Educators in VR Events: July 13-19, 2020

July 14, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

Educators in VR has a busy week planned with great special guests, partner events, and team project meetups and events. Remember, we announce these events regularly on our Educators in VR Discord group, Facebook, and Twitter. For events in AltspaceVR, consider subscribing to our Educators in VR event subscription channel to receive regular reminders of upcoming events there. For events on ENGAGE VR, check out their Events schedule, and we will update you on our projects on other social and educational platforms as they happen.

July 14 – VR Researchers Team: We begin the week on Tuesday with the gathering of the VR Researchers team members and general audience to discuss research in immersive technologies, how the research is going, where to start, and where to find key research. Also, check out their VR Researchers Discord Channel in the Educators in VR Discord.

Don’t forget that our #research-help-wanted campaign helps publicize your research across our social media platforms. If you have a research project that needs to reach a wide audience, post in the #research-help-wanted and discuss it in the #research-projects channel and at the above meetups.

July 14 – Weekly Workshop: A few hours later is the Educators in VR Weekly Workshop with Matt Burns of HRBento discussing the upcoming HR Global Summit, July 28-29, in @AltspaceVR. He will be talking about preparing students, HR companies, and professionals for a future integrating VR/AR/XR. The Global HR Summit is in AltspaceVR, and ticket proceeds benefit the Virtual World Society, a partner of Educators in VR. The next HR in VR Meetup is Thursday, also in AltspaceVR.

July 15 – vCoaching and Personal Development: Wednesday features CaptainVR’s Dana-Maria, leader of the vCoaching and Personal Development Team Project, with special guest Fabian R-CANE Schlosser, a renowned expert in music therapy for relaxation and stress reduction. Fabian’s work and research developed a Stress Reduction Method with music therapy being used around the world. You may learn more about his work on his website, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Check out the vCoaching and Personal Development channel in the Educators in VR Discord for more information and resources, and access to the videos of past meetups and workshops.

July 15 – Cyberbullying Team Project Meetup: Later on Wednesday is the next Cyberbullying Defense & Protection Team Meetup with Eric Segal (ZenPanda) of NEST, Network of Emotional Support Teams, as she takes us through the journey of cyberbullies and bullies in general, to help you understand the types, styles, prevention, treatment and training, and how to protect yourself from harm. With an increase in hate and racism acts IRL and online, this regular meetup group is ideal to help you learn more. We’ve information on cyberbullying here on our site and will be adding more, and we have resources and discussions on our Cyberbullying Channel on our Discord.

July 16 – Virtual World Society Fireside Chat: Thursday is the Virtual World Society Fireside Chat with Tom Furness & Ben Lok, award-winning professor & founder working with virtual storytelling & communication skills. He teaches a variety of courses at the University of Florida’s Computer and Informational Sciences and Engineering Department, and is co-founder of Shadow Health, an educational company focused on using virtual humans and mixed reality to train communication skills within VR and human-computer interaction. He received the UF Innovator of the Year Award (2019), a UF Term Professorship (2017-2020), the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Faculty Mentoring Award (2016), a NSF Career Award (2007-2012), and the UF ACM CISE Teacher of the Year Award in 2005-2006. He and his students in the Virtual Experiences Research Group have received Best Paper Awards at IVA 2019, IEEE VR 2008, and ACM I3D (Top 3, 2003).

Look What’s Next

There is plenty coming up with Educators in VR, and here are some highlights.

July 28 – Special Event with Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab: Dr. Geraldine Fauville from The Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab has been working on an innovative VR educational project working with 200 6th to 8th grade girls in VR or 2D studying ocean acidification and marine environmental issues. Their insights on immersive learning, assessments, and outcomes help us all understand the power of VR in education.

July 28 – Weekly Workshop on Building Virtual Worlds for Events and Education: Educators in VR has spent the last two years building custom worlds and event spaces for classes, workshops, and conferences. This special workshop will introduce you to the challenges and features necessary in an immersive classroom and VR event spaces. In September, we are launching a new feature to rent those virtual world spaces for your own events, classes, workshops, and conferences. The worlds will be available individually and in packaged kits, and you will be seeing a preview of some of those spaces. The event will begin in our Educators in VR Training Center and move through some fascinating social worlds.

