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About John "Pathfinder" Lester

John Lester is an expert in the educational use of virtual worlds and 3d simulations. His background is in neuroscience research and medical education, and he previously worked at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Linden Lab. John is currently the Chief Learning Officer at ReactionGrid Inc., helping clients develop new systems for immersive learning using web and mobile-based virtual world platforms.

“We were here” – Discovering Footsteps in the Wilderness and Flags across the Hypergrid

Posted on May 12, 2012

I started the Hypergrid Adventurers Club because I think the development of Hypergrid-enabled interconnectivity between Opensim grids is a beautiful and fascinating evolution.  And in my experience, if you want to help cultivate growth and innovative uses of a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Avatars, Hypergrid Adventurers Club, OpenSim, Pioneer Lessons, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

My Presentation at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Posted on April 23, 2012

The Department of Computer and Information Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway is hosting a seminar this week on “Virtual Worlds & Educational Technologies.” The seminar will be held on Wednesday April 25th … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Augmented Reality, Avatars, Education, Jibe, Presentations, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hypergrid Adventurers Club visits a Myst and Uru inspired world: Devokan Trust on OSGrid

Posted on April 13, 2012

Yesterday, the Hypergrid Adventurers Club visited OSGrid to explore Devokan Tao, the central hub of a collection of regions called Devokan Trust. The entire area is inspired by Myst and Uru. About 10 of us made the journey across four … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Avatars, Education, Hypergrid Adventurers Club, OpenSim, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Using Virtual Worlds to Reduce Stress

Posted on April 3, 2012

A fascinating paper was just published on the topic of using virtual worlds to train people in stress reduction techniques. Read the full paper here: “The Feasibility and Impact of Delivering a Mind-Body Intervention in a Virtual World“ The paper … Continue reading →

Posted in Jibe, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“The effects of virtual space on learning: A literature review”

Posted on March 31, 2012

If you’re interested in the use of virtual worlds in education and immersive learning, it’s always a challenge finding good research papers on the subject. Which is why I was so excited today when I discovered Olle Sköld’s paper “The … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Avatars, Education, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What’s your Dream Chair?

Posted on March 30, 2012

Like many people, I work full-time from home.  Most of my workday is spent immersed in a technological web of online communication and 3d simulation.  Which means I’m mostly sitting in front of my computer. When assembling a home office, … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

An Educator’s Field Trip to a Jibe Virtual World

Posted on March 30, 2012

Marianne Riis works at the Multi-User Virtual Environments Research (MUVER) Lab at Aalborg University Copenhagen in Denmark. She’s teaching a class focused on interpersonal Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) this spring, and recent topics have included avatar-based communication. Marianne decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Avatars, Education, Jibe, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Presentation at 2012 Follow the Sun: “Integrated Reality and Next Generation Virtual Worlds”

Posted on March 27, 2012

Follow the Sun 2012 is a free online conference that runs from March 27-30.  Here’s a summary from their website: “Digital Futures Institute, Beyond Distance Research Alliance, Athabasca University, and our commercial partners are proud to provide this year’s 48-hour, … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Augmented Reality, Avatars, Education, Jibe, Pioneer Lessons, Presentations, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts – Virtual Broad Art Museum in Jibe

Posted on March 15, 2012

The Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) at Ball State University is a research and design studio exploring virtual reality, simulation, games and interactive interfaces. IDIA been commissioned to design and build a virtual presence and artworks for the upcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Art, Augmented Reality, Avatars, Education, Jibe, Non-Profits, Pioneer Lessons, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Virtual Worlds Presentation for 2012 Virtual Enterprise Conference at Glyndŵr University

Posted on February 28, 2012

The Virtual Enterprise Conference at Glyndŵr University brings together a diverse range of web entrepreneurs, students and academics to discuss the opportunities for e-entrepreneurship offered by virtual worlds and the social web.  It’s hosted each year by the Centre for … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Avatars, Education, Jibe, Pioneer Lessons, Presentations, Unity3D, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment