Proposals

Instructional Technology Conference 2009

Title: Government Education in Virtual Worlds

Name: Paulette Robinson, PhD & JoAnne Green

Audience: General

Audience Level: All

Length: 1 Hour

Abstract: The Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds (http://www.ndu.edu/irmc/fedconsortium.html) started in July 2007 currently has over 1,000 members from government, industry and academia. The largest working group in the Consortium focuses on Education/Training. The presentation will describe the Air Force education/training model myBase; the types of virtual worlds government are using, the spectrum of activities and specific government examples; as well as the challenges and the benefits of the use of virtual worlds across government.

Description: The Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds (http://www.ndu.edu/irmc/fedconsortium.html) demonstrates the growing interest in virtual worlds by the government (federal, international, state and local). From the first meeting in July 2007 with 40 participants it has grown to over 1,000 members from government, industry and academia. As part of Consortium is organization, 10 working groups have been created to address the issues and challenges of most interest to the member. The largest group is Education and Training. The purpose of the group is to share best practices, identify issues, work together on solutions, and share resources as they pertain to virtual worlds in government education and training. The focus areas for the group are education, training, instructional design, simulations and serious games, content standards for virtual worlds (like SCORM standards for training), assessment and evaluation (tools and techniques), and knowledge management. Issues and priorities for the group include: integration of virtual worlds with other tools (e.g., LMS), policies and licensing, access, and security.

A number of virtual worlds are being explored and used in government (e.g., Second Life, Forterra, Active Worlds, Protosphere, Nexus, and Real World). The Air Force has the most comprehensive model for the incorporation of virtual worlds into overall education and training with their concept of myBase. In addition to this model, government educational activities include: basic information delivery, games and simulations, classroom meetings, conferences, prototyping, communities of practice and analytical collaborative spaces. The presentation will describe the Federal Consortium and the Education/Training working group, the Air Force model, the types of educational activities with specific government examples, as well as the challenges and the benefits of the use of virtual worlds across government.

Session Type: Presentation

On-Site Equipment Requirements:

Contact Information/Affiliation:
Paulette Robinson, PhD
Assistant Dean for Teaching, Learning & Technology
Information Resources Management College
National Defense University
robinsonp@ndu.edu
202-685-3891

JoAnne Green
Instructional Designer
Information Resources Management College
National Defense University
Greenj8@ndu.edu
202-685-1542