VenueGen

VenueGen – 3D Virtual Meetings in your browser. http://t.co/DPdfZEp

— Steve Yuen (@scyuen) March 12, 2011

Read Full Post »

Call for Articles – Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments

I want to take this opportunity here to invite you to consider contributing your expertise to a forthcoming encyclopedia edited by me and Prof. Harrison Yang of the State University of New York at Oswego, entitled Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments.

There is no doubt that information and communication technology (ICT) keeps bringing new excitement into learning and communication. Multimedia on the Internet, telecommunications, wireless applications, mobile devices, social network software, Web 2.0, and so forth are all radically redefining the way people obtain information and the way to learn and communicate. Consequently, virtual worlds and environments have become one of the most exciting, dynamic, and yet challenging fields that we have been facing. What is the history of virtual worlds and environments? Where are we now? What will the future bring? What are the key elements of virtual worlds and environments we need to focus on? Where has progress been made? How will we face and rise to new opportunities and challenges? How do we analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate virtual worlds and environments? In order to shed light on these questions, the Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments intends to provide a comprehensive view and look at virtual worlds and environments from historical, conceptual, technical, practical, and vocational perspectives.

Objectives of the Book

This encyclopedia will include a variety of contexts and cover anthropological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological, and so forth approaches from both empirical and theoretical works on virtual worlds and environments. It will serve as a research reference, a pedagogical/informational guide, and a primary source in the area of virtual environments.

Target Audience

The target audience includes educators, e-business managers, trainers, administrators, and researchers working in the area of e-learning or distance learning in various disciplines, for example education, corporate training, instructional technology, computer science, library information science, information technology, workforce development, and undergraduate/graduate students in various e-commerce, e-learning, and other related programs.

Coverage Topics

The coverage topics include, but are NOT limited to, the following:

• Conceptual and Theoretical Perspective (issues and trends of virtual environment theories; chronicle reviews; modeling, design and strategies; etc.).
• Types of Virtual Worlds and Environments (Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) and/or Multiuser Virtual Environments (MUVEs); Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs); Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MORPGs); Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) and/or Massively Multiplayer Online [Games] (MMOs); Multiuser Domains (MUDs); and MUD Object Oriented (MOOs); etc.).
• Platforms/Sites/Products of Virtual Worlds and Environments (Active Worlds; Barbie Girls; Club Penguin; Forterra Systems; Gaia Online; Habbo Hotel, Kaneva; Neopets; Second Life; The Sims Online; Teen Second Life; There; Whyville Zwinktopia; etc.).
• Interface and Hardware Aspect (visual; tracking; auditory; primary use input (such as glove, body suit, exoskeleton, track ball, and 3-D mouse inputs, etc.); tactile; kinesthetic; full-body motion; and olfactory interface technologies; etc.).
• Virtual Communities (behavioral, psychological, and cognitive issues of online users; community of practice; personal relationships; social interaction and exchange; legal and ethical considerations; etc.).
• Virtual Learning Environments and Worlds (asynchronous and synchronous activities; e-learning, m-learning and e-commerce programs; fully online and blended approaches; research and practices on ANGEL Learning, Apex Learning, ATutor, Blackboard/WebCT, Claroline, CyberExtension, Desire21Learn, Dokeos, eCollege, eFront, FirstClass, Frog, Fronter, Glow Learn, ILIAS, iWebfolio, LAMS – the Learning Activity Management System, Moodle, Pass-port, Sakai, SharePointLMS, TK20, WebEx, and new features in virtual learning environments including wikis, blogs, games, RSS, 3-D virtual learning spaces, etc.).
• Best Practices and Case Studies (evaluation and implementation in multidisciplinary; applications and training; personal experiences; creativity and innovation of projects; anthropological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological works on virtual worlds and environments; etc.)
• Global Virtual Worlds and Environments Development and Management (model, technologies, programs, issues).
• Trends of Virtual Worlds and Environments.
• All Other Related Issues in Virtual Worlds and Environments.

In addition, the Possible List of Topics/Categories for the Encyclopedia of Virtual Worlds and Environments is provided for consideration.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before November 30, 2009, a 2-3 page article proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed article. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by December 31, 2009 about the status of their proposals and sent article guidelines. Full articles of 1,500-3,500 words are expected to be submitted by February 28, 2010. Authors are required to follow the Full Article Submission Instructions when preparing their full articles. All submitted articles will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this encyclopedia

Publisher

This encyclopedia is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference” and “IGI Publishing” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com.

Important Dates for Contributors

• Deadline for proposal submission: November 30, 2009
• Proposal decision due to authors: December 31, 2009
• Full articles due: February 28, 2010
• Review results to authors: April 30, 2010
• Revised articles due from authors: May 30, 2010
• Notification of final acceptance/rejection: June 30, 2010
• Final accepted articles and materials due from authors: July 15, 2010
• All articles to IGI for publication: September 30, 2010

Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) to:

Dr. Harrison Hao Yang
State University of New York at Oswego
E-mail: hyang2@oswego.edu

Dr. Steve C. Yuen
The University of Southern Mississippi
E-mail: steve.yuen@usm.edu

View this document on Scribd

Read Full Post »