The fabulous Centre4Edupunx team made an AWESOME suggestion! Let’s have an WoW event!

Soooo, to celebrate the launch of Cataclysm (the new expansion of World of Warcraft), we’re inviting all Edupunks, jokaydians, gamers, kids, educators and pixel-powered peeps to join us for a Global Goblin Gathering!

We’ll be meeting on the Sisters of Elune Server at the Goblin’s starting point (which is pictured below) at 2pm on Saturday 11 December PST / 9am on Sunday 12 December AEDT. Check your local time here!

The aim of the event is to get together and have some fun, but we also encourage all participants to document the event by sharing your images and short video clips in the jokaydia Fotopool on Flickr.

AND… as we’ll all be starting from scratch with new characters/toons, it’s also a great opportunity for those who’ve been intrigued by Warcraft and mmorpgs in education to come and join in on some exploring and simple levelling. All skill levels are most definitely welcome!

So How Can You Get Involved?

If you’re an experienced WoW Player this is an easy one. Simply roll a new Goblin on the Sisters of Elune Server and meet us at KTC Headquarters – the starting point for new Goblins. We’ll be kicking off at 2pm SL time (PST) which is 9am on Sunday morning Sydney time.

If you are a new player – you’ll have to start getting organised now as you have some downloading to do! Visit the Blizzard website for info on how to get the software setup and get started.  Once you’ve created an account and installed your software you’ll need to create a new Goblin Character on the Sisters of Elune Server.

Ventrillo for Voice!

During the event we’ll be using the jokaydia Ventrillo server to allow us to connect via voice. This will help to keep people together and is always fun.  You can download the Ventrillo client here. Our server details are:

• Name: jokaydia.guildvent.net
• Host or IP: vent116.light-speed.com
• Port: 4273
• Password: Not required

If you are new to using Ventrillo, check out our instructions on the jokaydia Wiki @ http://jokaydia.wikispaces.com/jokaydiaventrillo. You will need to download the software and configure it prior to the event!

Let us Know Your Coming!

So we can find everyone on the day, please add your new Goblin’s name in the comments below. This will help us make sure we find everyone before we leave KTC Headquarters and start the adventure!

Alternatively, add Helluvalu (aka jokay) as a friend in game so we can get in touch!

Need Help!?

My newly rolled Goblin is named Helluvalu (aren’t i cute!.. teehe), feel free to message me ingame for help during the event.

Alternatively you can contact me via Skype @ joannamkay.

We’re very excited to be trying out a new virtual worlds platform called Jibe, which has been created by the lovely people at Reaction Grid and is based on the Unity3D engine.  And one of the coolest thing about Jibe? … it’s browser based! ;)

For more info on Jibe and how it works check out the Reaction Grid website. You can also find info on the jokaydia Virtual Worlds Wiki, where we’ll be sharing our learnings!

You can even visit the Reaction Grid Jibe-STEM demo pictured above to do some exploring – check out: http://reactiongrid.com/Jibe/JibeSTEM.aspx.

For the next few months we will be experimenting and learning about this new tool…. so as long as you dont mind the construction zone, feel free to visit us at: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/jibe/.

Once we’ve learnt a bit more we’ll be looking for teacher’s to collaborate with us on a Virtual Classroom Project – so feel free to leave your ideas in the comment section below or email: joannamkay@gmail.com.

A note for those new to Unity based apps – you’ll need to download the Unity WebPlayer which is available here: http://unity3d.com/webplayer. I’m finding it works rather nicely in Mozilla Firefox! ;)

Seeya in the Jibey-Metaverse soon! ;)

After a few weeks of development and reconstruction, I thought it might be time to do some celebrating and socialising in jokaydia’s little corner of the Metaverse, and so we’ll be holding a number of events in the coming weeks! Check out the details below, and feel free to join us.. all welcome!

Sunday@ the Islands of jokaydia this week! – Monthly Social Events Starting Up Again!

