Last weekend I planned to pop into Second Life to attend one of the presentations at the 2009 Second Life College Fair on Saturday. The plan was to look around at the various booths, catch the "Using Second Life For Agriculture, Animal and Poultry Science Instruction" presentation from the folks at Auburn University, then pop back out again. Instead, I logged in a little earlier for the "Teaching International Courses in Second Life" presentation and just couldn't leave my seat. In fact, I came back the next day and didn't miss any of them except Claudia Linden who started things out. Needless to say I thought all of the presentations were fantastic. It was exciting to see how other colleges are using Second Life in the classroom.
I had to pick just one presentation to tell you about, I have to say that John Fillwalk's presentation about "Bridging Realities - Approaches to Hybrid World Education" (Ball State University) blew me away. One of the things he talked about was Flickr Gettr, which can search Flickr for images from a text search from within Second Life and make the images appear in-world on a series of prims. I'm not doing this justice by trying to describe it to you. It's uber-cool and should be experienced to be appreciated. You can find a public access Flickr Getter fountain on NMC island here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/NMC%20Campus%20West/132/92/21 It's art...it's tech...what's not to like?
The display booths for this year's fair will remain up until November 13, so you still have time to look around.
Here are some helpful links to help you find your way around:
Fair map http://bit.ly/SLCF09map
Welcome Area http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools%202/89/15/21
Kirkwood Community College booth http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools%203/175/221/21
This week's Second Life and Lunch featured a real world event, the NISOD Webinar, "Enhancing Instruction and Engagement with Second Life." The presentation seemed to be geared more towards those who are not in Second Life yet to encourage them to sign up. It was a "preaching to the choir" moment for our group. With a speaker from Texas State Technical College in the lineup, I had hoped to hear more about how they have recently graduated a student from their Digital Media Certificate Program through classes offered completely from within the virtual world of Second Life. They mentioned it, but didn't go into it with much detail. You can find out more about it on their Web site at http://v.tstc.edu/ and even find links to a news story about the graduation ceremony held within Second Life.
That's it for this week. I hope to see you at next week's Second Life and Lunch.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tell President Obama About EdTech
If you had 5 minutes to tell President Obama
what is most important about edtech and why,
what would you say?
On Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 6:00 pm Second Life Time (that’s 8:00pm Central Time) the University of Michigan, Metanomics and ISTE are supporting an event to take place on ISTE Island in Second Life. Here are the details from the organizers of the event:
Community Meeting in Second Life: NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PLAN (NETP)
The federal government of the United States of America has assembled an 18 person team to update and revise the National Education Technology Plan. Their report deadline is November 11, 2009. There will be a community meeting in Second Life for educational technology stakeholders to provide input into the planning process. Currently, we expect that a representative of the national team will be present as an observer at the SL event.
The key topic discussion points are:
* Learning: Providing unprecedented access to high-quality learning experiences.
* Assessment: Measuring what really matters and providing the information that enables continuous improvement at all levels of the education system.
* Teaching: New ways to support those who support learning.
* Productivity: Redesigning systems and processes to free up education system resources to support learning.
Four Sims allocated for this meeting, all at the ISTE site:
1. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/92/83/30
2. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%202/128/128/2
3. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%203/2/190/30
4. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%204/208/215/25
This Public Forum on the US National Educational Technology Plan is open to all stakeholders and interested parties. We are not requiring registration, but it would be helpful to us if people would list themselves as attending on the Facebook Event page. This would help us get a sense of what crowd to expect and what arrangements are needed to make it possible to include ALL interested voices. We don't want to exclude anyone if at all possible.
Updated information about the event will be available at the Facebook event page and the Simulation & Learning @ University of Michigan wiki.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163866392474&ref=nf
http://slum.wetpaint.com/
The focus of the event is on educational technologies throughout all of education for a diversity of needs, purposes, and audiences (not just how wonderful SL is, but we know that and I am sure SL will shine). I don't know yet if it will be possible to stream the event to the web, to include people who can't get into SL, but if we can figure out how to work it out, we will.
