The 17th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference is an online distributed conference happening in multiple virtual spaces. This conference focuses on the use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes including virtual and augmented reality.

To the best ability possible, VWBPE provides educational and networking opportunities that are relevant to educational curriculum development utilizing virtual environments and “best practices”. These include

• helping to build community through extension of learning best practices to practical application of those ideas and techniques;
• providing networking opportunities for educators and the communities that help support education; and
• providing access to current innovations, trends, ideas, case studies, and other best practices for educators and the communities that help support education

One of the key challenges faced by the educational community is how to make the best use of new immersive technologies in a way that is sustainable and accessible based on limited budgets available to both instructors and students. Platforms that are free or open source, or that can be shared across a broad audience are showcased including methods and research around best practices in their use and applicability.

VWBPE will again be using Linden Lab’s Second Life^® environment as our primary conference venue for meetings, exhibits, roundtables, and discussions. Participants are encouraged to submit proposals and immersive experience tours on any environment for education using technologies for virtual or augmented reality. We actively encourage showcasing multiple technology platforms. This includes practical application, researched papers, conceptual, and content creation supporting those technologies.

Mythic stories can provide a way to engage students in critical thinking and analysis, as well as developing their creativity and imagination.

Mythic origins can provide students with a deeper understanding of their own cultural heritage and how it has evolved over time.

It allows us to explore the origins of our socially constructed myths and legends that have inspired educators and their various works.

Join us next year and share your research, praxis, and origin stories of how virtual technologies in the classroom has helped shape education for the better.

The conference is free to attend. The cost of the conference is covered by sponsorship and donations.