Join us on Sunday at the Islands of jokaydia in Second Life for our regular monthly social event! This month we’ll be touring the new resources on the Islands and talking about upcoming events! We’ll also be doing a little partying in the newly designed jokaydia Beach! All welcome… bring your togs and floaties! ;)

• Event: Islands of jokaydia Social Event
• Location: Meet at the jokaydia Landing Point (SLurl)
• Date: Sunday 18 April 2010
• Time: 9pm – 10:30pm Sydney Time / 4am Second Life Time
• Check your local time here!

TwitterLits Bookclub Meet and Greet

“A Virtual book club for tweeps from the edublogosphere – reading those big ideas books that you’ve been meaning to get to…!”

Pandora Kurrajong aka Kerryj will be hosting a meetup and social gathering over at her lovely space on jokaydia II. Those interested in participating in the Twittlits Bookclub are welcome to attend! Check out the Twitterlits Community Ning for more information on the group!

• Event:TwitterLits Bookclub Meet and Greet
• Location: Kerry’s Place on Jokaydia, in Second Life (SLurl)
• Date: Monday 19th April 2010
• Time: 8:30pm – 9:30pm Sydney Time / 3:30am Second Life Time
• Check your local time here!

Builder’s Workshop – The Sandpit, jokaydia@ReactionGRID

Join us in the Sandbox on the jokaydia Sim at Reaction Grid for some building fun! This is an open session for all levels. Not a formal training session, rather a chance for jokaydians and friends to come together and share their building skillz!  For information on how to signup and join us at jokaydia@ReactionGrid click here.

• Event: Builder’s Workshop @ Reaction Grid
• Location: The Sandpit, jokaydia Sim @ Reaction Grid
• Date: Friday 23 April 2010
• Time: 9pm – 10pm Sydney Time / 4am Second Life Time
• Check your local time here.
• Tip: To find us at jokaydia, simply search the main map, or IM jokay Wollongong inworld for a lift!

Pioneers Open Day @ jokaydiaGRID!

Are you a current resident on the Islands of jokaydia? Have you moved into your FREE Pioneer’s space on the jokaydiaGRID yet?!! Come along and stake your claim and join us in building our new virtual world! All jokaydia in Second Life residents who rent 1024m or higher are entitled to a free parcel! Contact jokay Wollongong for more details, and signup for jokaydiaGRID here!

Keeping up to date with the jokaydia Events Calendar

You’ll find information about these events on our freshly updated Google Calendar which charts upcoming events over the next few months. Check it out below or view it on the Events page!

The calendar has been setup so that events are also displayed at the jokaydia Landing Point (SLurl) and both the jokaydia.com and jokaydiaGRID.com sites.

I’ll also promote all events via Twitter @jokay and @jokaydiaGrid, our inworld jokaydia News and Info Group channel and our jokaydia Facebook Group.

How to Support jokaydia Events!

The jokaydia community hosts free educational and social events for educators and artist who are exploring virtual worlds. There are lots of ways you can support us to continue to provide open and collaborative events for all, including:

• Come along and join in the fun!
• Volunteer to host an event or share your work at one of our regular events – we love collaborative learning! For further info contact jokay Wollongong.
• Share our links and retweet event announcements – help us get the word out!
• Join the Community –  as a rentals tenant, as a member of our jokaydia News and Info Group inworld, as a photo contributor in the jokaydia Flickr Group or as a member of our jokaydia Facebook group.
• Make a donation to jokaydia! Funds raised help to pay for our virtual presence, tools and resources at the Islands of jokaydia in Second Life, jokaydia@ReactionGrid and the jokaydiaGRID.

A big thanks to all who continue to help us to explore virtual worlds and games for education, arts and social change!

Seeya in the metaverse soon!

Today I checked out some great free resources for educators who are exploring OpenSim (and jokaydiaGRIDians looking for some content to play around with!!).

