Category: Future

The Metaverse: What in the World is it?

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Everyone is talking about the metaverse right now (in 2022) and many definitions are surfacing. I suppose I should weigh in– since I have been working in the metaverse for over fifteen years.

Background of the Metaverse

Most research articles cite Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash as the origin of the term (1992). The novel is set in a computer-generated futuristic world where people can interact in the same ways we do in the physical world. This “virtual world” metaverse was a far-fetched science fiction space we could only imagine before Second Life began in 2003. It really only took a decade for sci-fi to become reality!

Academic research articles abound on the use of virtual worlds for education and my colleague, Stylianos Mystakidis has an article in Encyclopedia 2022 that defines the metaverse as an interconnected immersive virtual environment which “enables seamless embodied user communication in real-time and dynamic interactions with digital artifacts”. This sense of presence and place is, in my opinion, what makes the metaverse real. Real people are embodied behind avatars and real places (although digital) are inhabited by them.

Is VR just a fad?

Jules Verne, A Trip to the Moon

Science fiction has presented humanity the wildest imaginative dreams that often become reality. For example, Jules Verne predicted we would blast off to the moon and Captain Kirk was teleporting across space well before teleportation in virtual worlds became the way to travel. XR (extended reality including virtual reality) will be an inevitable part of our lives in the future and is not going away. In fact, it is already here and quickly evolving. Perhaps many of the tools we now use will evolve with haptics making the line between the physical and virtual worlds almost nonexistent.

For the past few years, I have been distinguishing VR into two forms: Headset VR and Desktop VR. Matching the tools for the job suggests a purpose for each form. My purpose as a librarian has been to pioneer the metaverse for real learning and critical thinking. Some questions will need to be addressed, such as:

  • What about the digital divide and learners who do not have the technology devices needed?
  • Will there be one metaverse connecting all the virtual environments?
  • Will VR headsets and VR Desktop merge together into a new format?
  • What role will AR (augmented reality) play in the future?
  • How do we balance realism with creative imagination in the metaverse?

However the metaverse evolves, it is important to consider how it will impact the generations to come. Currently, educators and learners are pulled in many directions with too many choices of learning platforms and apps. Hopefully, the semantic web and the metaverse will become better defined and easier to navigate. Good digital citizenship in the future will require an understanding of entering the metaverse with a clear purpose and intent.

Is Meaningless Media Mandatory?

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How Mandated Use of Social Media Began

I was a school librarian when the information hierarchy toppled and print was no longer at the top! Suddenly, my school principal and colleagues looked to me to answer the question “What is happening to information?” And, I became the voice of the school on social media. It was simply dropped in my lap. What kind of information professional would I be if I was not aware of the information channels being used as digital culture emerged?

Often, I have told people how it felt at the turn of the 21st century, when it seemed the floor beneath my feet in the library was shaking! I knew there was no going back and that digital culture would change everything. But, I embraced it and said “Bring it on!” even though I had a distaste for social media and the narcissism of everyone yelling “Look at me!” Much of the content we scroll through is self-serving, unimportant, and rather meaningless. User-generated content sometimes makes me long for the gatekeepers who made authors jump through hoops to get published. Entering a library with stacks of high quality materials gave me a sense of trust in authority and quality that one never finds online. (Sure, there may never have been a “perfect 100% truth” of information, but at least we didn’t have to dig through a pile of nonsense to find a truthful nugget.)

Once Facebook took off, every field seemed to adopt social media as a way to connect us all: business people, educators, long-lost family and special interest groups, for example. And take off it did! Within a decade, Facebook and Twitter impacted the fabric of society and others began to join me in the feeling that it is inherently wrong. Yet, everyone seemed to justify using it because… well, everybody was doing it. Yes, it feels mandated.

A colleague recently told me she deleted all her social media except for LinkedIn and that it feels great. I felt a pang of envy at her bravery to cut it off. But the libraries and groups I work with insist on using social media as the best way to reach out to patrons and provide information easily. Again, it feels mandated.

