This conference was very interesting. First you could go there, but it was could be seen free by anyone both in Second Life and in virtual worlds conference programs. Talks will also be archived. This conference is a combination of the military, educators, military contractors, creators, designers and programmers.
“The Information Resources Management College (iCollege) of the National Defense University established the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds (FCVW) in July 2007. The consortium was created to explore multi-agency and intra- agency collaboration using the robust capabilities of virtual worlds, examining best practices across multiple sectors. The objective of the consortium is to help government agencies to share resources, training, and experience; leverage outreach capabilities and practices; connect to new partners and business opportunities; and demonstrate the benefits for virtual worlds’ collaborative capabilities.”
FCVW Tron Trailer from Eric Hackathorn on Vimeo.
There have been several blog posts about this conference and I will blog about them here. I found it interesting because of not only the combination of people, many with very opposing ideas, but you also learned about the different perceptions of what virtual worlds should be and be used for. The future was predicted in which there will be a combination of virtual worlds and argumented reality. And yes….even a virtual war just like on Star Trek.
Interesting Visuals by Botgirl
South Alabama Educators in Second Life – Day One
” A Marine (didn’t get his name) stated that he thought that collaborative learning in the virtual environment posed a security risk because people get in and start training and learning and they may learn things they’re not meant to learn which, to him, was a dangerous prospect. While I guess I can understand the concern, I think it still goes to show just how powerful a collaborative tool virtual worlds might be–if the scaffolding for learning can grow to actually push the participants ahead of what they’re supposed to know for their particular assigned role, that’s really powerful stuff.”
South Alabama Educators in Second Life – Day Two
I too was very surprised at some of the things Mr. DiGiovanni said… such as creating a open model (Amazon, etc.) of acquisition in for military products, technology is changing so fast, that getting locked into a contract without others being able to contribute is preventing innovation. And why not let others into some of the military simulations, even our enemies…..this would make them more real.
“Working for the Undersecretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, Mr. DiGiovanni really seems to “get” the potentials for virtual worlds in training and simulation. However, he said that the current business models simply do not work for the way virtual environments would best be used. New business models need to be adopted and adapted for the current eCommerce world. ”
Federal News Radio
“Dr. Paulette Robinson, with the iCollege at the National Defense University, “foresees a day when virtual world technology will allow citizens to interact in a meaningful way with government agencies, enhancing openness and transparency – current watchwords of the Obama administration – but also allowing for a problem-solving interactivity in a virtual environment as well.”
Life at the Feeding Edge
“Ren Reynolds did point out when on our panel that we were having questions asked about identity and behaviour in virtual worlds, e.g. what about furries. He bravely pointed out (given we were at the National Defence University) that using virtual worlds and games to work out how to actually kill people more effectively was far more offensive than any roleplay elements or socially awkward situations.”
Second Thoughts
From one of the most controversial bloggers in Second Life…
“I’ll ask a question nobody wants to ask: everyone thinks all these war games like World of Warcraft and by extention all virtuality like Second Life, is just the cat’s pajamas for war preparation. We’ve heard a zillion times the game and virtuality company makers and their bought-and-paid-for academics like the ones from State of Play and Terra Nova that war games “build up good eye/hand coordination” or “they teach teamwork” blah blah. Well, um, do they?’
and finally… from Life at the Feeding Edge…. and yes, his posts are always this long.
“So there are even more people doing real work with the technology and the socially changing impacts of virtual worlds and related tech. It is not dead, it is not all Second Life (in fact increasingly it appears to not be Second Life for some very good reasons). However it is well on its way, and it is helping people. Kids are learning more, patients are being treated better, entertainment is more engaging. Standards and exemplars are being re-enforced and more new people are becoming evangelists. The previous generation and generations of activists in the field are also not going away but supporting everyone else too.”
Also, for you WOW fans, Imperium Procuratorum (IP). IP is a World of Warcraft guild on the Shadow Council (Alliance) server created as an adventuring home for people who work with government (civil servants, contractors, collaborators and consultants) and their family members.
Sail's Pedagogy 