July 28 – iLRN2020 Conference Lessons Learned: Join Educators in VR with the iLRN (Immersive Learning Research Network) team for a discussion about the lessons learned from producing their first virtual conference, iLRN2020 in VirBELA and AltspaceVR. Migrating a conference for less than one hundred attendees to one featuring thousands, and incorporating the IEEE conference standards and requirements for their attendees, is a huge undertaking, from choosing a platform to implementing the top notch speaker and event program. Join us as we discuss the lessons learned and how to bring a real-world event to VR and virtual.

July 26 – CPDinVR in ENGAGE VR: As part of the amazing CPDinVR Third Anniversary events with Steve Brambury, Educators in VR’s Daniel Dyboski-Bryant will be interviewing the co-founder of Students in VR, Angelina Dayton, and Kelly Lovell of Bridging the Gap Ventures, part of the team along with Educators in VR producing the upcoming YOUNGA Take-over of the United Nations student-led event, September 28-29, 2020.

July 28-29 – Global HR Summit: The Global HR Summit is July 28-29 in AltspaceVR, bringing together HR professionals, experts, and consultants for their first all VR conference. Produced by Educators in VR, Matt Burns of BentoHR and the Thinking Inside the Box podcast, and ticket proceeds benefit the Virtual World Society, a partner of Educators in VR. The next HR in VR Meetup is Thursday, also in AltspaceVR.

September 28-29 – YOUNGA Take-over of the UN: In collaboration with Educators in VR, Students in VR, and Bridging the Gap Ventures, YOUNGA is a take-over of the United Nations, student-led event held in ENGAGE VR. The event will feature student leaders and experts along with industry and corporate leaders and activists solving the world’s key problems with leadership panels, virtual master classes, fireside chats, and immersive VR performances, engaging cultures and societies around the world. Registration is open to participate in this ground-breaking, VR event in ENGAGE VR as celebrities and students call upon the United Nations to help solve the challenges the world faces together.

October 2020 – National Bullying Month: This is the second anniversary of the Educators in VR Cyberbullying Month in conjunction with National Bullying Month. This year, we have a month-long series of workshops, classes, meetups, and trainings on the subject open to everyone, and potentially some master class programs and trainings as well to help us all learn from experts on reducing harm and being prepared against the bullies who follow us from the real world to online and VR social platforms. We have information and resources from last year to update you, and join our discussions and plans on the Cyberbullying Channel in Discord. We’re always looking for topics and expert speakers on these subjects.

February 2021: We have plans in motion for our next Educators in VR International Summit, but we are breaking the rules again. Keep your February open and we’ll have announcements on this coming soon.

Cyberbullying Project Team Meetups

July 6, 2020July 20, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

In 2019, Educators in VR honored Cyberbullying and National Bullying Month with multiple events and resources to help our members and community understand how to respond to cyberbullying. We will be repeating that month-long series in October 2020. Over the past few weeks, AltspaceVR and other social VR and online platforms have faced cyber-crime attacks.

We are thrilled to revitalize our Cyberbullying Team Project to open up discussions about this issue from a variety of vantage points, from real-world to virtual, with Erica Siegal, beginning this Wednesday, July 8, in AltspaceVR with our free Cyberbullying Project Event.

Erica Siegal, known as ZenPanda, is a therapist and founder of NEST, Network of Emotional Support Teams, specializing in harm reduction training, prevention, and consulting to organizations and individuals with direct and indirect experiences of trauma and prevention. As a harm reduction provider, Erica offers services and trainings that address the most common and the most serious issues that impact organizations and teams, including assault, harassment, sexual assault, interpersonal conflict, altered states & substance use, staff burnout & compassion fatigue, communicating consent & boundaries through preparedness training, crisis response, informed consent training, staff wellness education, compassionate leadership training, and mediation and peer-to-peer support.

PandaNEST has an amazing line-up of topics and experts for these weekly sessions. She will bring to these weekly meetups and workshops covering the above topics and more, helping you learn how to provide support and resources through compassionate leadership, but also to understand the complexities associated with all forms of bullying and intimidation so you can better support yourself, your family, co-workers, and your community.

