Sloodle

This paper examines the use of online, three-dimensional, immersive virtual worlds, such as Second Life®, as an interesting platform and tool for cultural management, artistic development, knowledge exchange and cultural business. These contemporary computer technologies provide a new showcase for cultural promotion
and creative production, as they connect artists and producers with an audience around the world, who, in turn, can access in real time a great variety of cultural content through just a few clicks. The various features of this emerging phenomenon all help to democratize culture, the arts and education, as they bring creations closer to consumers, thus reducing the need for intermediaries and breaking down social, economic and political barriers; this offers benefits to cultural industries, non-profit organizations, governments, collective and individual creators and artists. However, the numerous possibilities ushered in over the last few years not only bring benefits but also pose new challenges in terms of regulation. Indeed, this new stage for cultural and artistic expression and management may require new paradigms of control with a different focus, ones which can provide an alternative understanding of online cultural exchange in real time. Virtual worlds make culture more democratic, as it can be reached for free by a wider range of people in real time; furthermore, artists and creators are provided with an accessible showcase in which they can become better known and where they can interact more directly, immediately and closely with their audience. The possibility and ease with which anyone can create original content in the metaverse is an incentive for creativity, because it allows people to express themselves in original ways that enhance the contents of virtual life. Art thus finds new and different formats, and cultural management
discovers new spaces to break into. At the same time, anonymity, privacy and intellectual property are all issues that need to be addressed. The regulation of virtual worlds may require different ways of thinking and the adoption of new paradigms which consider exchange, democratization, cooperation and sharing as essential
ingredients of these new sets; as such, any rules must control but not restrict, thus avoiding anarchy at the same time as keeping interaction levels high. In the European Year of Creativity and Innovation it is important to consider the opportunities being opened up by these new technologies in the world of culture and education, as well as the possibilities that are emerging and which remain to be researched.

Keywords: Virtual worlds, cultural management, virtual art, creativity, regulation, fair use

This paper discusses the use of Second Life as an educational tool in higher education. It focuses on the ways educational institutions use this virtual environment, the types of spaces educational institutions are creating or simulating, and the types of activities being conducted in the virtual environment. It also presents lots of examples of Second Life uses by universities and reviews the most important findings in literature on the strengths and weaknesses of Second Life. Recommendations on effective use of Second Life and design are also provided.

This paper discusses the use of Second Life as an educational tool in higher education. It focuses on the ways educational institutions use this virtual environment, the types of spaces educational institutions are creating or simulating, and the types of activities being conducted in the virtual environment. It also presents lots of examples of Second Life uses by universities and reviews the most important findings in literature on the strengths and weaknesses of Second Life. Recommendations on effective use of Second Life and design are also provided.

The paper at hand seeks to investigate whether virtual reality and distance learning tools can be combined in order to effectively support the learning process. This research deviates from related research works which study whether the distance learning tools and / or three-dimensional virtual learning environments can support existing learning communities and complement the traditional lesson in the classroom. Contrary to those studies, this one focuses on open learning communities whose members have the opportunity to meet only online and investigates whether the existence of a 3D environment can be combined smoothly and productively with the already established tools for online learning communities support. Firstly, this paper presents the characteristics of the 3D platform that was used and those of a web-based e-learning platform, and focuses on the points of potential interconnection between them. Secondly, it describes the key points of the e-learning community that was studied and the difficulties experienced during the implementation of the project. Finally, it presents details of the procedure followed for the evaluation of this effort and summarizes the conclusions reached.

This paper describes the use of mobile computing technologies in accessing Moodle VLE together with the OpenSim virtual world. The development of the work was based on a case study, where were used different models of mobile devices to perform activities using these technologies. The study sought contemplate the main tools available, identifying positives and negatives points about the use of the same in the educational context. The results were feasible and with great potential, using the Bootstrap theme for Moodle and Lumiya viewer for OpenSim, however some technical limitations need to be overcome for large-scale use. Resumo. Este artigo descreve a utilização de tecnologias de computação móvel no acesso ao AVA Moodle em conjunto com o mundo virtual OpenSim. O desenvolvimento do trabalho foi baseado em um estudo de caso, onde foram utilizados diferentes modelos de dispositivos móveis para a realização de atividades utilizando essas tecnologias. O estudo buscou contemplar as principais ferramentas disponíveis, identificando pontos positivos e negativos quanto à utilização das mesmas no contexto educacional. Os resultados mostraram-se viáveis e com grande potencial, com o uso do tema Bootstrap para o Moodle e o viewer Lumiya para o OpenSim, no entanto algumas limitações técnicas precisam ser superadas para o uso em grande escala.

This paper describes the preliminary results of an educational innovation project in which virtual world technologies have been used to build up a set of virtual laboratories oriented to engineering studies. Focusing on the architecture of a biotechnology laboratory created in this project, we describe how this architecture will also be adopted in other labs under construction, so that these labs can also take advantage of the same educational benefits. Instead of relying on a commercial software solution, these labs have been created with an open source software infrastructure named OpenSim. The limitations found in OpenSim and the solutions that have been provided to overcome these limitations are shown.

This paper will give a brief overview of the future challenges and opportunities open to libraries, entirely from the view of the virtual world library. It will discuss their pros and cons, the peculiarities unique to them, and the users they are trying to reach. Furthermore, it will investigate whether they are sustainable entities; first as a futuristic kind of library ‘outreach program’, and second as a substitute for ‘real life’ libraries themselves.

This paper describes the preliminary results of an educational innovation project in which virtual world technologies have been used to build up a set of virtual laboratories oriented to engineering studies. Focusing on the architecture of a biotechnology laboratory created in this project, we describe how this architecture will also be adopted in other labs under construction, so that these labs can also take advantage of the same educational benefits. Instead of relying on a commercial software solution, these labs have been ...

Technological advances in computing have made online learning accessible and manageable for both institutions and students, providing tools for efficient and instantaneous communication. However, when such forms of communication limit the personal element in education, both students and instructors can become frustrated. While attempting to determine meaning that has gotten lost or that has been misconstrued, students and educators can experience acutely what Macdonald has termed a "tension of humanness and technology" (1995, 4). As a result, educators must give careful consideration to the appropriate integration of technology into what is an essentially human environment. Such tensions are not necessarily insurmountable, however, since they often inspire creative solutions and practices to minimize them.

This paper discusses the use of Second Life as an educational tool in higher education. It focuses on the ways educational institutions use this virtual environment, the types of spaces educational institutions are creating or simulating, and the types of activities being conducted in the virtual environment. It also presents lots of examples of Second Life uses by universities and reviews the most important findings in literature on the strengths and weaknesses of Second Life. Recommendations on effective use of Second Life and design are also provided.

The tragedy of the commons is one of the principle tenets of ecology. A virtual learning environment is used to experience first-hand depletion of common property resources and to explore issues of sustainability and co-operation vs. competition.

As we near 2012, and Australian higher education institutions strive to meet the new demand driven marketplace to encourage student enrolment, engaging and innovative teaching strategies are required to encourage students to make their choice of institution. One such approach is the implementation of a virtual world into an educator’s repertoire of teaching and learning materials. As virtual worlds are coming to the fore, and more educators want to use them in their teaching, a plan needs to be put in place to enable the smooth transition for implementing them. Professional development through video will enable educators to learn how to use the virtual world of Second Life. Second Life can be integrated into Moodle, known as Sloodle. Professional development undertaken via machinima (videoing in virtual worlds) of Sloodle can be a more effective way of providing learning for educators