New York, NY — May 10, 2008 — Alliance Library System, in cooperation with LearningTimes, will offer a one-day conference exploring the possibilities of using virtual worlds to teach history and to promote its appreciation. The conference, titled “Stepping into History: Exploring the Past through Virtual Worlds” will be held entirely in the virtual world of Second Life, allowing participants to attend from any location with a computer and a broadband internet connection. Attendance at the conference is limited to 60 participants, and cost is $45 USD per person. Registration is available at the website www.steppingintohistory.org.

“What if, instead of just talking or reading about history, we could actually be there?” asks John Howard, conference director and Special Projects Coordinator for Alliance. “What if instead of looking at a picture of a historical site, you could actually walk through and explore it? Previously, you could only get this experience by traveling long distances. New virtual world technology allows us to do something quite similar from our computers.”

The conference will not be lecture-based, according to Howard. Instead, participants will take “field trips” into historical locations that have been created in Second Life. They will have time to explore them on their own, then to meet and discuss what they have seen and experienced with simulation creators and other conference participants. Sites will include 19th century America, where participants may run into Abraham or Mary Todd Lincoln; Virtual Harlem, where participants will have the opportunity to hear live music as it might have been during the Jazz Age/Harlem Renaissance; and Renaissance Island, where participants can sit in on a rehearsal for a Shakespearean play in a replica of London’s Globe Theatre.

“All of our field trip sites have tons of educational resources, but we also want participants to actually experience history in various ways” says Howard. The conference will end with a panel discussion with a variety of experts, and with an opportunity for participants to attend a period ball at the Lincoln era White House.

Alliance has partnered with LearningTimes to put on this conference. In addition to helping organize the conference, LearningTimes is setting up the technology for individuals and groups to participate in the conference without having to create a Second Life account. “For those who haven’t done it, Second Life can take a little getting used to” notes John Walber, CEO of LearningTimes. “We have had great success this year in providing ‘simulcasts’ of events in second life, essentially, looking over the shoulder of a participant.” Walber notes that this should make attendance easier for more people. While not quite as “immersive,” the solution is highly interactive, and creates a recording for later playback Conference organizers will also provide an orientation for those who would like to attend the conference in Second Life, but have no prior experience with the program.

LearningTimes and Alliance have created an ongoing on-line community for participants in this and future conferences. Within this community registrants will have access to conference recordings, contribute to on-going discussions, and network with other interested people from around the world after the conference is over.

Full conference schedule and registration information is available at the conference website, http://www.steppingintohistory.org
or people may contact John Howard directly at 309.694.9200.

About Alliance Library System
The Alliance Library System is one of nine multitype library systems, cooperating to provide vital library services to the citizens of Illinois. The mission of the Alliance Library System is to facilitate resource sharing, interlibrary loan, continuing education and library consulting within its diverse multi-type membership. The results of this vision are innovative, cost effective multi-type library services that promote excellence plus save members time and money. In return, members take pride of ownership in the cooperative spirit and service excellence that is the Alliance Library System.