They’re provided by the OpenVCE Virtual World community, which is a ‘an Open Source Virtual Collaboration Environment linking aspects of a web-based community portal with virtual world 3D spaces‘. Check out their website for further details.

So I uploaded the oar files provided, and created a new testing sim on the jokaydiaGRID to check the resources out. Although some of it is probably a bit formal for us (big conference centres with hundreds of seats arent really jokaydia’s style.. lolz), there are HEAPS of great components here that I’m sure people will find useful!

For jokaydiaGRID residents interested in checking out (and grabbing copies) of the OpenVCE content, I’ve placed some boxes in the Newbie Dome on the Scooter sim … dont forget to check it out next time you’re inworld!

And of course, a huge thanks to the OpenVCE community for making these great assets available!

I mentioned this briefly in an earlier post, but wanted to share this fantastic video recorded by the Online Therapy Institute and Onlinevents team during the OCTIA 2010 Conference (Online Counselling and Therapy in Action) held last weekend. This session was held live in Manchester for the conference, via the Onlinevents Livestream (with a chat backchannel) and live in Second Life for a small audience who enjoyed the tour.

During the video Kate gives a brief overview of some of the work she is doing in relation to online counselling in virtual worlds, as well as a brief tour of the new expanded headquarters we’ve just about finished creating for them on jokaydia II.

Huuuge congratulations to the Online Therapy Institute team! I am so impressed by the creative, thoughtful approach you are taking to developing mental health services online and also to creating a community for mental health professionals online (check out the OTI’s website full of tools and resources!). Also big congratulations to Onlinevents team – your mixed reality events skills rock – what a great recording of the session!

If you’d like to check out Online Therapy Square, the OTI Offices and the Onlinevents Headquarters visit: http://slurl.com/secondlife/jokaydia%20II/110/68/24.

Over the next 24-48hrs, jokaydia (inSL) residents will start receiving special (and super exclusive) invites via their Second Life avatars. The invite box will include the note above (larger version for your viewing pleasure here), and some extra information on how to join us in our latest virtual worlds adventure… the jokaydiaGrid!

Please follow the instructions that are included in the notecard you receive everyone! … I can’t wait to share the fun with you all!

What is the jokaydia Grid?

I’ve setup a new grid for the jokaydia Community so that we can fully explore the uses of opensimulator for education, arts and social change. It is designed to extend the work we’ve been doing since 2006 in Second Life and allow us to truly immerse in virtual worlds creation, research … and most important, FUN! Some of our early goals for the grid include:

• Exploring ways to ‘multi-grid’ – eg. creating strategies, techniques and best practices for creating presence across a range of virtual worlds, and learning how to best use each environment for and to its best advantage
• Engaging kids in our virtual worlds adventures – the jokaydiaGrid gives us the freedom to create a PG environment which is much more viable for k-12 educational use
• Learning about Opensimulator – we are excited to be joining the opensource virtual worlds community and look forward to both learning about and contributing to the development of opensource virtual worlds options for education
• Developing new 3D educational resources – Leveraging off the flexibility available to us on the opensim platform for public and private delivery (without the scary pricetag!)
• … and post importantly t0 Play! We aim to continue to create a community that learns, inspires, explores and shares.

The jokaydiaGrid is hosted by the lovely people over at ReactionGrid, and we are very pleased to be extending our working relationship with such a fabulous team. For more info, check out their website.

Anyway, I thought I’d answer the two questions I’ve been asked most since we started exploring and creating new options for jokaydia…..

“But What About the Islands of jokaydia in SL?”

I’ll say it again…. jokaydia IS NOT leaving Second Life. The Islands of jokaydia continues to live on in Second Life. and will always be an important part of our suite of virtual worlds platforms and tools. In fact!….check out my OTI@jokaydia Flickr set to see groovy pics from our OCTIA visit to the new Online Therapy Institute Campus on jokaydia, held just yesterday!

