The Center for Learning In Virtual Environments (CLIVE) Initiative

Overview: CLIVE is a collaboration between The Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at The University of Oregon, Sun Microsystems, and MERLOT to create two complimentary spaces - one on the World Wide Web and one within 3D space - for comparing, contrasting, and informing educators about the potentials and challenges for learning and teaching in Multi-User Virtual Environments. CLIVE is partnered with The Media Grid's Immersive Education project - an initiative to develop a universally accessible open source interface and repository for educational learning materials developed in 3D Virtual Worlds. Available at: http://teachingcommons.cdl.edu/clive/ .

Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning (ARVEL) Initiative

Overview: ARVEL is a new Special Interest Group (SIG) in the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The mission of ARVEL is, "to steward a robust community of educators, scholars, and practitioners dedicated toward research in and on virtual 3D environments." Using a variety of research methods, they support a diverse approach to understanding the optimal use of virtual worlds and environments for educational purposes. Interested in developing a comprehensive research agenda intended to encompass the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances, challenges, and shortcomings of immersive virtual learning environments, ARVEL is provided resources and tools in exchange for advice and support on research-related matters in the virtual worlds community. The ARVEL SIG is available at: http://groups.google.com/group/arvel-sig.

Overview: A collaborative project coordinated by researchers and educators at the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at the University of Oregon. Goal is to identify, label, and evaluate educationally useful sites, events, objects, and experiences in Second Life in the interest of creating a typology based on learner engagement. CATE has completed a "proof of concept" project funded by  the NorthWest Academic Computing Consortium to identify learning materials available in the virtual world of Second Life (SL). With partners Sloog <http://sloog.org/>  and MERLOT, the project features a Heads Up Display that faculty use within SL to describe learning materials - where selected nominations are placed within the SaLamander Wiki .  <http://www.eduisland.net/salamanderwiki> Here, experts further describe and vet the materials through discussion and ratings - where the best will find their way here, to CLIVE in the MERLOT database. Available at: http://www.eduisland.net/salamanderwiki