We invite you to suggest topics for discussion and guest speakers in our Discord #cyberbullying team channel. If you would like to get involved and help support this team project, please join us there and be a part of the discussion.

With recent cyber-crime attacks in AltspaceVR and other virtual platforms, as well as the increase in troll activity as more and more people move into the social VR community, now is the time to explore this topic and we’re so excited to have PandaNEST on board!

Expect these sessions to touch upon sensitive areas. Please remember, these are NOT therapy sessions but may serve as support, sharing, and resource access opportunities.

Team project event in AltspaceVR. Educators in VR is dedicated to providing educational events, trainings, and workshops for educators and learners to prepare them for the future of spatial technologies in education. We offer weekly workshops, socials, and special events in AltspaceVR, ENGAGE, and other platforms featuring key educators, trainers, and developers in VR, AR, XR, and MR technology and education.

Educators in VR Team Projects are lead by experts in their field of study and interest and are designed to bring together others passionate about these topics and the spatial technologies and industries represented. We have team projects on language learning arts, virtual coaching and self-development, math, science, cultural heritage preservation, and so much more. We’d love for you to be involved and maybe lead your own team project.

Consider joining one of our many team projects, and if you have the time, consider becoming a volunteer and support Educators in VR activities and events. If you would like to present at one of our weekly workshops, please submit your speaker’s proposal to us. If you have questions or need more information, please contact us or connect with one of our many social media channels.

Join our Educators in VR Discord group, Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for information on workshops and how to become more involved. Consider subscribing to our Educators in VR event subscription channel to receive regular reminders of upcoming events there. We publish member brags and news you can use about virtual reality in education across the entire spectrum of usage from childhood education to health and science to corporate.

To Attend Educators in VR Events in AltspaceVR

We meet in AltspaceVR, a free virtual reality social app and community. You may RSVP on the event from our channel and AltspaceVR will send you a reminder an hour before the event. AltspaceVR, like other virtual platforms, require an account for access.

You may attend using the free AltspaceVR mobile app or 2D version. AltspaceVR is available for Oculus Go, Quest, and Rift, HTC Vive (Steam), and Windows Mixed Reality users. If you do not have a VR device, you may also install the 2D version for use on your Windows desktop computer. A headset and microphone (quality earbuds acceptable) is required to participate. Otherwise please stay muted during the event as the background noise and echoes may be disruptive. For more information on accessing and installing AltspaceVR, check out their download web page.

iLRN 2020 Conference Offers Free Tickets

June 9, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

iLRN Conference 2020 - lighthouse.

The June 21-25 iLRN 2020 conference is now free to attend!

Educators in VR is partnered to produce the 6th Annual iLRN Conference in VirBELA and AltspaceVR, fully online in virtual reality.

The conference will feature not only top researchers as keynotes and presenting their research projects, workshops, showcases, and classes, the traditional conference fare produced in a customized virtual world by the VirBELA development team and Educators in VR’s production team in AltspaceVR, the conference features special guided adventure tours, a huge exhibit hall, virtual artists performing live via stream, an interactive and collaborative unconference in AltspaceVR, game night, virtual banquets, and entertainment. You do not want to miss this event this year!

With generous sponsorships from VirBELA, XR Association, The National Center for Science & Civic Engagement, the Center for Immersive Experiences at Penn State University, The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, TU Graz University of Technology, and the Journal of Universal Computer Science, the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) announced FREE REGISTRATION for anyone with an interest in VR/AR/MR (XR) and immersive learning. Regardless of organizational and institutional affiliation or sectors, if you are not presenting, get your free ticket now.

According to iLRN, registrations will be accepted until the participant quota is reached, then they will revert to a paid ticketing system. Register immediately to avoid missing out a chance to attend this amazing conference that brings together researchers and developers from around the world breaking new ground in VR/AR/XR research and technology.

Educators in VR is proud to be a part of the iLRN 2020 conference, and we are also looking for volunteers to help support this non-profit association conference. We need and will train volunteers to provide support through moderation, greeting, and video recording and streaming in both VirBELA and AltspaceVR. As a volunteer, you will have free access to the event as well. If you wish to help us support the conference, please sign up with our Volunteer Form. You will need to provide your AltspaceVR username as part of the process, even if you will be working in VirBELA.

