The Awards Ceremony for the VWEC Student Challenge 2025 was well attended by instructors, tutors, lecturers, students, participants, judges and more this year. All the students were presented with the individual certificates marking their completion of the challenge. In addition, The Red Team was presented with the trophy for Second Place overall winner and the Blue Team received the certificate for the Most Authentic Exhibit. Congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s challenge. Well done! Huge thanks to the instructors who mentored the three teams and to all the guest speakers who shared their knowledge and experience over the semester.
Congratulations to the Red Team who were presented with their certificates. Photo courtesy of Acuppa Tae.John O’Connor (Acuppa Tae) accepted the trophy for Second Place on behalf of the Red Team. Photo courtesy of Acupp Tae.Congratulations to the Blue Team who were presented with their certificates. Ersin Ïnal (Ginger) accepted the certificate for Most Authentic Exhibit on the team’s behalf. Photo courtesy of Acuppa Tae.Congratulations to the Green Team who were presented with their certificates, with Lia Pop.
The student teams have been working hard on their projects for the last two weeks and today we finally saw their completed presentations. Çağla Solak, aka Merino, joined us to record the videos for each team and also made a really nice introduction to the student Team Projects for the VWEC Student Challenge. All the team members were present and took part in the tour of their builds and the presentations. The work was very impressive and the performances were word perfect and delivered with confidence and professionalism. Amber Selenium also joined us to take the team photos.
Here is the introduction to the project from Çağla Solak, aka Merino (video courtesy of Çağla Solak):
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RED TEAM: Konrad Karolkiewicz (KONRAD1), Laura Bota (LauraBota), Vanesa Hotca Francesca (Vanesa26), and Derin Nur Özer (nyxiebiyxe). Team mentor: John O’Connor (Acuppa Tae). (video courtesy of Çağla Solak):
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BLUE TEAM: Alina Sandor (AlinaMarsiposa), Ava Fenton (phroggg), Emma Long (Emmagukkie), and Tuğçe Çetinkaya (tugcecetinkaya). Team mentor: Ersin İnal (Ginger). (video courtesy of Çağla Solak):
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GREEN TEAM: Oliwia Kowalczyk (oliwiakowalczyk), Dana Rusu (DanaR2507), Andreea Pasca (Pasca Andreea), and Raluca Pascaniuc (Raluca1984). Team mentor: Lia Pop. (video courtesy of Çağla Solak):
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Amber Selenium took the team photos starting with the Red Team: from left, nyxiebiyxie, Vanesa26, LauraBota, KONRAD1. (Photo courtesy Amber Selenium.)
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Blue Team: Ava, tugcecetinkaya, Emma, AlinaMariposa. (Photo courtesy Amber Selenium.)
Tilly, from Builder’s Brewery leading the class. Photo Acuppa Tae
Excellent attendance again today for the intermediate building class, led by Tilly from Builders Brewery. The folder of items used in the class is still available at the at the Student Training area for anyone who would like to revisit the training. Here is the recording of the class:
The introductory class to building in Second Life had almost full attendance, an excellent outcome considering it took place late on Saturday evening for the European students. Builders Brewery has been offering classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced builders for many years and we are fortunate to have their support for the VWEC Student Challenge. For those who could not attend, or if you would like to review the class, here is a recording made by Valibrarian.
Video courtesy of Valibrarian Gregg
There will be an intermediate building class by Builders Brewery on Saturday 22 March at 9:00 am SL Time.
Sitearm Madonna presents the theory of teamwork. Photo by Acuppa Tae
Meeting at Çağ campus this week we heard from Sitearm Madonna about how teams function and the roles of the team members. If you missed the class you can review the recording of the same class from last semester.
Then we had a look at the brief for the Student Challenge in a little detail to determine precisely what is expected. The detail is in the previous post Serious Simulations in the Metaverse. Some changes have been made to the teams for the Student Challenge which will be confirmed next week but, in the meantime the teams broke out with their instructors to confirm the team lead and assistant lead and share contact details. Both Red and Green teams met but nobody from the Blue team was in class so the members will need to catch up on that work in their own time.
After the breakout the full class met again and shared their progress. The Teams were asked to arrange to meet during the week to discuss the Student Challenge and select the SDG they will address. Following that we had a request from Nova, a PhD researcher at North Carolina University, to take part in a focus group about learning in virtual worlds. Anyone interested can let John / Tae know and he will share details.
Next week we meet at Çağ again when Valibrarian Gregg will talk to us about Metaliteracy and Digital Citizenship. Please arrive early.
World leaders came together in 2015 and made a historic promise to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet when they adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Today, with the world suffering a range of crises from climate change to a shifting geopolitical situation these goals seem even more important to the future well-being of citizens across the globe.
You task is to select one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and develop a presentation to explain what it means and how it might be achieved. Each team will choose from the relevant list below and design a virtual education experience explaining what the goal means and what needs to be done so that it can be fulfilled. The team will then build a simulation of this in Second Life. The build must be: • accessible, • authentic, • interactive, • and cite sources
When it is finished you will record a 5 minute video presenting your simulation to the judges.
