AvaCon Inc.^✔ @avaconinc

Understanding digital literacy is about understanding our relationship to how technology is at once shaped by society and is also influenced by society. Centers of education, including libraries, museums, science centers, and others need to go beyond simply presenting facts and figures. The future of these institutions requires that we broaden the mandate to create a culture of enablement as compared to being passive observers.

Virtual worlds provide high quality learning experiences that are not always easy to find. Join librarians from the Community Virtual Library who are providing groundbreaking library services across the metaverse through the creation of the Virtual Worlds Database. The Metaverse is a collective of virtual shared spaces, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet (Wikipedia, n.d.). The database includes landmarks for immersive learning simulations across virtual worlds.

We will review our development process for serious games and discuss early prototypes, usability testing, transition/translation to game and elearning platforms and future directions.

Physics engines are expensive in resources, why do we think we need them? There is a list of reasons commonly given, from keeping the avatar's feet on the ground to implementing vehicles. I'm going to go through each of these points, evaluate the need and show why I find few real uses for the physics engine. These thoughts have lead me to an idea for a different type of engine that I think would better serve virtual worlds.

This session will present a case study addressing virtual world design and technology implementation challenges encountered while supporting recent positive technology research. Perspectives will include both researcher and engineer vantages involved in collaboration then present a general recommended guideline for virtual world design supporting research.

Providing secure avatar2avatar communications between platforms, first between SL and OS, then HiFi, Unity3d and Decentraland. We will be presenting the GridFone, the first secure, avatar to avatar (A2A) communications service between multiple platforms in VR/AR/VW as well as with real life. The flaws of the walled garden business model that conflict with principles of network effects will be discussed and how the GridFone will tear down the walls between worlds.

Gather in OSCC Expo Zone 2, to go on a fun Hypergridding trip.

Gather in OSCC Expo Zone 2, to go on a fun Hypergridding trip.

This presentation will highlight two projects that highlight the use of OpenSim virtual environments with literature based learning. We will highlight the Understanding the Holocaust Project that correlates with the Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank, and the Westing Mansion Project that correlates with the fictional story The Westing Game.

Dr Carina Girvan / Sleepy Littlething is an academic at Cardiff University and co-editor of the British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET). In this project she brings ther interests together as part of a European Commission funded project on Educational Robotics for STEM (ER4STEM).https://twitter.com/cgirvan to create SLurtles and SLurtle World for K-12 STEM students.

A conversation on bridging worlds and the extension of OpenSimulator content usage.

OpenSim is a vast and often confusing place to navigate. It is full of interesting people, yet it can often be hard to find them. What strategies are needed to consolidate a sense of community in this far flung set of worlds? The secret is appreciation, but how can that be manifest in a virtual hyperverse?

Join a lively presentation on the techniques used to create multi-use case study simulations in an OpenSimulator grid. Also, the early findings from a study -- of the impact of increased out-of-world exposure to virtual simulations on the participation rate for in-world learning activities -- will be discussed. Using course-related case studies, screen capture video clip dramatizations can be created in-world (and made available -- out-of-world -- in online course sites).

We developed OAR Converter, a conversion system to load OpenSimulator Archive (.oar) files into Unity for use in Unity-based projects. This system allows the user to load 3D world data created in OpenSimulator into Unity on a region-by-region basis, and to ultimately output the data from Unity in a variety of formats. These features allow us to treat the pairing of OpenSimulator and Unity as a shared development environment, which simplifies the low-cost creation of 3D virtual worlds.

How suitable is the OpenSim technology to be used in industrial applications now and in the future , what is its current state and what additional capabilities are needed to be adopted by the customers of industrial applications. What areas in industry are suited to use the technology and how does it compare with other virtual reality technologies and applications.

Metaverse Developers THE VESUVIUS GROUP worked with the Arena Stage Mead Center for American Theater in Washington D.C.
The project included a Mixed-Reality event from the Season Preview into the SL "Virtual Arena" and the build-out of a HOLOPRESENCE Studio for Mixed Reality into the Real World. Technical presentation will include knowledge transfer about the building process, production and rapid prototyping that led to the world's first HOLOPRESENCE Mixed Reality for Avatars!

At Spanish Language Learning at Escape, you will find a variety of locations that present authentic language learning opportunities. While strolling through the plaza or investigating the old pyramid, you will encounter NPCs with whom you can casually converse about targeted vocabulary and grammar topics. Learning objects, embedded throughout the environment, take students through the process of attaining knowledge, practicing that knowledge and finally assessing their learning in an engaging and innovative

We will discuss the emergence and some artistic applications of a Motion Capture Dance Library (or bvh database) developed at the Laboratorio Mocap PPGD/UFBA. Particular cross-cultural issues will be addressed.

During the past 15 years or more, we have been conditioned to assume that content creation in 3D virtual worlds is largely an activity only relevant to 3D modelers, programmers, and building or scripting enthusiasts. This limited view of content creation has given rise to growing contemporary movements which emphasize efforts to create entertaining and educational experiences 'for' users as opposed to empowering the latter. We are more interested in enabling casual end users so that they are able to satisfy

The Dreamworld system has thousands of worlds using the standalone hypergrid system - ten times as many as there are 'regular' grids. I'll be introducing a new "DreamGrid", a Windows OpenSimulator with Robust grid capability for home and professional users. DreamGrid has the Gloebits economy module so you can sell items. There are server side bird flocks, easy region expansion, and many more features.

Thirza Ember organizes the OpenSim travel group, HG Safari, which has been promoting the community spirit by arranging weekly group visits to grids all over the OpenSim Hypergrid for the past 3 1/2 years.

