Tag: gridhopping

Flying Through Media Formats with ACRL Librarians

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When I organized the gridhop between two virtual worlds, I had this thought in the back of my mind that perhaps only a couple of participants would actually attend because of the difficult level of technology skills involved.  I was wrong!  An amazing group of librarians and educators from around the globe met the challenge and interacted in Jokaydia, an Australian based educational virtual world using the open-source code of Second Life.

As fifteen avatars began to gather in this new frontier, Barbara Janson (a doctoral student in library and information science) gave a tour of a 3D virtual world library she created.  Watch as these amazing technological pioneers “fly” through this library and demonstrate that information and media formats have been revolutionized and librarians are in the forefront of transliteracy.

Emerging Tech Trends and the "Trough of Disillusionment"!

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Jokaydia Lifelong Learning Library

The ALA Association of College and Research Librarians Virtual World Interest Group organized an event on Jokaydia Grid, which is a virtual world based on open-source code (similar to Second Life).  Jokay, the owner of Jokaydia, graciously agreed to help our group and Barbara Janson, builder of the Lifelong Learning Library in 3D, led a virtual world tour.  Fifteen brave pioneers attended– juggling three worlds (the physical world on computers, Second Life as a starting point, and Jokaydia as a destination).

With current trends in social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the rise in mobile apps, and an interest in augmented reality, keeping up with technology can be quite a challenge.  Virtual worlds, according to the Gartner Hype Cycle, are emerging from the trough of disillusionment!  Librarians were some of the earliest adopters and have persevered through that trough while juggling other emerging trends that impact information professions.   

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ACRL Virtual World Interest Group Event Invitation

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ACRL gridhop to Jokaydia
Lifelong Learning Library in a virtual world

WIIFM: “What’s in it for me?” You may be familiar with the current discussion of virtual worlds beyond Second Life. Educators and librarians are exploring numerous virtual worlds as a platform for information delivery, immersive learning, global collaboration and professional development. Attending this event may help you expand your knowledge and skills in virtual worlds as well as network with other professionals. The goal of the ACLR Virtual World Interest Group is to explore and share virtual worlds with professionals in libraries, education, and other fields. Here are the details….. You are invited to our

monthly ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group meeting which will be a gridhopping event to a different virtual world. Library builder, Barbara Janson (Avatar: Barbarathelibrarian Magic), will lead our tour.

Name of Event: GridHop to Lifelong Learning Library in Jokaydia ( a virtual world library visit) Date: Sunday, Sept. 23 11am SLT Where: Meet at the Community Virtual Library in Second Life http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/13/84/24 Before the meeting, it is suggested that you download the Imprudence Viewer to use for our trip to Jokaydia at http://wiki.kokuaviewer.org/wiki/Imprudence:Downloads You could also sign up and create your JokaydiaGrid avatar at http://www.jokaydiagrid.com/ You may want to use the same name as your Second Life avatar, so you will be recognized! Further instructions accessing the grid in Imprudences are as follows: Click on Grid Manager and choose “jokaydiagrid”. (You can click on Add New Grid if needed.) Grid info should look like the following: