Aaron Delwiche will present:

Immersive Classrooms, Virtual Workspaces and the Global Economy: Separating Hype from Reality

In recent years, synthetic worlds such as Second Life have captured the attention of educators and entrepreneurs alike. From large-scale research universities to smaller liberal arts colleges, more than one hundred institutions of higher-education are leveraging the power of virtual worlds in the classroom. Transnational corporations such as IBM, Sun Microsystems and AMD are using these same technologies as vehicles for collaboration, on-line training and interactive marketing. Last year, more than $1 billion was invested in the nascent virtual world industry, and new start-ups continue to transform this rapidly changing landscape. These are exciting times for those who believe in the potential of virtual worlds, but -- amidst the flurry of press releases and grand predictions -- there are also grounds for concern about the sustainability of this vision. As the rhetoric heats up, it is crucial that we separate fact from fiction and distinguish hype from reality. To what extent, if any, will virtual worlds affect the near-term future of your organization? When do virtual meeting spaces actually make sense, and when are they merely a gimmick? Which of the emerging platforms warrant scrutiny, and what technical obstacles need to be overcome in order to realize the considerable potential of these emerging technologies?