Workshop: Build Your Better Self in VR

May 18, 2020May 23, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

Build Your Better Self Workshop with Caitlyn Krause Dana Maria May 2020 ASVR Event Tile

In this fast-paced, ever-shifting “new normal” we find ourselves in, it is more important that ever that we get our heads “in the right space,” and what better space to challenge ourselves than in the virtual reality space where we can immerse ourselves and recreate who we are in VR.

Tickets Available Now
Build Your Better Self: We Create Who We Are in VR!

Educators in VR is excited to announce a special event May 28, 2020, 10AM PDT, with Caitlin Krause, founder of MindWise, author, educator, and innovator in XR collaboration, mindfulness and presence, and Dana-Maria Faneker, founder of the CaptainVR startup and leader of the Educators in VR vCoaching and Personal Development Team. They are teaming up for a unique and engaging workshop on mindsets, well-being, and transformation for personal and professional development called “Build Your Better Self: We Create Who We Are in VR!

The 2-hour workshop in AltspaceVR is designed to help you transform your life and work in a meaningful way. With their innovative expertise in virtual reality teaching and training, Caitlin Krause and Danna-Maria Faneker will help you learn techniques to empower you to build your best version of yourself using coaching and personal development techniques such as Ki-training, PSYCH-K, mindfulness, and meditation. For business professionals, academics, and trainers, this is a life-changing experience to help you focus and refocus and build your better self.

Caitlin Krause photo Caitlin Krause specializes in UX design, story, and well-being in XR. She works as a story designer in digital therapeutics with a focus on interactive XR, using mindfulness, guided imagery, HCD, biofeedback, BA, and CBT.

Founder of the consultancy MindWise, Caitlin launched her book Mindful by Design (Corwin Press, 2019) at the World Economic Forum and spoke about the Future of Education, Sci-Fi and Immersive Technology. She has been a teacher and curriculum designer for over two decades. Through her leadership and organizational consulting, she helps individuals and teams create connection in the midst of complexity and change. She recently created a mindfulness and SEL series in social VR, fusing presence, storytelling, curiosity, and emotional intelligence. Her mission is to empower humanity through connection.

Dana-Maria Faneker has been sailing on big traditional Sailing Vessels first as a crew member and later as a Captain and now she is a professional coach/trainer already for 10 years and she started working with VR coaching in 2015.

Dana-Maria’s mission is to is help people to become the Captain of their Lives and Virtual Reality is the most powerful tool to help her with her mission. That’s why she founded a tech-startup called CaptainVR! CaptainVR is developing digital health tools to empower people, so they can practice, learn, and develop in a safe environment. They measure the effectiveness of the tools with Biofeedback and work together with psychologists & researchers to build proven cases. Their main focus is on personal development, stress reduction and immune boosting. CaptainVR also provides education, coaching, and training on how to work with new technology in an effective way. As leader of the vCoaching and Personal Development Team, she hosts weekly workshops in AltspaceVR

Caitlin and Dana-Maria recently hosted a special event in AltspaceVR as part of the Educators in VR vCoaching Team workshops, focusing on helping people find techniques and tools for self-improvement and stress release in this time of crises, finding a new energy and increased focus.

vCoaching - Caitlin Krause and Dana-Maria workshop May 2020

Tickets for Build Your Better Self: We Create Who We Are in VR! are just USD $35 and include all ticket fees. Events like these typically fill fast. Seating is limited to ensure a personal experience, so hurry to ensure your spot at this special event.

Specific instructions on how to attend this innovative event will be in the receipt. Please remember, this is a self-improvement session not therapy.

SiliconHagen Meetups: Denmark Education and Technology

April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

SiliconHagen

Educators in VR is proud to help launch SiliconHagen and their regular meetups in AltspaceVR, and introduce you to a leading change agent in the transformation of public and private sector service education, training, user interaction, and production management. The special launch event is the SiliconHagen Denmark Education Team Introduction set for Monday, April 27, and is open to all. The event will be in English and Danish.

