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.

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.

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.