Formal Presentation Area Created for ECMM Building

A formal presentation area (shown below) has been created on the first floor of the ECMM building in SL.













Formal presentation area on first floor of SL-ECMM building (photo taken Jan. 29/08).

The presentation area consists of theater seating and a podium. The theater seats are scripted to lower and raise the sitting section of the seat when touched. The podium is scripted to provide the avatar who is speaking at the podium with movements as if they were speaking. The podium is also mic'd to extend the voice or text distance of the avatar speaking at the podium.

Another addition to the fist floor of the ECMM building is the espresso bar (shown below).













Espresso bar on first floor of SL-ECMM building (photo taken Jan. 29/08).

The espresso machine really works! If you click on the espresso machine...it will steam, and make espresso. Be sure to watch the gauge and listen to the sound of the espresso machine while it makes your espresso. Next touch the Demi Tasse (cup) and it will be put into your inventory. Go into your inventory and wear the Demi Tasse and your avatar will be sipping a hot cup of freshly brewed espresso...enjoy!

If espresso is not your thing you can get a glass of water on the third floor in the board room. Look around you will find it.

Office Space for SL-ECMM Structure

If you teleport to the second floor of the ECMM building in SL you will find office space. The ECMM office space consists of desks (shown below) but these are not your ordinary desk.













Dr. Rick Schwier's new desk on the second floor of the SL-ECMM building (photo taken Jan. 29/08).

These desks include two computer monitors that can view both slides and video. Another nice feature of the desks is the Online Detector. This feature tracks the in-world presence of the avatar who owns the desk. If the avatar is in-world a display identifying the avatar is online will be hovering over the desk. If the avatar is online but not at their desk, a visitor can page the owner from the Online Detector connected to the desk. I see this useful if professors hold office hours in-world. Their students can see their online status and page them if needed.

Reception Kiosk for ECMM Building

A reception kiosk (shown below) has been added to the ECMM building in SL.













ECMM reception kiosk (photo taken Jan. 26/08).

The reception kiosk has been added to serve some interactive purposes. When you walk towards the reception kiosk you will be welcomed to the ECMM building through an instant message. This message will then ask you if you would like a gift. At this point you will be able to accept or decline the gift. If accepted you will receive a notecard providing information about the ECMM building. You will also receive a landmark of the ECMM building in SL. All this is done through a greeter (shown below) that was recently picked up from Trinity Vanmoer Designs.














Gift Greeter designed by Trinity Vanmoer Designs (photo taken Jan. 26/08).

The Gift Greeter scans a set distance every certain number of seconds for new avatars. If a new avatar is found it will provide the avatar with the welcome message and gift. The Gift Greeter also serves another function for the ECMM building. It keeps a list of visiting avatars and provides a list of visiting avatars to it's owner. This will be very useful to keep track of visitors to the ECMM building in SL.

Another interactive tool you will find on the reception kiosk is the Business Card Giver (shown below).














Business Card Giver (photo taken Jan.26/08).

The Business Card Giver was purchased with the kiosk from 3D Office Solutions. When an avatar touches the Business Card Giver, a notecard is provided including whatever information is put on the notecard. In this case the notecard provides information on the Educational Communications and Technology administration, faculty and teaching staff.

The final interactive tool on the reception kiosk is a computer monitor (shown below).















Computer monitor on reception kiosk (photo taken Jan. 26/08).

The computer monitor on the reception desk is capable of showing slides or streaming video. It could be used in the future to stream an introduction video of Educational Communications and Technology.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas as to what could be included in this or any other space of the ECMM building...please let us know. This is a collaborative effort and hopefully in the near future this space will be inhabited by many ECMM students for a variety of purposes.

Designing an Interactive Sign for ECMM

When you walk up to the ECMM building in SL, you will notice a new sign (shown below) in front of the building.














Interactive sign in front of ECMM building (photo taken Jan. 26/08).

The display sign was purchased to provide information about ECMM. The sign has space for eight bits of information. Currently two panels are being used to provide interactive bits of information regarding ECMM. When the first panel is clicked it delivers a notecard (card providing information in SL) welcoming the visitor to ECMM and provides some background information. The second panel, when clicked, launches the ECMM webpage in an external browser.

This sign was not designed to be interactive but with help from Kev Juno (he provided me with the script) the sign panels were textured with PowerPoint slides and the script to either deliver a notecard or launch a webpage was added to the contents folder of the panels. Thanks again to Kev Juno for explaining where to put the script in order for it to work properly. This really was not that difficult, for a non-techie person like myself, once I was told how it works and given the script. The script has to be modified slightly to deliver a specific notecard or load a specific webpage but, once shown, is not difficult to do. If anyone is looking for the script or needs to be shown how to set it up, I would happily "pass it on" as Kev Juno has to me. There are six more panels to fill, so if anyone has any ideas as to what we should put on them, please let me know.

The University logo has been added to the sign in SL. I am not sure if this logo should be used at this time in SL. Does the University need to approve the use of the logo in SL or can we go ahead and use it?

Installing a FreeView Player in the ECMM Board Room

I installed the FreeView free to copy, open-source Streaming Video viewer in the ECMM board room. This video viewer, developed by CrystalShard Foo, includes features such as media controls for video streaming, web-based movie listing, picture viewer and more. A FreeView SL help guide is available at: http://www.slguide.com/help/














ECMM boardroom including recent additions of table, chairs and FreeView streaming video viewer (photo taken Jan.21/08).

The FreeView video viewer was reasonably easy to setup. The first step was to rez it from my inventory into the boardroom. The size of the screen was good so I did not have to resize it but that option was available is needed. Next I edited the placement of the screen by rotating it so it would fit flat against the wall and positioned it against the wall at the appropriate height.

Once it was positioned properly on the wall I opened the notecard with setup instructions. The instructions were easy to follow but I did run into a couple of problems. First, I want to have members of the ECMM SL group (now created) able to use the FreeView video viewer at their convenience. To do this a ECMM group had to be created and the FreeView video viewer had to be deeded to the ECMM group. This will allow for members of this group to use the viewer but be sure you have the ECMM group profile selected on your avatar so the viewer identifies you as a group member and provides you with the media controls.

The second problem I ran into is that the ECMM group is not currently set with permissions on the U of S property in SL. Therefore the FreeView viewer will not work due to the fact that the ECMM group, which the Freeview viewer is now deeded, does not have permissions on the U of S property. Hopefully Frank Bulk will be able to sort this out for us and we will be streaming video soon.

A Dilemma - Construct or Purchase the ECMM Building

A dilemma that took a long time to make a decision over was whether to construct or purchase the building for ECMM. At the beginning of this whole process, my thought was that most people constructed their own objects (buildings, furniture, etc.) for their spaces. This concerned me a little (ok alot) because of the detail in some of the wonderful structures in SL. For example the real life College Building (shown below) is being constructed by Kev Juno (Kevin Lowey-RL) on the U of S land in SL (anyone confused yet?).











Real Life College Building. Image retrieved on Jan. 20/08 from: http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/
The reproduction of the College Building (shown below) will take Kev Juno days if not months of detailed construction to reproduce in SL. Once complete it will be a wonderful reproduction of a real life building in SL. To attempt a task such as this, one would want to be sure they have advanced building skills.














Jeff Kurka with Kev Juno looking at the College Building Kev is reproducing in SL (Picture taken Jan. 20/08).
I do not have building skills like Kev Juno so I began to use my creative skills and problem solve a solution to this dilemma. As I researched buildings in SL, I quickly realized buildings and many other objects can be purchased for a very reasonable amount of Linden Dollars (SL's unit of trade). The smallest amount of Linden's I was able to purchase was 585L for $2.50 US.

I eventually went to Hydro Homes in SL to purchase the new office structure for ECMM. Purchasing a building was like purchasing anything else in SL. The item is put into your inventory and from there you can rez (make viewable from your inventory) it onto your land. Shown below is the new Building for ECMM. Come over and take a look at our new structure, we would be happy to give you a tour.













The new ECMM building on the U of S Campus in SL (Photo taken Jan. 20/08).

ECMM Officially Under Constrution

What an exciting time in SL, the ECMM space on the U of S property is officially under construction.













ECMM Construction site (Picture taken Jan. 19/08).

The fist step in developing the space for ECMM is constructing the foundation in which the building will sit. I have decided to construct a cement foundation. To do this I created a bunch of cubes linked together and applied a concrete texture to the cubes. This was not a difficult process but you will have to know how to build a cube, size objects, copy objects, move objects, link objects and apply textures to objects.














Jeff Kurka constructing the cement foundation for the ECMM building (Picture taken Jan. 19/08).

Learning How to Build in SL

As in RL (Real Life) to be able to construct objects in SL (Second Life), basic building skills are necessary. So to begin developing the space for ECMM, I will need to lean how to build objects and work with textures.

To learn how to build in SL, I suggest you go to the Ivory Tower Library of Primitives, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/204/70/25/. The Ivory Tower is a location in SL that consists of resources, where avatars go to learn how to build. Once arriving at the Ivory Tower you will move through stations, each providing a tutorial on a specific building topic. The tutorial instructions are provided on notecards that can be kept in your inventory for future reference.














Jeff Kurka learning how to build at the Ivory Tower Of Primitives (Picture taken Jan. 17/08).
The interface in SL provides highly flexible building tools, where learning basic building techniques is not that difficult. The interface allows you to create geometric primitives (prims) that can be manipulated. Basic prims such as cubes, triangles, spheres and cones can be positioned, sized, colored and textured to create objects.

Unless your techie skills are advanced (unlike mine), you may want to learn the basics of building first, practice second and then proceed with more advanced skills. Through this process I believe I was able to learn basic building techniques but by no means do I feel that I am an expert builder.

Landscaping in SL

I would like to landscape some of the land around the ECMM structure. This is necessary to build up the land so I can design a walk-out basement towards the water.

You should know that if you have building permissions for a specific land location, this does not mean that you can terraform the land. The only person who can edit the land is the person holding the deed to the land. In order for others to have land editing privileges, the deed must be given to the group so that any officer in the group can terraform it. The following resource explains how to edit land: http://secondlife.com/app/help/land/landscaping.php

Look and Purpose of the ECMM Structure

I have been in contact with Rick Schwier and we are beginning to discuss the ECMM structure for SL. His questions are what should we have as ECMM structures and the purposes to be served. These are great questions that should be taken into consideration in the design phase of the structure.

I would like to have input on both the design and purpose of the structure. It is important to understand that the design of the structure can be changed at any time. I am new at building and my skills are not developed so we may be limited to the look of the structure at this point. If there are skilled people out there that would like to assist...please come forward. Your knowledge and skill would be much appreciated.

The purpose of the space may be the most important aspect at this time. We need to know what people want to do in this space. We can then be sure to design the space according to the needs identified. Knowing the purpose is also important so necessary tools are made available in the space. For example a projection screen or white board may be required in the space for presentations.

Time is limited so comments regarding the structure and purpose are needed ASAP. Due to the time constraints of the course...I have to work fast if this is going to get done.

Jeff Kurka looking onto the location to the future home of ECMM. (Picture taken Jan. 16/08).

ECMM Request for SL Space Approved by U of S

The request for SL space for ECMM on the U of S property has been approved. Frank Bulk from EMAP approved the request and said to go ahead and start building the structure for ECMM.

One thing to note is that in order to build on the U of S property you must be given building permissions. I am told by Frank Bulk that if you are a member of SLUG, you should automatically be given building permissions for the U of S property. I should therefore be setup and ready to begin construction.

Speaking of SLUG...a nice article in the January 2008 issue of Bridges (Vol.6, No.2) talked about SLUG and Second Life. Felix Stringer (Frank Bulk) and Meridelle Mauvaise (Stephanie Frost) look great in the article picture.

The ECMM Request for Space in SL

Everything is beginning to fit into place. The U of S now has land in Second Life. Dr. Rick Schwier has approved an 805 independent study course where I will develop a home in SL for Educational Technology and Communication (ECMM) on the U of S property. The ECMM space will then hopefully encourage courses to be developed to make use of the space and begin research within this 3D immersive world.

The first step in getting some space for ECMM was to provide Frank Bulk (U of S TEL Program Manager) at the University Learning Centre with a request for space. The request for space (shown below) was put together and then passed on to Dr. Rick Schwier to approve. The request was then sent on to Frank Bulk to see if ECMM would be able to get some space on the U of S property.

Request for ECMM Space to Develop on U of S SL Property

Purpose:
The purpose of this request is to develop a space in Second Life dedicated to ECMM for:

1. conducting research and development within 3D immersive worlds
2. increasing awareness and understanding of educational potential
3. conducting distance education
4. conducting training workshops
5. conducting graduate level courses
6. increasing skills in using the interface, building, and instructing
7. creating a demo-lab and club house
   

Type of Structure:
In the early stages of designing, the vision of the ECMM structure is to include group meeting space and office space. As this space evolves it will surely be used for many exciting and innovative objectives.

