VWBPE 2026 Thinkerer Nomination

The VWBPE Thinkerer Award

VWBPE has conferred the Thinkerer Award upon many deserving individuals since 2014. We seek nominations from you, the education community, who have observed and wish to honor their colleagues among them in this special way.

These would be those who embody the best qualities of leadership, consistent selfless service towards the promotion of learning, community, and educational practices, and the spirit of cooperative development within immersive environments

Only individuals may be nominated. You may nominate as many individuals as you like. Fill out the form once for each person. Nominees need not be Second Life or OpenSimulator account holders.

Final selection of the award recipient will be conducted by the VWBPE Organizational Committee by mid-February, and will be announced publicly during the conference closing ceremonies on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

Nomination Criteria

The award is for lifetime achievement in community development and leadership rather than for a single contribution.

Nominees should have a minimum of 10 years of distinguished service to education and/or a specific community of practice.

Nominees need not currently hold a professional position and may be retired.

Nominees will have made significant contributions to one or more of VWBPE’s primary goals of

• helping 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/or

providing access to current innovations, trends, ideas, case studies, and other best practices for educators and the communities that help support education.

Nominees should demonstrate an active commitment to:

• educational excellence;
• service of others;
• advising or mentoring of others in the same community; and
• the ongoing promotion and development of best practices in their community of practice.

Exclusions

Individuals are ineligible for nomination if they fit any of the criteria below:

• The individual has not been engaged with their community of practice for more than 2 years;
• The individual has been a past award recipient; and
• The individual is only identifiable as their avatar personae (i.e. we must be able to identify the person by their current legal name and contact information).

The VWBPE Thinkerer Award Nomination Form

Use the form below to nominate VWBPE’s next Thinkerer. You can nominate more than one individual.