2014-02: Global Immersion Summit ANNOUNCED
Building on the success of the previous 8 years of Immersive Education
(iED) conferences, the world's leading experts in immersion convene June
6-8 in Los Angeles California for the global iED conference. For the
first time since inception the global iED Summit features an entirely
NEW conference format that you'll find exciting and extremely engaging
in addition to a brand new $50 price structure. Hosted by The Getty (J.
Paul Getty Museum) and Loyola Marymount University (LMU), IMMERSION 2014
is open to the global academic and business communities, the general
public, and experts in immersion, simulation, video games, virtual
reality, and augmented/mixed reality. Details are provided at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org
2014-01: 4th European Immersive Education Summit ANNOUNCED
The European Chapter of the Immersive Education Initiative (iED Europe)
has announced that 4th European iED Summit will be held in Vienna,
Austria, November 24-26, 2014. The 4th iED European Summit will be
hosted by the University of Applied Science BFI Vienna. The organization
of the Summit is in conjunction with the Institute of Information
Systems and Computer Media at Graz University of Technology. Continuing
the success of the conference series, the fourth European Immersive
Education (E-iED) Summit is focused on "Science meets Business - From
Innovative Research to Successful Services and Products". Details are
provided at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org/EUROPE
2013-04: 1st Annual K12 SUMMIT ANNOUNCED
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued an open call for iED K12
Summit papers, posters, workshops, panels, general presentations,
demos, and outliers (novel late-breaking research, technologies and
techniques). The University of Colorado Boulder will host the first
annual Immersive Education K12 Summit from October 24-26, 2013.
Organized specifically for K12 educators and researchers, and businesses
specializing in K12 education, the iED K12 Summit will provide
attendees with: an in-depth overview of immersive teaching and learning
technologies; an exploration of the range of student learning activities
using virtual worlds, learning games, augmented reality and other
immersive technologies; teacher professional development (PD) and
learning; hands-on collaboration and co-creation using immersive
platforms; an understanding of the potential for Immersive Education to
transform educational opportunities and learning outcomes. Details are
provided in the official announcement at http://mediagrid.org/news/2013-04-iED-K12-SUMMIT-CALL.html
2013-03: LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP ANNOUNCED
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that its Library
Technology Working Group (LIB.TWG) has expanded to include museums,
forming the Libraries and Museums Technology Working Group (LAM.TWG).
The newly expanded group is responsible for defining, implementing,
evolving and maintaining applications and open standards related to the
provision of library and museum services in the age of Immersive
Education. The new group is chaired by LIB.TWG founder Jerome
Yavarkovsky, Boston College University Librarian Emeritus, and Melissa
Carrillo, Director of New Media and Technology for the Smithsonian
Latino Center (SLC) at the Smithsonian Institution. Details are provided
in the official announcement at http://mediagrid.org/news/2013-03-iED-Library-Museums.html
2013-02: EARLY REGISTRATION OPENS FOR iED 2013
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that early
registration for Immersive Education 2013 (iED 2013) is now open through
April 1st, at which point the early registration discount expires and
standard registration fees apply. Building on the success of the
previous seven years of Immersive Education conferences, the world's
leading experts in immersion convene in Boston this June for the special
four-day event. iED 2013 features 3 tracks (Practitioner, Research and
Business tracks) over 3 full days, and one additional day dedicated to
hands-on workshops. Details are available on the official iED Summit
website at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org
2012-11: iED 2013 CALL FOR PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS, DEMOS AND OUTLIERS
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued an open call for
Immersive Education 2013 (iED 2013) papers, general sessions
(presentations, posters, panels, demos and workshops), and outliers
(novel late-breaking research and technology). March 1st is the abstract
deadline for papers, March 15th is the abstract deadline for general
sessions, and April 15th is the abstract deadline for outliers. Details
are available on the official iED Summit website at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org
2012-05: iED 2012 KEYNOTE : CHRIS DEDE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that Chris Dede, the
Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard's
Graduate School of Education, will deliver the closing keynote address
at Immersive Education 2012 (iED 2012) in Boston this June. In his
keynote address, Blending Virtual and Augmented Realities for Learning
Ecosystems, Chris will share with iED 2012 attendees the early findings
of new research into combining immersive virtual environments and real
ecosystems with digital resources. Immediately following Dede’s keynote
address attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on
workshop conducted by Shari Metcalf, Project Director of EcoMUVE and
EcoMOBILE at Harvard. Details are available at Harvard's iED 2012 Keynote Announcement .
