Again, I tried to stay in my medieval theme so I can use this in my SOAS world. Since it is script driven, I should be able to do that quite easily. I just have to make copies of the scripts and recreate my mirror in that world.
MirrorMirror was designed to answer general questions about the Middle Ages. I envision him as somewhat of a door greeter/concierge for my world. He will have nonspecific knowledge and may be found in several places throughout the sim. He may also serve as a little comic relief. The real benefit of this is that I will have an "expert" that I can continue to add information to and can be used throughout the sim. I have probably programmed over thirty questions so far. Some in keeping with the theme and some not. There are some jewels for Monty Python & Hitchhikers Guide fans.
Second Life Issues and Happenings:
I read and article at Virtual World Education Roundtable that discussed how virtual education has changed on year after the SL tier increase. Some had kept their plot on SL. Others had scaled back. Many had left completely and had been experimenting with OpenSim grids like FleepGrid. They also highlighted resources like OpenSim Creations.
I can help but think that virtual education is at some kind of precipice. It will either soar to new heights through forced collaboration with other educators create an educational shared grid or it will fade away in to the mist. These educators, participating in the discussion, have continued moving forward and trying new worlds. Using private grids are ok but the real benefits gained from virtual worlds is through collaboration. I think the key will be when someone or a group of educators come together and form a education grid that students and educators can visit, collaborate on, and build.
The Class Thus Far:
What has been my favorite part thus far, you ask? The holodeck building I think has been the most fun. I did like the Pandorabots a lot but, it takes a long time to build a brain correctly. It also takes some careful planning. I think it will be much harder when students attempt to talk with it because they may have to be guided a bit on how to ask questions and what to ask. I think a few beta test will be necessary to work out kinks, have them log questions that the mirror couldn't answer that where important. As far as the holodeck goes, I like having the ability to set up different scenes and storing them. That could be very helpful as a world history teacher that covers different eras. I enjoyed flexing my creativity and can do it again and again.
Under Construction
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