Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World

Earth Day 2012 Events in Second Life

Carl Icann has assembled a listing of relevant events associated with Earth Day 2012 (April 22) in Second Life.  Thanks for sharing this, Carl!

EARTH WEEK SL 2012 EVENTS - April 19-22, 2012

THURSDAY APRIL 19

EPIC LAUNCH! 3pm SLT Thursday... Earth Week 1st Drum Circle (teleport link)

 

FRIDAY APRIL 20

8:30AM SLT Namaara MacDonagh, owner of Etopia Eco-communities speaking at the Nonprofit Commons (teleport link)

5pm SLT Earth Day Formal - Classic Rock Party (teleport link)

 

SUNDAY - APRIL 22

8am SLT African Drum Circle for Feed-A-Smile (teleport link)

9am SLT Etopia 5th Birthday Party - Starts! (teleport link)

11am SLT - What's So Important About Earth Day Anyway - presented by Namaara MacMoragh (teleport link)

11am SLT Poetry Open Mike on Earth Day Poetry at Four Bridges Speak Easy (teleport link)

6pm SLT Earth Day @ Virtually Speaking Sunday  (teleport link)

Happy Earth Day , everyone!

Learn about the Etopia Eco-community on April 20 for Earth Day

As you probably know, this Sunday, April 22 is Earth Day 2012! To mark the occasion, the Nonprofit Commons welcomes Namaara MacMoragh, owner of the Etopia Eco-Community in Second Life.  

Since 2007, Etopia has been showcasing how we can live more sustainably through the virtual world. Namaara will provide an update on what's new with this ground-breaking online community and how we can all celebrate and protect the planet on Earth Day and beyond.

To attend this talk, come to the Plush Nonprofit Commons amphitheater in Second Life on Friday April 20, starting at 8:30am PT.

Global Kids Teens Talk about Climate Change and e-Waste in Second Life (video)

 

My friend Daria told me at the Digital Media and Learning conference last week that Global Kids has finished three episodes of the youth-run Second Life talk show "Let's Talk Sustainability."  "Let's Talk Sustainability" supports teens to develop expertise regarding sustainability, online broadcasting, and virtual world construction through producing a virtual talk show. LTS features interviews with STEM-related professionals, pre-produced videos, and audience activities. Each show is designed to introduce audiences to what they can do to live in a more sustainable world. 

You can watch on YouTube the climate change and e-waste shows now.

Second Life Machinima Educating Rural Indian Farmers about Climate Change

The University of Southern Queensland reports that their Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments (ACSC) is launching a program to educate rural Indian farmers about predicting climatic changes, using the virtual world Second Life. For those who understand the high technical demands of Second Life, you might be asking how poor farmers in remote regions are going to benefit from information disseminated over this online platform?

It seems that Second Life is being used as the platform for recording conversations among ACSC staff and students, simulating two Indian farmers having a casual talk about weather, but also imparting critical climatic information.  According to the release, the Indian farmers will "listen in" over the thousands of internet connection spots that have been distributed recently all over India.  

While the press release doesn't say it, it appears that they will be using machinima (video captured live from a virtual world or digital game) to simulate the conversation. As director of the ACSC Roger Stone is quoted as saying "If any bit of clothing or scenery was off, the farmers wouldn’t have it." Which indicates that they will be using a visual medium to convey the information, not just a recorded audio conversation.

Essentially it seems that Second Life is being used as a relatively inexpensive and quick means to create a digitally animated video to educate these poor farmers.  Which is a great application of virtual worlds for education, in my opinion. I hope we get to see the final product soon.

Full press release here. (Hat tip: Tateru Nino at Massively.com)

[Related articles: My list of "Social Issue Machinima."]

Live Coverage of Durban Climate Change Talks in Second Life and Web

Since November 28, the folks at OneClimate.net have been doing admirable work sharing information on "COP17" the latest round of climate change government negotiations taking place in Durban, South Africa.  Set to conclude on Friday, December 9, the negotiations have been covered in great detail by the OneClimate environmental activists via live blogging and video simulcasting and reportage.  

In addition, they have also been bringing their coverage to their island in Second Life, "OneClimate" island, where you can sit with other avatars to watch the proceedings on a giant screen.  Click the link below to teleport to their island in Second Life.