The basic idea the elevator-pitch idea. ***If you had 5 minutes to tell Obama what is most important about edtech and why, what would you say?*** We will have notecard collectors at the event, so folks who want to prepare their thoughts in advance, please feel free to do so, but please remember that all content submitted will become part of a public archive. The chatlog will also be saved and posted online. Remember, you are also strongly encouraged to join the online community at the main website and share your ideas there as well. I am hoping that some of the SL specific outcomes can be preserved at SIMTeach or a similar home.
We are lucky that one of the members of Obama's team is able and willing to come into SL and observe this conversation. I am really excited about this and believe it is a really wonderful opportunity for all the amazing educators and edtech visionaries who I know are in SL to help shape future educational and edtech policies in the USA, as well as to really show what a wonderful place Second Life is for the educational community.
We hope that this event may attract some new educators to SL, so will be providing a packet of information and freebies that we hope will be helpful to them, as well as a notecard with a few examples of exceptional Second Life educational builds to help them get started. Feel free to post your suggestions at the Facebook Event page for us to include (location, topic, what makes it wonderful).
The event coordinator is Perplexity Peccable (RL: Patricia F. Anderson, patriciafanderson@gmail.com. Perplexity is the University of Michigan Emerging Technologies Librarian for the Health Sciences, and the community manager for Wolverine Island in SL. Contact Perplexity for more information or to volunteer support or services for this event.
Information on prior versions of the plan is available here.
National Educational Technology Plan: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/index.html
Information on the current planning process is available here,
National Educational Technology Plan: https://edtechfuture.org/
The team is seeking input from the public. You can join the conversation on their website here.
Opportunities for Input: https://edtechfuture.org/?page_id=888
Whether or not you are able to attend, it is important for your voice to be heard. Spread the word - invite your colleagues, let them know they can also contribute.
Please share your thoughts at:
https://edtechfuture.org/
what is most important about edtech and why,
what would you say?
On Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 6:00 pm Second Life Time (that’s 8:00pm Central Time) the University of Michigan, Metanomics and ISTE are supporting an event to take place on ISTE Island in Second Life. Here are the details from the organizers of the event:
Community Meeting in Second Life: NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PLAN (NETP)
The federal government of the United States of America has assembled an 18 person team to update and revise the National Education Technology Plan. Their report deadline is November 11, 2009. There will be a community meeting in Second Life for educational technology stakeholders to provide input into the planning process. Currently, we expect that a representative of the national team will be present as an observer at the SL event.
The key topic discussion points are:
* Learning: Providing unprecedented access to high-quality learning experiences.
* Assessment: Measuring what really matters and providing the information that enables continuous improvement at all levels of the education system.
* Teaching: New ways to support those who support learning.
* Productivity: Redesigning systems and processes to free up education system resources to support learning.
Four Sims allocated for this meeting, all at the ISTE site:
1. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/92/83/30
2. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%202/128/128/2
3. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%203/2/190/30
4. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%204/208/215/25
This Public Forum on the US National Educational Technology Plan is open to all stakeholders and interested parties. We are not requiring registration, but it would be helpful to us if people would list themselves as attending on the Facebook Event page. This would help us get a sense of what crowd to expect and what arrangements are needed to make it possible to include ALL interested voices. We don't want to exclude anyone if at all possible.
Updated information about the event will be available at the Facebook event page and the Simulation & Learning @ University of Michigan wiki.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163866392474&ref=nf
http://slum.wetpaint.com/
The focus of the event is on educational technologies throughout all of education for a diversity of needs, purposes, and audiences (not just how wonderful SL is, but we know that and I am sure SL will shine). I don't know yet if it will be possible to stream the event to the web, to include people who can't get into SL, but if we can figure out how to work it out, we will.
The basic idea the elevator-pitch idea. ***If you had 5 minutes to tell Obama what is most important about edtech and why, what would you say?*** We will have notecard collectors at the event, so folks who want to prepare their thoughts in advance, please feel free to do so, but please remember that all content submitted will become part of a public archive. The chatlog will also be saved and posted online. Remember, you are also strongly encouraged to join the online community at the main website and share your ideas there as well. I am hoping that some of the SL specific outcomes can be preserved at SIMTeach or a similar home.
