CED 533 Now Complete

I thought I would make my last post on this blog as a graduate student.  I have just completed my Portfolio for CED 553 and my coursework for CED 595 is already complete.  Here is a video that I included in my 553 portfolio.  Enjoy.

Unit 6 - Our Own Interests: Sim on a Stick & Open Sim

Rationale:

I fully recognize that our research was supposed to be on some aspect of SL this week.  I decided to take a slight detour, though my topic in general is about the mass exodus of educators from SL to other Sims.  I chose Sim On A Stick (SOAS) and Open Sims as my topic for discussion because I believe that Second Life and made a definitive change of course that leads away from educational uses to ones that are more commercial.  It remains to be seen whether or not Linden Labs changes it's mind and renews ties with education.  Educators are moving in new directions and on to new grids.  I see SOAS as a cost effective, safe, and viable alternative to SL, at least in a middle school environment.

Articles:

 The articles I read dealt with introducing SOAS to Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVE) users.  I watched a YouTube from iliveisl, the creator of SOAS, that has the record, as of this blog, at 576,000 prims on one SOAS.  That is amazing!  The one concern I have had is not being able to colaborate on projects as SOAS is a single user environment.  Some clever souls have fixed that too.  If you have the luxury of having a dedicated computer for SOAS, you have others log in usind the computer's IP address.  You have to create new accounts for each person but, you can truly make SOAS a MUVE.  This can all happen safely behind the school district's firewall.  I would be interested to see how it handles multiple users and how many users can it support before things start to lag out.

Another interesting article is about how machinema creators are looking to SOAS as a way to be completely secluded and in complete control of their environment they are creating.  Again, this falls in to being more cost effective.  Obviously on this front, you have to be quite skilled in building in SL but, if you are making machinema, you probably are or have someone at your disposal who is.  This is another angle I might take as I like to make machinema and taking cool photo caps in SL.  

I also read some article on Open Sims in general.  I have been on a couple but feel that I am not really satisfied with what I have seen thus far.  Open Sims add more options, sometimes are cheaper, but still require rental fees and the like.  I believe a some point, someone is going to have to build an OpenSim, that is virtually free to educators and students.  I foresee world wide conferences and sessions held in MUVEs on a variety of subjects all within a safe, well maintained virtual world.  Someone is going to have to take the lead.  It isn't that far fetched when you think how the internet has grown in the last 20 years.  I also read some interesting articles on how to transfer SL content to your OpenSim, provided what you are trying to take is not not copyrighted or without the necessary permissions.

I feel that if I use MUVE technolgy in my current teaching assignment, this is avenue I will be force to take.  I do plan to continue to come back to SL and maybe even drop by Fontbonne Island.  I will always need a sandbox to build my creations :-)

Articles & Research

Unit 5 Alternatives to Second Life

Are there dark clouds on the horizon for Second Life?

 The Exodus

Second Life has been receding since the closure of the Teen Grid on December 31, 2010.  Linden Labs have also stopped supporting their enterprise version of SL that could operate from behind a corporate firewall.  This has led many educators, corporations, military entities, and NPOs to start looking for new virtual worlds.  I am not sure what SL is thinking.  These entities were bringing new users into Second Life.  They may argue that they would come to SL for their intended purpose and leave.  In my mind I would be asking myself, "Why are they leaving?  As a SL noob, I felt lost.  The welcome center concept was an interesting concept but I think it left a bit to be desired.  I think the first thing would be a quick start guide in pdf form where noobs could learn some things to feel more comfortable with their new avatar.  I think it is this disconnect with their avatar that leads them not returning.  Second would be a destination guide, easily accessible on the the tool bar that would give them some things to see and do.  Obviously you can do this with a search today but, it is too meticulous for the new user.  You could even have beginner and advanced tool bars to have additional tools for their differing needs.  But, I digress.

Entities have been intrigued by virtual environments, even with the lack of control and adult content that SL offers.  It has left them wanting more and with SL not willing to provide, they have begun to look for new virtual environments to plant their flag.  The US Army has created their own grid that will allow them to work behind protected military firewalls.  They are working to make it to were sensitive data can be collaborated on and transferred.  Doctors, nurses and universities are using virtual world to simulate doctors exams.  It is much better than speaking to a plastic dummy.  Schools are moving to Open Simulator technology so that their creations can be housed on their own servers. 

3rd Rock Grid

My generic avatar in 3rd Rock

 I decided spend my obligatory 2 hours on 3rd Rock Grid. I was not really impressed.  I was similar to Second Life in most respects.  I never saw another soul while on the grid.  There were a total of 17 people on the grid when I was on it according to the website.  3rd Rock did get voice as of January 2012.  I looked up prices and found them to be a little pricey.  For a 3x3 Meg Region which is the equivalent of 9 standard regions, with 45,000 prim which $200 a month.  Textures are free and I was able to find a couple sandboxes to build things.  I just felt like it was just another Open Sim grid and I felt that I would not want to pay that much for server space if I could get it and my school district or on a usb drive.  I know my school would prefer to be behind a firewall.  I think I will stick with SL or SOAS.

I made a tshirt so I didn't feel so generic.

Clemson's College of Computer Science Region