Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium—digital or otherwise—that either reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. While many think of OER as referring predominantly to open textbooks, OER includes a vast variety of resources, such as videos, images, lesson plans, coding and software, and even entire courses. In order for a resource to be considered open, it must fulfill the following criteria:
• Modifiable: The resource must be made available under an open license that allows for editing. Ideally, it should also be available in an editable format.
• Openly-licensed: The resource must explicitly state that it is available for remixing and redistribution by others. Some open licences may include restrictions on how others may use the resource (see: Creative Commons).
• Freely Available: The resources must be available online at zero cost.
…although it is not official official (and I really should wait until I get the official letter from university administration, which I was told should happen about the end of March), the University of Manitoba Libraries has approved my application to take a one-year Research and Study Leave (at full salary) to start later this year, where I am relieved of my regular academic librarian duties, and can work on a special project. Academic librarians at the University of Manitoba are members of the faculty union, and just like the professors, we have the right (and the opportunity) to pursue research. Again, more details later. I’ve only mentioned this to a couple of people so far, but I think I can share that much detail at this time.
Well, I am very happy to announce that it is now official official: I have formally been approved to take a one-year research and study leave, at full salary, from my employer, the University of Manitoba Libraries, to pursue a special project.
What is that special project, you may ask? Well, I’m just going to quote from my approved application form:
During my Research Leave, I will create a comprehensive Open Educational Resource (OER) addressing a critical gap in scholarly literature: a rigorous, pedagogically-sound introduction to virtual worlds, social virtual reality, and the metaverse, with particular emphasis on applications in higher education. This project builds directly on my expertise as the writer of a popular blog on the topic over the past eight years (https://ryanschultz.com), as well as the owner and moderator of an associated Discord server, representing over 700 members who are actively using various metaverse platforms. The research phase will involve a literature review, plus case study analysis of specific metaverse platforms. The OER will consist of several modules, including topics such as: the history of the concept of the metaverse; how the current wave of generative AI will impact the metaverse, etc. This project requires a dedicated research leave because the rapidly-evolving nature of the field requires intensive, concentrated research and focus. Released under a Creative Commons license, this resource will serve UM faculty and the global educational community, providing a freely-adaptable foundation for teaching, learning, and research.
Yep, that’s right folks, I am taking a full year off from my regular academic librarian duties to write a book about what I know best, and have been blogging about for many years now: virtual worlds, social VR, and the metaverse! (Throwing in a little bit about artificial intelligence and generative AI, as it applies to those topics.)
My leave runs from July 1st, 2026 through to June 30th, 2027, and the best part of it is, since it’s about the metaverse, I can literally work from anywhere: at home in Winnipeg, while visiting the rest of my family in Alberta, on the beach at Bora Bora (highly unlikely, although the Apple Vision Pro provides a suitable substitute in a pinch!), etc. The only rule is you have to vacate your current office at the university for whoever is filling in for you while you’re away on research leave, which seems pretty reasonable to me. However, I will be borrowing some of the VR/AR equipment which I had purchased on previous years’ travel and expense funds (T&E funds for short; essentially, extra money allocated to faculty and librarians for things like conference travel, books, computers, etc.):
Because part of this research work will involve social VR, I will have to move some virtual reality equipment purchased on previous years’ T&E funds from my office in Elizabeth Dafoe to my home. This equipment will be returned to my office after my Leave ends.
Oh, and I also have to promise that I will come back to my job at the University of Manitoba Libraries after my leave ends, which is fine, since I am planning to stay until I retire at age 65, in January 2029. This will, of course, be the last research leave I take before I do retire.
Best of all, after my OER is complete, anybody can use it for teaching, learning, and research purposes, including editing. remixing, and repurposing it (the exact rights will depend on which Creative Commons license I choose to publish it under).
Watch for updates on this project as I get closer to July 1st. Stay tuned!
WARNING: This blogpost is a first draft, and in some places is lacking in details, for which I apologize in advance. I expect that I will later be able to add some of those details after dong a little more research, but I have pretty much spent my entire day in one metaverse platform after another today, I am tired, I am achey, and I wanted to get some information out to all my readers as soon as possible while everything was still (relatively) fresh in my mind. Forgive any errors and omissions I have made!
In particular, despite a few organizational and technical issues, I received a highly favourable impression of Foretell Reality’s work, and I do hope to follow up with more of a deep-dive on that company sometime soon, as I have done with other metaverse platforms in the past.
And yes—in case you hadn’t noticed—this metaverse blogger is BACK! My self-imposed hiatus is OVER and I will again be writing regularly about social VR, virtual worlds, and the metaverse (with a side of generative AI, which I have been actively learning about since summertime).
