Combining Immersive Virtual Worlds and Virtual Learning Environments into an Integrated System for Hosting and Supporting Virtual Conferences

In this paper, a proposal for hosting and supporting virtual conferences based on the use of state of the art web technologies and computer mediated education software is presented. The proposed system consists of a virtual conference venue hosted in Second Life platform, targeted at hosting synchronous conference sessions, and of a web space created with the use of the e-learning platform Moodle, targeted at serving the needs of asynchronous communication, as well as user and content management. The use of Sloodle (the next generation of Moodle software incorporating virtual world supporting capabilities), which up to now has been used only in traditional education, enables the combination of the virtual conference venue and the conference supporting site into an integrated system that allows for the conduction of successful and cost-effective virtual conferences.