vlanguage learning

Educators in VR vLanguage Learning: Giuseppe Fantigrossi of Play2Speak

/ Michael McDonald / Leave a comment

After the success of our inaugural Educators in VR vLanguage Learning event in late September with special guest Dr. Aaron Ralby talking about memory palaces in virtual reality, we’ve another heavyweight guest lined up for our next vLanguage Learning event.

Thursday 14th November our special guest is Giuseppe Fantigrossi, CEO of Play2Speak.

Play2Speak logo.

The VR app, Play2Speak, teaches conversational English with virtual characters to improve fluency, with a little help from AI, too. A speaker of four languages himself, Giuseppe has a diverse background – he is a Food Scientist, with an MBA from Concordia University and in a previous life worked as a process improvement consultant, specializing in IT projects. Today he follows his passion in connecting others and creating solutions in the entrepreneurial world through the Play2Speak English-learning VR app.

Secret of Puffin Cove app cover.

As always, the presentation will be followed by a Q&A where you can put your questions to Giuseppe to understand more about how VR can support the way your learn or teach languages.

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, and a monthly meetup featuring key educators, trainers, and developers in VR, AR, XR, and MR technology and education.

Join our Educators in VR Discord group, Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for information on meetups 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 our events page and AltspaceVR will send you a reminder an hour before the event. 

You may attend as a guest or member 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 can be disruptive. For more information on accessing and installing AltspaceVR, check out their download web page.

If you would like to join our Educators in VR vLanguage Learning team project, or one of our other team projects and possibly present at one of our VR educational workshops, please contact us or connect with one of our many social media channels.

First Educators in VR vLanguage Learning Event

/ Lorelle VanFossen / 2 Comments

Our first Educators in VR vLanguage Learning event is Thursday, September 26, 2019, and you are invited to attend and learn about how VR is changing language lessons.

We are thrilled that Michael McDonald of the Gold Lotus project, long-time VR Language Instructor, is heading up our Educators in VR vLanguage Learning team project. He is bringing his vast experience and expertise in teaching language skills in the real and virtual worlds to our Educators in VR workshops, and the first is this Thursday.

Dr Aaron Ralby Linguisticator.The featured guest is Dr. Aaron Ralby of Linguisticator, the Online Language Learning program. Dr. Ralby is a linguist and scholar not just passionate about languages and memory training but changing the world with his innovative projects. Founded in 2011, Linguisticator offers courses in language and memory training, working with a wide range of clients, from diplomats to the UK’s Ministry of Defense to children with special needs such as dyslexia and autism. He is a Germanic philologist and holds a PhD in Medieval Studies from Cornell, an MPhil from Cambridge in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic, an a BA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in English and Modern Languages and Linguistics.

His program in AltspaceVR on Thursday is “Memory Palaces in VR”, looking at how we can learn languages with memory palaces in Munx VR, his VR platform.

By combining medieval memory techniques with modern technology, we are redefining the way we learn, understand, and retain information in our minds.

Imagine knowing the periodic table in the same way you know the layout of your living room, or being able to recall a president or ruler with the same effortlessness of reaching for a mug when making a cup of tea.

Here are some examples of his work.

To Attend in AltspaceVR

To attend, join AltspaceVR as outlined below. On the events calendar, click the Interested or RSVP button on the AltspaceVR website or in-world.

Educators in VR hosts a monthly meeting with a keynote speaker on educational and industry topics and weekly workshops and special events exploring VR, AR, XR, and MR techniques and projects in AltspaceVR and other VR social and educational platforms.

Join our Educators in VR Discord group, Facebook, and follow up on Twitter for information on meetups and how to become more involved. 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.

Educators in VR Meetup in AltspaceVR

We meet in AltspaceVR, a free virtual reality social app and community. You may RSVP on our events page and AltspaceVR will send you a reminder an hour before the event. AltspaceVR events tend to fill quickly and the limit is currently 40 attendees. We recommend you plan your arrival 2 minutes before the event start time to ensure a spot before the event space fills.

You may attend as a guest or member 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 version. A headset and microphone (quality earbuds acceptable) is required to participate. Otherwise please stay muted during the event as the background noise and echoes can be disruptive. For more information on accessing and installing AltspaceVR, check out their download web page.