Workshop: Teaching in Immersive Worlds

National Workshop on Teaching in Immersive Worlds

University of Ulster, Magee Campus
20th November 2009

• Considering using virtual worlds for teaching and want to know where to start?
• Curious about how others are using virtual spaces for teaching?
• Interested in learning how the future of undergraduate education will be shaped by immersive technologies?

IMMERS[ED] 2009; National Workshop on Teaching in Immersive Worlds will be hosted by the School of Computing & Intelligent Systems and will take place in the Great Hall of the University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Northern Ireland on the 20th November 2009 (registration from 8.30, start at 9.30).

The workshop has an International line-up of speakers from the UK and Ireland and will offer a series of insightful talks examining the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching using virtual worlds such as Second Life, Opensim and Metaplace.  

Speakers include

• John Kirriemuir of Virtual Worlds Watch,
• Daniel Livingstone (SLOODLE) & University of West Scotland,
• David Burden (PIVOTE) & Daden Limited,
• Michael Callaghan and Kerri McCusker of the University of Ulster,
• Tim Savage and Carina Girvan of Trinity College Dublin and
• Barry McAdam and Anna O’Donovan of INTEL.

The objective of the event is to raise awareness of the benefits and possible pitfalls of using virtual and immersive worlds in an educational context and will provide practical advice and demonstrations from leading educators and industrial experts in this area.

It will highlight funding opportunities available in this field and offer tips on how to focus your research to maximise your chances of succeeding with applications.

The workshop is organised by the Serious Games & Virtual Worlds Research Team and the School of Computing & Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Computing and Engineering and co-sponsored by the University of Ulster, Office of Innovation Knowledge Club Program.

For further details on this event please contact workshop organisers Michael Callaghan or Kerri McCusker.

There is no fee to attend but you must register as places are strictly limited. To register and for further information please go to the workshop website.

http://www.learninginvirtualworlds.com/

InvestNI Online Marketing Workshop Thingy

Aidan from Riada dropped me an email about an event InvestNI are hosting next week – I’ve no idea if there are any spaces left but if you’re free for lunch next Tuesday it might be worth a look.

INVEST NI BEST PRACTICE CLUB – The Future of Online Marketing

The next meeting of the Best Practice Club will take place on Tuesday 10^th November 2009 in Davincis Hotel, Culmore Road, Derry between 12 -2pm. Lunch will be served on arrival.

This session will focus on the benefits to your business of using online marketing. These will include how to access new markets, new customers, reduce traditional marketing costs, reduce your overheads and increase your profits.

Topics to be covered will include Search Engine Optimisation, Google Analytics, Email Marketing and the growth of Social Media Marketing (e.g.Twitter, Facebook).

The invite says to contact Elaine Walsh at InvestNI on 028 71278179 or you can check out the detail here.

Next OC Derry – Thurs, Nov 12th

The next OC Derry is:

Thursday, November 12th, 6pm
City Hotel (reception area)

How I Lost the Derry Business Awards

The Derry Business Awards took place on Friday night at the City Hotel – and despite a few nominations for OpenCoffee folk, I can officially announce that:

• I am not Derry’s Business of the Future
• Donal Doherty is not the Entrepreneur of the Year
• Donal’s Foyle Fashion Week is not the Tourism Initiative of the Year

Despite the bitter sting of defeat, a few sociable beers eased the pain and a good night of drunken schmoozing was had by all.

Maybe we should start our own awards?

(And congrats to Donal for the two nods!)

Next OpenCoffee Derry – Thurs, Oct 1st

Hey folks,

Just a quick reminder that the next OpenCoffee Derry is this coming Thursday (Oct 1st), 6pm at the City Hotel.

It should be a great chance to chat about BarCamp Derry as well for all those planning on coming.

Huge Congratulations to Learning Pool!

Derry-based eLearning company Learning Pool announced a 5-year multi-million pound deal to provide online procurement training in association with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

The company will start rolling out the suite of products to the public sector in South Africa and neighbouring regions early next year.

Obviously it’s great news for Learning Pool, but it’s also a great demonstration of how regionally-based businesses can compete – and win – on a global scale.

Congratulations all ’round!

Next OpenCoffee: 6pm Thursday, Waterfoot Hotel

Hi everyone

The next OpenCoffee Derry meetup is this Thursday, August 27th, 6pm at the newly re-opened Waterfoot Hotel. (map)

As always, the meetup is open to anyone and everyone and should run until about 7:30-8 ish. There’s free tea and coffee (thanks!) and there may even be time for a quick nosey around the hotel.

Any questions – email me.

How to Have an ‘Un-Business’

Another little piece adapted from Mark’s Derry News column...

As most of you will know, we’re in the process of organising BarCamp Derry – an ‘un-conference’ on the themes of digital media, the web and technology in general.

The idea of an unconference is to avoid many of the attributes normally associated with a traditional conference – like high entry fees, dull presentations or unnecessarily formal dress codes.