We are eager to introduce you to the great work that SiliconHagen is doing in Denmark to provide support, conversations, and access to new technologies in education for students, educators, employees, and companies as schools adapt and expand to embrace spatial technologies. Denmark was one of the first nations to lockdown and struggle with the challenge of teaching virtually, and one of the first to emerge successfully, offering even more unique challenges as students return to school and continue to maintain social distancing. They have many lessons to teach us.

SiliconHagen offers innovative solutions and applications of virtual and augmented reality technologies as a leader in Denmark. They are exploring experimental technologies associated with data driven artificial intelligence and IoT in education, health, building and property management, smart cities, and even energy management, all relevant to the education, training, and industry development needed to meet the needs of the country in the future and maintain its position in the world’s economies.

This is the first in a series of regular meetups for SiliconHagen to meet in AltspaceVR and bring together the Denmark educational community to work together toward the future, embracing emerging technology and providing open discussions on education and technology now and into the future.

You may learn more about what they are doing on their SiliconHagen website, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Educators in VR is dedicated to providing educational events, trainings, and workshops for educators and learners to prepare them for the future of spatial technologies in education. We offer weekly workshops in AltspaceVR and other platforms featuring key educators, trainers, and developers in VR, AR, XR, and MR technology and education.

To Attend Educators in VR Events in AltspaceVR

You may attend using the free AltspaceVR mobile app or 2D version. AltspaceVR is available for Samsung Gear, Steam Store for HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, and the Oculus Store for Rift, Go and Quest users. If you do not have a VR device, you may also install the 2D version for use on your Windows desktop computer. A headset and microphone (quality earbuds acceptable) is required to participate. Otherwise please stay muted during the event as the background noise and echoes may be disruptive. For more information on accessing and installing AltspaceVR, check out their download web page.

If you would like to present at one of our weekly workshops, please submit your speaker’s proposal to us. Consider joining one of our many team projects. If you have questions or need more information, please contact us or connect with one of our many social media channels.

Educators in VR er stolte af at hjælpe med opstarten af SiliconHagens nye gratis tiltag Virtuelle Undervisere og deres regelmæssige møder i AltspaceVR. Tiltaget vil introducere interessenter for de førende tiltag, forandringer og den nyeste udvikling indenfor VR i den offentlige og private sektor – Herunder uddannelse, træning, brugerinteraktion og produktionsstyring. Den specielle lanceringsbegivenhed Introduktion til SiliconHagen Denmark Education vil blive sat i vandet mandag den 27. april 2020 kl. 16.00, og er åben for alle interessenter. Arrangementet vil være på engelsk og dansk.

Vi er ivrige efter at introducere jer til det store arbejde, SiliconHagen udfører i Danmark, for at yde støtte, sparring og adgang til nye teknologier indenfor VR-brugen i uddannelse for både studerende, undervisere, ansatte og virksomheder, når skoler tilpasser sig og udbygges til at omfatte rumlige teknologier. Danmark var en af de første nationer, der igangsatte lockdown og kæmpede imod udfordringen ved at undervise virtuelt. Danmark står dog stadig med lockdown af store dele af undervisningssektoren, og de står endnu med unikke udfordringer, når eleverne vender tilbage til skolen og fortsætter med at opretholde social afstand. De har mange lektioner de kan lære os.

Som en af de førende i Danmark, tilbyder SiliconHagen innovative løsninger og applikationer af Virtual- og Augmented Reality-teknologier. De undersøger eksperimentelle teknologier, der er forbundet med datadrevet kunstig intelligens og IoT indenfor uddannelse, sundhed, bygning- og ejendomsadministration, byer og endda energistyring. Alt sammen relevant for den uddannelse, erhvervsuddannelse og industriudvikling, der er nødvendig for at imødekomme landets behov i fremtiden og opretholdelsen af landets position i verdensøkonomien.

Dette første event er det første i en række regelmæssige møder arrangeret af SiliconHagen, som mødes i AltspaceVR og samler det danske uddannelsessamfund med det formål at arbejde sammen med blikket rettet mod fremtiden. De omfavner ny teknologi og tilbyder dermed åbne diskussioner om uddannelse og teknologi nu og i fremtiden.

