This Thursday, October 9, I am honored to be participating in a panel discussion on "Education without Borders" sponsored by the United States Department of State. The panel will address how virtual worlds can be used to reach out to people "conquering issues of physical distance, nationality, and culture." The panelists for this event include:
- Ken Hudson, Virtual World Design Centre, Loyalist College
- Christopher Keesey, Ohio University Without Boundaries
- Sue Shick, Department of Instructional Technology and Academic Computing, Case Western University
- and myself, Rik Panganiban, Global Kids
The event is specifically being put on by the Bureau of International Information Programs at the State Department, along with Cambridge Education, and the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy. Participants in this closed forum will be drawn from educators from an impressive 14 countries: Iran, the UK, Hungary, Latvia, Turkey, Finland, Bulgaria, Spain, Scotland, the Netherlands, Wales, Denmark, Canada and the United States. Unfortunately, this event is not open to the general public.
This is far from the first foray of the U.S. State Department into virtual worlds. In 2007 they sponsored a panel discussion on people with disabilities and a jazz festival in SL.
