What: Upcoming Lighthouse Learning Island Events Tue Sep 18 21:29:11 2007

When: September 26 (4-5 am SLT and September 27 (12:00-1:00 SLT),

Where: Lighthouse Learning Island.

Description: Beth Knittle from Barnstable (Beth Kohnke SL) will be working with teachers in life on the island. Stop by if you get a chance to say hi!

Kathy Schrock (Kathy Dryburgh SL) begins her PLC with the Nauset teachers on the 27th, but we will probably not be in-life during the first session. Kathy will be bringing a group of district technology directors into SL for a tour of Lighthouse Learning Island on September 24th, around 9:30am SLT.

Second Life URL.

Popularity: 3%

Virtual, real lives intersect in OU class It used to be called daydreaming.

But next semester, a few Michigan college students will be able to forgo the classically flat, one-dimensional world of term papers and dead-tree literature, and troll a fantasy landscape where they can hang out in Paris or change gender for credit.

Two Oakland University professors have designed a course for honors students that will take place largely on Second Life, which at its most prosaic is just another Web site.

University of Ulster Enters Second Life The University of Ulster has launched its presence in Second Life – a virtual world populated by over seven million users worldwide.

This exciting project, spearheaded by the School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, will see UU join leading universities, such as Harvard and Stanford, in the use of virtual worlds as a research and teaching resource.

Learning Architecture In A Virtual World Terry Beaubois had a problem when he was offered a position teaching architecture at Montana State University. He wasn’t ready to move to Bozeman, Montana, where the campus is located. So he figured out a way to teach the course from his home in Northern California.

He did it by creating a virtual classroom in Second Life. But now he wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though he’s now based in Bozeman, Beaubois hasn’t abandoned his virtual classroom. In fact he’s expanded it into a program he directs called the Creative Research Lab, which is part of the school’s College of Arts and Architecture.

A ‘Second’ Princeton - Design firm recreates Princeton in virtual world Second Life Students can now wander Nassau Hall, gaze across Richardson Auditorium and relax in Chancellor Green — all without leaving their dorm rooms.

Now that several locations on campus have been replicated in Second Life, an online program that lets users live, work and own property in a 3D virtual world, those buildings can be explored through the internet. The University purchased and built on several “islands,” or plots of land, in the program.

Science, Sports and Second Life: Why I am Optimistic About America I am more than a little bit of a technology enthusiast, so my first moment of great excitement came in a meeting with IBM at the Center for Health Transformation.

IBM is developing amazing new capabilities in what they call the 3D Internet — a kind of parallel universe on the World Wide Web in which people can interact. Two early pioneering examples of this 3D Internet are Second Life and Webkinz.

Popularity: 2%

What: Join us tomorrow for a special presentation by David Loertscher. Please join us tomorrow (Tuesday) for a program entitled “In Command! Teaching Kids & Teens to Build & Manage their Own Information Spaces.” It will be hosted by David Loertscher, a nationally recognized expert in school librarianship, & Robin Williams.

When: Tues, Sept 18 at 6pm SLT.

Where: ISTE Island

Second Life URL.

Popularity: 1%

What: Lessons in Second Life

When: Tue Sep 11 4:30pm - Tue Sep 11 6pm (Weekly at 4:30pm on Wednesday) Weekly at 4:30pm on Wednesday

Where: blacklibrary in hyperborea

Description: Every Week on Tuesday (1:30-3pm SLT) join us for Lessons in Second Life, an open table forum centering on what can be learned in sl in both formal and informal settings. The forum is open to faculty, students, and interested parties of all kinds. We meet at the blacklibrary hyperborea 91, 30, 26 im buridan simon for more information. Come share your ideas for learning in Second Life.

Second Life URL.

Popularity: 3%

If there is one place anyone who is interested in learning more about Second Life, such as scripting, texturing, working with prims, or just getting around in Second Life in general, then Technical User Interfacing, or TUi, is the place to see. I think this paragraph sums it up pretty good, “We feel it is important to provide basic knowledge to residents at little to know cost to them, as we want to make it very simple for them to function within Second Life. Providing a new resident the ability to learn how to function in Second Life on a basic level will give them the ability to know if SL is a good fit or not. By providing classes we hope they are able to see the potential here, thus growing a desire to stay and help expand the content within.” If there is one thing Second Life needs to be, it needs to be easier to get going, as someone said recently, it needs AOLified.

