CAMBRIDGE, MA - November 27, 2007 - On December 8th 2007 from 2-5pm EST Harvard University's Interactive Media Group will host a half-day Immersive Education event that is open to the public and free to attend. Educators, researchers and administrators from Harvard University, Boston College, MIT Media Lab, Amherst College and the United States Department of Education will give a series of presentations and demonstrations to provide attendees with an overview of Immersive Education and how virtual world and game-based learning technologies are used in and out of the classroom today. Immersive Education Day at Harvard is a precursor to the Immersive Education event at Boston's Digital Media Summit in January, 2008.

Immersive Education (ImmersiveEducation.org) combines interactive 3D graphics, commercial game and simulation technology, virtual reality, voice chat (Voice over IP/VoIP), Web cameras (webcams) and rich digital media with collaborative online course environments and classrooms. Immersive Education gives participants a sense of "being there" even when attending a class or training session in person isn't possible, practical, or desirable, which in turn provides educators and students with the ability to connect and communicate in a way that greatly enhances the learning experience. Unlike traditional computer-based learning systems, Immersive Education is designed to immerse and engage students in the same way that today's best video games grab and keep the attention of players. Immersive Education supports self-directed learning as well as collaborative group-based learning environments that can be delivered over the Internet or using fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD. Shorter mini-games and interactive lessons can be injected into larger bodies of course material to further heighten and enrich the Immersive Education experience.

Teachers, trainers, administrators and students are encouraged to attend Immersive Education Day at Harvard and participate in the open discussion periods that follow each of the scheduled presentations and demonstrations:

Enabling the Age of Immersive Education [2-2:30pm EST]
Aaron E. Walsh, Director, Immersive Education Initiative | Faculty, Boston College
Speaker bio: http://gridinstitute.com/people/aew/

Placeworlds: Fostering Civic Engagement through Immersive Education [2:30-3pm EST]
Gene Koo, Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School
Speaker bio: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/bio_genekoo

School 2.0 and Immersive Education [3-3:30pm EST]
Timothy J. Magner, Director, U.S. Department of Education | Advisor, Immersive Education Initiative
Speaker bio: http://www.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/magner.html

The Restaurant Game: New forms of Artificial Intelligence for Immersive Education [3:30-4pm EST]
Jeff Orkin, Research Assistant, MIT Media Lab | co-Chair, Immersive Education Initiative
Speaker bio: http://www.jorkin.com/bio.html

Pedagogy, Assessment, and Learning Outcomes for Immersive Education [4-4:30pm EST]
John Carfora, Director of Sponsored Research, Amherst College | co-Chair, Immersive Education Initiative
Speaker bio: http://mediagrid.org/news/2007-11_Carfora_award.html

Venue and Directions

Event name : Immersive Education Day at Harvard
 Date/Time : December 8, 2007 from 2-5pm EST
  Location : Harvard University
             Askwith Lecture Hall in Longfellow Hall
             13 Appian Way Cambridge, MA 02138
Directions : http://www.harvard.com/events/directions.html#askwith 

About the Media Grid
The Media Grid is a public utility for digital media. Based on new and emerging distributed computational grid technologies, the Media Grid builds upon existing Internet and Web standards to create a unique network optimized for digital media delivery, storage, and processing. As an on-demand public computing utility, a range of software programs and Web sites can use the Media Grid for delivery and storage of rich media content, media processing, and computing power. The Media Grid is an open and extensible platform that enables a wide range of applications not possible with the traditional Internet alone, including: Massive Media on Demand (MMoD); Interactive digital cinema on demand; Immersive Education and distance learning; Truly immersive multiplayer games and Virtual Reality (VR); Hollywood movie and film rendering, special effects, and composition; Real-time rendering of high resolution graphics; Real-time visualization of complex weather patterns; Real-time protein modeling and drug design; Telepresence, telemedicine, and telesurgery; Vehicle and aircraft design and simulation; Visualization of scientific and medical data.

The Grid Institute leads the design and development of the global Media Grid through the MediaGrid.org open standards organization in collaboration with industry, academia, and governments from around the world.

To learn more about the Media Grid and Immersive Education visit MediaGrid.org and ImmersiveEducation.org