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You don't need an SL/OS client to view them, and though they use Unity 3D to display, now you don't even need to download a Unity plug-in, because the latest version of Flash (standard to nearly all web browsers) has Unity's display code built in. This is the latest, nearly consumer-ready version of technology created by Tipodean, from ex-Linden Chris Collins, with the help of SL/RL architect Jon "Keystone" Brouchoud, which I wrote about earlier this month. Now the demo comes with a menu and many locations to select from.
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Second Life and other Virtual Worlds
«For the last couple weeks I've been working with 8th/9th grade students in their geometry class as they build a life-size replica of The Parthenon atop the Athens Acropolis. It's been a fantastic experience watching students collaborate on such a project. One thing I argued for in planning this project with the math teachers was to give the students part or all of a class to edit their default avatars. They spent the first class making avatars as ugly and as beautiful as they could (this is an all girls school) and I think the investment paid off in their apparent engagement in the project. It's hard learning to use the building tools but they are doing a great job and very proud of it.» - Erik N. OpenSim 0.7.3 on a USB stick - from download to account creation... 
«Mobile: Shiny? Yes. Hyped? Yes. Fad? No. (...) It's something of an apples-to-watermelon comparison, when looking at virtual worlds and mobile computing. That said, I remain convinced that SL in particular is a "legacy app" because of its limited return on investment. Readers of this blog may have to get used to a few new directions here, but I'll continue to cover my and colleagues work in virtual worlds. (...) Remember Linden Lab's marketing push a while back, given Philip Rosedale's pitch that SL should be "Fast, Easy, Fun"? Hamlet Au nailed the challenges Linden Lab faced then. I would claim, based on my experience in OpenSim, that the challenges are even higher for mainstream faculty. Not so for tablets and smart phones. They are fast and easy. Changing apps is a lot easier for a noob like me than was changing my outfit in SL. And used judiciously, they are fun. Too many users are addicted to them, but that's beyond a faculty member's control. Mobile devices as "Flavor of the Month"? Hardly. More like "future main course."» - Joe Essid, a faculty member in the departments of English & Rhetoric & Communication Studies, at the University of Richmond. began exploring virtual worlds in January, 2007. WiloStar3D discusses how teachers can get started using k-12 immersive learning in the classroom. Three new k-12 virtual world projects for teachers are introduced in this 10 minute overview. cience through Second Life Produced by Global Kids, Inc. During a panel on new media at the AAAS Science Policy Forum, Anthony Crider of Elon University talked about Second Life, the SciLands, and the future of science education in virtual worlds. 
Sim by PaintO Jie / scripts allowed, rezzing allowed / (Windlight : [TOR] DUSK – Fairytale glow & Photoshop Yummy Action 1) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EDO%20JAPAN%20KITAMACHI/5... 
I got a lot of interesting comments from hardcore SL users when I mentioned last week all the troubles I was having running Second Life on my Alienware laptop from Dell (a brand owned by nearly 1 in 4 laptop users). Most of them have the same underlying theme, and point to a fundamental Second Life problem. Roughly summarized, they were: _Buy a better laptop to run SL.
I definitely don't mean to criticize any SLer who made a comment like this, for on one level, they show a lot of passion for the community which is admirable.
But it's important to point out the troubling, unifying theme: Unprecedented tolerance and willingness to accept technical troubles that would be intolerable in just about any other context.
Second Life is not a non-profit open source project, and it's not running the latest, most cutting edge graphics. In either case, some of these suggestions might be understandable. However, we are talking about a product nearly 10 years old, put out by a very profitable company, which somehow can't consistently run well on a computer that 1 in 4 American consumers own, and offers little or no clear assistance (let alone automatic fixes) for addressing these issues. 
This could be really big: Google is reportedly investing up to $30 million in Machinima.com, according to AllThingsD, which has a YouTube channel of over 100 million subscribers. 
Students show more interest in class and have better learning outcomes when 3D technology is used, according to the Boulder Valley School District. 