OneClimate Island

This region provides information about OneClimate.net, an organization which believes people need to be fully aware of the threat of climate change and work together to bring about a fair and sustainable world.

Visit in Second Life

 

Teens Talk about Factory Farming on "Let's Talk Sustainability"

Today at 1:30pm, Global Kids teen leaders in New York City, along with an audience of about 25 avatars from all over , gathered in Second Life to talk about factory farming and other food justice issues during the first episode of the "Let's Talk Sustainability" talk show.  The talk show featured a neat clip from "The Meatrix" a short animated film on the food industry , a slideshow describing how MacDonald's mcnuggets are produced (ewww), and a game where participants got to express their opinions on different food issues.

The featured guest on this show was Cicero Kit, aka Jennifer Dolan in the physical world, an adjunct instructor for communications for Rasmussen College, talking about how to eat healthily, organically and sustainably on a tight budget.  We learned about the difficult decisions that people have to make with their food dollar, how to find out about different food options in your community, and what you can do to improve your access to healthy fruits and vegetables.

Cicero shared a number of facts and insights with the audience.  Many of the students had never heard of Community Supported Agriculture programs, or that tap water was typically cleaner and cheaper than bottled water.  She answered questions about the sustainability of a vegetarian or vegan diet compared to a meat diet, and websites where we can find more food information.

It was a successful first episode of this innovative talk show series that should be publicly released as a video in the near future.  Stay tuned to the Global Kids website for information on the next one and how you can participate.

Audience Members Wanted for Teen Talk Show on Sustainability Issues October 28

My friend Daria at Global Kids send out news that they are getting their teens set to produce their first virtual talk show on environmental issues called "Let's Talk Sustainability."  Their first talk show, which will focus on food justice issues, will be next Friday October 28, at 4:30pm EST, and they need audience members!  

According to Daria the goal of the show is:

to support teens to develop expertise regarding sustainability, online broadcasting, and virtual world construction. Global Kids youth in New York City combined this expertise to produce talk shows that will feature interviews with STEM-related professionals, pre-produced videos, and audience activities. Each show is designed to introduce audiences to what they can do to live in a more sustainable world.

Just look at how cute those teens are! If you would like to participate and support this innovative program, please fill out this form and then teleport over to the talk show studio (teleport link). Should be informative and fun, if I know Global Kids and their teens.

Video, Slides and Links from My Keynote "We Built this City" at SLCC 2011 [UPDATED]

As promised here are the links, teleport SLURLs, slides and (grainy) video of my keynote presentation at the 2011 Second Life Community Convention last Saturday, August 13.  Thanks , everyone, for all of your interest in my talk and in the projects mentioned.  And of course thanks especially to the amazing organizers, builders, and educators responsible for these remarkable projects below.

[UPDATE 8/22/11: SLCC has just uploaded a better quality version of the video here. My talk starts at the 4:50 mark]

The Field Museum Hiring a Digital Learning Specialist (Virtual Worlds, Games, Social Networks)

My friends at the Field Museum are spreading the word that they are seeking to fill a Digital Learning Specialist position at this fantastic natural history museum in Chicago.  Sounds like the specialist will need a background in a number of different kinds of social media as it pertains to youth and education, including virtual worlds, games and social networking: 

We have launched a number of initiatives using multiple types of digital media to engage youth, with a special focus on teen audiences, in the nature of science and scientific inquiry. The Digital Learning Specialist will leverage virtual worlds, games, social networking, mobile technology, videography, etc. to develop experiences targeted toward youth. 

The Field Museum is a great institution with a dedicated team of educators, technologists, and scientists interested in new ways of engaging young people in the sciences. For more info, head to the official site to apply: http://www.bfound.net/detail.aspx?jobId=98849&CoId=45&rq=1.

Games for Change Festival Day 1: Al Gore the Gamer, Supporting Returning Vets, and Making Civics Fun

I had the pleasure of attending the opening sessions of the Games for Change Pre-conference on June 20 at NYU on behalf of TechSoup.  The event began with two separate tracks on education and civic engagement, both of which were packed with interesting speakers and topics.  I decided to follow the civic engagement track.

The session opened with a brief welcome by the co-director of Games for Change, Asi Burak.  He noted that this was a banner year for the G4C conference, with double the attendance of the previous year at about 850 registered!  The room we were in was packed with attendees already, with several folks standing in the back and aisles.

More about the opening sessions after the jump...