We’re in a Dilemma

The ME! ME! ME! oversharing of personal information is not the only problem with social media. Data mining uses our information to manipulate our behavior, as pointed out in the Nexflix documentary THE SOCIAL DILEMMA. Our incoming dashboards, unique to each of us, compel us toward personalized ads and a tendency for confirmation bias (following those whose ideas align to our own).

Rather than live in fear, for the past 20 years I have been researching information literacy (and the term metaliteracy which I feel describes it perfectly) with the goal of helping the next generation remain human. I joke that we are all cyborgs and it may be pretty close to the truth. Many young people are aware of the problems encountered on social media and organizations like the Center for Humane Technology are striving to find ways to tackle them. For me, my faith keeps fear away and, without faith, my view of the future would appear dark and dismal. Awareness of the social dilemma which has swept across our planet awakens us to our personal responsibility for metaliteracy.

Sharing Digital Citizenship #iLRN 2020

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This year’s #iLRN 2020 Conference is about to begin! On Sunday June 21, I will lead tours at the Community Virtual Library Digital Citizenship Museum in Kitely. The museum houses room after room of content on elements of digital citizenship in global participatory culture. Included are topics such as artificial intelligence, digital archival, cybersecurity, and even a room about metamodernism and metaliteracy (featuring my new book)!

A project showcase will include an immersive learning project showcase featuring virtual reality spaces. I created a FrameVR room for the Community Virtual Library which can be accessed on the web-page or on a VR headset. These virtual learning spaces are rapidly expanding and the #iLRN Conference 2020 will be a great opportunity to network with educators who are exploring and using them with high quality content.

Not Your Grandad’s Literacy

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This week I presented an overview of my new book Metamodernism and Changing Literacy: Emerging Research and Opportunities for the Virtual World Education Round Table. Educators (and those interested in virtual learning environments) attended as I walked through the 9 book chapters to share an overview.

Walking through the presentation (as avatars) demonstrated new literacy in action! The book merges our philosophical moment with the need for critical thinking about our own literacy. Participants brought thoughtful discussion about the changes in digital culture and how we need to address them at a personal as well as global level.

Virtual Environment Workshops for Educators

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Build a Professional Network for #remotelearning

Not all online learning spaces are equal! In fact, many are applications built by designers without any educational background at all. So how can educators explore and build the best sustainable interactive online learning environments for students? Well- one way is to explore innovative virtual learning spaces together to evaluate them.

With that goal in mind, the Community Virtual Library is sponsoring CVL Educator Workshops in numerous virtual environments, such as Second Life, Kitely, and web-based worlds like Cybalounge and 3Dwebworldz. For those interested in virtual reality headsets, CVL has a VR Explorers team and a Discord Channel. Check out the CVL Educators Workshop schedule here! Workshops are just starting, so check the spreadsheet as dates will be added.

Community Virtual Library in Cybalounge

Community Virtual Library Main Branch

The main branch of the Community Virtual Library is in Second Life and librarians, educators and volunteers hold office hours to help teachers, learners, and anyone interested in virtual environments to better understand and use them. Explore the website and see the Virtual Reference tab to find a mentor.

Is education ready for #virtualreality headsets?

Librarians and colleagues are exploring VR headsets while understanding that virtual immersive environments like Second Life are a form of virtual reality that has been proven to be advantageous for years. A recent workshop in the virtual world of Virbela presented a session on where VR is headed in education.

Virtual Learning: the world scrambles to find remote learning spaces

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Due to the Corona Virus, I find myself getting numerous questions about how to learn in virtual spaces! As Director of the Community Virtual Library, I have years of experience in immersive learning in virtual worlds. However, it is important to say that it is not a quick and easy tool to learn! In fact, my dissertation topic was factors contributing to the adoption of virtual worlds and findings showed the biggest obstacle was complexity. People have used the term “steep learning curve” to describe virtual worlds for years. The advantages and benefits, I firmly believe, are well-worth the effort. A few weeks of exploration and navigation of the interface provides most of us with a comfort zone and a “sense of presence” that is much more suitable to learning than a web-based platform, quick apps, or webinars.