2012-03: iED 2012 BOSTON SUMMIT SPECIAL CALL FOR LEARNING GAMES, SERIOUS GAMES AND GAME-BASED EDUCATION
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued a special call for
learning games, serious games and game-based education to be presented
at iED 2012 Boston this June. Building on the success of the previous
seven years of Immersive Education conferences, iED 2012 Boston has a
special focus on learning games, serious games and game-based teaching
and learning technologies and systems. Details are available on the
official Immersive Education (iED) Summit website at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org.
2012-02: iED EUROPE 2012 PARIS SUMMIT CALL FOR PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS, POSTERS, PANELS, WORKSHOPS AND DEMOS
The European Chapter of the Immersive Education Initiative ("iED
Europe") today issued an open call for iED Europe 2012 Summit papers,
posters, workshops, panels, general presentations, and demos. Details
are available on the official Immersive Education (iED) Europe Summit
website at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org/EUROPE.
2012-01: iED 2012 BOSTON SUMMIT CALL FOR PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS, POSTERS, PANELS, WORKSHOPS, DEMOS and OUTLIERS
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued an open call for iED 2012 Boston papers, posters, workshops, panels, general presentations, demos, and outliers (novel late-breaking research and technology). April 1st is the abstract deadline for all sessions except demos and outliers, for which the abstract deadline is May 1st. Details are available on the official Immersive Education (iED) Summit website at http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org.
2011-10: REGISTRATION OPENS for 1st EUROPEAN IMMERSIVE EDUCATION SUMMIT
Early registration for the 1st European Immersive Education Summit (iED
Summit) is now open. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid will host the
two-day iED Summit from 28th to 29th November 2011 in Madrid, Spain.
Organized specifically for educators, researchers, and administrators,
the European iED Summit consists of presentations, papers and
demonstrations that provide attendees with an in-depth overview of
immersive learning technologies, platforms and techniques. The European
iED Summit is open to the global academic community and experts in
immersion, virtual reality and mixed/augmented reality.
2011-10: IMMERSIVE EDUCATION & Internet2 K20 INITIATIVE ANNOUNCE FORMAL COLLABORATION
The Immersive Education Initiative (iED) today announced a formal
collaboration with the Internet2 K20 Initiative, an activity within the
Internet2 advanced networking consortium led by the U.S. research and
education community. The collaboration, announced today by iED Director
Aaron E. Walsh during the Fall 2011 Internet2 Member Meeting,
establishes three initial areas of engagement between the two
organizations.
2011-09: NEW WEEKLY IMMERSIVE TOURS, TUTORIALS & SNEEK PEEKS
The Immersive Education Initiative's K-12 Technology Working Group
(K12.TWG) has issued an open invitation to all iED members to attend any
of the group's weekly virtual meetings starting in October (every
Wednesday at 6:30 PM Eastern Time Zone USA). The first four immersive
learning environments to be presented and toured are: Crime Scene
Investigation (CSI) Lab, Rocket World Earth, Moon, Mars and Stars
(EMMS), NASA Moonbase Alpha, and Scratch.
2011-09: 3rd ANNUAL OREGON IMMERSIVE EDUCATION DAYS (OiED)
The Oregon Chapter of Immersive Education (iED Oregon) has announced
that the 3rd Annual Oregon iED Days (OiED) will run October 20-22. OiED
will be held at Oregon State University and will feature projects hosted
by virtual learning leaders from institutions of higher education,
non-profit organizations, and other agencies statewide. The Oregon
Immersive Education Days presentations and activities will all be open
to the public and free to attend for those registered. Educators,
researchers and administrators will give a series of live and virtual
presentations, providing attendees with an overview of Immersive
Education and how virtual worlds and game-based learning technologies
are used in and out of the classroom today.
