VCARA Blog
VCARA Blog
Our school hosts virtual world events as part of our Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration. Managed by Dr. Pat Franks and written by current students and alumni, this blog highlights lectures and events held on iSchool Island in Second Life, including the annual VCARA Conference. This blog also reports relevant events hosted by other education and information groups in virtual worlds. For more information about VCARA and its members, visit our website: https://sjsuvcara.weebly.com/
VCARA Guest Lecture- Lori Bell – From Physical to Virtual: Libraries Serve Everyone! February 23, 6:00PM Pacific
Published: February 11, 2016
VCARA Guest Lecturer Lori Bell presents in Second Life on February 23rd at 6:00PM, Pacific Time
7th Annual VCARA Conference 2016 – Call for Poster Presentations
Published: January 26, 2016
Students and alumni are highly encouraged to submit work related to their current and past courses for the VCARA Conference – Virtual Worlds: The Future is Now.
Call for Poster Presentations
7th Annual VCARA Conference 2016 – Virtual Worlds: The Future is Now
Date: April 20, 2016 6:00-8:00PM Second Life Time (Pacific)
Location: VCARA SJSU/iSchool island
Brant Knutzen – The Quest: PBL for basic skills in the virtual world – Tuesday, January 19, 6:00pm Pacific
Published: January 11, 2016
Brant Knutzen, Blended Learning Consultant and Faculty of Education & Human Development at the Hong Kong Institute of Education will present for the VCARA Spring Colloquium Series on January 19 at 6:00pm Pacific time in Second Life. He will be presenting on “The Quest: Problem-based Learning for basic skills in Virtual Worlds. Second Life Orientation available for those new to Second Life on January 17th. See blog for more information.
Second Life Orientation Session
Published: December 23, 2015
New to Second Life? Join VCARA’s Marie Vans (amvans Lapis) on Sunday, January 17, 2016 @ Noon PST for an orientation on iSchool island! In about 30 minutes, you’ll learn some SL basics, visit the main buildings in VCARA, and discuss the different events and resources there.
The Dickens Project – A model for live interactive, project based engagement [Virtual Worlds Lecture]
Published: November 19, 2015
Virtual Worlds Guest Lecturer: Judith Cullen (RL) | Caledonia Skytower (SL), Seanchai Libraries – Library Lead
When: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 | Time: 6:00pm PST – 6:50pm PST
Location: We’ll meet at VCARA’s amphitheater on the SJSU iSchool Island at 6 p.m. SLT; then we’ll teleport to The Dickens Project for a tour and Q&A around 6:20 p.m. SLT.
A Tour of Museums in Second Life
Published: November 5, 2015
Clickable URL:
A Tour of Libraries in Second Life – Beth S O’Connell/Beth Ghostraven
Published: November 5, 2015
Clickable SLURL:
Marie Vans receives 1st place award from ISTE’s 2015 Edu Machinima Fest
Published: July 27, 2015
The Machinima of the Conference are Up
Published: May 8, 2015
If you missed the 6th Annual VCARA Conference in April, you can watch the machinima of both keynotes and all the mini presentations.
Come Visit the Aeronauts Exhibit while it’s still up
The traveling exhibit “The Aeronauts” exhibit put together by Sere Timeless, will be on display on VCARA until the end of summer. This wonderful exhibit tells the story of the hot air balloon including the first “duel in the air” and even the hot air balloon craze that showed up in ladies fashion. Come see the wacky variations on hot air balloon design complete with oars and wings that were thought to help steer the contraption.
Inaugural issue of Archeota features VCARA
Published: May 7, 2015
Our very own Jane Awesome/Kerri Keil wrote a great article on VCARA in the first issue of Archeota:
“Exploring next generation archives through VCARA”
Archeota is the official newsletter of the San José State University Society of American Archivists Student Chapter.
6th Annual VCARA Conference – Post Conference Review
Published: May 1, 2015
The 6th Annual VCARA Conference was held on April 21, 2015. It was well attended, which is not surprising considering the lineup of speakers.
Spotlight Interview – Albert “Skip” Rizzo
Published: April 27, 2015
Albert “Skip” Rizzo
Director for Medical Virtual Reality — Institute for Creative Technologies
Research Professor — USC Davis School of Gerontology –USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Written by: Jennifer Christensen
Multimedia – Fall 2013 – Spring 2015
Published: April 24, 2015
Spring 2015 Alice Krueger/Gentle Heron Colloquial talk on March 31, 2015. People with Disabilities in Virtual Worlds.
Spring 2015
Alice Krueger/Gentle Heron Colloquial talk on March 31, 2015. People with Disabilities in Virtual Worlds. Machinima URL:
Gentle Heron/Alice Krueger – Colloquia Talk-Tuesday, March 31 6:00pm SLT
Published: April 16, 2015
Colloquium Talk on VCARA: People with Disabilities in Virtual Worlds. Virtual Ability supports people with many types of disabling conditions and chronic illnesses in Second Life. Some require special accommodations. Learn how some persons use assistive technology or human assistance to access Second Life.
Colloquium Talk on VCARA:
People with Disabilities in Virtual Worlds
April 16, 6:00pm SLT (Pacific) Moving Through Time and Space: U.S. Revolutionary War – Open House
Published: April 14, 2015
Interested in taking a class in Second Life? The SJSU iSchool’s Summer 2015 immersive learning course is:
287-10 Virtual Worlds: Moving Through Time and Space: U.S. Revolutionary War.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A CURRENT STUDENT TO TAKE THIS COURSE. You can take this course through the open education initiative
amvans Lapis/Marie Vans named Library Director for the Community Library on InWorldz
Published: April 13, 2015
The spring, 2015 VCARA estate manager, amvans Lapis/Marie Vans, was named Library director for the Community Library on the InWorldz Virtual World on April 12, 2015.
The spring, 2015 VCARA estate manager, amvans Lapis/Marie Vans, was named Library director for the Community Library on the InWorldz Virtual World on April 12, 2015.
Alice Krueger/Gentle Heron: People with Disabilities in Virtual Worlds – New Machinima
Published: April 6, 2015
SJSU iSchool Colloquium Series talk by Alice Krueger/Gental Heron at VCARA on March 31, 2015 is now available on the VCARA YouTube channel. If you missed the event, Gentle talk about how Virtual Ability supports people with many types of disabling conditions and chronic illnesses in Second Life. Some require special accommodations. Learn how some persons use assistive technology or human assistance to access Second Life.
Student Learning Experiences in Second Life – Student Panel from Spring 2014
Published: March 30, 2015
A new machinima is now available on the VCARA YouTube Channel. The “Student Learning Experiences in Second Life” machinima documents the student panel held on March 6, 2014.
Info Quest, new Virtual/Immersive Learning Environment to open with Seminar
Published: March 13, 2015
Greetings! You are invited to a Virtual Worlds/Immersive Learning Seminar which will feature the opening of Info Quest, a web-based library and location for librarians, museum staff, educators, library users, students, and anyone interested.