We are lucky that one of the members of Obama's team is able and willing to come into SL and observe this conversation. I am really excited about this and believe it is a really wonderful opportunity for all the amazing educators and edtech visionaries who I know are in SL to help shape future educational and edtech policies in the USA, as well as to really show what a wonderful place Second Life is for the educational community.
We hope that this event may attract some new educators to SL, so will be providing a packet of information and freebies that we hope will be helpful to them, as well as a notecard with a few examples of exceptional Second Life educational builds to help them get started. Feel free to post your suggestions at the Facebook Event page for us to include (location, topic, what makes it wonderful).
The event coordinator is Perplexity Peccable (RL: Patricia F. Anderson, patriciafanderson@gmail.com. Perplexity is the University of Michigan Emerging Technologies Librarian for the Health Sciences, and the community manager for Wolverine Island in SL. Contact Perplexity for more information or to volunteer support or services for this event.
Information on prior versions of the plan is available here.
National Educational Technology Plan: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/index.html
Information on the current planning process is available here,
National Educational Technology Plan: https://edtechfuture.org/
The team is seeking input from the public. You can join the conversation on their website here.
Opportunities for Input: https://edtechfuture.org/?page_id=888
Whether or not you are able to attend, it is important for your voice to be heard. Spread the word - invite your colleagues, let them know they can also contribute.
Please share your thoughts at:
https://edtechfuture.org/
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Second Life and Lunch : NISOD Webinar
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Webinar: 1-1:50pm Central
Discussion: 2-2:50pm Central
KCELT 2097
Tomorrow's session is only for Kirkwood Community College staff and faculty. We will resume with our regular open sessions next week.
This "Second Life and Lunch" session is a Webinar and does NOT take place in Second Life, but you will need to be faculty or staff of Kirkwood to attend this session.
Lauri Hughes gave me a heads up for a Webinar this month held through NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development) of interest to those who wonder how the Second Life platform can be used in the classroom. Here's an overview:
NISOD WEBINAR: ENHANCING INSTRUCTION AND ENGAGEMENT WITH SECOND LIFE
Would you like to increase student engagement in the learning process? Join us for this high tech webinar and discover how Texas State Technical College (TSTC) instructors incorporate features from Second Life to: take students on virtual museum tours; involve them in virtual medical procedures; participate in a virtual class etiquette dinner; explore the inner workings of a camera; attend virtual meetings, and much more. From our experienced panel, you will learn how instructors first ventured into utilizing Second Life to enhance classroom instruction, overcame their fears, and quickly realized the benefits of engaging students in the virtual world!
PRESENTERS:
Kevin Brown, Project Manager, Educational Technology
Patty Odom, Faculty
Dub Wellborn, Faculty, Texas State Technical College West Texas
Coral Noonan-Terry, Associate Director, NISOD (Moderator)
This Webinar is FREE as Kirkwood is a member of NISOD, and best of all you can attend this Webinar from the comfort of your own office computer or join us in KCELT to watch it on the big screen with other Second Life Group members.
SIGN UP FOR THE WEBINAR HERE:
http://www.nisod.org/webinars/index.html
SIGN UP FOR THE SECOND LIFE KCELT SESSION TOO:
http://www.kirkwood.edu/pdf/uploaded/132/how_to_register_for_a_kcelt_course.pdf (search for "second life")
Want to find out more about how Texas State Technical College is involved in Second Life before the Webinar? Check out these links:
Overview: http://www.examiner.com/x-4734-Second-Life-Examiner~y2009m8d24-Going-to-college-in-Second-Life
...or maybe you’d like to read about their first graduate of a certificate program taken entirely in a virtual environment (Certificate in Digital Media): http://remember.your-first-time.com/college-life/texas-state-technical-college-graduates-the-first-student-from-second-life
I hope to see you there.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Second Life College Fair 2009 This Weekend
All times listed for Fair events are in Second Life Time (SLT), which is what I like to call "California time (just add two hours to the time listed to get the Central Time equivalent that the event will take place).