2011-07: CALL FOR PAPERS, POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS: 1st European iED Summit
The Immersive Education Initiative has issued an open call for the first
European Immersive Education Summit (iED Summit). Universidad Carlos
III de Madrid will host the two-day iED Summit from 28th to 29th
November 2011 in Madrid, Spain. The European iED Summit is organized by
the newly formed European Chapter of the Immersive Education Initiative
(iED Europe) and builds on the success of previous iED Summits. The call
for papers, posters, and presentations is open to the global academic
community and experts in immersion, virtual reality and mixed/augmented
reality.
2011-05: European Chapter of Immersive Education Initiative Launched at iED 2011
During his opening statements at iED 2011 earlier this month, Aaron E.
Walsh, Director of the Immersive Education Initiative, announced the
creation of a new European Chapter and Board of Governors. Chapters,
such as iED Europe, constitute the geographically distributed structure
of the Initiative through which regional and local members are supported
and enriched. Chapters organize officially sanctioned iED Summits,
workshops, collaborations, seminars, lectures, forums, meetings,
technical groups, technical work items, research, and related
activities.
2011-04: iED 2011 Keynote -- NASA Learning Technologies
NASA Learning Technologies will be the opening keynote at the Immersive
Education 2011 Boston Summit (iED 2011). The keynote address examines
the current and rapid transition from "virtual" to "immersive"
education. At iED 2011 NASA's Moonbase Alpha will officially become a
Rocket World learning module. Rocket World, launched by the Initiative
on the 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk, is a comprehensive
immersive learning framework and core immersive STEM (science,
technology, engineering, math) curricula designed to inspire and educate
a new generation of scientists, engineers and researchers through the
novel application of next-generation learning technology.
2011-03: Immersive Education 2011 Summit (iED 2011) Announced
The Immersive Education Initiative has opened registration for iED
SUMMIT 2011 ("iED 2011"). Boston College will host the three-day Summit
from May 13-15. Speakers at past iED Summits have included faculty,
researchers, and administrators from Grid Institute, Boston College,
Harvard University, MIT, Stanford, Loyola, The Smithsonian, U.S.
Department of Education, NASA, Federation of American Scientists (FAS),
Duke University, Temple University, Southeast Kansas Education Service
Center, Cornell University, Amherst College, Boston Library Consortium,
South Park Elementary School, Boston Media High School, Turner
Broadcasting, Open Wonderland Foundation, realXtend (Finland), The MOFET
Institute (Israel), University of Aizu (Japan), Keio University
(Japan), National University of Singapore, Royal Institute of Technology
(Sweden), University of Essex (UK), Coventry University (UK), Giunti
Labs (Italy) and European Learning Industry Group, Open University (UK),
and more.
2011-02: K-12 Group Announced by Immersive Education Initiative
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that it will
officially launch its K-12 Technology Working Group (K12.TWG) on
February 24th. The K-12 group will launch with live events in Colorado
and Kansas, followed by virtual launch events on The Education Grid in
early March. The Initiative's K-12 Technology Working Group is chartered
to define, evolve and maintain a range of immersive learning
experiences (virtual worlds, learning games, simulators and
mixed/augmented learning experiences), best practices, guides, tutorials
and communities of support for primary and secondary education.
2011-01: Immersive Education 2010 In Review
The Immersive Education Initiative today released a summary of the year
2010 in review, organized into three categories: 1) Notable Events and
Activities, 2) Notable "Inside Scoop" Twitter items, and 3) Notable iED
Member Discussions. The Initiative's year in review is a summary of
annual progress made by the non-profit international collaboration of
universities, colleges, research institutes, consortia and companies
that are working together to define and develop open standards, best
practices, platforms, and communities of support for virtual reality and
game-based learning and training systems. Thousands of faculty,
teachers, researchers, staff, administrators and students are members of
the Immersive Education Initiative.
