Fourth Virtual Conference on Counselling

The Fourth Virtual Conference on Counselling (4VCC) will occur next week on 12 - 14 September 2012.  It is hosted by the Counselor Education in Second Life (CESL) group on the sim called, Tranquil.  Here are some photos of where the conference will be held:



The CESL Training Building on Tranquil in Second Life



Internal View of the CESL Training Building



Another Perspective of the Training Room
 

 



Supported by the American Counseling Association
Handout/Booklet Dispensers

 

Tranquil has Lovely Scenic Grounds to Explore During Breaks

 

But if you don't want to enter the virtual world as an avatar, you can also view the presentations via http://www.onlinevents.co.uk/

You may wish to read the following link: http://sl.counseloreducation.org/4vcc/index.html for background information to the event and for the program.

 

I will be sharing about some of my learning areas and simulations I have designed.

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Need a Virtual World Designer?

Hi Everyone,

I am available to design virtual worlds for you, if you are interested. This could involve terraforming, gardens and buildings, as well as a range of educational activities.  I am not a scripter, but I have certainly created a range of simple items using freebie scripts; and I have good networks for finding resources for you.

I will post some sample photos and videos as samples.

Send me an email if interested: annemaree.michigan@gmail.com

TILT Magazine Updates

This posting is well overdue and is an update about the TILT: Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology Journal.  It is a well presented journal and can be read online or downloaded. There are a number of regular features in each edition, but they focus on different themes as well. Counsellors and life coaches would find this journal of particular interest, especially those interested in online strategies and issues.

Three issues have emerged since my last related posting: Issues 8, 9 and 10. These are described as follows:

Issue 8: The theme here is on "Engaging Gamers: The Evolution of Social Development in Gen X, Y and Z". http://www.onlinetherapymagazine.com/2011/11/10/tilt-magazine-issue-8/

Issue 9: The theme here is on "Composing Oneself in E-Counselling".  http://www.onlinetherapymagazine.com/2012/01/27/tilt-magazine-issue-9/

Issue 10: The theme here is on "Cyberspace as Culture". http://www.onlinetherapymagazine.com/2012/05/02/tilt-magazine-issue-10/

FAREWELL TO ISTE ISLAND

I am very sad to report that ISTE Island in Second Life will be "no more", as of the 28th February 2012. There will still be an ISTE presence in Second Life on one of the nearby educational islands, but the full ISTE island sim will go off the grid in a few days time. Scott Merrick explains the reasons for this in his Blog post: http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=363

ISTE Island was one of the services provided by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). In its "hey day" ISTE Island  involved four sims and hosted a range of learning spaces and events. There were many docents who mentored "newbie" avatars and it created a safe haven when the virtual world became a little overwhelming.

I have many fond memories of a range of events on this island over the years, especially the Eduverse sessions and the monthly Guest Speaker Series held in the auditorium. Being able to log-in and be in a room with avatar-people from around the world was an amazing experience. The cost and time involved in travel was non-existent and the opportunities to learn from each other and dialogue on a range of topics was wonderful. At times these sessions involved excursions to other sims where educators showcased their various learning environments. I had such a wonderful ride in this environment. It rekindled the wonder of learning for me, reminiscent of my childhood. Yet the topics were very much relevant to my interests as a middle-aged educator!

So I feel a great sense of loss here. Although ISTE Island was a virtual space, and not real as in bricks and mortar, it was a real place in another dimension, where educators from all parts of the world gathered to network in real time. I shall miss this island greatly. Yes, I know that the ISTE presence and new opportunities will continue, but nevertheless I will miss the aesthetics of the island and the happy memories it held for me.

Thank you to all the docents in giving of your time and support. Thank you to the ISTE designers and to everyone who contributed to the ISTE community.

Stay tuned, as I will post some photos and video clips shortly, as part of my farewell to ISTE Island.

Sim-on-Stick Sample - Tranquillity Waters

This is a virtual world I am currently creating, using Sim-on-a-Stick. It is called Tranquillity Waters and the design pivots around an archipelago.

The focus of the islands will be educational, but these will blend into the aesthetics of the sim. Students will have opportunities to explore the sim as well as learn in the educational areas and activities

The following video displays stage 1 of this design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6yWsLVr384

:)

Exploring Sim on a Stick

Alongside exploring Second Life and JokaydiaGRID, I have been exploring Sim-on-a-Stick, aptly named because the virtual world is saved on a USB. This Sim-on-a-Stick virtual environment can be run on computers without needing an internet connection, however, there are ways in which individual computers can be set up as host computers for different users to log-on to the one sim. In addition to this, many individual sims may still require an internet connection to maximise on any interactive objects in-world, such as links to URLs and videos online. So an internet connection certainly enhances the potential of this Sim-on-a-Stick virtual world.

However, in many ways the Sim-on-a-Stick needs to be thought of as a stand-alone environment. Where this virtual world is used without the internet, it needs to be designed with asynchronous activities only in mind. So, every experience needs to be contained within the sim itself and not rely on outside experiences.

Another point of which to be aware is that the Sim-on-a-Stick virtual environment does not have access to many resources, so the creator of the sim needs to be prepared to terraform and create the environment from scratch. Once these objects are created, they can be exported using viewers such as Imprudence, and saved on one's computer as XML files. These files can then be imported into other virtual worlds i.e other Sims-on-a-Stick, OpenSim grids and Second Life.

For more information on getting started with this virtual world, please refer to: http://simonastick.com/ . This site has all the files you need to get started and a range of great support processes.

3VCC - Third Vitual Conference on Counselling - Wally Scott Segments

The following clip is a short segment of the session presented by Dr Wally Scott on communication with adolescents, held at the Third Virtual Conference on Counselling, in Second Life, 2011.

3VCC - Third Vitual Conference on Counselling - Nicki Nance Segment

The following clip is a short segment of the session presented by Nicki Nance at the Third Vitual Conference on Counselling (3VCC), exploring the dynamics of student learning disabilities at college level (USA).

3VCC - Third Vitual Conference on Counselling - Opening Segments

This is a small video segment of the introductory session of the Third Virtual Conference on Counselling (3VCC), presented by Marty Jencius and Debra London, held in Second Life.