Please pardon cross posting.

If you are planning to attend the Museum Computer Network conference
October 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency, Union Station in St. Louis, MO be sure
to put Friday evening at The Saint Louis Art Museum on your calendar.
Shuttle buses will take conference delegates to the museum where
Christopher Dede will speak on "How Virtual Environment Technologies
Enhance Motivation and Learning."  Here's a brief description of his talk:

Advances in information technology enable the immersion of participants in
shared virtual "worlds" for learning. Through three-dimensional,
multisensory experiences impossible in the real world, learners can gain a
deeper understanding of intangible phenomena or events remote from their
everyday experience. This session describes the implications of these
environments for collaborative informal learning, both in museum-like
settings and distributed across distance.

Chris Dede is currently on a one year leave-of-absence from George Mason
University to serve as Senior Program Director at the National Science
Foundation. He is guiding the initial development of the Division of
Research, Evaluation, and Communication's new $25M funding program,
"Research on Education, Policy, and Practice." He is a representative to
NSF's agency-wide initiative on Knowledge networking. At George Mason
University, he has a joint appointment in the Schools of Information
Technology & Engineering and of Education. His research interests span
technology forecasting and assessment, emerging technologies for learning,
and the leadership of educational innovation.

Following the lecture, delegates are invited to a reception in the Museum
Cafe. Selected areas of the Museum's collection will be open for viewing.
Special entertainment will be provided by classical guitarist Dave Edwards,
Re:discovery Software. Don't miss it!

PLEASE NOTE: Onsite registration for the conference is subject to a 15%
surcharge. Register today.  Full conference details available at
http://www.mcn.edu.

See you there!

Susan Patterson
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