Because of my workload, I was only able to attend one session of the IMMERSIVE X metaverse conference on Wednesday, November 12th:
Conversational AI in Healthcare (held in Foretell Reality, which was a new-to-me platform).
However, I more than made up for it on Thursday, November 13th, attending the following five conference sessions:
Private, Present & Fully Heard: How Virtual Reality is Reclaiming the Power of Anonymous Peer Support (held in Foretell Reality)
Healing Beyond Walls: VR Social Support For Patients At SickKids (held in Foretell Reality)
Immersive Learning Beyond the Classroom (held in ENGAGE)
AI, WebXR and the Future of the Immersive Web (held in Hubs)
Will AR Be The Big Immersive Breakthrough? (held in VRChat)
So I will briefly report on each of these six sessions, one by one.
I accessed the three sessions held in Foretell Reality using the Meta Quest 3 wireless headset at my workplace, and I entered the sessions in ENGAGE and VRChat using my PCVR setup at work, a Vive Pro 2 VR headset tethered to a Windows desktop PC with a fairly decent NVidia gaphics card.
The final session, held in Hubs (formerly Mozilla Hubs), I could have entered via virtual reality, but instead I opted to pay a visit via the flatscreen monitor on my trusty MacBook Pro! By the end of the day, my neck and shoulders were aching, but I did make it through.
An initial discussion held in an open-air auditorium was followed by a group teleport to a lecture theatre where the embodied AI chatbot (a woman dressed in light blue, centre) held a conversation with a demonstrator (the woman named Ines MTX):
When I asked what generative AI system was being used to drive this demo, I was informed that Foretell Reality actually can use any of Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or Anthropic’s Claude AI to generate responses. As somebody who was actually diagnosed with Type II diabetes during the recent pandemic, and who never had an opportunity to meet with a real-life diabetic coach, I would really have appreciated having something like this available!
Unfortunately, the conference session description was frustratingly short on concrete details: who the speakers were, what company (or companies) they represented (other than Foretell Reality), and who the actual client was. It was also not clear to me if this just a tech demo or an actual system used by real people. And, because I was in my Meta Quest 3 headset, I could not take any written notes as people were speaking. There was a company called MTX involved, as far as I can remember. This is an example of where an inadequate session description hampers my ability to report on the event itself, as impressive as the technology demo was.
Private, Present & Fully Heard: How Virtual Reality is Reclaiming the Power of Anonymous Peer Support
We started off in this open-air amphitheatre at dusk (I think they said it was based on Red Rocks in Colorado)
Unlike the previous day’s session, both sessions I attended in Foretell Reality were sterling examples of how social VR could be used as an effective solution to address real-world problems and issues, and provide tangible benefits.
In traditional Alcohol & Substance Use Disorder treatment spaces, anonymity is often promised but rarely provided. NorthStar’s groundbreaking VR platform redefines what true anonymity can look like—and how it unlocks unparalleled honesty, vulnerability, and connection. This session explores how immersive, avatar-based peer support transforms treatment outcomes by allowing patients to show up fully without being seen, while feeling surrounded by a community. We’ll discuss how VR group therapy makes treatment more accessible, more private, and more powerful—meeting people where they are – literally – while protecting who they are.
Unfortunately, the representative from NorthStar was unable to be present at this session, but DJ from Foretell Reality still had plenty to show us, taking us on a sort of field trip through the various settings built by the company to facilitate NorthSatr’s virtual group meetings (based on Alcoholics Anonymous principles), such as an urban park where you could toss a stick and have one of several virtual dogs fetch it back to you:
Foretell Reality’s dog park, where virtual AA meetings are sometimes held
Other locations included a chilly space station, where you could see your breath in front of you in the frosty air, and gravity could be turned off and on at will:
Foretell Reality’s space station
And finally, a newer addition, a competitive shooting game where you were part of team trying to shoot down rubber ducks of various colours! (I’m not sure if this last one was actually used by NorthStar clients, though).
Duck hunting in Foretell Reality
Overall, and especially when combined with the following conference session I describe below, I came away with a very favourable impression of Foretell Reality. You can check out their website here.
Healing Beyond Walls: VR Social Support For Patients At SickKids
Shaindy the avatar presents a video of the real-life Shaindy, explaining the SickKids project
Join us for a special fireside chat with Shaindy, Clinical Manager [of the] Child Life Program at SickKids Hospital in Canada and DJ Smith, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Foretell Reality. Together, they will share how virtual reality is transforming the way children facing serious illnesses connect, play, and support one another. Shaindy will discuss her groundbreaking program that allows kids to log in once a week to a virtual world for group sessions. DJ will highlight how Foretell Reality’s platform has powered successful clinical pilots and is now scaling to reach even more children. This conversation will explore the impact on patients and families, the power of hospital collaboration, and the future of immersive technology in pediatric care.
