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October 25, 2008
Kickoff: Shannon Murphy and the Astrology Theme Semester
Shannon Murphy impressed us with her educational creativity and inspired us with her vision of innovative ways in which Second Life makes is possible to teach astronomical concepts that are challenging to understand and teach in the real world.
The Universe - Yours to Discover: The Astronomy Theme Semester in Second Life
Posted by pfa at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2008
Kickoff: JJ Jacobson and The Alexandrian Free Library
JJ Jacobson is a University of Michigan alumnus of the School of Information who is, perhaps, better known as Sir JJ Drinkwater, Knight of Caledon and Head of the Alexandrian Free Libraries, a chain of libraries associated with the Caledon historical sims in Second Life.
Sir Drinkwater extended regrets due to an unavoidable last minute conflict, and offered these words.
"In the virtual world of Second Life, libraries have become integral parts of many online communities yet still have a number of unique challenges. Some arise from the nature of the virtual environment, others from the fact that all our patrons are highly sophisticated computer users. This session describes the role of libraries in the Second Life, focusing on the Alexandrian Free Library System which is a consortium of community-based libraries operating in Second Life, including the communities of Caledon and Steelhead. Caledon is a large community where the library system resembles a real-life public library system with several neighborhood branches. Steelhead is a small town that recently decided to open its own public library. Using "images from the field" we show show the libraries' presence: how the libraries were created; how their online collections are selected and organized; and how their reference service, online exhibits, book groups, poetry readings, storytelling, and other activities have become an integral part of these online social networking communities."
Posted by pfa at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2008
Kickoff: Sheri Jaffurs and SIMphonic Island
Sheri Jaffurs, from University of Michigan Flint, spoke with us about the Teen Grid and her efforts there to establish a safe space for creative teen musicians to share and collaborate on creative musical works.
Music Making in the Cyber World: New Models of Education - SIMphonic Island, Wolverine Island.
Posted by pfa at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2008
Kickoff: Bruce Maxim on UMD in SL and the Ford Grant
For the Wolverine Kickoff, Bruce Maxim introduced us to the University of Michigan Dearborn campus in Second Life, and the work going on to use Second Life to model and teach about food banks and social good in the real world.
Campus of Hope: Using the Virtual World to Improve Our World
Posted by pfa at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2008
Kickoff: Gus Rosania on Research Tools and Collaborations in Second Life
At the Wolverine Kickoff, Gus Rosania talked about science and research collaborations, with a focus on this amazing tool he's created that takes data from a spreadsheet and creates a 3D visualization in Second Life, complete with images. Truly astounding!
A Real Life Research Tool in Second Life: PrimPlotter
Posted by pfa at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2008
Wolverine Kickoff - Pictures!
I am loading slides and pics and all from our truly WONDERFUL event, but am going to start with letting you all see a few pics. If you took your own pictures, please feel free to share them in our Flick group.
Posted by pfa at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2008
Party Prep Preemps This Week's Brown Bag
Because of the preparations for the Wolverine Kickoff event next week, there will be no SLUM Brown Bag this week.
Because of the inworld party that evening, we ask that anyone with items in the sandbox please remove them. If you are unable to come get them, we will probably have to return them to you, in which case they will appear in the Lost and Found folder in your inventory.
Here is a brief overview of upcoming events on Wolverine Island.
* October 16, 2:30-4pm EDT/ 11:30a-1p SLT - Welcome & Self Guided Tours of Wolverine (in the form of a Treasure Hunt). Host: Kaiya Qunhua
* October 16, 7-9pm EDT / 4-6pm SLT - PARTY!!!! Games, Games, Games!
* October 17, noon EDT / 9-10AM SLT - Docent Tours of Wolverine Island. Host: Perplexity Peccable, Memetic Projects
* October 24, noon EDT / 9-10AM SLT - Italian Instruction Through Virtual Worlds. Hosts: Giorgio Kuhn, Philomena Flanagan
* October 31, noon EDT / 9-10AM SLT - Halloween Party with Spooky (and Educational) Locations Around SL Host: Perplexity Peccable
In November we continue with our RL/SL Connections series, with events in planning such as:
- Bringing our Favorite Books to Life - A Tour of Anne McCaffrey's Pern in Second Life. Host: Ludo Merit
- Connecting Real World Audio to Inworld Activities - Streaming and Voice in SL. Host: Trallfazz Vilas
- Second Life Groups in Support of Real Life Health and Behavior Change. Host: Perplexity Peccable
Posted by pfa at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2008
SLUM Brown Bag: Inertial Voom and the Great Space Race
SLUM Brown Bag
October 3, 2008
9:00AM-10:AM SLT / noon-1:00PM EDT
Wolverine Island, sandbox area
In real life, Inertial Voom is an engineer by profession, and through his passion for outer space, he has become the longtime leader of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Space Society (NSS).
In Second Life, Inertial has developed a game called the Great Space Race that combines history, rocketry, politics, management and team building in an entertaining and educational exercise. The project is also interesting for the building and scripting challenges it presented. Just imagine, in Second Life, trying to assemble all these pieces into a rocket that will actually take off!
For more information about the context and structure of the game, please see the following slides.
Posted by pfa at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)