People have always shared ideas and learned in collaborative communities.  But today, especially with the rush to online learning during the Covid19 pandemic, joining a professional learning community (PLC) has become essential for educators to help the next generation of learners.

Choosing the best digital and virtual environments is a daunting task.  There simply is not enough time to explore them all!  But, together, we can be aware of the best applications and best practices for utilizing virtual environments.

An example of a PLC in virtual environments is the CVL Education Network provided by the Community Virtual Library.  Educators hold “office hours” in virtual spaces such as Second Life, Kitely, Opensim, Cybalounge, 3Dwebworlz, AltspaceVR, VirBela and many more. This spreadsheet shares virtual worlds (desktop) and virtual reality (headset) platforms for education with the goal of illustrating high quality virtual learning environments and helping educators become aware of possibilities. Note that there are five sheets to share various ways to connect and build a PLC and contact information to include your virtual office hours. Anyone (educators, artists, musicians, subject specialists, or lifelong learners) can use this spreadsheet to navigate and explore virtual environments.