The Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) is a community-based conference that provides opportunities for participants in all virtual worlds to share current teaching, learning, and research practices in 3D virtual environments. Conference presentations focus on teaching/learning, scholarly work, projects, events, activities and new and innovative tools for virtual education. Presenters will focus on the identification of best practices in education designed for 3D virtual world technology.
This 53 hour conference will indeed provide opportunities for sharing and further understanding virtual world technology. Whether your virtual adventures take you to Second Life, OpenSim, World of Warcraft, Eve Online or Club Penguin – you are part of a global interconnected network. It’s about people. It’s about community. Its’ about learning. It’s more than a platform – it’s the stories we tell and the way we share them.  The divide between what is real and what is virtual is a state of mind.
You can keep in touch with this conference on facebook  , on twitter  or join second life group .

VILLAGE ; Language Learning and Community Building in Second Life
Besides Second Life, the session  use the following Grouply for sharing information and facilitating interactions: http://village.grouply.com

Objectives :
*to help the teacher learners to get to know each other
* to help them to open a Second Life account and work on their appearance
*to introduce basicprocedures in Second Life: e.g. sitting & standing; moving fromplace to place, turning round, flying using voice etc.
*to visit different spaces in Second Life to explore their potential for being used for language learning
*to visit some spaces in Second Life where languages are taught to understand how Second Life is being used or may be used for language learning and teaching as well as to practice both informally and formally
*to participate in and reflect on learning conversations with experienced educators in Second Life
*participants to reflect on what has been experienced during the course and to share their ideas with others in the discussion forum
*to facilitate formation of an active community of practice. 
Week by Week Outline
Week 1  January 10 - 16, 2011 - Introduction
This week we will be meeting each other and introducing ourselves. Participants will be encouraged to sign up for a basic account in Second Life using the website and provide us with their Second Life name. We will send them an invitation to join our Second Life group VILLAGE  . Then meeting in-world, we will help them change their avatar appearance, and use camera control. We will introduce them to ways of avatar movement (walking, running, flying, sitting, and teleporting), and ways to set up and use text and voice chat.
Week 2  January 17 - 23, 2011 - Second Life Tools and Resources
This week we will help them to develop basic ‘navigational skills, e.g creating landmarks & teleporting to other places & map and mini map reading. They will also consider ways of ‘networking’ in SL
using the ‘add friends’ feature; filling in your user profile, and using the IM facility.Participants will try their first building skills, become familiar with the use of various teaching tools and Holodecks on offer.

Week 3  January 24 - 30, 2011 Exploring Educational Spaces in Second Life
This week we will take the participants to different educational spaces in Second Life so that they can form an understanding of the  SL environment. We will arrange meetings with experienced language educators teaching in these places. We shall focus  on exploring ‘learner friendly environments’ , and will concentrate  on places where English is taught.
Participants will continue to network for informal get togethers and invite experienced Second Lifers to join us for a learning conversation.

Week 4  January 25 - February 6, 2011 -
Simulated real-life scenes, role-playing and active communities in Second Life
This week we will focus on simulated real-life scenes, recreations of historical monuments, sites, real life places, and lively, active communities in Second Life.  
There will be opportunities for the participants to experience immersive environments and the challenges involved in learning a language in SL.
When meeting during ‘happy hour’, we will reflect on experiences made and talk about how active communities in Second Life may
be used for language learning. Again guest speakers will be invited
to share their valuable expertise. 

Week 5   February 7 - 13, 2011- Evaluation & wrap-up
This is a time to get together, wrap-up and to sum-up the experiences. It is also a time to enjoy each other's company whilst preparing the party.  Participants will be asked to reflect on what they have experienced during the course and to share their ideas with everyone about good practice. People will also be encouraged
to continue learning and sharing through joining in-world groups.
 Moderators
Heike Philp, head of LANCELOT School^TM GmbH
and co-initiator of both EU funded LANCELOT and
AVALON projects. She looks back to more than 2 decades
of teaching experience, amongst others asa German teacher in Japan and England. 
SL: Gwen Gwasi
Dr. Kalyan Chattopadhyay,  who holds Masters in English Literature, and TESOL and ICT (Leeds), is currently Assistant Professor in English in B.S.College, University of Calcutta. He is Vice-President IndiaCALL (www.indiacall.org), and Executive Committee member AsiaCALL (www.asiacall.org).
SL: Kalyan Horatio 
Dennis Newson M.A.(Cantab), P.D.E.S.L (Leeds) Taught EFL in Africa, Arabia, Norway and Germany in middle schools, secondary schools, teacher training colleges, a technical university and an arts university. He was consultant for short periods in Bosnia and Kosovo and conferences have taken him to Poland, Hungary, Las Palmas, Russia and England. He has developed his interest in SL since alleged retirement.
SL: Osnacantab Nesterov
Maria Pinto is a Bachelor in Education with a major in English and an Educational Technology Specialist.
She is also a specialist in Usability and a web-based material designer. She worked as EFL/ESL professor in the area of ICT in the English language teaching (ELT) at the University of Carabobo. She is currently working as an eLearning facilitator and consultant in her hometown, Venezuela.
SL: Mary Rousell
Nahir Aparicio M. holds a Bachelor degree in Education with a Major in teaching English as a foreign language. She is a professor at UPEL-IPC where she belongs to the Chair of Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages, teaching Applied Linguistics related courses. SL: Nahiram Vaniva
Carol Rainbow B phil Ed (hons) has taught in theUK for many years but is now in service as an ICT Consultant for Oxfordshire LA working with teachers to make sure ICT plays a key role in enhancing pupil education in Oxfordshire schools. Her main interests currently are using Second Life as a teaching platform
and e-safety.
SL: Carolrb Roux
 

 

Week 6: Feb 15 - 21 - AND TLVW10 SECOND LIFE PARTY .




Overview



This week offers an opportunity for us all to step back and reflect on what you have seen and experienced during the whole EVO session. You can reflect on what you have experienced during the last five weeks and to share your ideas with everyone about good practice. You will also be encouraged to continue learning and sharing through the SLExperiments and other group meetings, which will continue after this EVO session has ended. In this final week, we will also organise some round table discussions about language learning and teaching in virtual worlds, which will be recorded.


Learning outcomes



By the end of this week, you should have done some of the following:

*

have visited another virtual world (optional, because they are not available for all computer platforms).
*

have posted your reflections about your visit of these virtual worlds.
*

have attended a round table panel discussion.
*

have reflected on what you have experienced during the session.
*

have shared ideas about good practise with other participants.


Useful SL skills


Click this link to go to the SL skills list and tutorial videos.


Activities



1.

Take a field trip to another virtual world (to be decided). Compare SL with this and post your reflections to the TLVW Ning.
2.

Attend one of the round table panel discussions and be prepared to ask questions. If you are interested in being part of the round table, then please contact one of the moderators.
3.

Post your reflections on your experience during this session in the Ning forum for this week.
4.

Post and discuss with other participants your ideas about good practises in teaching languages in Second Life in the TLVW10 Ning forum.


Optional Readings/Viewings/Activities



* Attend a SLexperiments meeting and chat with some of the members
* Articles and links to language education in SL/Virtual World.
* Virtual Worlds Facet Study - by Sarah Robbins

Week 5 - Do It Yourself! Workshops

There is a lot packed into this week and the Optional Readings /Viewings list is long. See this positively as a richness and not a threat!

Overview

Participation in teaching - participants will be encouraged to put their knowledge into practice and arrange to teach each other in 15 minute slots

Learning outcomes

By the end of this week, you should have done some of the following:

• have joined a group in our Ning in a time slot that suits you best for a synchronous meeting.
• have participated in an example teaching session/lesson, and reflected on this session in a blog post in the TLVW Ning.
• have participated in one of Wlodek's Barbosa's workshops on Phonetically Augmented Virtuality, and reflected on it in a blog post in the TLVW Ning.
• have prepared and taught a mini language lesson for your peers, received and given feedback on these lessons.
• have posted snapshots of your mini lesson to flickr.
• have reflected on your teaching in your blog in the TLVW Ning.