Group meeting space in SL will provide many of the same uses as real life meeting space. Dedicated space will allow for a SLURL to be given to users in order to teleport directly to the ECMM location. The group meeting space will provide ECMM with space for groups to gather and collaborate in SL. Some uses of the group meeting space may include presentations, lectures, group meetings, workshops and conferences. This space will be mostly open space with seats, tables and educational tools and resources.

Office space for ECMM will provide space for members to use when working in SL. Office space will allow faculty to have allocated space for office hours to meet with students. This space will also be used to conduct research and development in a somewhat private environment. This space will be a little more private, possibly including enclosed rooms.

Size of Structure:
The space requested for ECMM should allow for both group meeting space and office space. The meeting space should be large enough to accommodate 15-20 avatars, seats, tables and presentation screens. The office space should be large enough to develop 4 or 5 offices large enough to hold 3 avatars and some office furniture.

Number of Students Served:
Student’s involvement with the ECMM structure will be at all stages. Students will first be involved with the design and development of the space. Students will then be involved in the research and development of educational uses for the space. Students will then make use of the space for education and training through distance education. It is unclear how many students this will include at this time. If SL continues to grow it may become a valuable platform for providing distance education for both ECMM and the University of Saskatchewan.

Resources Provided:
-limited building knowledge (this skill will increase with the construction of the ECMM space)
-limited knowledge and understanding of some educational resources used in SL
-general understanding of avatar movement, vision, inventory, and other basic functions of SL
-limited knowledge of integrating SL with a Moodle platform through Sloodle to provide access to CMS functions in-world

Resources Required:
-graphic support
-scripting support
-technical support
-building/design support
-live streaming from RL to SL support
-Sloodle support

The Beginning of the Journey

The journey to developing space in Second Life (SL) began for me on April 11, 2007. This was the day that Dr. Dirk Morrison ( U of S), John Karmazyn (SIAST) and myself met for the first time to discuss the possibility of our three institutions (U of S, SIAST and Cumberland College) collectively purchasing land in SL to begin researching it's educational potential. Our intentions were good and we were all interested in the research but time moved on and nothing seemed to progress.

I continued a solo journey in Second Life, learning and experiencing what I could in-world but I was still an avatar without a home. It was not until Nov. 25/07 when I received an email from Dr. Dirk Morrison that hope for for a home once again seemed possible. The email forwarded from Kathy Schwarz identified the following,

"Second Life User Group with Frank Bulk - Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Event: Fall Workshops Monday , Oct. 1, 2007 Time: 3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. Location: Murray Building 50.1 Do you have an avatar and an interest in using Second Life in your teaching or research? You are welcome to attend the first meeting of the Second Life User Group for the University of Saskatchewan. We are in the process of acquiring space to establish our "in-world" presence, but intend to have monthly face-to-face meetings to share interests in this new frontier."

We met that day and a group called SLUG (Second Life User's Group) was formed. I can still remember, from the meeting, the words coming out of Frank Bulk's mouth indicating that the U of S was in the process of purchasing some land on an island called Teaching 6. Frank explained the deal for the land should be finalized any day.

The land deal was finalized and the U of S now leases a total of 16384 square meters in SL. The following image taken from the SLUG Wiki page describes the layout of the island.

Image retrieved January 13, 2008 from: https://wiki.usask.ca/slug/index.php/Main_Page

What's the Big Idea?

As a newbie (person new to SL) I find it very time consuming to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to participate in Second Life (SL). Upon arrival to the 3D immersive world my avatar (Jeff Kurka) stumbled around as I tried to figure out how to control him to make it look as though he belonged. Or as one might express, "didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday."

Although time consuming, I am intrigued by the potential of Second Life. I believe this MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game) has levels of interaction and collaboration unseen, to date, through other web-based tools or platforms. My in-world experiences have kept me coming back to try and figure out the educational possibilities of SL.

I do not want to use SL simply because it is the latest technology or cool to use. I want to see real value for members of the educational community. Through the last year spending time in SL going to conferences and learning how other educators are using it, I believe it to be the beginning of something exciting.

This excitement has built up to the point that I feel I want to help others experience the potential of this place. In order to make it easier for other educators and students to make use of this immersive world, I am going to create a resource that will assist in the necessary skill development. This blog will describe the journey taken to create this resource.