What is the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium?

Virtual Worlds Education Consortium is one of the projects that makes up Metaverse Libraries. It brings together educators from across the Metaverse.

As stated on the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium website, its “purpose is to bring educators in virtual worlds together, both to share what has been successful and to tackle obstacles across different platforms and communities”.  The goal of the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium is to bring together educators to discuss best practices for learning and teaching in virtual environments. This group is open to anyone interested in education, from children to higher education and lifelong learning. It also focuses on encouraging collaboration between educational communities.

Though primarily based in the virtual world Second Life, the Virtual World Education Consortium has begun to build presences on other virtual worlds with partnerships in the virtual worlds of Kitely and Wolf Territories.

In partnership with Community Virtual Library, another project that is part of Metaverse Libraries, there are currently information centers in both Second Life and Kitely.  These information centers are designed to assist educators and those interested in educational opportunities discover resources to aid in their learning journey, and at times are staffed by live assistance as indicated on the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium website. As part of that collaborative mission, there are three directories that are curated to assist in the search: one that assists finding educational communities learners can consider becoming a part of, another that lists landmarks of educational value, and one to help educators network with colleagues.

Networking events offered by the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium in Second Life include weekly Fireside Chats moderated by educators, including ones offered in Spanish and Polish. Also offered is the Expert Series every other Friday, where individuals in different facets of the educational field share their knowledge. Another highlight is monthly gatherings with Madori Linden from Linden Labs (the company behind Second Life). 

Virtual Worlds Education Consortium sponsors an electronic journal with a focus on higher education called The Avatar Scholar. It launched with the Fall 2024 issue.

For more information on the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium, visit the website.