2010-11: "Create Once, Experience Everywhere"™ 3D/VR Format Unveiled for Immersive Education
The Immersive Education Initiative today unveiled iED 3D/VR™, the open
and royalty-free cross-platform 3D/VR mesh file format that enables 3D
and virtual reality (3D/VR) content to be created once and experienced
across a range of virtual worlds, games, simulators and mixed/augmented
reality applications.
2010-10: iED 2011 EARLY REGISTRATION OPENS for Immersive Education Initiative 2011 iED Summit
The Immersive Education Initiative today opened early registration for
iED SUMMIT 2011 ("iED 2011"). Boston College will host the three-day iED
Summit from May 13-15 through special arrangement with the Woods
College of Advancing Studies at Boston College. Early registration, and
associated individual and group discounts, will close this December.
2010-10: CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS for Immersive Education Initiative 2011 iED Summit
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued an open call for iED
Summit 2011 papers, posters, workshops, panels, general presentations,
demos, and outliers (novel late-breaking research and technology).
Boston College will host the three-day iED Summit from May 13-15 through
special arrangement with the Woods College of Advancing Studies at
Boston College.
2010-06: Immersive Education Initiative Issues Call For Psychologically Beneficial Immersive Environments.
The Immersive Education Initiative's Psychology of Immersive
Environments Technology Working Group (PIE.TWG) today issued an open
call for psychologically beneficial immersive environments. The results
of this call and related PIE.TWG activities will establish a searchable
repository of psychologically beneficial virtual worlds, simulations,
video games, mixed/augmented reality applications in addition to leading
papers, case studies, and research in the field.
2010-05: Outcomes Of 2010 Boston Summit Posted By Immersive Education Initiative.
The Immersive Education Initiative today posted outcomes of the 2010
Boston Summit that convened April 23-25 at Boston College through
special arrangement with the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
Organized specifically for educators, researchers, and administrators,
the three-day conference consisted of presentations, panel discussions,
break-out sessions and workshops to provide attendees with an in-depth
overview of immersive learning platforms and technologies.
2010-04: Immersive Education Initiative Issues Call For Expert Legal Opinions On Second Life.
The Immersive Education Initiative today issued an open call for expert
legal opinions on content ownership, terms of service, and potential
legal liabilities for teaching in the virtual world of Second Life. The
Initiative issued its call to the international legal community in
response to new Second Life terms of service that went into effect today
and a growing concern for legal liabilities for educators and schools
that require students to enter and reside in a public virtual world
populated with anonymous users and potentially offensive content.
2010-04: Boston College Advancing Studies Undergraduate Course Catalog Goes Immersive.
During his opening address at the Immersive Education 2010 Summit, James
A. Woods, Dean of Boston College's Woods College of Advancing Studies,
today announced that the college's undergraduate courses will be offered
as fully immersive distance learning classes through the Immersive
Education Initiative. Starting with 4 classes this fall, the entire
Woods College of Advancing Studies course catalog is expected to become
fully immersive over the next five years. Standard Boston College credit
is issued for immersive Advancing Studies courses, with no distinction
made between the amount or form of credit given for traditional
in-person classes. Students enrolled in immersive classes attend
entirely within an online immersive learning environment, using open and
freely available technologies endorsed by the Initiative, and may
therefore reside anywhere in the world.
2010-03: BOSTON SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE: Attendees To Receive $2,500 In Permanent Virtual World Land.
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that it will provide
permanent virtual world land for one year to every school and non-profit
organization that has at least one teacher, administrator or student in
attendance at the 2010 Boston Summit this April. The land, a full
region of space measuring 256x256 meters in size (65,536 square meters),
would cost nearly $2,500 in Second Life at the normal educational rate
($700 plus $1770 in annual maintenance fees). The free land can be
renewed each year, also free of charge, by simply attending any
Immersive Education Initiative Summit.
2010-03: BOSTON SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE: ROCKET WORLD TO BE FREELY AVAILABLE.