I kan læse mere om, hvad de laver på deres webside SiliconHagen, LinkedIn, og Twitter.

Educators In VR er dedikeret til at tilbyde kommende uddannelsesarrangementer, træning og workshops for undervisere og studerende med det til sigte at forberede dem på en fremtid med rumlige teknologier inden for uddannelse. Vi tilbyder ugentlige workshops i AltspaceVR og andre platforme med nøglepædagoger, undervisere og udviklere inden for VR, AR, XR og MR-teknologi samt uddannelse.

Deltag i vores Educators In VR Discord-gruppe, Facebook, og følg os på Twitter for mere information om workshops og hvordan du bliver mere involveret. Overvej at abonnere på vores Educators In VR ”begivenheds-abonnementskanal” for at modtage regelmæssige påmindelser om kommende begivenheder. Vi udgiver medlemsmagasiner og nyheder, hvor I kan læse om Virtual Reality indenfor uddannelse og her på tværs af hele spektret lige fra undervisning af børn, unge og voksne, sundhed, naturvidenskab og meget mere.

Deltag i Educators In VRs begivenheder på AltspaceVR

Vi mødes i AltspaceVR, en gratis virtual reality social app og community. RSVP begivenheden på vores kanal, og så vil AltspaceVR sende dig en påmindelse omkring begivenheder en time før begivenhedens start. AltspaceVR kræver, ligesom andre virtuelle platforme, en konto for adgang.

Du kan downloade den gratis AltspaceVR-mobilapp eller 2D-version. AltspaceVR 3D versionen er tilgængelig for brugere af Samsung Gear, Steam Store til HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality og Oculus Store til Rift, GoGo og Quest. Hvis du ikke har en VR-enhed, kan du også installere en 2D-version til brug på din Windows-stationære computer. Deltagelse kræver et headset og en mikrofon (In-ear hovedtelefoner kan også afbenyttes). Ellers beder vi dig forblive muted under begivenhederne og oplæg, da baggrundsstøj og ekko kan være forstyrrende for oplægsholdere.

For mere information, kontakt os venligst eller opret forbindelse til os via en af vores mange kanaler på de sociale medier.

VR Research Help Wanted Campaign

April 21, 2020April 21, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / 3 Comments

The Educators in VR VR Research Project Team meets every other week in AltspaceVR to discuss tips, techniques, and the challenges of researching in and with VR, and features guest speakers reporting on their ground-breaking research projects. All researchers are welcome to join and learn about the innovations being done in spatial technology research. Today’s VR Researchers Meetup features some exciting news.

Introducing the VR Research Help Wanted Campaign

Educators in VR represents researchers around the globe challenging and testing the concepts and efficacy of VR, AR, and XR in education, training, the workplace, science, and life in general. We support researchers exploring the uses and impact of VR in therapy and socialization, integration of AR into commerce and manufacturing, development of VR for workplace training, benefits for senior and elder care and memory stimulation, and exploring the benefits of social VR for collaboration – the list is long and we want to support our researchers, especially now.

Researchers don’t have access to their labs, subjects, or even their computers. Many have their research projects, even their graduations, postponed as the world continues to deal with the current and future challenges of the pandemic of COVID-19/coronavirus. For the few given permission to continue their research, they are often challenged by the inability to collect enough information.

Educators in VR is stepping up to help.

We’ve created a new channel in our Discord called Research Help Wanted in the Research category. If you are doing research in VR, AR, XR, and related topics and industries, and you wish to spread the word and allow us to help you spread that word – or survey – post there and our team will do our best to help.

Or consider using it to find interview subjects, or whatever help you need.

We have an amazing VR Research team lead by Evelien Ydo ready to answer your questions at their regular events and meetups or on the VR Research Discussion channel.

To help you get started, here are some of the research studies and projects you may help with right now.

