Virtual Worlds: Best Practices in Education

Apr 18 11AM Rock & Bone Mystery Game & 12PM VWBPE26 Wrap Party

🔎 The Rock and Bone Mystery Game in III Parts 🦴
🕵 All three parts start at the Grasslands Gateway Site & must be played in order!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Grasslands%20Gateway/127/212/25

Instructions -> www.vwbpe.org/conference/the-rock-and-bone-mysteries/

➡️ 🥳 Come back to the starting point for the 12PM: Wrap Party – DJ Dirk spinning 80s tunes!🎶

: Upcoming Post-Conference Immersive Experiences (IE)

Extend the Journey: https://www.vwbpe.org/vwbpe-news/extend-the-journey-explore-vwbpe-2026-immersive-experiences

💻 Tue 31 Mar, 9:00AM – Teaching Digital Citizenship Through Immersion
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Digital%20Citizenship%20Outpost/126/126/25
https://www.vwbpe.org/event/ie-the-eyevolution-of-eyemagination-therapy-eyeffect

🦋 Wed 1 Apr, 11:00AM – Eyevolution of Eyemagination Therapy Eyeffect
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antara/230/4/24
https://www.vwbpe.org/event/ie-teaching-digital-citizenship-through-immersion

📺 VIDEO: : Known in-world as Dodge Threebeards and in the physical world as Dr. Gregory Perrier, is our 2026 Thinkerer Award recipient.

It’s a pleasure to introduce the recipient of the 2026 VWBPE Thinkerer Award, an educator whose work has quietly—but profoundly—shaped the way virtual worlds are used for learning.

Dr. Perrier has spent decades expanding the boundaries of what education can look like when curiosity meets innovation.

He began his career with a PhD in plant ecology from Utah State University, followed by eight years in Africa working in rangeland conservation and with USAID—grounding his teaching in real-world impact and global perspective. In 2000, he joined Northern Virginia Community College, where he would go on to inspire generations of students as a biology professor.
But it is his pioneering work in Second Life that truly distinguishes him.

Beginning in 2010, he introduced honors students to immersive, experiential learning in virtual environments—long before such approaches were widely recognized. By 2012, as manager of NOVA’s virtual campus, he transformed a modest initiative into a thriving, dynamic program. What began with just a handful of students grew into an ecosystem supporting over 400 learners annually, with more than 20 structured learning activities spanning biology, art, language, and healthcare.

Yet his impact extends far beyond a single institution. As a founding member and ongoing leader in the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium, Dr. Perrier has mentored educators, helping them find their footing in virtual teaching spaces—whether through workshops, collaborative builds, or his weekly fireside chats that continue to bring the community together.

He has shared his expertise through the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable, the , and this very conference, always with a spirit of generosity and curiosity. From developing on-boarding experiences for new educators to contributing to widely used orientation spaces, his work has lowered barriers and opened doors for many who follow in his footsteps.

At the heart of it all is a simple but powerful commitment: to imagine new possibilities for learning, and to bring others along in that vision.

For his sustained innovation, his mentorship, and his unwavering belief in the educational potential of virtual worlds, the VWBPE Organizational Committee proudly confirms Dr. Gregory Perrier/Dodge Threebeards as the 2026 VWBPE Thinkerer Award recipient.

Congratulations, Greg!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Kx-N3_qnE

Second Life Virtual Worlds - Best Practices in Education

VWBPE 2026 Thinkerer Award - Dr. Gregory Perrier It’s a pleasure to introduce the recipient of the 2026 VWBPE Thinkerer Award, an educator whose work has quietly—but profoundly—shaped the way virtual worlds...

