inworld participants.
Grand Opening Ceremony (Thurs Oct 29th, 11:30-11:45am). Inworld participants
University Reception (Thurs Oct 29th, setup @ 3:30pm, display from 4:30-6:30pm)
VWC Meeting (Friday, Oct 30th, 8-9am). Inworld participants.
- Past President's Reception (Friday Oct 30th, 11:30-11:45am) Presidential Suite.
Pre-Convention Event Launched on October 2nd, 2009 was a Smash Success!
The AECT Virtual World Committee held a Pre-Convention Event on C.A.V.E. Island on October 2nd. The event included highlights for the Virtual Worlds Presentations which will be hosted live at the 2009 Convention. The presentations' covered research and teaching in Virtual Worlds. The event included guided tours of the island, presented an orientation tutorial and training for newbies in SL and exhibited demonstrations on current SL projects and SL educational tools available, some of these examples can still be seen on the island.
Teleport to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/CAVE/161/61/25/ to see the island first hand.
The VWC continues to work with AECT Division Affiliates to develop the personal division meeting spaces on C.A.V.E. Island. There are still a few division areas in need of furnishing and decorating and we are still taking requests. Contact your Division Communication affiliate today, and share your ideas for your division's personal in-world meeting space. The Division Communications officers can communicate your groups design ideas and the VWC will take care of the rest!
Enjoy, VWC!
!!Pre-Convention Event to Launch October 2nd, 2009!!
The AECT Virtual World Committee cordially invites you all (click for an invitation) to join us for a Pre-Convention Event on C.A.V.E. Island from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm SLT (PST). The event includes highlights of the Virtual Worlds Presentations to be hosted at the 2009 Convention, these all related to Research, and Teaching in Virtual Worlds. The event will also have guided tours of the island, present an SL orientation tutorial and training for newbies and will have exhibits demonstrating SL Projects and SL Educational tools. Teleport to CAVE Island now! http://slurl.com/secondlife/CAVE/161/61/25/
New AECT Space is Shaping UP! August 28, 2009
The VWC has been working with the Division Affiliates to develop their spaces on C.A.V.E. Island during the month of August. Thank you to all of you have responded to Jan and Mark with your ideas and requests. If you are in a Division or other area of AECT that has not been contacted and wants to have an official meeting space in SL, please contact the new Director of SL Memberships, Mark Atkinson at, matkins2@uwyo.edu. Mark comes to the group from the University of Wyoming, and appreciatively assisted by Jan Daughertery, of University of Central Florida. Both Mark and Jan started assisting simultaneously since the beginning of August 2009.
Next, Mark has put together a short video on YouTube (currently located on the AECT Homepage). Here, you can see a brief introduction of the new CAVE Island. To the left is a picture of one of our new meeting rooms on the island, as well. As you can see, we're getting close to completion with the construction. Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter, which is linked from AECT's SecondLife Home Page.
Enjoy, VWC!
Association for Educational Communications and Technology
In June 2009, the AECT Board of Directors approved funding of the AECT-SL Project for
2009 to reconstruct a presence in Second Life. The VWC Project Manager set goals, periodically report progress of construction, a continuation of Site Manager
(SM) exists to coordinate island security, access rights, membership, notifications, and fees (if applicable). The Events Director (ED) will conduct in-world activities, manage public relations and communications with membership, and provide information to the AECT VWC Webmaster to update the site. There is Property Developer (PD) assigned to work with the Site Manager and Events Director to create and maintain the ongoing AECT-SL site and facilitate events. Our Associations Representative (AR) develops relations with other organizations on the island, named Community of Academic Virtual Educators (CAVE); these organizations are now becoming visually present on the island.