By “kids,” Shaindy explained that these were actually teenagers (aged 13 to 19) who were in hospital or a hospice, fighting various health-threatening conditions such as cancer. Because of their illnesses, these teenagers often found it difficult to socialize, which is where social VR afforded them an opportunity to interact and have fun virtually. Shaindy explained that they would get groups of six or so patients together, and they would keep it open and freeform so the “kids” could join or leave as they felt able to do so.
Among the many stories told were the delight by one patient who discovered a rubber ducky hiding in one of the virtual environment, which led to a quest to hide ducks (and pigs!) in as many environments as possible, for others to find. DJ helpfully rezzed one such duck for show-and-tell (also a pig, but I didn’t take a picture of that!). I apologize for the lopsided aspect of some of these screenshots; determining the right balance of your head in a VR headset when taking screenshots is a bit of a black art, at which I usually fail miserably!!
Behold, a rubber duck! (Apologies for the awkward angle of this shot.)
The presentation ended with a group teleport to a meditation centre, where Saindy led us through a box breathing exercise, helped along by the in-world painting tools installed by Foretell Reality!
We ended with a box breathing exercise in a meditation temple, assisted by a little art therapy. (Again, apologies for the sideways tilt!)
This was one of the most heartwarming conference sessions I have ever attended, and I wish this project every success as they hope to expand this service to more hospitals in future!
Immersive Learning Beyond the Classroom
This session had a capacity crowd of avatars present, and was held in ENGAGE (in fact, there were so many avatars that my experience began to degrade to the point where I eventually had to bail out of my Vive Pro 2 VR headset or risk nausea!). Because of that, I missed about the final third of the talk. Here’s the blurb:
How can immersive environments transform teaching, learning, and cross-cultural connection? This panel brings together diverse perspectives from the fields of education and innovation. Chris Madsen empowers organizations worldwide through the ENGAGE XR platform. Wolf Arne Storm and his team at the Goethe-Institut created GoetheVRsum, which explores new formats in culture, language, and creativity. Marlene May researches and teaches in 3D virtual spaces at Karlshochschule International University and Birgit Giering is pioneering the large-scale adoption of XR in schools of North Rhine-Westphalia. Moderated by Prof. Dr. Dr. Björn Bohnenkamp, this session will explore the future of learning beyond traditional classrooms.
However, this time I was able to take some chicken scratch handwritten notes! So here goes…Wolf-Arne spoke about the Goethe Institut, Marlene spoke about the Karlshochschule International University (in fact, the space where we met in ENGAGE was one of their creations), and Birgit spoke her work in the schools of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Goethe Institut is Germany’s premier cultural institute, with locations around the world teaching German language and culture. The organization chose ENGAGE as their metaverse platform, creating a virtual space called the Goethevrsum. The Goethevrsum uses the works of various Bauhaus artists as inspiration for its design.
It was a shame that technical glitches kinda marred the overall experience for me, but I am glad that I was able to be able to make it in, and make it through most of it!
AI, WebXR and the Future of the Immersive Web
This session was held in (formerly Mozilla) Hubs, and much like all Hubs experiences I have ever had, it tended towards the spontaneous, the off-the-cuff and the chaotic! Like the ENGAGE session, it was unfortunately plagued by technical issues and problems. The presenter, Adam Filandr, talked about how he used open-source WebXR code and generative AI tools to create something called NeoFables, which delivered personalized worlds, characters, and storytelling (currently limited to 2D images, although he hopes to be able to expand it over time to create 3D content).
Screenshot
He discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using WebXR to create VR content, and gave a couple of examples of bigger-name projects which were based on WebXR (Wol, made by Google to provide information about the U.S. national parks system, and Raw Emotion Unites Us, about Paralympian athletes). It was interesting to hear a developer’s perspective of using WebXR to create content, mixed in with generative AI tools, however.
Will AR Be The Big Immersive Breakthrough (Heather Dunaway Smith and Lien Tran)
My final session on Thursday, Nov. 13th was not what I expected. It was a panel discussion with two musicians and artists, Lien and Heather, who have worked extensively with augmented reality and mixed reality. They shared samples of their work, and the panel (moderated by Christopher Morrison) held a wide-ranging discussion on how AR/MR/XR (or, as Chris said it, “XR-poly”) is impacting and transforming creative expression. I’m not sure if there will be a livestream of this talk (I did not see Carlos and his video camera while I was there), so I will leave it at that, since (again), I did not take written notes.
