End of Spring Update and Second Life Mooc 2017

Dear folks,

I hope your dwindling days of Spring are wonderful ones. I had the best Fathers Day yesterday, beginning at dawn with a fishing foray up to Marrowbone Lake, home to a long telephone conversation with my extraordinarily talented son in Philadelphia, champagne with my beautiful bride, then a long nap followed by dinner with with my multi-talented, gentle, lovely daughter and her husband down south at the edge of Brentwood. We capped the day off with three episodes of Vikings, snuggling on the sofa, and a restful night's sleep. Now it's 364 days until my next Fathers Day and I plan to do everything I can to make them every bit as wonderful.

I have high hopes for a new position at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools after a call-back interview for an exciting new district level specialist position this past Friday. That's all I can say now but stay tuned. If the ~130 encouraging responses to a Facebook post asking for spiritual support are any indication, that future is bright. Think good thoughts on that front, please.

I'll be working full-time this week to plan my upcoming week, starting Saturday, in Texas, starting at ISTE2017, where it should be no surprise to anyone who stays up with developments that I'll be co-presenting the dynamic ISTE "Virtual Environments and Games & Simulations Networks Playground and helping put on the annual "EduMachinima Fest," all on Tuesday, June 27. I will try to blog daily from San Antonio as part of my reflective practice and in order to share learning. Stay tuned here at scottmerrickdotnet.

Meanwhile, learning is going on. Surprised? My dear buddy Andrew Wheelock--engineer of Virtual Pioneers in Second Life, my musical-chairs-teammate at ISTE Virtual Environments Network, and host of "Coffee with a Geek"--and I took time to share what VEN does at the third annual "Second Life Mooc" a week ago Saturday. This amazing month of learning, organized and coordinated by Dr. Doris Molero, Dr. Nancy Zingrone, and Dr. Nellie Deutsch, is still going on, and I want to plug it in order that you may pick and choose your own live learning opportunities. Word has it that its name will change next year in order to reflect its broadening focus on other virtual environments learning potentials, beyond Second Life. Meanwhile, check out the SL Mooc course syllabus, the Mooc itself (free registration), and the Mooc schedule. Dive in!

If you can't make the "real world" ISTE Conference in San Antonio, please keep an eye out here for announcements of inworld (Second Life, primarily) events to help connect you with the learning. I will be live-streaming at least one hour of the Playground in San Antonio, likely on Periscope.

Be of good cheer as we enter SUMMER this Tuesday! We've earned it!