Oct 24 (Saturday) 5pm to 9pm SLT
(7am to to 11pm Central)
Oct 25 (Sunday) 5am to 10am SLT
(7am to 12pm Central)
PRESENTATIONS
Here is the current presentation schedule for the fair, which is subject to change. All times are Second Life Time (SLT):
Saturday, October 24
5:00 PM - TBA, Claudia Linden, Linden Lab
5:45 PM - Teaching International Courses in Second Life, Phil Youngblood / Vic Michalak / University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas)
6:30 PM - WHY SECOND LIFE???, P CHARLES LIVERMORE - HOPALONG OH - ST JOHN'S UNIVERSITY NY
7:15 PM - Using Second Life For Agriculture, Animal and Poultry Science Instruction, Marcia Kjeller/ Marcia Kloepper, Sloane Mexicola/Jessica Butler and Patti Tigerpaw/Pat Curtis. We are all from Auburn University, Alabama, Department of Poultry Science
8:00 PM - Using Video in Teaching and Learning - A Molenet project, Julia Dando (aka Julala Demina) from Cornwall College, UK.
Sunday, October 25
6:15 AM - Designing Games and Learning Activities in Second Life, Lyr Lobo, Colorado Technical University
7:00 AM - Educational Uses of SL, Dr. Anthony Curtis, Professor, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
7:45 AM - Convergent Media Literacy for Students, Stacey Fox, Game Art and New Media, Department of Visual Art - University of Kansas
8:30 AM - Bridging Realities - Approaches to Hybrid World Education, John Fillwalk, Director, Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts Ball State University, http://idialab.org/
9:15 AM - College Fair Wrap Up, Organizing committee and participants!
Helpful Links:
Fair map
Welcome Area
Presentations area
Kirkwood Community College booth
Stop by the Kirkwood booth and talk to visitors about the great things happening at Kirkwood Community College.
I hope to see you there!
Kit Umscheid (KitUmsched Writer in Second Life)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Second Life and Lunch Wrapup for 10-21-2009
I tried to keep this week's wrapup short, but there's a lot going on in Second Life right now to tell you about.
Always Have a Plan B
First of all, I need to apologize to anyone who tried to join us virtually this week for Second Life and Lunch. Second Life was having a few problems. One of the things that wasn't working was that I was unable to see any of my groups and I couldn't see my friends list. Both lists came up blank, so I was unable to call the group chat. I could easily launch into a rant here about the multiple things that were NOT working and the multiple things I was NOT able to show the group, but luckily those problems were all resolved by Linden Labs that evening...so I won't. However, it does make me want to mention why it's always a good idea to have a Plan B.
On a normal day, sometimes there is lag in Second Life (sort of like a Web page that...takes...too...long...to...load) or an island has too many people on it already and you are unable to teleport there (a common problem with popular events). So, if you're planning to show a group of people something in Second Life you have to have a backup plan in case things don't go as expected. An example of a problem we had and it's solution was that after this recent upgrade I was unable to teleport anywhere without crashing the software. This became frustraing rather quickly - it's no fun to be stuck in one location when you want to showcase a few things to a group. A solution that worked was to log out and type the location I wanted to go to when I logged back in. It was a hassle, but it worked. Always have a Plan B...this might be a good topic for a future Second Life and Lunch session. Things that can go wrong and what you can do.
Virtual College Fair in Second Life This Weekend
Second Life College Fair 2009 kicks off this weekend with educational speakers both days. This year the fair is located on the International Schools islands. Kirkwood has a booth (on International Schools 3 island) that showcases Distance Learning and the Kirkwood island. This event is great for networking with people from other colleges who are using Second Life as a tool for learning. If you want to drop by the Kirkwood booth, you'll need to have an avatar. Log into Second Life and then click this SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools%203/173/218/21 - this link will open a map page with a teleport button. Click the button and your avatar will be given a landmark so you can teleport to the location. If you have any problems, feel free to IM me in Second Life, KitUmscheid Writer.
Changes on the Kirkwood Island
There's a new look to the platform at the center of the Kirkwood island, more walkways have been added, a new teleport system is in place to help you get around easier and there's some new construction in the Plague Sim build. If you haven't been to the island lately, drop by and check things out.
Building Contest
Calling all builders! Build a Snowman and you might win 500 Lindens! Create anything you like as long as your build is a snowman. Go to the Kirkwood island and touch the sign next to the Sandbox to pick up your entry form. Turn in your completed entry form by Wednesday, December 2nd. Judging will begin on December 3rd with the prize awarded at our final Second Life and Lunch of the Fall Semester on Wednesday, December 9th.
