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Aug 05, 2009 – PHOENIX, AZ –– The Mt. Diablo chapter of ASTD, through a partnership
with TBD Consulting, was awarded ASTD National’s “Sharing Our Success” (SOS) recognition for an innovative
virtual learning experience.
A recent Second Life™ simulcast with the Mt. Diablo chapter of ASTD in Pleasanton,
California doubled the regular attendance numbers for their April 21, 2009 monthly speaker programs. The presentation, entitled
“Get Virtual – Designing Learning in Second Life”, provided an overview of Second Life™ and explored
the design considerations necessary to bring value-added learning to corporate training participants. The simulcast presentation
was attended by virtual participants in TBD Consulting’s training center in Second Life™ as well as live participants
in the Mt. Diablo chapter meeting room.
Chani Pangali, PhD and Co-VP Professional Development for the ASTD
Mt Diablo chapter shared, “This was a remarkable evening for us, in terms of total turnout and the fact that guests
and members with lapsed attendance records out-numbered regular attendees. There was all-around appreciation for the quality
of the presentation and the special insights into what might be possible in training with Second Life capabilities.”
Mike Abrams, Past President of the ASTD AZ Valley of the Sun chapter in Phoenix and VP Business Development and Learning
Technology for TBD Consulting, facilitated the event by creating an environment where the virtual and physical participants
could listen and speak to each other as easily as if they were in the same room. All participants could ask questions and
see the presentation slides and speaker.
The session kicked off with networking activities that both audiences participated in to meet their fellow
participants in their respective spaces. By enabling both audiences to interact and learn from each other, they overcame the
travel restrictions that exist within most of their organizations and were given a real learning experience with more
engagement than a webinar.
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We participated in this meeting through our Second Life avatar, Samson Francis. It was a fascinating
evening as we first got to meet and network with others who were attending through Second Life. And then our avatars were
presented to the live audience in California who watched us participate in a demo class within Second Life.
However, the best part was when the avatars went into a Q&A session with the live audience members in
California. It was as if we were present in the real life meeting room . . . except that we did not have the
opportunity to participate in the happy hour (however, I did bring virtual bottles of cold Coors that I shared with
the other avatars . . . which was well received by the live audience)
It was a great experience that underscores the power of Second Life to facilitate meetings of geographically
dispersed individuals and team members.
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