The Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) conference, taking place March 31-April 2, is a community-based conference that offers participants from across virtual worlds the opportunity to share current teaching, learning and research practices in 3D virtual environments.
Join the event for three days of lectures, workshops, discussions, games and fun. More information at vwbpe.org
The VWBPE Conference is a completely virtual conference that takes place in simulated environments. Participants experience the conference through a virtual reality environment that includes conference rooms, theaters, exhibit halls, meeting spaces and other types of venues similar to a physical conference.
The conference is free of charge. The cost of the conference is covered by sponsorships and donations.
The 15th Annual Best Practices in Education in Virtual Worlds Conference will be a distributed online conference that will take place in multiple virtual spaces.
This conference focuses on the use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes, including virtual and augmented reality.
To the extent possible, the VWBPE offers educational and networking opportunities that are relevant to the development of educational curricula that utilize virtual environments and “best practices.” This includes
- Helping to build community through the extension of learning best practices to the practical application of those ideas and techniques
- Providing networking opportunities for educators and the communities that support education
- Provide access to current innovations, trends, ideas, case studies, and other best practices for educators and communities that aid education
First, the problem facing the education community is how to make the best use of new immersive technologies in a sustainable and accessible way, given the limited budgets available to both teachers and students.
Platforms that are free or open source, or that can be shared by a wide audience, are presented including methods and research around best practices in their use and applicability.
The VWBPE will again use Linden Lab’s Second Life environment as the main conference venue for meetings, exhibitions, panel discussions and debates.
Participants are free to submit proposals and walkthroughs of immersive experiences in any environment for education using virtual or augmented reality technologies.
We actively encourage the presentation of multiple technology platforms. This includes practical application, research papers, conceptual papers, and content creation that support these technologies.
Our theme for this year is Phoenix Rising and the exploration of areas outside of our experience that may potentially be at odds with our current perspective or worldview.
As educators, we need to adapt to more than just a transition from face-to-face to online methodologies. We face urgent challenges in the areas of distance classroom management, policies that are outdated or not designed to apply to online environments, the psychology and well-being of children in online environments, health and safety considerations, and personal privacy, among others.
This means adopting the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and innovative technologies as best as possible.