IDE 735#13: More reflection

So the course has ended, but I feel it's just begun for me. There's just so much to catch up on because of the course schedule and my own work schedule. I didn't get to really read and chew on what I've read. There's a lot of readings I want to delve into; I want to rewrite my final paper for a conference submission; it's just a first draft. I have so many things I want to clarify, so many concepts I still have not a firm grasp of yet: like, microworlds vs virtual worlds; are virtual worlds all microworlds? not all microworlds are virtual worlds? I don't know. How about VR? Are all virtual worlds VR? But not all VR are virtual worlds? Wish I could ask someone. I've tried to google and read some of the listed articles, but no resolution yet. Still seeking.

At the AACE conference, Second Life was on the lips of everyone. Glad I've done a paper on it, phew. Games in education continue to be big. A forum is going to be started and I'm going to join the SIG.

I feel like I haven't learned enough. The course seemed to be stunted by the short few weeks. I need more time to let it all sink it. I guess the rest is up to me to do independent informal learning. But it's definitely piqued my interest to go more indepth and read more on the topics.

IDE.735#12: SL for relaxation

With such limited time and so much to do, I often have all these thoughts I want to blog about but don't because I just don't get to a computer on time and those moments/thoughts are lost.

I posted 2 questions on Clark's blog after asking one of them during his guest speaker appearance on June 14.

I'm now trying to gather my thoughts and findings about SL to create my final paper. Started well but researching on SL is frustrating. Today I tried to attend a major event hosted by the University of Southern California Center of Public Diplomacy and was booted out several times. I reappeared at the gate so many times the greeter said, "You again Kollette, sheesh!" Hey, that was some courteous greeting! Anyway, won't write about this event here as I'm including it in my final paper. I have big dreams of submitting it for a conference, LOL.

Anyways, I also tried SL as a form of relaxation though my husband thinks I suffer from computer addiction and am wasting time, especially after what I told him about USC getting a $550,000 grant for studying about philanthropy in virtual worlds. He was like, whoa, that kind of money can be better spent in the real world. Hmmm... my husband doesn't get it that these avatars represent real people who by participating in the virtual world are using it to complement their real world philanthropy.

So anyways, here's what I did for relaxation after the stress recently of cramming for this course:

1. Swimming in a pool at Kanes Project (143, 42, 37) 6/19

No one was around, so it was a lonely dip. However, I miss swimming since I have hardly done any of it since coming over to the US.

2. Sunbathing at Kanes Project (174, 38, 39)

Here I'm all stretched out alone in the only clothes I have; no LindeX to buy any swimwear or anything.

IDE.735#11: The Fascination of SL

I'm beginning to find SL very addictive. There's just so much going on. It's a game, so it's fun and engaging, but it can also be educational. I'm also learning a whole new vocabulary. Do you know what a prim is? I didn't until I googled to check it out as Miss SL 2007 kept using it in her blog.

Personally, I think SL has great potential, setting aside all the pc crashes and motion sickness I get.

Here's a bit about what I've learned -- thanks to Natalia, Miss SL07:

1. There's really a lot of help for newbies contrary to the initial frustration we had. Once you get in, you can go to lots of places for help to customize your avatar and learn about SL.

2. Just like real life, there are places to visit, events to engage in, sports to play, relationships to form, shopping to be done, etc. What a life!

3. Educational - besides experiencing events and phenomena virtually, one can receive support for healing and engage in discussions with others too.

IDE.735#10: Miss SL 2007

This lady's blog is supercool. She has a Second Life guide, lists fascinating places to explore, produces tutorials on how to create nice avatars, and listen to this, she is.... ta-dah!!!! Miss Second Life 2007 - Natalia Zelmanov! Is this surreal or what? I have to try out the links she posted myself. Many many to explore.

IDE.735#9: Guest Speaker Clark

I visited Clark's site numerous times to read and prepare for the session on Thurs 6/14, so I was a bit disappointed not to get to ask all my questions. Still, I'll have a chance to post them.

I posed him a question about the lack of a standard lexicon or terminology in the field. Honestly, my head at this point is swimmingly full of jargon about sims. He said that his effort in creating the glossary blog was a start in the direction to standardization. Hmmm... I thought so but I wonder how this would take place.

Is there a national or international society of simulation experts? Like IBSTPI? Or PMI or ...?

Oh, I should record the glitch we had due to human error. The interesting thing is that technology did not fail us during the session, but the server controller forgot about the session and had to be reminded via an emergency call. Thankfully, I was able to call 2 other persons who finally got her number.

IDE.735#8: Roaming SL again

Well, today I explored SL again to see if I can find anything educational or informative. I teleported to this Angel Island Isle and met 2 persons who actually interacted and chatted with me. Whoa!

This lady, Sunshine Sparrow, is from a Florida state community college. She actually told me what this island was about - for Angel LMS to orientate potential clients to their software. Cool! So other competitors might be in SL too for this reason - like Blackboard, D2L, etc. She told me where I could go for information but the kiosks were all full. So I couldn't attend any classes and there wasn't much to do around there so I flew around and then quit.

IDE.735#5: 2ndLife pt 2

So I tried to explore 2ndLife further after my nauseous spells. And these are the dudes I've met in 2ndLife who are just as lost as I am.

I'm actually making some progress as I've gotten out of the Flight Training Institute and have flown out to explore other islands. I'm just having some difficulty with locating my group in Sloan-C, a professional organization that focuses on online learning. I just can't find it yet.

So how will such simulations help me? I'm hoping to be able to find the group and see how the interactions will impact me.

IDE.735#4: second life

I'm still on Orientation Island in 2ndLife. And I'm constantly nauseous when I'm in it because of the simulation. I get motion sickness. Much too realistic huh?

Here's a pic of me in Flight Institute.

Gotta go lie down 'cos I'm feeling really sick.