Virtual Worlds

UCG is a member of the Virtual World Consortium (VWC). The VWC is a group of universities, school districts, and corporate partners dedicated to investigating 3-dimensional virtual worlds to enhance teaching, training, and learning at all educational levels.

The University Center’s membership in the Virtual World Consortium will allow faculty researchers to expand their professional reach beyond just the classroom.

About Virtual Worlds Consortium

The Virtual Worlds Consortium was founded in 2007 to explore the role of 3-dimensional virtual worlds and immersive technologies for teaching, training and learning. The founding institutions, Clemson University in South Carolina and Appalachian State University in North Carolina, have been joined by the North Carolina Virtual Public School District and now the University Center. In 2008, the consortium received $1.5 million in federal funding from the National Science Foundation’s “Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers” (ITEST) to help fund its research and outreach activities. For more information on the Virtual Worlds Consortium, visit the website, http://www.vwconline.org/, and for more information on the ITEST program, visit the project’s website at http://www.stem-ict-3d.org/.

Case Study

Clemson University at UCG is the homesite for its completely-virtual Master of Human Resources Development. Students enrolled in the program are located literally all over the world, yet can come together in a virtual campus to collaborate and learn. The program uses the collaborative technologies for students to complete team projects, as well as hold their own research conference. Students participating in the conference shared their work with Instructional Materials Development, and presented curriculum projects with online instructional components and all other facets of an effective training and learning program.

The virtual nature of the program allows students from Greenville or Tokyo to collaborate and demonstrate their work to their cohort, and anyone else in currently "on campus" in the virtual world. This open forum for development increases participation and the availability for feedback and varied perspectives.

All of the VWC member institutions can contribute to, participate in, and research within the virtual worlds platforms.