Demos and Tours this Fall
Bob Wise from West Liberty University will be giving us a demonstration of some software used to bring Excel data into Second Life on November 4th and we will be touring a "pilgrims coming to America" educational game created by a professor at Indiana University on November 11th.
That's it for this week's Second Life and Lunch. I hope to see you at next week's Second Life and Lunch for the NISOD Webinar.
Always Have a Plan B
First of all, I need to apologize to anyone who tried to join us virtually this week for Second Life and Lunch. Second Life was having a few problems. One of the things that wasn't working was that I was unable to see any of my groups and I couldn't see my friends list. Both lists came up blank, so I was unable to call the group chat. I could easily launch into a rant here about the multiple things that were NOT working and the multiple things I was NOT able to show the group, but luckily those problems were all resolved by Linden Labs that evening...so I won't. However, it does make me want to mention why it's always a good idea to have a Plan B.
On a normal day, sometimes there is lag in Second Life (sort of like a Web page that...takes...too...long...to...load) or an island has too many people on it already and you are unable to teleport there (a common problem with popular events). So, if you're planning to show a group of people something in Second Life you have to have a backup plan in case things don't go as expected. An example of a problem we had and it's solution was that after this recent upgrade I was unable to teleport anywhere without crashing the software. This became frustraing rather quickly - it's no fun to be stuck in one location when you want to showcase a few things to a group. A solution that worked was to log out and type the location I wanted to go to when I logged back in. It was a hassle, but it worked. Always have a Plan B...this might be a good topic for a future Second Life and Lunch session. Things that can go wrong and what you can do.
Virtual College Fair in Second Life This Weekend
Second Life College Fair 2009 kicks off this weekend with educational speakers both days. This year the fair is located on the International Schools islands. Kirkwood has a booth (on International Schools 3 island) that showcases Distance Learning and the Kirkwood island. This event is great for networking with people from other colleges who are using Second Life as a tool for learning. If you want to drop by the Kirkwood booth, you'll need to have an avatar. Log into Second Life and then click this SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools%203/173/218/21 - this link will open a map page with a teleport button. Click the button and your avatar will be given a landmark so you can teleport to the location. If you have any problems, feel free to IM me in Second Life, KitUmscheid Writer.
Changes on the Kirkwood Island
There's a new look to the platform at the center of the Kirkwood island, more walkways have been added, a new teleport system is in place to help you get around easier and there's some new construction in the Plague Sim build. If you haven't been to the island lately, drop by and check things out.
Building Contest
Calling all builders! Build a Snowman and you might win 500 Lindens! Create anything you like as long as your build is a snowman. Go to the Kirkwood island and touch the sign next to the Sandbox to pick up your entry form. Turn in your completed entry form by Wednesday, December 2nd. Judging will begin on December 3rd with the prize awarded at our final Second Life and Lunch of the Fall Semester on Wednesday, December 9th.
NISOD Webinar Next Week, October 28
I hope you're able to come to KCELT next week or log in from your desk for the NISOD Webinar during next week's Second Life and Lunch Session: Enhancing Instruction and Engagement with Second Life. Discover how Texas State Technical College (TSTC) instructors incorporate features from Second Life to: take students on virtual museum tours; involve them in virtual medical procedures; participate in a virtual class etiquette dinner; explore the inner workings of a camera; attend virtual meetings, and much more. You will learn how instructors first ventured into utilizing Second Life to enhance classroom instruction, overcame their fears, and quickly realized the benefits of engaging students in the virtual world. Sign up for Second Life and Lunch as usual, and you'll also need to sign up on the NISOD Web site here.
I hope you're able to come to KCELT next week or log in from your desk for the NISOD Webinar during next week's Second Life and Lunch Session: Enhancing Instruction and Engagement with Second Life. Discover how Texas State Technical College (TSTC) instructors incorporate features from Second Life to: take students on virtual museum tours; involve them in virtual medical procedures; participate in a virtual class etiquette dinner; explore the inner workings of a camera; attend virtual meetings, and much more. You will learn how instructors first ventured into utilizing Second Life to enhance classroom instruction, overcame their fears, and quickly realized the benefits of engaging students in the virtual world. Sign up for Second Life and Lunch as usual, and you'll also need to sign up on the NISOD Web site here.