I spoke with a mentor when I visited their island, here, his name was Derrek Paine and he was one of the most helpful individuals I have met in Second Life. Not only did he answer my questions, he offered to send me landmarks for all kinds of stuff, skiiing, sky diving, he gave me a starter pack that someone gave him when he first started going inworld, IM Stone Culdesac and I’ll send it to you, it contains all kinds of information for the first timer, as well as links to freebie’s, fliptitle, powershield, notecards on how to join groups, find classes, notes for newbs, a list of amazing places and much more. It’s called Taku’s Newbie Starter Pack.

Anyway, he said they have 100 or so instructors, ranging from real life teachers with years of experience teaching, to student teachers, to people who just teach in Second Life. They have Student Teacher Training Courses, where they introduce them to teaching and set them through some self paced stations and tasks, and after they accomplish set requirements, including a practice class, they can start to teach. Each student teacher has a mentor who is there for the mock class and the first real class, they are also there for the first class if the teacher chooses a different lesson.

All of their classes are posted in the SL Community Events by the teachers, so just open up search while in Second Life, select events, make sure that date is selected, or doted, type in tui in Name/Desc and there you go. Sometimes they are posted a week in advance and sometimes just a few hours, depending on the teacher’s schedule. They say they do it for the love of teaching, and if they are all like Derreck, I believe it. He said they stay after class to help students who are having trouble and you can IM them at about any time. He’s had some classes last for an hour, and then last for two more hours afterwards because the students wanted to know more.

Most of the classes are done in chat, that way students can also go back through the session to re-read it, some are done in voice, plus, you get whatever class materials the instructor has prepared. Their website is here, they have forums on their website as well, here, and here is the Second Life URL. Below I have posted their “What is TUi NEO?” notecard. I have posted some events, TUi NEO Level 1 LSL for Beginners, TUI NEO Level 1 - Sculpty Prims Made Easy, TUi PRO Level 3 WhatTheFuxsThat?!? and many others. So, go learn, teach, discuss, or just listen here.

What is TUi NEO?

TUi Neophytes, aka: NEO, offers our students an opportunity to learn first hand from our quality instructors on a level basis. Level one are our basic beginner classes, level 2 intermediate classes for those who have the basic concepts of texturing and working with prims and level 3 for more advanced students who are confident in following along and know the jargon.

Our instructors are willing to go that extra mile and help you so if you’re not following or understanding, they are usually willing to work with you on more of a one on one basis at the end of your class. Just IM the instructor for help and you will get it.

Each instructor has put a lot of time and effort into preparing your class from writing the notes, packaging the materials used and teaching you how to make and understand what you are doing. So at the end of your class not only do you have something nice to show, but chances are you have learned something new! Also here at NEO you are not just a student, you’re family. We take pride in providing you excellent, courteous service and are willing to help you however we can, be it get you to that class you’re looking for or simply putting a smile on your face. We want you to leave your class thinking that was well worth your time. If for any reason it isn’t, our administration team wants to know. You can IM any TUi Instructor in-world or on our forums and we will make sure to correct any problem that you may have had. So come on out, take a class, what do you have to lose? You will walk away with more than you came with… you can bank on it!

TUi Dean - First Page

TUi Assistant Dean - Leeloo Dassin

TUi Head Mentors - Hempz Rebel & Lady Hathaway

TUi Mentors-
Amber Ur
Aurora Mushtarie
Calla Cela
Catherine Soderstrom
Catty Loon
Happyholly Grigges
Hellblazer5 Dagger
Kayak Kuu
Leem Hua
Sylvia Campbell
Taffy Allandale

STT (Student Teacher Training) - Tommy Tui
STT Support-
Catherine Soderstrom
Hempz Rebel
Lady Hathaway

TTT (TUi Teacher Training) - Katya Koolhaas
TTT Support-
Ima Mechanique
Shay Ellison
Somatika Xiao

TUi Master Clothing Designer - Katya Koolhaas

TUi Master Scripters - Ledanna Evans

Check In Thread - Kayak Kuu

Website/Forum Leads - Leeloo Dassin/Lady Hathaway
Support- Taffy Allandale

Marketing/Advertising - Jill MacKenzie

Popularity: 2%

Here is another great site for people who are new to Second Life, I met a young avatar tonight who told me about it, she was asking me what kind of stuff she needed to know, and 75% of the time she was like, ya I already knew that, so I’m thinking you’re not the typical newbie. So she told me he learned everything from the The Enlightenment Gallery. I have pasted a couple notecards below, and there are many more there containing info everyone should know about Second Life. Here is the Second Life URL.

The Enlightenment Gallery and Grounds are provided as a public resource for art, performance, and classes for spiritual work and empowered living.

The Gallery and Grounds are non-denominational, supported by donations from the people of Second Life.

(Note: The Enlightenment Gallery attempts to provide some value for your attention! Below is a “human design” tip; we hope you find it useful.)