I’m laid up with severe neck and shoulder pain, off sick from work today again, lying on the sofa and blogging via iPad, my neck propped up on a good pillow. In addition to visits to my family doctor and my physiotherapist (who also does acupuncture), I’ve started seeing a massage therapist. I had a one-hour massage session Friday morning, and felt wonderful afterward—only to have rebound neck and shoulder aches and pains which scuppered my Friday night plans and put me in a foul, cranky mood all weekend.
This is all coming at a time when I need to be well enough to attend a metaverse conference coming up this week! It’s the IMMERSIVE X Conference, organized and run from Berlin, Germany, but with events taking place in various social VR platforms and flatscreen virtual worlds. Instead of getting on a plane to go to a physical conference in meatspace, I just put on a VR headset and attend in cyberspace!
However, my physical pain today does not bode well for my metaverse excursions on Tuesday (Remembrance Day here in Canada, if not in Germany), Wednesday, and Thursday. Wish me well! I’m probably going to have to take breaks between sessions to pop painkillers, apply cold and heat packs, and do my prescribed physiotherapy exercises to get through this. But come hell or high water, I am going!!
I started preparing for the conference last week, revisiting some social VR platforms that I had not visited in many months, and making sure that I could still remember how to log in and move around in my Vive Pro 2 PCVR setup in my office (sadly neglected since I began my well-documented love affair with my Apple Vision Pro).
I must admit that I was surprised when I signed into my VRChat account on their website, to discover that I first joined VRChat 8 years ago! (You can find all my blogposts about VRChat here.)
And likewise, I had first joined ENGAGE in July of 2018, which means I have been using the metaverse platform for over seven years at this point! (You can find all my blogposts about ENGAGE here.) I am especially excited that the organizers were able to squeeze me into Andy Fidel’s keynote State of the Metaverse presentation in ENGAGE (a big thank you Thomas Zorbach and his team!).
In addition to VRChat and ENGAGE, I signed up for sessions being held on three other metaverse platforms: Spatial, Foretell Reality, and Hubs. I’ve been in Spatial and (formerly Mozilla) Hubs before, but Foretell Reality is new to me.
So I hope to be able to post my session notes to the blog, starting tomorrow. And, in the meantime, I will rest, take painkillers, do my physiotherapy exercises, and pray my body holds up. Stay tuned!
Glue, a corporate collaboration social VR platform I first wrote about in November 2019, has declared bankruptcy. In a post dated April 10th, 2024 on the Glue website, Glue’s CEO, Jussi Havu, writes:
We regret to inform you that the company responsible for Glue has been declared bankrupt on 8 April 2024 by decision of the District Court of Helsinki. Despite our best efforts to prevent this outcome, we were unable to find a timely solution.
During the next two weeks, we are dedicated to exploring all options to secure a successor for the Glue service. As we cannot promise a definitive solution, users should prepare for the possibility that the Glue service may soon be discontinued.
The process to sell the assets of the company is undergoing and, at this stage, the bankruptcy estate cannot provide any further information on whether the company’s business operations can be sold to someone who would be willing to continue the business. Unless a successor can be found, the company’s business operations will be discontinued within the course of two weeks or even earlier if the service providers for the company’s servers decide to shut the servers down or deny access due to unpaid invoices.
We sincerely apologize for this disappointing outcome.
While updating my comparative spreadsheet of social VR platforms, I had already noticed a distressing number of platforms I had written about in 2019 were no longer around as of 2024, among them popular services such as AltspaceVR, which shut down almost exactly one year ago today, on March 10th, 2023. The category of platforms which I jocularly refer to as YARTVRA (an acronym standing for Yet Another Remote Teamwork Virtual Reality Application) has seen a number of companies come and go during the recent boom-and-bust metaverse hype cycle. Now that the hype over the metaverse has moved on to artificial intelligence, it would appear that the venture capitalists have followed, so it is no suprise to me that firms such as Glue have struggled to find a viable business model.
One thing which any person or company which uses a social VR app for remote teamwork, meetings, and conferences needs to keep in mind: don’t put all your eggs into one basket! Investigate multiple platforms, and be flexible. That way, you won’t be caught off-guard when a company whose product you have been relying on goes under.
Sadly, I just noticed today that the XR Collaboration website, which used to offer a very useful searchable directory of workplace social VR platforms, has folded (the website address appears to have been sold to another user, who is primarily posting articles about how to find out if your boyfriend or husband is cheating on you!). This is yet another sign that the entire YARTVRA space is in difficulty.
(And no, despite my best efforts, YARTVRA has not taken off as an acronym…)
