Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

Announcing Virtual World Campus! (from FireSabre's site)

Buy an island. Build stuff. Get your students there, somehow. That's been the stock solution for educational projects in Second Life. But what if your school is starting small? Are you going to spend most of your budget just buying 16 acres of bare land? Do you need that much land to begin with? Do you have the knowledge and expertise to turn that empty lot into a place to learn? How do you set up accounts for all your staff and students? How do you manage the technical side of running a virtual classroom, and still concentrate on teaching?

Virtual World Campus by FireSabre, in partnership with Global Kids, closes the gap between what basic SL gives you and what you really need. Buy a parcel to suit your project's size and budget. Work with our consultants to build on that land for your specific needs. Let us help with administration during setup and ongoing operations.

Set up your online classroom in Virtual World Campus, and let us help you to get your school, your staff, and your students off to a smooth start with their educational experience in Second Life!

Posted by joyce at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What is Virtual World Campus? (from FireSabre's site)

Up to now there's been a steep learning curve and high minimum costs to use SL for education. To get the privacy needed to manage your educational experience, you have had to buy a private island estate -- an expensive proposition that might eat up most of your budget, and leave you with nothing but a big expanse of bare land, and no resources or expertise with which to build on it.

Virtual World Campus by FireSabre, developed in partnership with Global Kids, is an easy entry point to education in Second Life, filling the gap between what basic SL provides and what you need.

Is a whole island more than you need? Buy a parcel on the Virtual World Campus suitable for your project and within your budget.

Do you need more than just bare land? FireSabre's consultants include talented landscapers, builders, texture artists, and scripters who can work with you to create the educational environment that you want.

Do you need help with administration? We can provide custom account creation services, advise you on estate management, access permissions, and intellectual property controls, and can act as your liaison to Linden Lab.

Need an extra pair of hands? FireSabre provides professional after-the-sale support services, either hourly as needed or as part of your consulting package.

How can I start using Virtual World Campus?

1. Contact FireSabre. We'll discuss your needs, and work out a support plan that is right for your project.
2. Obtain background checks for all adult participants.
3. Have FireSabre create avatars for your staff and students
4. Explore the Virtual World Campus, and select land appropriate for your project. We have plots to match projects of any size or budgetary level.
5. Build or obtain content for your project. FireSabre's experienced builders and scripters will work with you and build according to your needs.

And with that, you're ready to go! Bring your students into Second Life for a unique educational experience, tailored to your curriculum, budget, and class size. And you'll be working alongside other educators from around the country, and can share ideas and content with them!

Posted by joyce at 4:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following video was the year-end project for the Global Kids youth leaders in Queens, New York who spent the year working in Global Kids' Virtual Video Project, at the Museum of the Moving Image, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

The video is based on research done by the youth about the situation of child soldiers in Uganda and the upcoming trial at the International Criminal Court.

You can watch their earlier piece about digital media and youth at here.

Read the youth leaders blogs here.

To learn what you can do about this issue, go to our recent blog entry about this.

Please help spread the link to the video, either here or on YouTube, and leave your comments for the Global Kids youth leaders below.

Posted by joyce at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Global Kids has soft launched our new educators program in Teen Second Life aptly called Virtual World Campus.

Some of the details were posted in a recent SLED forums post,

Global Kids and Firesabre are creating a Teen Second Life Virtual World Campus that will make it far easier for educators to use Second Life. Up to now there's been a steep learning curve, and high minimum costs.

1 - There's no need to buy a private island from Linden Lab to create an education area for teens.

2 - Educators can rent or buy land parcels for projects.

3 - Firesabre handles much of the interaction with Linden Lab.

4 - Firesabre associates are available to provide answers and assistance.

People out in the blogosphere have also noticed us dipping our toes in the water. You can read more of what others are saying in the following posts:

• The Door Just Opened For 6-12 Educators
• HUGE NEWS for Educators working w/Teens

Continue reading "[vwc] Global Kids soft launches educators program in TSL" »

Posted by joyce at 2:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)