Virtual Social Environments and Social Isolation & Loneliness during COVID-19: Keith Kenyon, Master of Psychology Student, University of Bolton.
Study on Trainer Intervention in Virtual and Augmented Reality Training Simulations: Eliot Winer, Melynda Hoover, and Kenna Short from the Iowa State University’s Virtual Reality Applications Center.
Attitudes Towards VR Learning from an Accessibility Point of View: Anthony Scavarelli, PhD program, Algonquin College.
Master Thesis on Benefits of Using VR in Times When Physical Travel is Not Possible: Daniel Sarkady, Innovation and Management in Tourism, Fachhochshule Salzburg.

This is just a few of the studies desperate for your assistance to support their research and move forward in their academic studies and careers. Help a VR researcher today!

Thanks to Keith Kenyon and Evelien Ydo for inspiring this campaign. We look forward to sharing the news of your research and our members and the public participating in your research projects!

Tom Furness and the Virtual World Society in AltspaceVR

April 21, 2020April 21, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

Tom Furness is coming back to AltspaceVR on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, and this time, he is bringing part of his Virtual World Society team to share what they are doing to turn the education industry upside down with virtual reality.

We’ve shared our love and passion for Tom Furness and the Virtual World Society here on our site and through our social media channels, and if you missed his presentation at the 2020 Educators in VR International Summit, watch it now on our Educators in VR YouTube channel.

Professor Furness will be discussing the work of the Virtual World Society, and announcing some very exciting news that will impact all of us.

He also brings us some homework and requests our support for some very worthy causes the Virtual World Society is supporting.

First, homework. Before the event, please complete this short 2 minute survey that asks you how you are doing with COVID-19 isolation and how you can help the Virtual World Society and how they can help you. The results will be announced at the event.

Next, you will learn about the generous work the Virtual World Society is doing for the Make a Wish program and other community events and activities. Please support these worthy causes by donating and spreading the word as it takes a community.

Consider joining the Virtual World Society and be among the growing membership determined to democratize and disrupt VR in education.

Tom Furness, Virtual World Society founder. Dr. Tom Furness is a virtual reality pioneer and inventor who has earned the title “Grandfather of Virtual Reality.” He is Professor in the University of Washington Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, and the founder of the Human Interface Technology Lab at the University of Washington and its sister labs at the University of Canterbury and University of Tasmania. He is known for his contributions developing virtual interface technology and its applications in education, training, medicine, design and entertainment. He and his students and colleagues have spun off 27 companies in the immersive computing space. He is also the general manager and owner of the RATLab (Rocking and Thinking Laboratory) and Founder of the Virtual World Society.

Expect to see Professor Furness and his Virtual World Society team members in and around AltspaceVR and the metaverse more often, but we won’t share any more details. You’ll just have to show up tomorrow and see what all the fuss and excitement is about!

PS: This week is his 77th birthday. To celebrate and honor his life-long work and passion, join the Virtual World Society and let’s make his dreams come true.

Lessons Learned from Hosting a VR Conference

March 8, 2020May 14, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / 7 Comments

We are still gathering feedback and data about our incredibly successful 2020 Educators in VR International Summit, February 17-22, 2020. We just held a Behind the Scenes of the International Summit workshop in AltspaceVR, and wanted to present some of our information and lessons learned.

A Little History

Educators in VR begin in November 2018 with the idea of bringing together educators and learners from within the VR community to share and discuss integrating VR into education. What was expected to be a meetup of 20-30 people became a 180 participants event. We began with monthly meetups, but the demand and interest was stunning, so we upped it to once a week workshops that continue to fill over a year later.

The topics and guest speakers have been incredible, covering a wide variety of industries and specialties from language learning to integrating AR into book publishing.

Within a short time, passionate educators, learners, and researchers asked it they could start their own groups under the Educators in VR umbrella, focusing on their specialty. Currently, we have eight such team projects, with more on the way. These team projects host events with speakers and topics, and are building communities in and of themselves, connecting like minds across borders. Most of the action happens on our Educators in VR Discord group, though some are also connecting on our Facebook group. You may check out the events in AltspaceVR on our Educators in VR AltspaceVR channel and subscribe to be notified of upcoming events.

At the beginning of 2019, co-founders Daniel Dyboski-Bryant, and myself, Lorelle VanFossen, discussed ideas for where we wanted to go in the future, and top of the list was a virtual conference. I wanted a 3-4 days conference, and Daniel laughed and said, “Why don’t we make it a week-long conference?” We compromised on 6 days, and the idea was born for the Educators in VR International Summit.