Elli Pinion (VWEC Co-Coordinator), Valibrarian Gregg (VWEC Co-Coordinator) and Marie Vans (VWEC Event Team Lead) at the kickoff event for the VWEC Student Challenge 2025. Photo by Acuppa Tae
The Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (VWEC) Student Challenge 2025: Serious Simulations in the Metaverse was launched today. The Challenge takes the form of a hack-a-thon except that it occurs over the entire Spring Semester, rather than in a 24-hour period. Details of the brief, the support to be provided (particularly with classes about building in Second Life) and the assessment process were shared and, for those who may have missed the presentation or who would like to review them again, a recording of the event was made which you can see here:
The challenge is to form a team (which has already been done for you) and design a virtual education experience; then build a simulation in Second Life. The experience must be: accessible, authentic, interactive, and cite sources (see below for more details). You will also record a short video to present and demonstrate your solution to the judges, who will be drawn from a panel of international educational experts. Prizes, including memberships of SL and $L, are sponsored by Metaverse Libraries. Here is a video of the exhibits from last year’s Student Challenge:
Here are some screenshots showing the logistics schedule, assessment rubric and rules for the Student Challenge 2025:
The Team Project presentations were hosted by Çağ University in the auditorium. John received slide shows from each team and set them up on the platform in advance. There was full attendance from each team and they presented in the following order:
No technical problems arose and each presentation went off smoothly and efficiently. John complimented the participants on their submissions and thanked them for their attendance throughout the semester. He also thanked the Çağ students who had come along to class along with their supervisors and teahers and all the guest speakers.
Project Teams gather at the Çağ University campus as class commences. Photo Barbara Collazo
Sitearm Madonna joined us at the Çağ University campus for today’s class on Teamwork and Collaboration. Here is a recording of Sitearm’s presentation:
Following the presentation we did a quick check-in with each team to answer the following questions: 1. Has your team held its first meeting? 2. Who is your Team lead and assistant lead? 3. How will your team communicate outside SL? 4. Did you discuss the brief for the Team Project?
All teams answered positively and have given some thought to the project and how they will address it.
Sitearm Madonna presents on the theory of team development and operation. Photo Barbara Collazo
Finally, we paid a quick visit to a build by one of last year’s Turkish students, Ovcel, demonstrating the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action in the face of global poverty and the impact of climate change on our planet. Seventeen goals were agreed by all member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable Development. We have nine years left to achieve success and secure the future of humanity on Earth.
The United Nations call follows a Warning to Humanity issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists as long ago as 1992. They ‘feared that humanity was pushing Earth’s ecosystems beyond their capacities to support the web of life’. Five years ago the warning was updated as 15,000 scientists from around the world published World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice.
Virtual reality (VR) has been in development since the last century but the coronavirus pandemic with its attendant public lockdowns and social distancing has resulted in a rapid growth in virtual engagement as reported in Forbes Magazine and in Newsweek recently. This, in turn, has led to significant development in the supporting technology.
Second Life was one of the first and remains one of the most successful platforms in the social and community development arena that also has significant educational and academic engagement. As an immersive environment with a functioning economy, creative building tools and a large active population it appears to be a self-sustaining world. According to the online magazine, Mic, residents have ‘full Second Life lives, filled with many of the same hobbies and activities one might enjoy in their first life’.
The platform is particularly relevant for online collaboration because it supports persistent chat, offline email, text chat, voice chat, group versus subgroup chat isolation, virtual to real world currency exchange (a precursor to bitcoin), inworld collaborative three dimensional build, three dimensional avatar self representation and interaction, and three dimensional environment immersion.
Second Life can be seen as a mirror to the real world, or an extension of the world. Does this virtual environment have a responsibility to also mirror the demand for sustainable development?
Assuming the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ the question becomes: how does Second Life measure up in terms of sustainability and responsible practices?
The Brief
Your task is to examine this question in the context of the UN Goals and report on the platform itself, the communities that it supports and the activities of the residents. Identify good practices and shortcomings; recommend possible improvements in operation; and present your conclusions. In researching this project draw on examples from your own culture, or the culture in which you are now residing. Compare this to what you observe in Second Life.
In short, your presentation should answer the question:
How does Second Life measure up in terms of sustainability and responsible practices ?
You will be assigned to a team to work on the project. Each team will be assigned one of the following three key topics: Economy, Society, or Environment and you will attempt to answer the question in the context of the sub topics listed for each theme below.
During the final class, at the end of the semester, each team will make a presentation in an entertaining, informative and lively manner, live in Second Life. The presentation should be no shorter than five minutes and no longer than ten minutes. You are encouraged to use visual, audio or any other aids to support the presentation during which each member of the team must take part.
Here are the three key topics, with the sub themes for each:
Economy
Society
Environment
All teams will also address the following sub topics:
Deliverables
Participation in the rehearsal of presentations.
Participation in the presentation of your Team Project.
Following the Team Project presentations write the sixth section of your essay reflecting on your contribution to the presentation, the reaction from the audience and the overall success (or otherwise) of your group work.
Assessment Criteria
It is important that you read and understand the Assessment Rubric (you will receive a copy from your lecturer in class) given for this assignment so that you understand the basis on which the assessment will be made. There are 6 assessment criteria in total. Each member of your group will receive the same mark for the first 2 criteria, For the other 4 criteria you will receive an individual mark.
Group Mark:
Communication with the audience: establishing a connection with the audience to deliver a coherent presentation.
Content: addressing the theme of the brief coherently.
Individual Mark:
Tools for Collaboration: selection of appropriate tools for group planning and effective use of the tools.
Teamwork: contribution to the team and demonstration of understanding of team dynamics.
6th section of your essay: ability to describe activity coherently, reflect on experience and present a critical evaluation of the process of developing the project, citing appropriate references.
Quality of Presentation: individual contribution to the presentation of the project.
Virtual Environments: Is one life enough? 