TIP for Empowered Living:
Disciplined Attention is a skill, a tool that lets you choose… what is important and what your priorities are in life. Build this skill through meditation and practice of concentration. For more information, contact Feminist Expedition about 3-body meditation.

Thank you for visiting the Enlightenment Gallery and Grounds. Please Vote (touch the voting box at the Welcome Plaza), and please donate to our work, if you feel that is appropriate.

Here is one of the notecards containing information you can use.

Energy is never static. Whether wave or particle, energy is in motion, motion which follows a consistent path.

Energy can move in a straight line, in a spiral, or follow a curve. It can appear to remain as a single point…but it will be expanding or contracting, not static.

These are the movements of energy:

Radiating
Contracting
Straight Line
Curve
Spiral

Force is required to change the path of a particle, or wave.

In the human body, the natural movement of energy is rising, descending, and radiating.

Mind …is an aspect of the energy in the physical body. Three-body meditation is a practice to train the power of the mind, through attention (mental focus) and intention (emotional energy). This practice is spiritual work, as it enhances the vitality of the body mind, and contributes to the development of one’s soul.

The Dancing Eels Sculpture, by Artist Rezago Kokorin, evokes the sensation of the lighter energies (air and fire), expanding and moving upward through the body universe.

The Enlightenment Gallery Foundation: Explainer

The EGF Mission is to share authentic practices to support higher mind in Second Life. EGF is supported through the generosity of the people of Second Life. Please donate to continue the work, if you find it appropriate, and thank you for visiting!

EGF Donations are gratefully received at the EGF Welcome Plaza.

EGF t-cards are copyright 2007 Pegarus, Inc

Second Life URL.

Popularity: 3%

Did not know some of these mailing lists existed until now, wonder why I didn’t check before, must be slipping. Anyway, the Sl Educators list sends out info about education and academics that educators might be interested in. The list is also for communicating with each other, so please send along some of your experiences if you feel like it.

Greetings! This list is for educators interested in or currently using Second Life, and we will be using it to send out information we feel is of interest to educators and academics. This list is also an opportunity for all of you to communicate with each other, to find new colleagues and to share your experiences using Second Life for education. Please feel free to send email to the list if you’d like to connect with other people.

Since you’re just joining the group, please send a brief email to the list introducing yourself, describing your interests and what you’re working on in Second Life. We’d all love to hear about it!

There’s a Group in Second Life called ‘Real Life Education in Second Life’ which is also comprised of people who are interested in the educational possibilities of Second Life. If you’d like to keep in touch with other educators inworld, please feel free to join this Group (click the Find button and search under Groups for ‘Education’). The group is open for anyone to join, and it’s another great way to find colleagues and collaborators to help you with your education work in Second Life. Source: Educators — SL Educators

Signup here.

They have created a Second Life wiki here.

When you are in Second Life, be sure to visit their Campus region. This area is a main hub for classes participating in their Campus: Second Life program. You can meet students and educators currently working on class projects as well as find other real-life education projects happening in Second Life.

Lots more lists available as well.

Popularity: 1%

Here is a great place to start if you are looking to learn how to build stuff in Second Life, the Visual Tutorial of the Second Life Building Interface. This place gives you the basic 101 classes and will be adding more intermediate and advanced building lessons in the future.

The Ivory Tower Library of Primitives is a complete, self-guided, self-paced inworld visual tutorial of the Second Life Building interface. It currently covers all material discussed in the basic building 101 classes, and will shortly move on to cover more intermediate and advanced building issues.

Please come by at any time Second Life is online to learn about building, and it is to be hoped, share insights you have learned about building in Second Life.

Sincerely,

Lumiere Noir
Builder and curator of the Ivory Tower Library of Primitives

Second Life URL

Popularity: 3%

Nice blog post from a teacher talking about how he is using Second Life to teach his students, and how he made up 7 movies to help them learn how to talk, move around and work in groups in Second Life without disturbing the other groups.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been pretty busy teaching my first English students on a Business English course I have been developing for a virtual school called Languagelab.com

The experience has been pretty daunting with myself and the students having to come to terms with the complexities of the user interface and I have felt at times that my fifteen years of ‘real world’ classroom experience and the subconscious habits and reflexes that I developed over that period have totally deserted me. Source: Teaching English in Second Life

Here are links to the different videos he is using.

Pair and Group Work Using IM Call.

How to use the Active Speaker Panel

Hot to take notes using notecards

How to copy notes from notecards to Word

How to pass notecards to your partner

How to listen to audio and watch video

How to take snapshots in Second Life

Popularity: 4%