Thursday Virtual Worlds 4:15-5:00 The Future of Virtual Worlds & Learning Andrew Hughes, President, Designing Digitally The virtual worlds industry is changing rapidly, with new technologies and new advances in virtual worlds happening almost daily. With all the new virtual worlds emerging, what effect do the virtual worlds have on the future? What technological advances can we expect to see related to social learning and formal education? This presentation discusses how virtual worlds related are being used as a learning mechanism for educational institutions. Attendees will hear the experiences of organizations that are successfully using virtual worlds as an education and social tool. Participants will also learn about several useful commercial virtual worlds, as well as open source virtual worlds that can be implemented into educational institutions to meet these initiatives. This session will provide participants with an overview of what's coming next for virtual worlds in order to help organizations plan today for the virtual worlds of tomorrow. This session will help participants prepare better for both short-term and long-term decision making about using virtual worlds for learning in their organizations. [View Author Bio] Back