technology

a Google Maps Walking Tour of Second Life?

I haven't had a chance in over a month to just surf the web with no strong intent or purpose. I just ran across this interesting tidbit that I will have to follow up on later.

Do You Need a Second Life?

Again, thanks, Ryan, for this article from Technology in Higher Education.

The iPod and the Global Economy

The Everyday Economist blog pointed to this investigative article.

Making Video Games Educational or Making Education like video gaming?

Ryan Bretag (Ex. Paine in SL) Points to this Slate article that is skeptical about the ability to cross the line between education and gaming. The best assertion is at the bottom - the complexities of learning that take place in some complicated video games and online worlds do not necessarily directly translate to more finite skill sets needed by workers and learners. In other words, those creating educational games are skating the surface but not really mining the potential????

Scripting in Second Life

I made it back into Second Life tonight and happened upon a scripting class for educators. So, now I know a bit about creating an object and while I'm only beginning to understand scripting, I know have some resources - both in SL and on the web.

But, what I really like about SL is the informal networking - especially what took place tonight prior to the class starting. It's also a good exercise in learning among teachers and how everyone wants to chime in even when it is diverting away from the instructors. There's not the same body language and eye contact in SL (obviously :-) ) so it's a whole new management approach.

As a result of the informal networking tonight, I learned about sims in SL that replicate the Capitol and the Sistine Chapel.

I wonder what it says that we are busy replicating real life in second life?

Second Earth

Second Life + Google Earth=Second Earth

MySpace versus Facebook

This morning's Chronicle of Higher Ed had a short blog entry about Danah Boyd's observations about which groups tend to use MySpace and which tend to use Facebook. Danah's original entry is here and her follow-up about the surprise of the widespread dissemination of the piece is here. I wonder if she's right?

I first became aware of Danah when she was part of the group running around with Liz Lawley at South By Southwest's first blogging conference a few years ago. Like Liz, she definitely has some unique insight and is defining the new parameters of scholarship with research closely examining social networking and other related topics. In other words, the old parameters of articles and books being your primary mode of being noticed are out the window - Danah is still a graduate student and yet doing cutting edge research that she makes available in the more public realm of social networks.

Getting a Perspective on My Second Life

Thanks to Ryan, here's a YouTube parody of the First Life/Second Life dichotomy. The question is, how many of us actually feel like our RL is actually taking place this way?

Virtual Life or Virtual Hype

As usual, great insight from Liz.

Teen Grid - Oz Island

I made a few brief appearances on the Teen Grid this week to join the Topeka Shawnee Heights Library project - Oz Island. Jean Gardner is doing a great job there. The kids were loving their "play time" on the hovercraft they had created.

One of the features that I especially appreciated was a box of normal women's clothing - a great way to feel comfortable getting started in any online world.

While I haven't done much with all the Sims software, I have been "keeping my eye" on it so at least I am not as far behind as I would have been. (As always, I'm wishing I had "discovered" Second Life several years ago - but then there also wouldn't have been near as much interaction because there were only a few people "in world')