I have appeared twice, and am currently, in virtual conferences aimed
at the corporate marketplace run by RMR, based near Oxford
(http://www.rmrplc.com). Their form of virtual conference is to
replicate on the screen what you would find physically in a face to
face exhibition and conference: halls, stands, papers, discussions,
etc.
Running virtual conferences is RMR's core business and their style,
design and presentation is absolutely outstanding. I would recommend
"attending" if only to experience what can be done with very swept-up
technology. That is, for this group it is the form that's interesting,
rather than necessarily the content.
It does not take a great leap of imagination to see RMR's style of
virtual conferences applied to learning, virtual universities etc.
Although in its replication of a physical conference centre, it's not
conceptually different from designs that have been around in HE for
some years.
There is a conference running now about Communications which is open
to all once they have registered. To view the conference you need to
have Flash / Shockwave / RealMedia etc plug-ins running, but the
system will guide you to those if you don't have them already. It's
worth it to experience the full monty. Or maybe find an IT guru whose
machine does have those things already. The instructions below my
signature block tell you how to get access.
John
Dr John Gundry
Director, Knowledge Ability Ltd
MALMESBURY UK
+44 (0)1666 824644
http://www.knowab.co.uk/ka
The original Networked Learning page - http://www.knowab.co.uk/nl
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COMMUNICATE 2000
The organisers, RMRplc, say:
"Communicate2000 is the first global, online event for the
communications industry. www.communicate2000.com is free to attend
and will be full of interesting and innovative information. There will
be a new sector opening daily with papers on different areas of the
industry, as well as an opportunity to interact with the
authors/speakers through the viewpoint section."
If you'd like to, here is how to get access:-
1. Go to http://www.communicate2000.com/
2. They'll ask you to register. If you wish to, please give my name
(John Gundry) in the "Other" category when asked how you heard of it.
3. If your machine doesn't have it already, the site will
automatically guide you to the Flash / Shockwave / RealMedia plug-ins
needed to navigate the conference.
There's a load of interesting features and content to explore, and if
you want to (literally) see me in action, here's how to get to my
paper:-
1. After registration, go to the Conference Centre.
2. There, select Papers.
3. In the list of paper categories, select "Professional Services".
4. My paper "MANAGING THROUGH THE INTERNET" (about virtual teaming)
is there in text, and sound 'n' vision.
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