Area Youth Explore Virtual Worlds

 
 

Area Youth Explore Virtual Worlds

When 320 students from Appalachian Ohio high schools and colleges visited Shawnee State University last week, they went further than Portsmouth Ohio. The conference connected them with virtual worlds that could take them far beyond Southeast Ohio. They were attending the Shawnee 6.0 Conference at Shawnee State University. Entitled Expeditions Beyond Imagination, the conference focused on Interactive Digital Technology (IDT) and the possible jobs for young people in that field.  Over 20 presenters demonstrated topics ranging from Computer Game Design, to Motion Capture Techniques, to Business Support for young entrepreneurs.

Virtual worlds were concepts that many of these young people were familiar with from the computer games that they spend hours playing. “I’ve been doing it (playing on-line computer games) for so long now,” said one 17 year-old from Marietta.  “You can play with so many people online - it merges generations too. There are people I play with online who are 47 years old; there are people that are grandparents that I play with. It helped to bridge the gap between my parents and myself.”

The conference, presented by ITAAO, the Information Technology Alliance of Appalachian Ohio, and Shawnee State University and sponsored by the US Department of Labor’s WIRED initiative, hopes to bridge the gap between young people in the Southern Ohio region and IDT jobs.

The keynote speaker was Jason Conaway, Technical Director with Electronic Arts, a video game development company that has created such popular games as the Medal of Honor series. The company reported a net annual revenue of $4.02 billion in fiscal year 2008.

“The themes of the conference speak to much that I see in the video game industry,” said Conaway.  “Expedition implies an extraordinary journey undertaken by a team with a common goal.  Teamwork, exploration, and goal oriented progress are all fundamental aspects in modern game development,” continued Conaway.  “And Beyond invokes the need to do more and go further -- beyond classrooms, beyond books, beyond our own thoughts.  Imagination immediately creates a sense of wonder and sets the stage for inspiration.”

Conaway exemplifies much of what conference leaders hope for.  He worked with Electronic Arts for seven years in the L.A. area but decided he wanted to return to his hometown of Columbus.  The company agreed to let him telecommute from there.  He now oversees teams of 100 to 200 people in California from his home in Columbus.

“Technology,” says Bill Sams, Program Director for the WIRED Initiative, “is allowing us to live and work wherever we want to.  We just need to grow the capacity of this region for IDT jobs.”  Towards that end three colleges - Ohio University, Kent State University - Tuscarawas, and Shawnee State University have started degree granting programs in electronic game development.  Currently, about 600 students are enrolled.

“The next task,” says Sams,” is to grow the number of jobs in this region for these highly skilled individuals.” With that goal in mind, the conference gave the three local economic development agencies in the region pieces of virtual real estate -- islands in the virtual world of Second Life. Each of these 16-acre virtual islands provides regional talent the ability to demonstrate their talents to a world audience of potential employers.

Gartner Group, a research organization, says that by 2011 80% of the people on the Internet will have a virtual world presence. One virtual world- Second Life, is already being used to test marketing strategies, host conferences and seminars, host training sessions for employees in virtual training rooms, and find potential employees. The WIRED initiative is working to insure that many of those jobs will be located in Appalachian Ohio.