Librarians discussing virtual world learning environments

Help! Where do we start?

Learning how to utilize virtual worlds for education requires locating a virtual space (a simulated classroom or “sim”) and importing the curriculum used for specific learning outcomes, just as an educator does in the physical world. Building a professional learning network with other educators is the best starting point. Those educators are ready to help you! The International Society for Education (ISTE Virtual Environments Network) has several communities and individuals who meet regularly. Just FYI, I won the ISTE VEN Pioneer of the Year Award last year in 2019. Scroll down to the bottom!

Now’s your chance at VWBPE 2020

If you are interested in learning about virtual worlds, the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference 2020 takes place this month: March 26th-28th. I have several presentation during the conference which are available on the schedule.

Visit the Community Virtual Library

Anyone can visit the Community Virtual Library in Second Life or in other virtual worlds and tours can be scheduled. Joining educational groups helps educators find others who have paved the way for bringing deep learning and critical thinking into virtual spaces. Currently, VR headsets are NOT ready for mainstream. There is little research on how these headsets impact the human brain. Virtual worlds have been around for years and research documents high quality simulations for all subject areas.

Library tour at CVL

What age level should use virtual worlds?

Currently, virtual worlds are ready for higher education and some educators bring younger students into specific virtual spaces. Educators should explore first and find the best spot for learning. With all the questions coming my way, plans are underway for workshops to help newcomers explore virtual worlds!

Contact info: https://twitter.com/valibrarian

https://about.me/valibrarian

Meta Dreams

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My dream is a continual question for meaning. What it means to be alive….the awe of it. That has always been my dream and why I chose to be a librarian. (We are on a dream collecting quest.) My dream is a constant journey, a spiral, just like life. Seasons come around again and again and every year they’re the same yet different. Old- yet new. My dream of meaning is a collection of oxymorons that illustrate the tensions of opposites. We live in a world of them. I dream in poetry but balance my mind by writing research.

What does life mean? Human culture has attempted to answer that philosophical question through different lenses of perception over the centuries. The Post Modern Era is over and we have yet to agree on the term for the cultural moment in which we live. Post Postmodernism sounds redundant. Some, myself included, prefer metamodernism.

Digital life is spent in the “about”: sharing life on social media, creating memes and living in digital spaces. Literacy has become metaliteracy. The metaverse exists but can’t be defined by any location on any particular server.

Imagine! Balancing Your Physical and Virtual Life (Tip #2)

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I wonder…. What the world will be like in ten years? What does it feel like to fly like a bird?  

We have a changing relationship with “wonderment” (my daughter recently told me).  Not long ago, we used to start a sentence with, “I wonder…” while we just sat not knowing and wondered for awhile.  Now, we start a sentence that way and seconds later, we ask Google.  Are we losing our ability to wonder?  To sit and ponder in awe?  

Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge”; yet, in today’s age of information, we expect instant access to answers.  We hand out Ipads to kindergarteners in the hope that they can learn and create better than ever, yet perhaps we are robbing them of wonder and creativity by providing creative apps and instant answers.  

BALANCE TIP #2 Spend time imagining

Deep thought requires wonder- not answers. Doesn’t critical inquiry drive knowledge toward wisdom much more than a list of facts?  Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers”.   If we lose the ability to “hold on” to a question and only value having answers…  I wonder what will become of us?

Imagine image at https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/15015843722

Stories and Art in 3D: Wander the Watercolours

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Artists and writers have new media opportunities to explore with digital tools.  For example, artist CK (Creakay Ballyhoo in the virtual world of Second Life) created watercolour (spelled that way in her part of the world!) paintings in 3D to illustrate a story presented in a virtual world.  Read the story of a little girl on a watercolour wander.

A group of educators, the Virtual Pioneers, take virtual field trips to simulations in Second Life.  A recent trip allowed the pioneers to wander through CK’s story paintings.  This machinima shows the educators inside A Watercolour Wander.