VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

VE PLN

Save the Date: VSTE in Second Life, May 16, 2022, 8 PM

logo for VE PLNUsing Student's Creativity and Collaboration in a Virtual World Class

VSTE Presentation - May 16, 2022 5 PM SLT on Second Life

Becky Adams, Ph.D./Elli Pinion, SL
Faculty at the University of New Mexico

Becky is a former K-12 classroom teacher for 11 wonderful years.  She became the Director for Online Course Development and Faculty Support for the University of New Mexico for 13 years, retiring a few years ago, but still is still teaching faculty.   She has taught for UNM and New Mexico State University, where she developed and taught an Early Childhood and Tech online course. She received the Blackboard Catalyst Exemplary Course Award, and UNM Best Practices Course Advisory Golden PAW Award, and has been certified by Quality Matters, where she is a Master Reviewer.

Becky writes, "I am teaching in SL because of the amazing experience of a Middle School teacher and her class. I will share her experience and how it informed my decisions in using Virtual World technology to teach. This course, which just ended last week, is taught using social-constructivist theory, and collaborative and project-based learning approaches, which work well in K-12. The creative, flexible, and easy to build in the environment of Second Life is an excellent technology for this course. Students are introduced to teaching and training in Virtual Worlds by sharing research in teaching best practices, as well as current educational technologies that concentrate on Virtual Worlds and Virtual Reality.  A final project is used as the assessment tool where they build a project with a group to teach a topic of their choice."

This event is free and open to the public. It will be held in Second Life, a virtual world. You will need a free account to participate. More information about connecting will be provided closer to the event's date. If you have questions, contact Dr. William Schmactenberg.

 

Report From the Front Lines with VSTE Virtual Environments PLN

On May 17, 2021 (note NEW date), on the Virtual Environment Professional Learning Network (VE PLN) sim on Second LIfe, Dr. William Schmachtenberg (Dae Miami SL) will present data from high school students and how well they did with outside activities, creative projects, and traditional assignments such as watching a video or doing a worksheet.

Please join us at 8 PM ET.  This is part of our series: A report from the front lines, teaching in schools during COVID. Dr. Schmachtenberg teaches Earth Science at Franklin County High School and is an innovator in virtual environments and virtual reality.

Second Life is a virtual environment and requires an avatar to participate. Use the information below to create an account and get your avatar to the VE PLN sim.

Basic directions to join VSTE Space

If you don't have a Second Life account get one, it's free. We recommend setting one up at the Rockcliffe University Consortium's Gateway here: https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/ When you do this your avatar’s “home” is set to be the Rockcliffe University’s sim, bypassing the normal Second Life welcome area.

Download and install Second Life viewer software. You will be directed to download the Second Life viewer but we prefer the Firestorm viewer at https://www.firestormviewer.org/. Either one will work but Firestorm has some advantages.

When you are ready to join us, while your Second Life viewer (software) is open, click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Soulgiver/155/144/58 to teleport yourself to VSTE Space. Look for an avatar and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest. Someone is there most Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 AM Eastern Time (Same as New York).

Celebrate Fall with VE PLN

Second Life AvatarThe Virtual Environments Professional Learning Network is hosting several fall activities for fun and learning.

Halloween Social
October 26, 2020, 7 - 8 PM ET, the VSTE crowd will dance and network in costume to “DJ Thunder’s” Halloween tunes at VSTE Space in Second Life. Come chat and laugh with us. Let your hair down and leave the stress at home for an hour. 

Costumes are optional but if you want help with one, come visit Jazmemo and Thunder at VSTE Space during office hours any Saturday morning between 9 and 11 AM ET. We are always there ready to help. You still have time on Saturday, October 24 so don't miss out!

 

Report from the Front Lines

The VE PLN is starting a new segment called Report from the Front Lines. This series will be held at VSTE Place in Second Life once a month. The next meeting will be Monday, November 9 at 7 PM ET. This is an opportunity for teachers from across the state of Virginia and beyond to share data from teaching online, hybrid (AABB model), or fully in class. We will discuss strategies for improving grades of students, problems teachers are having, and new tools for teaching online. We had an organizational meeting on Oct. 12 that went well. Please join us as we continue to learn and grow in this new environment. The conversation will be led by Dr. William Schmactenberg, High School Earth Science Teacher at Franklin County High School, AKA Dae Miami (sl).

Minecraft Mondays

The first Monday of every month the VSTE VE PLN meeting is held in Minecraft on VSTE’s own server. 

Banner making in Minecraft

On Monday, November 2, 2020, at 8 PM ET, we will have a basic lesson in building with redstone, Minecraft’s own “electricity.” Experienced redstone builders are invited to create something ahead of time to show off what they can do to inspire the beginners! The server is online all the time.

How to Connect to the VE PLN via Second Life and Minecraft

Join the Facebook Page to keep up with the VE PLN

Minecraft Monday: Fireworks!

