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For the past four weeks, representatives of five nonprofits supported by the MacArthur Foundation have been going through the “Virtual World Capacity Building Program” an intensive training on nonprofit applications of virtual worlds.  These organizations have explored several major virtual platforms, examined some of the leading examples of nonprofit actions in the metaverse, and thought about how they might best use these tools to further their respective missions.

This Thursday, August 27, these five groups will be presenting on MacArthur Island in Second Life their initial impressions of virtual worlds, outstanding questions, and possible next steps.  It’s a very diverse group of nonprofits, including:

• The Adler Planetarium of Chicago
• Archi-treasures
• The Justice Policy Institute
  
• The National Writing Project
• and the Vera Institute of Justice

Come hear what they have to say on Thursday, from 12-1:30pm PST on MacArthur Island in Second Life (teleport link). Afterwards, there will be an open discussion about the applications of virtual worlds for various public good purposes.  And we’ll close the event with a casual mixer / dance party!

Written by: rikomatic

I’m excited to announce that Global Kids will be producing in Second Life a simulcast of the upcoming FCC Workshop on education and broadband access next Thursday, August 20 at 1pm EST.  The simulcast event will take place on MacArthur Island amphitheater (click here to teleport ).

The topic is obviously very near and dear to us at GK, so we are excited to be involved. I hope that all of the communities of educators, students, nonprofits, and others who understand the value of broadband access for education turn out and participate.

More after the jump…

FCC Workshop on Education to be Simulcast into Second Life on Thursday, August 20

On Thursday, August 20, at 10:00am PST / 1pm EST, Global Kids will be hosting a Second Life simulcast of an FCC Workshop on the intersections of broadband access and education. The goal of this workshop is to identify potential impact of increased broadband access on education outcomes and how broadband policies can help improve those outcomes. The FCC hopes to learn about ways in which broadband can impact education at the early childhood, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels in a cost-effective manner. The workshop will look at current programs, such as e-rate and evaluate how such programs can be improved, for example, to take advantage of new technologies that have arisen since it was established. The workshop will also look at what applications and devices might be used to improve educational performance.

Hosted on MacArthur Island in Second Life (click here to teleport ), this video simulcast of the workshop is open to the general public to attend.  Virtual event hosting, moderation and technical support provided by Global Kids.

Background on the Workshop
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The Broadband Initiatives funded in the Act are intended to accelerate broadband deployment across the United States. The Recovery Act authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create the National Broadband Plan, that “shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal.” From August to September, the FCC will be holding workshops on key issues relevant to broadband deployment in the United States. The goal of the workshops will be to promote an open dialogue between the FCC and key constituents on matters important to the National Broadband Plan.
 

For more information about the upcoming workshop see http://broadband.gov/ws_education.html . For information about the in-world event, contact rik@globalkids.org .

Written by: rikomatic

This Thursday, August 6, at 6:30am PST / 9:30am EST, there will be a Second Life simulcast of an FCC Workshop on the subject of “E-Gov/Civic Engagement.” The goal of this workshop is to evaluate how broadband can improve the performance of government specifically in terms of transparency and citizen participation and more generally in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. The workshop will consider various ways all levels of government, as well as governments in other countries, have used broadband to improve its performance in these ways and how those lessons might apply for purposes of developing the national broadband plan. The workshop will also consider the potential benefits of universal broadband in enabling various government operations to move to a digital platform in terms of improved performance, cost savings, and strategic benefits to the communications infrastructure.

Hosted on MacArthur Island in Second Life ( click here to teleport ), this video simulcast of the workshop is open to the general public to attend. Key constituents of particular interest to the FCC include service providers, equipment providers, applications providers, community groups, and other groups that have a stake in the future of broadband. Virtual event hosting, moderation and technical support provided by Global Kids.

Background on the Workshop
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The Broadband Initiatives funded in the Act are intended to accelerate broadband deployment across the United States. The Recovery Act authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create the National Broadband Plan, that “shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal.” From August to September, the FCC will be holding workshops on key issues relevant to broadband deployment in the United States. The goal of the workshops will be to promote an open dialogue between the FCC and key constituents on matters important to the National Broadband Plan.

For more information about the upcoming workshop see http://broadband.gov/ws_egov.html . For information about the in-world event, contact rik@globalkids.org

Written by: rikomatic

It is with great excitement that I announce a project I have been wanting to launch for some time now: Betterverse.org. The site is dedicated to covering and aggregating the most exciting experiments in nonprofit and public good applications of virtual world technology from across the metaverse. For the past four years, I have been following and writing about the growing nonprofit sector in Second Life, and witnessing its expansion into worlds like Habbo, ActiveWorlds, Whyville, and Metaplace.

These are exciting times. I believe we are witnessing a very real broadening of our definitions of the public sphere, civic engagement, education, and community through this new medium. Everyday, people in virtual worlds are changing lives, opening minds, rallying for change, and building bridges across cultures and borders. I hope you will help me in bringing the most dramatic examples of this to light. Just a couple of recent initiatives:

• President Obama’s speech in Accra, Ghana was simulcast into Metaplace and Second Life, with an international audience conversing live across worlds
• Tens of thousands of young people in the virtual world of Whyville have learned about ecology, marine biology and coral reefs through the “Whyreef” experience
• The Relay for Life raised more than $270,000 for cancer research in Second Life

Betterverse itself is, of course, a non-profit venture. Your help getting the word out to your networks is much appreciated. The site has an RSS and Twitter feed for keeping up to date on what’s happening.

Please send any relevant news that you come across to rik@betterverse.org.

Written by: rikomatic