• have participated in the discussion about Virtual Worlds vs Other Methods of E-Learning
• have participated in the discussion about Real Life vs Second Life language learning and teaching

Useful SL skills

Click this link to go to the SL skills list and tutorial videos.

Activities

1. Join the Ning group for the time slot that suits you best.
2. Participate in the AVALON project Business English teaching session. (Details of place and time to be posted later in 'Events').
3. Participate in one of the Spanish lessons by Dafne González in LanguageLab. (Details of place and time will be posted later in 'Events').
4. Attend a demonstration of Holodecks and how they can be used in language teaching and learning. (Details of place and time will be posted later in 'Events').
5. Participate in a workshop on how to use the Builder's Buddy, a way of creating holodeck-like scenes for use in teaching
6. Participate in one of Wlodek's Barbosa's workshops on Phonetically Augmented Virtuality*
7. Attend Carol Rainbow's workshop on sound. (Times and place to be announced later in 'Events').
8. Prepare a mini language lesson (max 15 min). Think about what you learned about different methods, places and tools and how they were used by other teachers to help plan your session. Think about the rationale of choosing particular activities, tools, etc. in SL and the pedagogical, language aims of your lesson.
9. Meet with the participants in your group in-world and teach each other and give each other feedback. You need not necessarily teach EFL. You can teach any foreign language of your choice. For participants that could prove to be a novel experience and something worth reflecting on.
10. Don't forget to take pictures during these sessions (you will be busy teaching so ask someone else from the group to take pictures of your session and help other's when it is their turn). Upload the pictures to flickr, tag them with "TLVW10" and add them to our group pool
11. Reflect on your teaching in your personal blog in Ning or elsewhere (provide a link if you write on a different blog and tag it with tlvw10). You can embed pictures of your session in this blog post.
12. Participate in the discussion about Virtual Worlds vs Other Methods of E-Learning and the discussion about Real Life vs Second Life language learning and teaching.

Resources

• http://slexperiments.pbworks.com/Lesson-ideas
• http://slexperiments.pbworks.com/Lesson-Plan-Template
• http://slexperiments.pbworks.com/Holodecks-in-Language-Classes
• http://slexperiments.pbworks.com/SL-Free-Objects
• Teaching EFL/ESL in Second Life
• Nergiz's detailed lesson plans, pre- and post-lesson reflections, snapshots and student feedback for her first course in SL in 2008.

• Starting a Second Life (ETp journal article)
• Barbara Sakamoto's first teaching experience in SL and more.
• Wlodek Barbosa's first teaching experience in SL
• Scottlo's first teaching experience in SL here and here.

Optional Readings/Viewings

• Dennis Newson's Pecha Kucha presentation
• Wlodek Sobkowiak's Pecha Kucha presentation
• How to send and create a notecard
• Notecard attachments
• How to set up a Notecard Giver
• Fun with Floating Texts
• Educator´s Toolbox: Giving inventory Script
• Educator´s Toolbox: NoteCard Reader
• Educator´s Toolbox: PPT Viewer
• Using Holodecks and Builder's Buddy
• Create a PowerPoint Presentation for Second Life
• More ideas about giving a PowerPoint Presentation in Second Life. Part 1 and Part 2.
• How to use and edit the SpeakEasy Hud

• How to send a postcard by Torley
• Nik Peachy's Links and Opinion on Learning, Technology, Web 2.0 and EFL, ESL: http://quickshout.blogspot.com

An introduction to different methodologies, tools and places where languages are being taught and learned in Second Life.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this week, you should have done some of the following:

• have participated in some of the tours (guided or self-access) of language teaching/learning spaces in Second Life
• have taken part in a discussion about teaching and learning languages in Second Life
• have reflected on your visits and discussions in a blog post in the TLVW Ning
• have a better idea of the range of different possibilities for teaching and learning a language using Second Life
• be aware of how some people & organisations use Second Life for language teaching and learning
• have attended a presentation/demo of favourite (language) teaching tools of the more experienced members.
• have started to understand some of the benefits and challenges of teaching in a virtual world

Useful SL skills

Click this link to go to the SL skills list and tutorial videos.

Activities

1. Visit Virtlantis, which is an island owned by Kip Yellowjacket (SL), a language teacher, who provides some space and facilities for other language teachers for free. You can also have your own small teaching space (there is a voluntary monthly donation). Try to find and talk to some teachers and students while there and report back in the Ning forum for this week.
2. Attend a guided tour of AVALON Learning, the home of the AVALON EU project ,a two-year project funded by the European Commission as a part of the Education and Culture DG Lifelong Learning Programme which aims to create and test language learning tasks and activities in Virtual worlds as well as creating and piloting a training course for teachers who would like to extend their e-learning skills to include virtual teaching worlds.
3. Go on a tour of the EduNation island owned by Gavin Dudeney. Talk to some educators you meet there. How do you like the place? What can educators do there? Report back in the Ning forum.
4. Visit the EUROCALL/CALICO Headquarters in Edunation to find out about the help and resources they provide for teachers
5. We will also visit the British Council Isle and find out about their work in the Main Grid and Teen Grid of Second Life, investigating the use of language learning quests
6. Participate in one of the discussions about different aspects of learning and teaching languages in Second Life.
7. Attend one of the scheduled (language) teaching tool demo/presentation sessions. If you are an experienced SL user, select three of your most favourite (language) teaching tools, set them up in the sandbox and, if possible, demonstrate how they work and how you (would) use them in your lessons.
8. If possible, attend the talk & tour at Monash University by Xilin Yifu, lecturer in Mandarin Chinese about teaching Chinese to students in Second Life.

Resources

Educational tools shop (Dudeney Ge's)

Educational Freebie Mall at Montclair University

Teacher Tool box ( in Virtlanis)

Info Island & the Alliance Library

Ohio State University: SL guide an freebies

Educator's tool gallery, and more

Optional Readings/Viewings

• ICT for Language Teachers: Second Life
• Second Life English website (no sign-up required)
• English Village website
• SurReal Language Quests
• Language learning Quests in Second Life (Master's dissertation about the work on the British Council Isle in Teen Second Life)
• British Council Isle - video introduction
• Second Life as a Social Learning Environment
• Dogme ELT for Virtual World Language Learning
• Reflections on Teaching English in Second Life
• Virtual world language learning (on Wikipedia)
• EUROCALL and CALICO in SL (interview with Graham Davies)

This week will be spent visiting areas in SL where different languages are spoken. This will include Real Life places that are represented in SL as well as places where languages can be learned. The overall aim is for everyone to have an initial idea of how SL can be used / is being used for language learning, (teaching) and practice both informally and formally.

There will be guided tours of some RL places in SL where we will try some language activities. Then, you will be given a list of LMs (landmarks) to more such places, which you can explore in your own time. There will also be a tour of an interactive Mexican town, which is a nice example of how learners can interact with scripted objects in SL.

All of these places can be used in a synchronous formal session with a teacher but also informally by students, who can practise their language skills and learn vocabulary on their own.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this week, you should:

• have reflected on your visits in a blog post in the TLinVW Ning.
• have participated in the forum discussion for this week
• be aware of how Second Life can be used by language learners for language practice
• have started to become comfortable with the Second Life interface and with its communication tools.

Useful SL skills

Click this link to go to the SL skills list and tutorial videos.

Activities

1. Select some of the Real Life places in SL from the map or list below (or get a notecard with landmarks by clicking the poster for this week in the Webheads HQ in Second Life) and visit them. If possible, do this in pairs or form small groups. There will also be some organized tours during the week (check out the events for this week). Take snapshots and post them to our Ning (you can do that from your page on Ning or from the front page by clicking on "add photo" or Flickr group. Write your reflections in a blog post or in the week three forum.
2. Attend one of the scheduled guided tours to places where languages are taught. As a preparation, you can watch some of the videos in the "Optional Reading/Viewing" section below.
3. Post your reflections to your blog on the TLinVW10 Ning.