Demos and Tours this Fall
Bob Wise from West Liberty University will be giving us a demonstration of some software used to bring Excel data into Second Life on November 4th and we will be touring a "pilgrims coming to America" educational game created by a professor at Indiana University on November 11th.
That's it for this week's Second Life and Lunch. I hope to see you at next week's Second Life and Lunch for the NISOD Webinar.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Second Life and Lunch : Group Project Lab
Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 1-1:50 p.m.
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kirkwood%20College/133/176/29
This week at Second Life and Lunch we will continue work on our group project to categorize the educational places into an easy to find collection organized using the Dewey Decimal System.
Tips for creating notecards:
- Keep new residents in mind and give clear directions for finding content at the location.
- Keep your colleagues in mind and use technical terms for your field of study when talking about content.
- You don't have to use the landmark given to you at the location. Create a landmark where you want the tour to start.
- Create a landmark for all main points of interest at the location.
- If you use multiple landmarks for a location, rename the landmarks to match the specific area on the tour.
- Drag and drop landmarks into the notecard. This makes them a clickable link to easily teleport to the location.
- Sign your REAL name and your position at the end of the note card. This gives credibility to your review of the location.
If you don't have an avatar:
You're always welcome at our Second Life and Lunch sessions. Feel free to stop by and check out what we're doing. It's a perfect time to see what Second Life is all about. Bring your lunch and bring a friend. ...and remember that you can sign up for Second Life during any of our sessions that are not tours.
If you join us virtually:
We will be using voice. If you don't have a microphone, you can still communicate with the group through text.
Note to all members:
If you're a Kirkwood faculty member don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here. Just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester. (Members from other colleges do not need to sign up to attend.)
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kirkwood%20College/133/176/29
This week at Second Life and Lunch we will continue work on our group project to categorize the educational places into an easy to find collection organized using the Dewey Decimal System.
Tips for creating notecards:
- Keep new residents in mind and give clear directions for finding content at the location.
- Keep your colleagues in mind and use technical terms for your field of study when talking about content.
- You don't have to use the landmark given to you at the location. Create a landmark where you want the tour to start.
- Create a landmark for all main points of interest at the location.
- If you use multiple landmarks for a location, rename the landmarks to match the specific area on the tour.
- Drag and drop landmarks into the notecard. This makes them a clickable link to easily teleport to the location.
- Sign your REAL name and your position at the end of the note card. This gives credibility to your review of the location.
If you don't have an avatar:
You're always welcome at our Second Life and Lunch sessions. Feel free to stop by and check out what we're doing. It's a perfect time to see what Second Life is all about. Bring your lunch and bring a friend. ...and remember that you can sign up for Second Life during any of our sessions that are not tours.
If you join us virtually:
We will be using voice. If you don't have a microphone, you can still communicate with the group through text.
Note to all members:
If you're a Kirkwood faculty member don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here. Just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester. (Members from other colleges do not need to sign up to attend.)
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
Friday, October 16, 2009
Second Life and Lunch Wrapup for 10-14-2009
Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Where are the Pumpkins?
No entries for the Pumpkin Building Contest were turned in on time...actually, no entries for the Pumpkin Building Contest were turned in at all. So what are we going to do with the 500 Lindens in prize money? We're going to have another building contest, of course. Details at next week's session.
New Display Coming Soon to Kirkwood Island
Jim Trepka, Electronics Engineering Technology Instructor, is working on a wind turbine build he hopes to place on the Kirkwood island soon. From what I've seen of his build so far, it will give his students a sense of just how large a wind turbine is.
Book for Builders Available in KCELT
A reminder to builders that KCELT has an excellent book available titled "Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life." This book has everything you need to know about creating in Second Life. I gave an overview of the book back on October 9, 2008 that you can take a look at here.
That's it for this week's Second Life and Lunch. I hope to see you next week.
No entries for the Pumpkin Building Contest were turned in on time...actually, no entries for the Pumpkin Building Contest were turned in at all. So what are we going to do with the 500 Lindens in prize money? We're going to have another building contest, of course. Details at next week's session.
