Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Welcome to Second Life (SL) the new semester and a large class of over twenty participants. We are joined by students of Visual Communications, Interior Design, Architecture, Contemporary Visual Culture and Fine Art. While almost all of you found your way into Second Life there was a major issue with getting voice activated. Only four of you were able to do so successfully. In fact, John also had an issue when he logged in half an hour before class started. He found some suggestions on the SL wiki and eventually resolved it be clearing the cache. So, if you are still having trouble with your voice check out that link and see if you can resolve it. John also suggested you visit SL during the week in pairs, or larger groups, and try to get your voice working together. If the students who were successful with voice can help the others it would be great. It is important that you get voice activated because you cannot hear other avatars speaking unless yours is working.

We have a larger class than usual this semester with over twenty participants.

The glitch resulted in a slightly more chaotic and slower introduction than is usually the case as we were restricted to communication via text chat. However, everyone persevered and John got through most of the topics scheduled for the first class.

Firstly, everyone ‘friended’ each other. You will see from the pic above that this turns your avatars name tag from white to green and it means that you know when your classmates are online and you can communicate more easily, particularly if you end up in different locations in SL. You can offer to teleport a friend directly to your location also. Play around with it and see what else you discover.

John went on to explain that the format of the module is interactive discussion, based on the weekly reading material given in the corresponding class unit in Brightspace. It is important that you read (and view video material) before we meet in class so that you contributions are informed and relevant. If this is not done we will need to do the reading in class, which will result in the later finishing time of 9.30 pm! You will find a short quiz each week in Brightspace which will let you know if you have engaged with the topic and understood it. Your answers do not count for assessment.

You will also need to visit SL between classes to carry out the tasks set in the Assignment part of each weekly unit in Brightspace. Initially these tasks are described for you in some detail. For instance, this week you should explore at least three different locations in SL. As the semester progresses you will be assigned to a team and will begin work on a project to be presented in the final week and your blog posts will reflect on that.

This week you must also start a blog using wordpress and write your first post describing the locations in SL that you have visited. Throughout the semester you will post to the blog on a weekly basis so that by the end of the semester you will have produced the equivalent of a semester paper.

Finally, John asked you to read the Assessment unit in Brightspace very carefully so that you understand it fully. The blog will count for fifty percent of your final mark, with the Team Project making up the balance. Note that the first assessment point is in four weeks so don’t leave things to the end!