Games Gateway: Virtual Education From The Inside Out – An example in THERE.com

Happy New Year to all!

I am delighted to announce our kick-off of 2009 with a fascinating look at education in viritual space.

Virtual Education From The Inside Out – An example in THERE.com
Co-presenters: Frank Whiting (Stungthumbz) and Dr. Celia Pearce (Artemesia)

The University of There (UOT) was established June 21, 2004, as a participative teaching and learning venue for the subscribers of the THERE.com service, and as a facility available to outside academic institutions for experimental instruction in a virtual world. The current Dean, Stungthumbz (Frank) has managed the facility since its establishment.

Courses of instruction range from the There-Unique such as Dog Handling, through “real world” skills such as Paint Shop Pro and Lore of the Plains Indians. These courses are not for credit, and no fee is charged to There members. In addition, are courses being presented by outside institutions such as San Francisco State University in Communications and Environmental Studies which are for credit, but allow THERE subscribers to audit the online activities.

While it is possible to operate in Windows mode and split the screen, most instructors prefer to use a combination of lecture, printed There books, specialized club forums and links to their own web sites. The real contribution by UOT is actually the managed instruction facility and the in-world advertising.

The presentation on 15 January will consist of a guided tour of the extensive UOT facilities, including a visit to a virtual classroom and a chance to meet some of the students and faculty.

About the speakers:
Frank Whiting is currently an Academic Instructor in Computer Science for Shasta College. He is a retired US Air Force officer and a retired Staff Senior Engineer for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, where he worked on both the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. The first computer he worked on had 750 vacuum tubes.

Dr. Celia Pearce, is the director Director of the Emergent Game Group at Georgia Tech, has been studying THERE.com for the past 5 years, and is currently doing research with the UOT.

I look forward to seeing you all there at There and at SAIC.

This event is organized byt Carl Symborski. Thank you, Carl!

I welcome others organizing gatherings, coming up with ideas we can organized together and etc. So please do note hesitate to vocalize and do.

See you all next Thursday,
Limor