New Display Coming Soon to Kirkwood Island
Jim Trepka, Electronics Engineering Technology Instructor, is working on a wind turbine build he hopes to place on the Kirkwood island soon. From what I've seen of his build so far, it will give his students a sense of just how large a wind turbine is.
Book for Builders Available in KCELT
A reminder to builders that KCELT has an excellent book available titled "Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life." This book has everything you need to know about creating in Second Life. I gave an overview of the book back on October 9, 2008 that you can take a look at here.
That's it for this week's Second Life and Lunch. I hope to see you next week.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Second Life and Lunch : Pumpkin Building
Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 1-1:50 p.m.
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kirkwood%20College/184/51/25
The pumpkin procrastinators in our group will be happy to hear that this Wednesday's "Second Life and Lunch" session is a Building Lab so you will have time at the 11th hour to finish your entry in the Pumpkin Building Contest. You just might win the top prize of 500 Lindens!
Why pumpkins? Why not. It's fall after all, so what better shape to challenge our builders with than the pumpkin. Are you still searching for inspiration? Here's a real life pumpkin carving site that might get your creative juices flowing: http://www.extremepumpkins.com/
So grab your prims and start building! ...or something like that.
If you join us virtually, we will be using voice. If you don't have a microphone, you can still communicate with the group through text.
If you don't have an avatar:
You're always welcome at our Second Life and Lunch sessions. Feel free to stop by and check out what we're doing. It's a perfect time to see what Second Life is all about. Bring your lunch and bring a friend. ...and remember that you can sign up for Second Life during any of our sessions that are not tours.
NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS:
If you're a Kirkwood faculty member don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here. Just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester. (Members from other colleges do not need to sign up to attend.)
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kirkwood%20College/184/51/25
The pumpkin procrastinators in our group will be happy to hear that this Wednesday's "Second Life and Lunch" session is a Building Lab so you will have time at the 11th hour to finish your entry in the Pumpkin Building Contest. You just might win the top prize of 500 Lindens!
Why pumpkins? Why not. It's fall after all, so what better shape to challenge our builders with than the pumpkin. Are you still searching for inspiration? Here's a real life pumpkin carving site that might get your creative juices flowing: http://www.extremepumpkins.com/
So grab your prims and start building! ...or something like that.
If you join us virtually, we will be using voice. If you don't have a microphone, you can still communicate with the group through text.
If you don't have an avatar:
You're always welcome at our Second Life and Lunch sessions. Feel free to stop by and check out what we're doing. It's a perfect time to see what Second Life is all about. Bring your lunch and bring a friend. ...and remember that you can sign up for Second Life during any of our sessions that are not tours.
NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS:
If you're a Kirkwood faculty member don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here. Just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester. (Members from other colleges do not need to sign up to attend.)
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Second Life and Lunch Wrapup for 10-07-2009
Dewey Decimal Signs Group Project
This week at Second Life and Lunch members worked on the Dewey Decimal Signs Project and are beginning to turn in note cards for their chosen locations. New educational locations are added to our list every week. You can find a complete list to choose from here. With multiple authors, it's important to have a few guidelines so our note cards have some consistency in their usability and naming conventions. We have a short list of guidelines on the group wiki here.
Building "Cheatsheeet"
As promised I brought along a "cheatsheet" for the keystrokes used while building. This sheet was created by Second Life resident, Kippie Friedkin and the page is available on we Web as a PDF for you to print out yourself here. This sheet covers the common keystrokes used in the Second Life interface. It's helpful for remembering the keyboard shortcuts used for building, but it also covers all of the other keystrokes you'll need, including the Advanced menu.
Second Life Building Limitations
Second Life maintains a Wiki with a wealth of information including the limitations of the software. If you've ever tried to build a large structure you'll realize there are limits to how large you can make a prim and how far apart your prims can be if you want to link them. For example, the Kirkwood island sandbox is made up of separate prims that are too far apart to be linked as one object. If you want to know what the building limits are, you can find that information and a whole lot more here on the Second Life Wiki.
