8th Annual VCARA Conference: Recap

VCARA Blog

Published: April 28, 2017

The 8th Annual VCARA Conference’s theme was Virtual Worlds: Through Space and Time. A huge thanks for an excellent turnout! Presentation recordings are available.

On April 19, 2017, VCARA held its 8th Annual VCARA Conference on iSchool Island in Second Life. This year’s theme was Virtual Worlds: Through Space and Time. Attendees posted to social media during the conference using #VCARA.

A huge thanks for an excellent turnout! Participants were asked to arrive in garb from their favorite time period or dressed as their favorite historical figure. Futuristic and fantasy costumes as well as characters from favorite time travel novels or films were also welcome!

The conference kicked off with a brief background of VCARA presented by Dr. Pat Franks, who also served as Master of Ceremonies.

VCARA member and iSchool student Alyse Dunavant-Jones also announced VCARA’s first SCREAM Quest: Archival Nightmare in Colonial Boston. The Quest is open for adventurers, and VCARA will host a tour of the Quest on Monday, May 8, 2017 at 6pm (SLT/Pacific) on iSchool Island in Second Life (SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SJSU%20SLIS/9/51/44)!

Keynote Speaker Dr. Leticia De León (Letty Luckstone in SL) presented on Motivating Learning Through Mixed Realities.

Keynote Speaker Kyle Gomboy (G2 Proto in SL) presented on Digital Storytelling using Mixed Reality Holograms.

Dr. Valerie Hill (Valibrarian Gregg in SL) presented on the Community Virtual Library’s Virtual Digital Citizenship Exhibit.

Scott Anstadt (Ewan Bonham in SL) presented on the Use of SL to Enhance Mindful Meditation Discipline- Bridging to Real Life.

Josh Zimmerman (zimmerj6 in SL) presented on American Archivists Articulating Archives Across Ages: A Work in Progress Mini Case Study of SAA Presidential.

Renne Emiko Brock (Zinnia Zauber in SL) presented on Courage to Encourage – Origin Story Lessons.

Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal in SL) presented on 10 Years in 10 Minutes: What Comes Next for Rockcliffe University Consortium.

Alyse Dunavant-Jones (alysedunavantjones in SL) gave a brief overview on Digital Curation in Virtual Worlds: An MLIS Student’s Perspective.

Andrew Wheelock (Spiff Whitfield in SL) presented on Re-Imagining the Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank for the 21st Century Learner.

The conference ended with a tour by Brant Knutzen (MrK Kas in SL) entitled Gamification for Training User Interface Skills: Pirate Ship Battle!

Brant guided participants to his Pirate Ship Battle simulation where they were treated to ships set ablaze, themed freebies, and lessons in gamification (SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/HKU%20Education%20Island/73/130/43).


Photos courtesy of iSchool students Melissa Ward and Alyse Dunavant-Jones.
All presentations were recorded by iSchool alumna, Dr. Marie Vans. VCARA has posted the captioned videos (machinima) to our YouTube channel! To tour the 8th Annual VCARA Conference mini-presentations in Second Life, visit iSchool Island: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SJSU%20SLIS/9/51/44 (Presentations will be along the main walkway through early Fall 2017).
For past VCARA Conference presentations, check VCARA’s YouTube channel or visit VCARA’s Archivium on iSchool Island (tall building beside the Amphitheatre–each floor represents a past conference!)

For information about joining VCARA in Second Life, please refer to our VCARA for Newbies blog post. To request an orientation to Second Life and/or VCARA, please email Dr. Pat Franks (patricia.franks@sjsu.edu). To follow VCARA on social media, check out our VCARA on Social Media page.

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