"Red Carpet Club" for DrM-Virtual3D-Learning Workshop

As one of the first steps in creating the DrM Virtual 3D Learning Workshop, I created a "Red Carpet Club" for the workshop on LinkedIn.  (Think of the Academy Awards when thinking of a "Red Carpet Club>") 

Members in this club will help design the learning workshop and will be participants in the workshop.  Because of their involvement in the club they will access "behind the scenes" experiences and events during the workshop and their feedback and insights can help improve the workshop and, possibly, the virtual 3D learning environment, created and maintained by Digitell's VirtualU.

One of the suggestions that came out of the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit was the use of "Red Carpet Clubs" to improve content and experience of virtual events. 

This club is a truly unique opportunity because it is open to LinkedIn professionals from many organizations who choose to be involved in creating and experiencing an online, virtual3D, learning workshop.  The workshop will be more than an event because its goals will be more expanded and it may take place over a broader span of time than a typical event.

It will probably combine both synchronous ("live") and "asynchronous" (done alone over a period of time) activities to take full advantage of the learning capabilities offered by the virtual platform.

If you're interested in participating, please sign-up for the group.  At this point in the planning, the learning workshop will be free.  Members of the group will have unique opportunities to develop and expand skills in online learning design and will get to experience their own design and give feedback.

Designing a VirtualU Learning Event

For much of the day I was a virtual participant using VirtualU's 3D software and attending the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit.  My purpose in attending was to pull together my ideas for designing a VirtualU learning event.  VirtualU is sponsored by VirtualBeginnings and Digitell.

Many of my learning design ideas I have already published in this blog.  (See post 1, post 2, and post 3.)  In preparing for a Virtual University Learning Event, I want to incorporate the lessons learned from designing and delivering ELACOMM98--a 2.5-day learning event for 200 communications executives that was held in Cannes, France, in May, 1998.  That event was designed over 12 weeks with a team of subject matter experts and a few learning designers.  Strategy was developed to included learning goals, an integrated, hands-on-learning design, and a series of learning events in teams and in large groups created around workplace simulations that allowed participant to build and practice relevant skills in a very supportive context including practice and learning coaches.  Watch the video for a brief summary.

What I am learning from my virtual attendance at the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit and at three other VirtualU 3D conferences, is the importance of using what I learned from ELACOMM98 and integrating that with understanding of the 3D virtual world and its offerings.  I am an active social networker on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  One concept from today will be to work with my contacts and groups on LinkedIn to ask what people want and to be sure to design that into the event I will be designing.  Based on the feedback from the panelists at the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit, I will be creating a community (group) on LinkedIn about the learning event and will be hosting some "Velvet Rope" communities (people who are willing to engage in helping develop some of the events before hand and who will have a closer interaction with key people connected with the event).  I have hosted Yahoo Groups for years and expect to do some of the work of developing this new learning event using Skype, Yahoo Groups, and possibly Google Groups, as well as the group and event resources on LinkedIn.

There's another day (tomorrow) to the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit and I expect to be adding more ideas to my plans for the development of the VirtualU Learning Event.  If you want to participate, leave a comment or send me an e-mail.