We particularly value the connections jokaydia has built with other members of the educational community based in Second Life and will continue to provide events and activities to both jokaydia Residents and our extensive networks. Keep an eye out for our next jokaydia Unconference in SL which will be happening in May.

“Dont you already have a space on ReactionGrid?”

Yes! Our recently launched jokaydia@ReactionGrid sim allows us to learn and share with the fabulous people forging new business and education communities over there in the ReactionGrid universe, and is an important part of our suite of tools.

Our jokaydia@ReactionGrid regions will remain a community space (for regular meetups and discussion), with simple tools (sandbox, events space, tutorials) and resources (landmarks library, tutorials, newbie packs). It will also provide us with a space to explore hypergridding the possibilities for sharing, connecting and collaborating across virtual worlds.  To find out more about how to come and visit us at jokaydia@ReactionGrid click here.

So What’s Happening Next?

To celebrate this great new challenge and adventure, I’ll be releasing lots of new info, tools and resources throughout the week across all of our homes in the metaverse – so stay tuned as it all starts to unfold!

To kick things off – today I’ve kicked off a new @jokaydiGrid Twitter account – which you can follow for news, updates and information about our exploits in a brave new virtual world!

For our extended jokaydia community of family, friends and colleagues – we’ll be inviting you to join us at the end of the week for a grand opening party – details will be revealed shortly!

Let the new virtual worlds games…. BEGIN! :)

It’s that time of the year again – when everyone gathers inworld for the annual Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education Conference! You’d be mad to miss it! ;) You can access the full conference schedule @ https://sites.google.com/a/vwbpe.org/schedule/main-schedule-page

Look for sessions from Bron Bloxsome, Spiral Theas, Chimera Cosmos, Emerly Alter, slammed Aabye, Pandora Kurrajong and jokay Wollongong. GO Team! ;)

Also, go support AgileBill Firehawk who has been coordinating the Poster display (SLurl).

jokaydia Openhouse @ ReactionGrid!

And finally – you are all invited to come help us celebrate our early forays into Opensimulator by joining us for an Open House at jokaydia@ReactionGrid which is happening from 9pm SLT on Friday 12th March – which is 4pm on Saturday 13th Sydney time! (Check your local time here!)

To join us, simply signup for an avatar via the ReactionGrid website -reactiongrid.com/Default/Register.aspx

Once you’re inworld.. look for the robot (see her above)… who holds a sign with landmark to our sim. Alternatively you can use the map tool to search for jokaydia or IM jokay Wollongong for a teleport!

Seeya inworlds!

On Friday I had an opportunity to participate in a number of virtual sessions of the Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop held in Second Life. The sessions took place on the Islands of jokaydia and the beautiful Second Life campus of Swinburne University on Koala Island.

I managed to take lots of pictures and even some video. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the audio. Below you will find two machinima pieces from the event and also a flickr stream of all the pictures from the jokaydian Fotopool.

Keynote address by Chris Collins, Director of Enterprise Business Systems of Linden Lab
(no audio):

(Link to the original file on blip.tv)

Some shots of the panel sessions after Chris’ keynote:

(Link to the original file on blip.tv)

… and here are all the tagged pictures from the event:

As some of you may know, I have been away since July 1 traveling with Teachers Without Borders – Canada. One of the last videos that I filmed before my trip was of the new sim of what was then known as jokaydia III. Back then, this new area of the jokaydian Estate was fairly empty and I made the video to document the addition of the new sim. I had no idea that in only three months the landscape would change so much as to be almost unrecognizable!

When I logged on a couple of days ago – for the first time since July 1st – and saw how much the area had changed, I knew that I just had to document this fantastic growth of our community.

I finished editing the new video just a few minutes ago and I hope that you will take some time to watch both the first video (jokaydia THEN) and the new one (jokaydia NOW) to see how much jokaydia has grown in just over three months. Enjoy!

jokaydia THEN (June 4th, 2008):

jokaydia NOW (September 10th, 2008):