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that all software and
virtual worlds that comprise Rocket World will be distributed freely at
the Immersive Education 2010 Summit at Boston College April 23-25.
Hands-on workshops at the Summit will provide attendees with instruction
on how to: 1) INSTALL ROCKET WORLD AND OTHER VIRTUAL WORLDS "BEHIND THE
FIREWALL" ON SCHOOL NETWORKS FOR PRIVATE, SECURE AND COST-FREE
IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES, 2) ACCESS AND TEACH USING FREELY
AVAILABLE INSTANCES OF ROCKET WORLD ALREADY INSTALLED ON THE EDUCATION
GRID, and 3) COPY OR MOVE ANY SECOND LIFE ISLANDS, REGIONS, PARCELS AND
OBJECTS THAT THEY OWN ONTO PRIVATE, SECURE AND FREELY AVAILABLE OPEN
SOURCE VIRTUAL WORLD SERVERS THAT ARE OWNED AND OPERATED ENTIRELY BY
THEIR SCHOOL. Summit attendees will also receive permanent virtual world
land on which to build their own immersive education experiences,
together with training on how to copy or migrate their Second Life
content onto The Education Grid as well as onto their own privately
hosted virtual world servers.
2010-02: Chronicle of Higher Education article: After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds.
Some colleges that have built virtual classrooms in Second Life—the
online environment where people walk around as avatars in a cartoonlike
world—have started looking for an exit strategy. The virtual world has
not lived up to the hype that peaked in 2007, when just about every day
brought a new announcement from a college entering Second Life. Today,
disenchanted with commercial virtual worlds but still convinced of their
educational value, a few colleges have started to build their own,
where they have more control. NOTE: This article presents two official
Immersive Education Initiative alternatives to Second Life: OPEN COBALT
and OPEN SIMULATOR. By mandate the Immersive Education Initiative's
"Platform Ecosystem" consists only of freely available open source
technologies. Open Wonderland, Open Cobalt, Open Simulator (OpenSim) and
realXtend are the official Immersive Education Initiative virtual
worlds platforms. Additionally, an enhanced descendant of the open
source Second Life viewer (client-side end user software) is paired with
open source virtual world servers to provide educators with a fully
open, cost-free alternative to Second Life.
2009-12: Immersive Education 2010 Summit.
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that early
registration for the 2010 Boston Summit is now open. Boston College will
host the Immersive Education 2010 Boston Summit from April 23-25
through special arrangement with the Woods College of Advancing Studies
at Boston College. Organized specifically for educators, researchers,
and administrators, the three-day conference consists of presentations,
panel discussions, break-out sessions and workshops that provide
attendees with an in-depth overview of immersive learning platforms and
technologies. The Summit will feature new and emerging virtual worlds,
learning games, educational simulations, mixed/augmented reality, and
related teaching tools, techniques, technologies, standards and best
practices. The Education Grid, Open Wonderland, Open Cobalt, Open
Simulator (OpenSim) and realXtend are among the immersive learning
technologies that will be featured. Members of the Initiative's open
file format, library, psychology, mixed reality, and K-12 (kindergarten
through high school) groups will give special presentations and
workshops.
2009-10: Immersive Education Days at University of Oregon.
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that it will sponsor
the 1st University of Oregon Immersive Education Days (UOiED). The event
is co-hosted by the University of Oregon's Information Services and the
College of Education's new Center for Learning in Virtual Environments
(CLIVE) for two full-days of presentations. Educators, researchers and
administrators from University of Oregon, Boston College, Lane Community
College, Bowling Green State University, Indiana University, University
of Essex, St. Paul College, San Jose State University, and Loyalist
College will give a series of live and virtual presentations, providing
attendees with an overview of Immersive Education virtual world and
game-based learning technologies. In addition the Immersive Education
Days staff will host an Alternate Reality game called "Eugene vs. The
EcoZombies" on the campus.
2009-09: "Rocket World" space- themed immersive learning system launched on the 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk.
