Our colleague, Matthew Wheeler, is leaving Beyond Distance tomorrow to take up an offer he couldn’t refuse in the commercial sector. His absence will be sorely felt. Matthew’s many and rich contributions in the three years since he joined Beyond Distance have included:
- Developing the Media Zoo and training countless users in Second Life
- Leading the SEAL and the GECKO projects, and playing a leading role in the Second Life aspects of MOOSE and DUCKLING
- Providing technical and creative support to all the Beyond Distance projects
- Authoring and co-authoring papers on Second Life and green education (See below)
- Opening Beyond Distance to commercial possibilities
- Developing bids and proposals for a range of projects
- Organising the annual Learning Futures Festivals
On a personal level, Matthew has been our Second Life real estate advisor and shoe shopping consultant, our green conscience, our resident humorist, our friendly enabler of all kinds of mysterious technologies, our model early adopter of all things iPhone, our general all-purpose advisor and problem solver, our leader in funky dance moves, and a friend to all of us. Matt, what can we say? We are heartbroken that you’re leaving us, but we wish you everything of the best in your new job.
Thank you, Matt, for teaching us to fly.
By Gabi Witthaus
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The following publications by Matthew are available in the Leicester Research Archives:
Second Life for archaeology, digital photography, and media and communication education – three case studies. (Co-authored with Nie, M. and Edirisingha, P., June 2009)
Tutoring at a distance, online tutoring and tutoring in Second Life. (Co-authored with David Hawkridge, June 2009)
How green is your learning? Pedagogical options for environmentally sustainable education. (Co-authored with Nikoi, S., June 2009)
And this one in BJET: Developing the Media Zoo in Second Life (May, 2009)