Resources

This is a map with a (complete) overview of real life places in Second Life. Click on the image to go to the original website. There, you can click the pins to get to the SLURL page and teleport.

Here are some suggestions:

How it works: Click the link. A new browser will open with the Slurl. Click teleport.

• SL Berlin
• SL Polish Community
• SL Dublin
• SL Great Wall of China
• SL Barcelona
• SL Mexico
• SL Ancient Rome
• SL Paris
• SL Morocco
• Virtual Makkah

Copy of notecard with suggested language learning activities: RL in SL Language Activities

Optional Readings/Viewings

• A video tour of Mi Casa Es Su Casa (Mexican Town)
• An advanced Spanish class in SL (video).
• Places to practise different languages (video)
• Stories from Second Life: Language Lab (article)
• LanguageLab commercial (video)

Week 2: Jan 18-24

Coordinator: Włodzimierz Sobkowiak (Wlodek Barbosa in SL)

In this week there will be field trips to different educational spaces in Second Life and discussions. The choice of these spaces will be guided by the overall character of this course, as well as participants needs. As the core theme here is teaching languages, we will visit arts & humanities oriented places in Second Life, rather than those relating to sciences. In each case there will be ample time for discussion and feedback, as well as participants' own reflections on the places visited. Participants will be encouraged to visit some places individually, and then provide feedback to the group by blogging about their experiences on the TLVW10 Ning.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this week, you should:

• know your colleagues on the TLVW10 even better
• have increased your skill and comfort level with the main tools for interaction and communication, both in SL and on Ning
• have learned how to use some of the more advanced functionalities of the SL user interface
• have been on a guided tour of an innovative and creative educational space in Second Life, as a result of which you should...
• have been inspired to think outside the box about using virtual worlds for language learning
• have collaboratively explored and evaluated at least one general educational space in Second Life (not the guided field trip above); see below

Useful SL skills

Click this link to go to the SL skills list and tutorial videos.

Activities

1. Attend a synchronous 1-hour session and work in a group to practice communication, navigation, movement, profile completion and taking snapshots inworld
2. Post your reflections on the activity as a blog post in the TLVW10 Ning
3. Attend one of the scheduled guided tours of an educational sim, take photos while there and post these and your reflections to the TLVW10 Ning and/or Flickr (tag your snapshots with tlvw10)
4. Explore and evaluate at least one general educational space in Second Life (not the guided field trip above) and post these and your reflections to the TLVW10 Ning and/or Flickr (tag your snapshots with tlvw10)
5. Participate in the discussions or ask questions related to this week in the forum on the TLVW10 Ning.

Resources - some educational spaces to visit in SL:

• List of educational landmarks at the TLVW HQ in Second Life (click on the Week 2 Activities poster)

• Virtual Macbeth
• EduSquare: LMs of various educational sims
• Revised Blooms Taxonomy of Teaching Objectives
• 3d games and edutainment
• Holocaust Museum (interactive experience of Kristallnacht)
• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

• Church of San Francesco of Assisi

• Bayeux Tapestry (with audio guide)

• Dresden Gallery (with audio guide)

• Sistine Chapel

• Virtual Hallucinations (experience what a person with schizophrenia hears and sees)

• Ramapo project on eating disorders, Atlantis Rising Campus on Eduisland

Optional Readings/Viewings

• Advanced movement controls (short YouTube video)
• Voice setup and voice etiquette (short YouTube video)
• Find friends and groups faster (short YouTube video)
• Use the pie menu quicker (short YouTube video)
• Take a snapshot (short YouTube video)
• World map video tutorial (short YouTube video)
• Torley Lindens' Video Tutorials
• Virtual Worlds and Higher Education (wiki)
• Educational Uses of Second Life (by Jo Kay and Sean Fitzgerald)
• Education in Second Life: Explore the Possibilities (YouTube video)
• Global Kids’ Second Life Curriculum
• RezEd - The Hub for Learning and Virtual Worlds