Rocket World is a comprehensive immersive learning framework and core
immersive STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) curricula
designed to inspire and educate a new generation of scientists,
engineers and researchers through the novel application of
next-generation learning technology. Rocket World is specifically
designed to engage students of all ages and teach core STEM concepts
using a new generation of learning technology that includes virtual
worlds, simulators, learning games, and mixed (augmented) reality that
together immerse students in rich and collaborative space-themed
learning experiences. The Initiative launched Rocket World on the 40th
anniversary of the first moonwalk, and today announced that the
space-themed immersive learning system will be freely available to all
levels of teachers, students, scientists, engineers and researchers
worldwide.
2009-08:
NEWSWEEK ARTICLE: The Sound of One Hand Clicking - Online schools are
booming, thanks to their convenience, low cost, and improved quality.
"...Online offerings these days can sometimes even surpass the
classroom experience. Aaron Walsh, a professor at Boston College and a
former videogame designer, has pioneered Immersive Education, a method
of teaching through virtual worlds. Meeting in [Immersive Education
virtual worlds] instead of a physical classroom, says Walsh, allows for
some feats that gravity renders impossible, like having art-history
students fly to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or biology majors to
take a Magic Schoolbus-like trip through the human body. Using videos,
podcasts, live chats, Webcams, and wikis, educators increasingly see
online learning as a way to engage the videogame generation with
pedagogy that feels more like entertainment than drudgery..."
2009-07: SNEAK PEEK: Immersive Education Initiative's "Mixed Reality Learning Table" unveiled.
A breakthrough in interactivity, the Immersive Education Mixed Reality
Table (iED Table) merges 3D virtual objects and environments with
physical objects from the real world. The iED Table dramatically changes
the way in which students interact with computer- based learning
environments by combining, or 'mixing,' the real world with the virtual
world. Using either a traditional computer display, or by wearing 3D
goggles, students can interact physically with a 3D immersive virtual
environment that "pops up" from any 2D surface, such as a table, desk,
wall, or even the floor.
2009-07:
Director of Immersive Education Initiative presented with Innovator's
Award prior to delivering Campus Technology 2009 keynote address.
Aaron E. Walsh, Director of the Immersive Education Initiative, was
presented with the Campus Technology Innovator's Award prior to
delivering the keynote address at the Campus Technology 2009 conference.
Walsh was presented with the Campus Technology Innovator's award for
his contributions to the field of Immersive Education, a term that
describes the combination of interactive 3D graphics, commercial game
and simulation technology, virtual reality, voice chat, Web cameras, and
rich digital media with collaborative online course environments and
classrooms. Walsh, who coined the term immersive education, then took
attendees on a fast-paced journey of innovation, though his past twenty
years developing new forms of learning technology that together enable
the age of immersive education we are in today.
2009-04: The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that the London Summit will be free for students.
On April 23rd and 24th the London School of Economics (LSE) will host
the Immersive Education Initiative's London Summit, a special two-day
event showcasing new and emerging virtual worlds, learning games,
educational simulations, and related tools, techniques, technologies,
standards and best practices. The per-seat cost of the two-day London
Summit is £195 (pound sterling), or $275 USD (U.S. dollars). Students
can attend free of charge by following the instructions on the
registration page at MediaGrid.org/summit.
2009-03: Immersive Education Initiative LONDON SUMMIT to Launch Series of European Events.
The Immersive Education Initiative today announced that it will
launch its series of Immersive Education: Europe events in London this
April. On April 23rd and 24th the London School of Economics (LSE) will
host the Immersive Education Initiative's London Summit, a special
two-day event showcasing new and emerging virtual worlds, learning
games, educational simulations, and related tools, techniques,
technologies, standards and best practices. Designed specifically for
educators, researchers, and administrators, the London Summit consists
of presentations, panel discussions, break-out sessions and workshops
that provide attendees with an in-depth overview of immersive learning
platforms and technologies such as The Education Grid, Project
Wonderland, Second Life, Croquet and Cobalt, realXtend, Alice, Open
Simulator (OpenSim), augmented and mixed reality, and more.