ALA Midwinter Meeting February 1, 2015

Meeting of the

ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group

at the ALA Annual Midwinter Conference
Sunday February 1, 2015, 3 pm - 4 pm ET
Chicago, IL

 

J.J. Jacobson (J.J. Drinkwater), Chair of the ACRL-VWIG, and other real life conference attendees in Chicago, braved a blizzard to meet at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers for our annual planning and discussion meeting at ALA Midwinter.  J.J., acted as convener and envoy to several librarians who wanted to find out what all the fuss was about Second Life.

Real life visitors from Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Madison met in the conference room in Chicago.

Virtual attendees gathered at the Community Virtual Library Auditorium in Second Life

The interactive format of the meeting helped illustrate the sense of presence offered by Second Life events. (photo courtesy of Valibrarian Greg)

Interest group members in Second Life, fielded questions from participants in Chicago and shared their experiences working as educators in Second Life.   J.J. provided the vital connection between real-life and Second Life, moderating the meeting, fielding questions, and, calling on audience members to address issues and reply to questions.  

J.J. Drinkwater, Aimee Resident, Valibrarian Gregg, Joe Cupola, Beth Ghostraven, Alexandria Knight, Hyacinth Cortez, Suemoon Magic, Ilene Pratt

 Members of the VWIG were eager to share their experiences.  We answered questions and provided feedback and personal insights to the conference attendees in Chicago.  They were very interested in how things worked in Virtual Worlds and specifically in how libraries and librarians were using Second Life.  They were intrigued by the examples provided of librarians using Second Life to engage in professional development by attending workshops, meetings and conferences.  They were most surprised that it could be used as a tool for networking with other educators.  Group members delineated many examples of other uses for Second Life including holding classes, workshops, historical recreations and art exhibitions. We also touched on issues to consider in using virtual worlds and developments on the horizon for Second Life.   All in all, it was a very successful and informative meeting. The attendees in Chicago left with a better understanding of Second Life and the culture of helping that exists there.  They also came away with a list of very active users, all eager to assist them as they pursue their exploration into the educational potential of virtual worlds.