Museum Web 3.0
The New Frontier in Education and Online Learning

Welcome/¡Bienvenidos!

The Smithsonian Latino Center is pleased to present the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM), an avatar-based 3D virtual learning environment whose unique navigational features  provide access to the vast and rich collections, research and scholarship, exhibitions and educational activities of the Smithsonian Institution as they relate to U.S. Latinos and Latin America. 

We invite you to join us in this adventure to explore Smithsonian world-class collections, superb scholarship, exciting programs and exhibitions through the lens of Second Life, a multi-user avatar based 3D (learning) virtual world environment.

Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM) opened its virtual doors to the public on March 19, 2009...releasing three of its islands: Smithsonian Latino Lobby, Smithsonian Latino Music, and Smithsonian Latino Expeditions.

*Click here for avatar application setup and entry into LVM 

To learn more about this Smithsonian digital initiative, explore the links below:

• About The Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM) 
• What is Second Life?
• Educational Uses of Virtual Worlds
• Virtual Worlds Impact on Education
• LVM Press Release 
• LVM Blog
• LVM on Flickr
• LVM Machinima Video 

 Upcoming in-world events in LVM:

Machinima video release, virtual tours and real-world speaking engagements

Upcoming Events

LVM BETA TESTING WITH Students/Teachers

• Purpose: The key to measuring the success of LVM in terms of educational value and innovation is for us to leverage key resources that will help us to understand what constitutes a meaningful immersive learning experience using the Smithsonian Latino collection and resources in an engaging and unique way. Developing and promoting new models for assessment of immersive learning activities in multi-user virtual world environments is an area still very much undiscovered and not fully researched.  The Smithsonian Latino Center is proud to be at the forefront contributing to this new frontier in education and online learning.

  Upcoming workshops

  • LVM  Immersive Learning Workshop, SLC Young Ambassadors: June 22, 2009
  • National Educational Computing Conference: June 28-July 1, 2009; Melissa Carrillo (SLC), Emily Key (SLC), Michelle Smith (SCEMS) launching Educator’s Sandbox in LVM and conducting live teacher workshops
  • LVM Evaluation Team & Pilot school Test site conduct LVM Teacher training workshops and assessment (scheduling in progress)
  • LVM Immersive Learning Workshop, SLC-LMSP:  Wednesday July 22, 2009
   

  Past workshops

  LVM Hosts First Immersive Learning Teacher/Student Workshop May 20, 2009 

  • Participants: Holy Redeemer Washington D.C., SLC, Smithsonian Center for Education and Museums Studies, Office of Policy & Analysis, Kansas University, and Ohio University
  • Guided tour of Expeditions Wing along with hands on learning activities and demos
  • Ideas  and feedback from participants were captured and archived via snap shots and transcription

  LVM Hosts First Immersive Learning Teacher Workshop with the Discovery Educators Network May 27, 2009

  • LVM workshop team hosted the Discovery Educators Network group in Second Life through a dynamic and engaging dialogue about LVM -accessibility, innovation and creating unique immersive learning activities using SI Latino collections
  • Outcomes: DEN is has joined the LVM Immersive Learning Development group
  • http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/secondlife/2009/05/28/its-a-wrap-tour-of-the-smithsonian-latino-virtual-museum/

   

  LVM Student/Teacher Workshops and Career Day, SEED School of Maryland, June 9, 2009

  • LVM Creative Director conducted teacher presentation and workshop introducing LVM
  • LVM Creative Director presented to 6^th graders on the topic of careers in New Media and Immersive Education and demonstrated some of LVM’s key features. The topic was framed around concepts of identity construction and how MUVEs help to empower individual and collaborative creativity and critical thinking. The teacher and student response was overwhelmingly positive and insightful to future collaboration in understanding the needs in the classroom and how LVM can provide alternative methods for teaching and learning.

The Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life is not only the digital future of the Smithsonian Institution…it is the new frontier in immersive education. We, SLC, are at the cutting edge of defining immersive cultural experiences and enabling new models of learning for a diverse community of users. We are also changing the way museums collaborate with one another. For the Smithsonian alone, this is a first of its kind, representing immersive learning, online community and collaboration among its diverse community of creators, developers, educators, scholars and researchers. The SLC leads the Smithsonian Institution into new realms of exploring cultural identity through engagement and simulation.

  (Melissa Carrillo, Creative Director of LVM, Smithsonian Latino Center)

The project is the brainchild of the Smithsonian Latino Center, a pan-institutional research center of the Smithsonian Institution. In collaboration with the LVM Advisory Committee and other project partners, Phase II of LVM is now underway which includes evaluation and assessment of Phase I.