The idea of the International Summit was to be a proof-of-concept. Could we do it? Could we really create an all virtual, 24-hour, 6 day global conference and:

Would speakers want to present about VR in VR?
Who would show up for a conference in VR about VR?

Both solid questions, and of course, we quickly expanded VR to all the XR technologies. The excitement and interest of AWE 2019 was our first inclination that this was not just possible but feasible as we presented virtual workshops to people around the world from “within” the AWE side conferences. We kept experimenting at other conferences, adding a virtual component to in-person conferences, and eventually decided that February 2020 would be the date for taking the concept out of the idea box and proving we could actually do this. Continue reading →

UPDATE: Rocking Out the Summit in AltspaceVR & Somnium Space

February 22, 2020February 22, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

UPDATE: To ensure the best experience for our users, we will be hosting the main event for the closing ceremonies in both worlds simultaneously: Somnium Space and AltspaceVR.

Access to Somnium Space is available only to PC/VR users, not desktop/2D or mobile users. If you have access, join the party there. We will have a live stream from the event there into AltspaceVR for the first part of our Rock Out the Summit event.

Join us on both of these innovative platforms to celebrate this record-breaking International Summit.

SIX DAYS! We can’t believe it. We have completed five and we are on our way to six. We have an amazing closing ceremony called the “Rock Out the Summit” at noon PST Saturday, February 22, in Somnium Space. Come join us in celebrating this record-breaking 2020 Educators in VR International Summit!

Somnium Space people from website. We are so thrilled to be a part of the grand opening of Somnium Space, and we’ve accepted the challenge to fill it with another record-breaking event: the largest group of people in a single virtual space.

The current record was by High Fidelity and stands at 462 people in the same virtual space. That is our goal, and with the help of Somnium Space, and you, we can break that.

Somnium Space - Educators in VR 1 Somnium Space is an open, social, and persistent virtual reality world. You may buy land or import objects and instantly monetize and shape your own universe and experience.

VRScout described Somnium Space:

Somnium 2.0 has been designed to host all the players in a single interface, unlike other multiplayer VR gamers where players are categorized into sub servers and mirrored instanced rooms. The solution will be studded with new lucrative features such as persistent server architect and native NFT integration. These unique features help the creators to design and deploy the creations on the land owned by them. Somnium 2.0 will uplift the experience with features like enhanced graphics, full-body Avatars, along with support for Builder and Unity SDKs for creation and avatar importing.

We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of this innovative virtual space. It is currently only accessible by PC 2D Desktop and PC VR devices, not mobile like Oculus Go and Quest. They are working on that, but right now opening up to Educators in VR members and community and everyone to not just celebrate their grand opening but our own record-breaking conference.

To join, you may join on the web or download their client from Somnium Space. Register and when you arrive, you should see signs and information for our Educators in VR celebration. They’ve set up a special pavilion for us.

Accept the challenge and join us for the closing ceremonies and help us rock out the Summit tomorrow, noon, in Somnium Space.

We will also have an after party social in AltspaceVR, which we will be announcing in the next couple hours!

Tom Furness ENCORE in 2020 Educators in VR International Summit

February 21, 2020 / Lorelle VanFossen / Leave a comment

Tom Furness presenting in AlstpaceVR. Tom Furness is back for an ENCORE at the 2020 Educators in VR International Summit on Friday – today at 6PM PST in AltspaceVR.

Tom was our keynote speaker Monday at the start of the Educators in VR International Summit and part way through his presentation when, we assume the power of his presentation combined with the impact of the Educators in VR International Summit blew out the power in his University of Washington VR Lab.

This ground-breaking pioneer in VR and founder of the Virtual World Society worked with his team to restore power, but too late for the event. He’s been with us on and off throughout the week, and is now back to not only look at the past, to the beginings of virtual reality, a field he developed, creating the prototypes that eventually became the devices we wear on our faces, but where we are going in the future as we play with fire and push the technology even further.

Come join us to not only celebrate the life and thought-leader, Tom Furness, but help us boost the event through the last 24 hours into the record books!