Shawn Emerald, John Lester, Crista Lopes

As a result of the tragic collapse of a building In the 5th century BC, Simonides Ceos, a Greek poet discovered the method of loci, which became the most famous visualisation technique todate used by memory contest champions. In this presentation we will describe how this method was deployed with a gist during an English training initiatives carried out in school year 2016-17 with the Italian teachers in edMondo, the educational OpenSim created by INDIRE in Italy.

A moderated panel on interfacing with virtual environments, both OpenSimulator compatible viewers and beyond these viewers to other worlds and interfaces.

What touches the heart and mind within our shared experiences in virtual worlds? How does collaboration in virtual worlds inspire us to greatness? Join us, the Harmony Society, as we present highlights from research colleagues across universities in transcendentalism.
On Virtual Harmony, the Simone de Beauvoir salon recreated in a French village provides a mind space for exploring the innate goodness of humanity, the aesthetics of place, and the need for educational innovation.

In 2016 an immersive interactive art show became part of a real Biennale under the icon IMMERSIVIA. In 2018 the IMMERSIVIA will extend and happen all over the world as the 1st Digital Biennale expanding over 7 continents.
http://1biennale.com
The concept based on Pavilions and on containers inside the Pavilions (Cubes), some artists who already committed to contribute will be mentioned and also their Pavilions (some might be in draft status) will be shown.

4Dialog has developed over 40 city models using open sim technology. Since the start 2008 the landscape for use of virtual simulations and visualizations has changed and evolved dramatically. Today Universities together with both public and private stakeholders are working together in developing better and more advanced tools for visualizing, simulating and not least communicating how the future urban landscape could look like.

Latest data about OpenSim grids, users, and opinion surveys

The Liverpool & Manchester Railway is frequently identified as the first modern railway but dates to 1830 and hence there is no contemporaneous photographic record. OpenSim is being used to model parts of the railway and adjacent areas based on maps, artworks and related information sources. The presentation outlines progress to date and addresses use of non-player characters (NPCs) in adding additional value to the simulation.

A panel of core developers will discuss the future of the OpenSimulator platform. Expect a lively debate! Topics will include a variety of issues including the future of the Hypergrid, content licensing and permissions, scalability, project maturity, and much more. Find out where the platform is headed and learn more about the developers who make the software happen!

HyperGrid Safari - a choice of two hypergrid tour routes exploring locations in the OpenSimulator metaverse, featuring artistic builds, community, educational spaces, and free 3D content resources.
"We call it a Hypergrid Safari, because there's no saying what marvels you will see out there... but we can guarantee you a few close shaves, some friendly natives, and a bumpy ride!" - Thirza Ember
Improve your hypergrid skills, meet new people, and learn about the joys of group grid jumping.

A cluster of bugs (all recorded in the OpenSimulator Mantis system) makes it difficult to script weapons in Open Simulator. Weapons are important to many different role-play communities. I will describe several methods that have been used to implement weapons, and how OpenSimulator could be improved to support them better. My goal is to generate excitement in the developers to fix some bugs critical to this disused corner of our communities.

Current virtual environment developers often find it difficult to pick a suitable virtual reality platform to support their application. This panel is an opportunity for developers proficient in current competing platforms to share their experience and discuss future platform evolution trajectories. It will also allow OpenSimulator core developers to differentiate OpenSimulator from its peers.

Senses Places: dancing with your physical body, image, avatar and bio-signals.

Senses Places is an ongoing collaborative transdisciplinary project creating mixed reality participatory performance environments that engage participants in a physical and mediat(iz)ed kinesthetic/somatic movement relational experience.
http://sensesplaces.org
http://isabel-valverde.branded.me
Isabel will discuss Senses Places artistic vision towards mixed reality embodied interfacing encompassing instead of simply substi

Join us as we discuss the creation of the AU Metaverse's SurvivalSim, where life teeters on the edge of a chocolate bar. From the frozen perch of a rusted out submarine to the debris left from crash landing in the Antarctic, SurvivalSim presents a challenge that tests the character strengths and wits of the players.

Exploring a little-known OpenSimulator module developed by Mic Bowman, and recently improved by Crista Lopes, allows developers to control OpenSim scenes externally, via Perl and Python scripts. Crista will explain what this module is capable of, and how to use it to develop highly dynamic 3D applications bypassing the scripting engine.

Virtual eCommerce: exploring finance, virtual currencies and markets in OpenSimulator.

Join Dr. Larysa Nadolny in a discussion of how to use the motivating and engaging features of games in designing a learning activity in the virtual world. She will give examples on how to use challenges, leaderboards, easter eggs and more!

Join Kay McLennan in a fast moving discussion (with handouts!) of how educators can start using engaging and effective virtual world simulations/activities immediately and with little or no cost. Kay will provide tips, tricks, and practical advice for how to: (1) bring students into a virtual world -- for building, exploration, and/or immersive discussions; (2) how to set-up prepacked virtual world simulations; and (3) how to use virtual world simulations as a backdrop for creating unique teaching materials

The Educational Robotics for STEM project, funded by the European Commission, aims to develop a continuous framework for the design of educational robotics activities for all children aged 7-18, both in and out-of-school, regardless of current interest in STEM subjects. In this presentation we explore the development of virtual robots (SLurtles) and the virtual environment in which children will explore, test and extend their understanding of mathematics and programming, through collaborative, constructioni

Up until this point, Open Simulator and other Virtual World systems have not been designed with the needs of all people with disabilities in mind. We will identify some areas where the development community needs improvement in its approaches and discuss some simple solutions that could be implemented now. Future innovation ideas will also be discussed to look for new simple and creative ways to get everyone involved in the Virtual World Community no matter what their needs are.