📺 VIDEO: March 19, Keynote: Philip Rosedale, CTO Linden Lab

"We’ve Been Metaversing Since Before It Was Cool, From Virtual Worlds to Learning Worlds: Two Decades of Immersive Education"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNAGNUe5jgk

Second Life Virtual Worlds - Best Practices in Education

🔷 For more than twenty years, shared virtual environments have served as laboratories for rethinking identity, creativity, and collaboration online. Long before the recent surge of interest in “the metaverse,” educators were building campuses, simulations, conferences, and communities inside persistent digital spaces such as Second Life. These early efforts revealed a powerful insight: the transformative potential of immersive technology lies not in graphics or hardware, but in agency, embodiment, and social presence.

🔷 This talk reflects on the evolution of virtual worlds in education — from early experimentation to today’s convergence of spatial computing, artificial intelligence, and persistent digital identity. It considers emerging questions around platform control, identity ownership, and the role of AI as a creative partner rather than a replacement for human teaching. Looking ahead, immersive learning environments are likely to become hybrid, participatory, and deeply integrated into global networks of collaboration. The long-term vision is not a virtual escape from education, but an expansion of it — where learners build, inhabit, and co-create the spaces in which learning happens.

VWBPE 2026 Keynote :: Philip Rosedale *We’ve Been Metaversing Since Before It Was Cool* *From Virtual Worlds to Learning Worlds: Two Decades of Immersive Education* For more than twenty years, sh...

Day 1, 12:00PM - Keynote Session: Philip Rosedale
https://www.vwbpe.org/event/keynote-philip-rosedale

Venue: VWBPE Auditorium (3 choices): Second Life

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Canopy%20Point/27/243/21

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Floating%20Meadows/237/28/22

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Rainbow%20Basin/232/247/22

Live stream: www.vwbpe.org/watch

: Day 1: Thursday, March 19 - VWBPE 2026 Program

All sessions are held in SL, & select sessions live streamed at WATCH NOW https://www.vwbpe.org/watch or YouTube https://www.youtube.com/

For up-to-the-minute conference news, join the VWBPE secondlife:///app/group/8b03480a-793d-ba5b-5b6b-dd10afb5d38e/about group

VWBPE Online Program for full details: https://www.vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe26-program

VWBPE26 Program | Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education VWBPE: Insights March 19-21, 2026 VWBPE 2026 Program Where will the Conference Take Place? All sessions of the VWBPE 2026 Conference are held in Second Life®. A few exceptions are the Immersive Experiences that occur before and after the conference, which may be in SL or other online venues. All ti...

⏰ Time to Nominate the VWBPE 2026 Thinkerer 🏆
https://www.vwbpe.org/vwbpe-news/nominate-the-vwbpe-2026-thinkerer

We look to you, the members of the education community, to nominate candidates for this special award.

The candidates should embody the best qualities of leadership, the promotion of learning, community, educational practices, & the spirit of cooperative development within immersive environments.

❇ In recognition for his long-term leadership and dedication to furthering education, building communities, and inspiring collaborative development in virtual environments, VWBPE conferred the first annual Thinkerer Award upon its namesake, Thinkerer Melville (Selby Evans).

Second Life

VWBPE26: NOV 24, CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS OPEN !! – Share Your INSIGHTS!

💥 Empowering Educators 💥Expanding Realities 💥Transforming Education 💥

Augmented learning environments? AI’s place in education? Immersive edtech, emerging tools? Bring your best ideas & best questions - VWBPE26 has just the place for them! ⤵

https://www.vwbpe.org/vwbpe-news/the-call-is-open-share-your-insights-for-vwbpe-2026

We’re looking for standout ideas, innovative practices, and fresh perspectives that push immersive education forward.
Show us:

➡ High-impact strategies using AI, XR, and emerging tech
➡ Creative approaches that spark engagement and elevate learning
➡ Research that uncovers new insights into virtual and immersive environments
➡ Bold experiments, breakthrough methods, and challenges worth discussing!

Full CFP details at: https://www.vwbpe.org/cfp2026 Whether your work is deeply scholarly, boldly experimental, quietly reflective, or wildly creative, VWBPE has a place for it.

If you’re exploring the future of digital learning, we want to hear from you! Second Life