The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)  hosted a Proposers’ Day Conference for the Reynard Program on April 3, 2009 in anticipation of the release of a new solicitation in support of the program. This pre-soliciation conference was held in order to provide information and potential teaming opportunities for research into behavioral characteristics in Virtual Worlds.

Researchers and teams need not have attended this conference in order to propose future solicitations to this program. Information is available on the IARPA website.

For those who did not attend the conference, Dr. Rita M. Bush says the following information should be posted to the IARPA site soon:

1. Reynard Proposers’ Day slides presented by the Program Manager, describing the vision for the program
2. Slides used by 19 different organizations who briefly described their research interests and desires for teaming arrangements
3. A list of industry and academic attendees at the meeting, along with contact information and their virtual world research interests
4. A list of questions and answers from the day of the Conference, along with questions received via email after the conference

Further information will be posted here on CVWER.org as it becomes available.

Currently, the program description is as follows (quoted from IARPA):

“Events in today’s world move at an accelerating pace, and are often shaped by information (whether correct or incorrect) that is communicated by diverse and increasingly novel means. A nuanced picture of events and attitudes is required to inform policy developers and other decision-makers in this complex and fast-paced environment. IARPA sponsors leading-edge research to help the Intelligence Community keep abreast of the many sources of information needed to inform our nation’s leadership. A new channel for information exchange and social interaction is emerging with the growing popularity of Virtual Worlds (VWs) and Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). Industry experts predict the number of VW users will exceed a half billion by the end of 2009. As participation in these VWs broadens and deepens, the need for understanding the nature of interactions in these worlds arises.

“Starting from the premise that Real World (RW) characteristics are reflected in VW behavior, the IARPA Reynard program seeks to identify behavioral indicators in VWs and MMOGs that are related to the RW characteristics of the users. Performers in the Reynard program will be expected to produce one or more VW behavioral indicators that serve to identify RW attributes of individuals or groups. Attributes of interest include the following: gender, approximate age, economic status, educational level, occupation, ideology or “world view”, degree of influence, “digital native” vs “digital immigrant,” approximate physical geographic location, native language, and culture. Other RW characteristics might also be empirically deduced through behavioral indicators. VW behavioral indicators may be examined in the areas of Avatars and Representation, Communication, Things That Avatars Do, Group Formation and Dynamics, Money and Economics, and Cultural Differences.

“Collaborative efforts/teaming among potential performers will be strongly encouraged. It is anticipated that teams will be multidisciplinary with social scientists, computer scientists, statisticians, gaming and virtual world experts, and multi-cultural experts, as appropriate. IARPA anticipates that universities and companies from around the world will participate in this fascinating area of research. Researchers will be able to publish their findings in publicly-available, academic journals.”

The State University of New York Institute of  Technology held a conference yesterday entitled, “Integrating the Virtual World: Creating an Intersection with the Virtual and Real to Enhance Learning.”

The conference was an excellent opportunity for those working in the field of immersive learning to network, share ideas, and to address common problems, from the technical, such as connectivity and bandwidth issues in the classroom; to the pedagogical, such as convincing an institution that immersive teaching is valuable.

Keynote speaker Bret Ingerman described the obstacles and rewards encountered by Vassar College  as they made their foray into the virtual world of Second Life. A common concern is convincing administrators that a five thousand dollar investment in a Second Life island is worthwhile. However, the ability to engage students in a virtual environment is priceless. An example was the ability to create sculptures to scale, allowing students to have a real feel for the artwork represented and to interact with the objects in a way that is not possible by looking at a photograph in a book. Ingerman also cited Vassar’s recreation of the Sistine Chapel - one of the most popular sites in Second Life – as an example of putting the medium to good use. Students who may never have the opportunity to visit the real site can get an up-close look at the intricacies and the scale of the work by visiting it in Second Life.

A hands-on session presented an opportunity to encounter and resolve the real problems of teaching in Second Life. Many of the attendees were new and had to create their accounts before they could log in. We also encountered extreme lag due to bandwidth issues. Terry Keys and Larry Dugan provided a great example on keeping the instruction going through technical difficulties — something everyone is likely to encounter at some point in an immersive learning environment.

After lunch, Chris Egert of Rochester Institute of Technology gave a presentation on RIT’s M.U.P.P.E.T.S. program, providing examples of student work and describing the process of teaching in a virtual world.

Roundtable discussions included a talk led by Alexandra Pickett encouraging the use of SUNY Live as a resource and point of collaboration for educators working in Second Life; Chris Egert giving further detailed information on the M.U.P.P.E.T.S. program; and a discussion of the student experience in virtual learning.

The final session of the day was led by Larry Dugan of Finger Lakes Community College. He spoke about the combined use of books, movies, and gaming to teach The Lord of the Rings, which was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from students. He will be teaching the course again this summer, due to high demand.