International Journal of Web Portals (IJWP) 
Educator Joe Essid has a good explanation of why he switched from being an evangelist of Second Life as a pedagogical tool to getting behind mobile apps. (Replete with an increasingly obligatory Second Life problems meme.) Sample: Whoever gains (or in Apple's case, maintains) dominance and establishes the standard matters less to me than the fact that SL and OpenSim do not run well, if at all, on tablets. Unity 3D does for iOS and Android... Concurrent to all this churn, we are moving to tablets on our campuses for consuming media. If Moore's Law holds true, these devices will become better and better at creating content. One does not wish to be on the wrong side of history, and I think SL evangelists are clearly on the wrong side, unless they are early in their careers and have a Plan B for research and teaching.
Read the rest here, it's full of good points. However, I do think Second Life has significant advantages over tablets for many educational applications, which mysteriously, are still under-utilized. For example: For collaborative filmmaking, architecture, 3D and 2D art, industrial and fashion design, 3D game prototyping for PCs, etc. etc. (And students in those fields are much more likely to have a laptop that can run SL.) The mystery to me is this why so few educators in those fields have experimented with Second Life as a teaching tool. 
In light of several griefing incidents on OpenSim grids over the past few days, grid owners are starting to consider taking proactive steps to protect themselves against future attacks. |
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health have been using Second Life as a therapy tool for people with autism since 2008, and now an academic paper just published online has the results. 
Linden Lab Needs Mesh Samples to Test Qarl's Mesh Deformer -- Or May Not Incorporate It Into SL Viewers At All... 3D Avatar School WiloStar3D Launches K-12 Virtual World Immersive Learning Curricula in Public Schools... During a panel on new media at the AAAS Science Policy Forum, Anthony Crider of Elon University talked about Second Life, the SciLands, and the future of science education in virtual worlds. 
Elric Anatine presents an introduction to Dragon NaturallySpeaking (voice-to-text and voice control). Recently, the ability to dictate directly into SL chat text areas has dramatically improved. This is one topic of discussion for this session, held May 21 at 11 a.m. (Pacific). Also check out the Advanced segment on May 26 at 2 p.m. (Pacific). 
One of the common complaints enterprises have about OpenSim is that if they set up a private grid, they’ll have to create all the content from scratch. Employees will have to create their own hair, fashionistas will have to make their own shoes, teachers will have to create their own blackboards, and presenters will have to build their own PowerPoint projectors. That was, in fact, the case a couple of years ago, when OpenSim was still new. But times have changed. 
«Previously it was only possible to specify access options using Facebook Groups and Twitter Lists, which means that if you did not sign up for Kitely using Facebook or Twitter then you had only two options for access control: “Only Me” and “Everyone”. Now you have the option of creating or joining a group in a virtual world, and then allowing free access to your world only to members of that group.» Len has been working to implement research-based technologies into teaching and learning, while focusing on higher order thinking strategies, agile teaching, visual teaching, and blended learning. His leadership has led to successful school-based projects in podcasting, clicker technologies, creative use of streaming media, and. most recently, the innovative use of 3D in the classroom. 
An English teacher based in southern China has launched an OpenSim grid for English students. Currently, over 100 of his college-age students are using the grid, as well as students from Italy, Russia, and Japan. They practice English, and interact with English speakers who teleport in from other grids — the hypergrid address is englishgrid.com:8002. The students also take field trips to other grids to practice their English, most recently to OSGrid’s LBSA Plaza. 
This is seriously cool -- a developer named David Miller explains how he used OpenSim on a USB stick for a real world marketing project... 
Several Utherverse franchises use the platform to attract real world sponsors. The franchise operator Secret City is a Germany-based company that operates mainly for Frankfurt and Berlin-based users. The company holds events at local brick-and-mortar nightclubs that are patronized by individuals who arrange meetings in the virtual world. This blending of both worlds allows individual users to build social relationships and provides revenue and marketing opportunities for Secret City... |
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