Monday, July 6, 2020, 8 PM
NEW VSTE Minecraft Server
This week we will learn how to build fireworks in Minecraft, and our teacher will put on a spectacular fireworks show! Visit us on the new
Remember we have changed servers since last Minecraft Monday. Please add our new server but keep the old one, too. Directions below.
VSTE Place, our Minecraft Server has MOVED!
We still have the old Beastnode server so don't delete it, but please rename it. It is currently offline but will be used in the future for special events. Maybe VSTE Special Events server would be a good name! Watch for updates about this. Simply click the server in the list and click to edit it.

Please, add a new server with the new address.
The new VSTE server address, with port, is:
Reclaim Hosting is now hosting the server. There is more memory allocated to it and we should be able to have more participants with less lag.  Joseph Knight did all the required technical things to accomplish the move. Thank you, Joseph!
There is a dynamic map of VSTE Place that is kind of fun to see.
You can even access it conveniently here:

Connecting to the Virtual Environments PLN

logo for VE PLN

The VE PLN hosts events on most Mondays at 8 PM ET in either Second Life or Minecraft. Learn more about how to connect to both these virtual worlds.

VSTE in Second Life Office Hours:

There is a small learning curve for getting up and running in Second Life. But, we think it's worth it. If you want some help, join Jaz and Thunder for Saturday morning office hours. Use the directions below to install the software and set up a free account.

screen shot of Second Life avatars

Basic directions to join VSTE Place, VSTE’s Minecraft world:

You must have a Minecraft account from https://minecraft.net/en/ to join. There is a one time fee of $26.95 to download and install the software. You will need to be whitelisted to enter the VSTE server.

Email Kim Harrison at [email protected] from an educational email address with your real name and Minecraft account name.

Start the software and choose multiplayer and add a server: Name VSTE Place IP 69.175.17.26:25565

We use Discord to share voices in Minecraft. This is a voice and screen sharing application that will run on your computer or mobile device. Download and install it for free. Create an account. Many of us use the same name for our Discord account as our Minecraft account to keep things simple. Our channel is https://discord.gg/nDX4mZv It helps us to be able to play Minecraft in one screen and listen via Discord with earbuds or headphones.

Basic Directions to access VSTE in Second Life:

Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TdiHylfcvM&feature=youtu.be

Second Life is a virtual world that is navigated using an avatar. You will need a free Second Life account as well as the software in order to participate. We recommend setting up an account at the Rockcliffe University Consortium's Gateway here: https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/ Download and install the software.

Once the software is installed and open, click this link http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Soulgiver/156/169/58 and your avatar will be teleported to VSTE Island. Look for an avatar on VSTE Island and say, "Hey, I'm new!" We will take care of the rest.

 

Past Events:

 

Minecraft Monday

Monday, May 4, 2020, 8 PM

Let's go Orienteering in Minecraft!

Minecraft Monday will be on May 4th at 8 PM Eastern time in VSTE Place. I have maps purchased from my village cartographer which we will duplicate and use to find treasure or temples! Come work with a friend, alone, compete or cooperate - you do you, but first we will talk about coordinates and how to follow the map. How could you use this with students?

 

Scroll down for more information about how to connect to Minecraft.

Virtual environments like Second Life and Minecraft offer opportunities to expand online learning for both teachers and students. The VSTE Virtual Environments PLN will be offering a variety of events in the coming weeks. Minecraft Monday: Held the first Monday of each month at VSTE Place in Minecraft. Details for connecting are at the bottom of this post.

VSTE in Second Life Photo Tour: Staying home and looking for ways to stay connected with your fellow educators? Come join us in Second Life, Monday, April 27, 8:00 PM EST at the VSTE Virtual Education Network. We will do a Photo Tour of the 2020 Fantasy Faire, a virtual Relay for Life event that supports Cancer Research. Featuring over 18 fantastical-themed zones, partake in a Tour of the various areas as we talk about the creations and take some magical photos. Details for setting up a free Second Life account and accessing VSTE in SL are at the bottom of this post.

VSTE in Second Life Student Presentation: A Comparison of the Jurassic Rocks of Switzerland and Como Bluff,  WY USA: A CaseStudy in International Collaboration at the High School Level

Monday, May 11, 2020, 8:00 PM

We often hear in schools about the need for students to learn 21st Century skills such as creativity and collaboration on an international scale. Franklin County High School student Darien Bradley worked for months with a scientist in Switzerland to compare and contrast the geology of the Jurassic time period of Switzerland with the classic dinosaur locality at Como Bluff, WY. He will discuss challenges and benefits of doing online collaboration with someone in another country as well as what he learned about the Jurassic time period in these countries.

Join us in Second Life, Monday, May 11 at 8:00 PM EST.

Details for setting up a free Second Life account and accessing VSTE in SL are at the bottom of this post.