In order to attract a market that would normally avoid conferences like the swine plague, we’re creating a conference that does whatever it can not to be a conference.

Presentations are developed by the attendees themselves, the event is completely free, T-shirts and jeans are the order of the day and we even considered hiring a bouncy castle to keep proceedings lively.

Based on the success of similar events across the country, we’re expecting 100+ attendees from as far afield as Dublin and Limerick to make the trip for what is as much a social event as it is a business conference.

Now I didn’t come up with the idea of an unconference, nor did I dream up the idea of OpenCoffee.

In fact, the whole idea of an ‘un-event’ or an ‘un-business’ has been around for a long time. The punk movement could easily be described as the ‘un-band’ movement. Open source software is often described as the ‘un-copyright’ movement. Green businesses are based on ideas about ‘un-global warming’. The slow food movement; ‘un-fast food’. Fast food; ‘un-slow food’.

A Business in Opposition to the Status Quo

By simply defining an idea in opposition to the status quo, you naturally attract customers, clients and supporters who are dissatisfied with that standard. With that in mind, starting an ‘un-business’ or creating an ‘un-product’ or ‘un-service’ begins with an understanding of exactly what is wrong with how things are currently being done.

This isn’t about gradual improvement or incremental change, this is about wholesale revolution – which means finding something that really doesn’t live up to the needs of your chosen market.

That last point is key. For the most part, existing products and services aren’t that bad for most people. That’s why they’re the status quo. But for one particular audience they may simply not fit.

Business conferences and networking events are fine for many but there’s a growing market of business people in search of a less formal, more collaborative approach to doing business.

For them an unconference works – for others, a plain old conference is fine.

So how can you start an ‘un-business’?

Find a group of people or businesses for whom the status quo in your chosen industry simply doesn’t work. Make a list of all the things about the staus quo that don’t connect – the more they annoy people the better. Now create your business in opposition to those points.

Do it sincerely and do it well and you’ll have a built-in groundswell of support that truly wants you to succeed.

BarCamp Derry Registration Now Open

Yep, you can now register for BarCamp Derry at www.barcampderry.com

Big thanks to Jason Bell and Greg Wallace for getting it all sorted out and putting up with my incessant ‘tweaking’.

At the time of writing we’ve got about 30 people registered since launching it this morning – we’re aiming for 100+ so please start spreading the news and get yourself registered!

Who Are You Partnering With?

Here’s an article I wrote about the idea of partnership marketing for the Derry News – something that’s been very effective in helping get BarCamp Derry off the ground …

Partnering For Profit

Apparently, two heads are better than one. If that’s the case then surely partnering with other companies to ramp up your marketing efforts is a smart bet too.

Marketing is one of those ongoing challenges that every business faces. How can you attract new customers? How can you grow brand awareness and word of mouth? How can you retain existing business and encourage them to buy more products and services?

Perhaps most importantly, how can you do it all on a small (often non-existent) budget? Given that every business faces these challenges, marketing partnerships and joint ventures would seem like a natural solution. So how do they work?

A marketing partnership is simply an agreement between two parties to work together in attracting new business. They can be put together in a million different ways but at their simplest they have a few things in common. To start with, successful marketing partnerships address two points; assets and needs.

Marketing Needs and Marketing Assets

As a business you will no doubt have certain marketing ‘needs’. These may include access to a specific market, the use of an established mailing list or a well-trained sales team. By the same token you will also have a variety of marketing assets; existing customers, a website or contacts within a given industry for example. The purpose of marketing partnerships is to work together with another business whose assets can help fill your needs and vice versa.

Sometimes this takes a little lateral thinking, so let’s take an example. Let’s assume that you own an accountancy practice serving local businesses. Your assets include an excellent customer base, a decent website and a strong mailing list. However, you’re having trouble breaking into markets outside your city – you want to branch out but you can’t afford an expensive advertising campaign and can’t take the time to attend every networking event in your target areas.

One option would be to seek out a complementary business (let’s say a law firm) in that area who are also interested in expanding their customer base. You decide to work out a deal whereby they will promote your services to their customer base with an insert in their next customer newsletter. In turn, you agree to refer your clients to them as and when it’s appropriate and co-host a free workshop with them – which you will both promote.

For a little time and effort developing the partnership, you’ve now got access to their customer base as well as their tacit endorsement. An interior decorator could do the same with tradespeople. A wedding venue could work with a local wedding photographer. A retail outlet could work alongside a charity.

Of course not all partnerships are created equal. You need to put the time and effort into building the relationship with prospective partners as well as hammering out a deal that works for everyone involved. In particular, look for partners with a similar approach to business as you have – especially when it comes to customer service and reputation. Make sure that both parties are bringing something valuable to the table and are committed to seeing their end of the bargain through. Finally, always put your agreement in writing; especially if there is any money changing hands.

However you decide to go about it, developing effective, profitable marketing partnerships should be a key component in your marketing strategy – even more so when budget is an issue.

What are your experiences of partnering – both for marketing and for business in general?