Demo of Second Life Database Tool Coming Soon
I made an announcement that Bob Wise from West Liberty University has offered to give us a live demo of new database software written for Second Life called Glasshouse by Green Phosphor. You may remember Bob was the first to give us a tour of an educational place in Second Life. He showed us around his college island as he was building it. Bob gave me a quick look at how he is using this software with information from his college. He created a Second Life graph from a Microsoft Excel document. We will be scheduling a demonstration of his use of this software at an upcoming "Second Life and Lunch" session this Fall.
Pumpkin Building Contest Entries Due Next Week!
Don't forget that the deadline for submissions to our Pumpkin Building Contest is next Wednesday, October 14. 500 Lindens are up for grabs to the best build. All you have to do is build a pumpkin or something with a pumpkin in it and submit it (and your entry form) by the deadline.
That's it for this week. Keep sending in your tour cards and I hope to see you at next week's Second Life and Lunch.
This week at Second Life and Lunch members worked on the Dewey Decimal Signs Project and are beginning to turn in note cards for their chosen locations. New educational locations are added to our list every week. You can find a complete list to choose from here. With multiple authors, it's important to have a few guidelines so our note cards have some consistency in their usability and naming conventions. We have a short list of guidelines on the group wiki here.
Building "Cheatsheeet"
As promised I brought along a "cheatsheet" for the keystrokes used while building. This sheet was created by Second Life resident, Kippie Friedkin and the page is available on we Web as a PDF for you to print out yourself here. This sheet covers the common keystrokes used in the Second Life interface. It's helpful for remembering the keyboard shortcuts used for building, but it also covers all of the other keystrokes you'll need, including the Advanced menu.
Second Life Building Limitations
Second Life maintains a Wiki with a wealth of information including the limitations of the software. If you've ever tried to build a large structure you'll realize there are limits to how large you can make a prim and how far apart your prims can be if you want to link them. For example, the Kirkwood island sandbox is made up of separate prims that are too far apart to be linked as one object. If you want to know what the building limits are, you can find that information and a whole lot more here on the Second Life Wiki.
Demo of Second Life Database Tool Coming Soon
I made an announcement that Bob Wise from West Liberty University has offered to give us a live demo of new database software written for Second Life called Glasshouse by Green Phosphor. You may remember Bob was the first to give us a tour of an educational place in Second Life. He showed us around his college island as he was building it. Bob gave me a quick look at how he is using this software with information from his college. He created a Second Life graph from a Microsoft Excel document. We will be scheduling a demonstration of his use of this software at an upcoming "Second Life and Lunch" session this Fall.
Pumpkin Building Contest Entries Due Next Week!
Don't forget that the deadline for submissions to our Pumpkin Building Contest is next Wednesday, October 14. 500 Lindens are up for grabs to the best build. All you have to do is build a pumpkin or something with a pumpkin in it and submit it (and your entry form) by the deadline.
That's it for this week. Keep sending in your tour cards and I hope to see you at next week's Second Life and Lunch.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Second Life and Lunch : Dewey Signs Lab
Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 1-1:50 p.m.
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
If you have an avatar:
This week at Second Life and Lunch we are having another Lab to work on the Dewey Decimal Signs Group Project on the Kirkwood island. You can join this project at any time and new educational locations have been added to our list for you to choose from. You can find the current list here.
If you don't have an avatar:
If you're just curious about our project, feel free to stop by and talk to members about it during this session.
NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS:
If you join us virtually, we will be using voice, but you can communicate with the group through text. Don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here (just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester).
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
KCELT 2097 or Join Us Virtually
If you have an avatar:
This week at Second Life and Lunch we are having another Lab to work on the Dewey Decimal Signs Group Project on the Kirkwood island. You can join this project at any time and new educational locations have been added to our list for you to choose from. You can find the current list here.
If you don't have an avatar:
If you're just curious about our project, feel free to stop by and talk to members about it during this session.
NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS:
If you join us virtually, we will be using voice, but you can communicate with the group through text. Don't forget to sign up for this free KCELT session on the Kirkwood EagleNet whether you plan to join us in person or virtually. Faculty members receive Professional Renewal Credit for all KCELT sessions, but you have to sign up to receive credit. You can find instructions for signing up here (just search for "second life" to find our sessions for this semester).
For more information about the Kirkwood Second Life Group visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/secondlife
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