RL in SL and SL in RL

Here is a video spoof of SL.

RL in SL and SL in RL

I think I am becoming fascinated with the connections between RL and SL. Ok, so that statement does not make much sense as a general statement. What I have been thinking about lately are examples and implications of RL in SL. Why are some people compelled to infuse the SL experience with RL content? What are the benefits or gains from bringing RL content into SL? And does SL content have to reflect RL content, imagery, or purpose? (Thanks, Pam, for keeping this question fresh in my mind.) I have made some of my own RL to SL connections and have recently placed images from my own RL work into SL. I am excited about looking more deeply into these questions and ideas.

And we have examples of SL content in RL. The easy example to consider are conferences on SL in RL. These SL to RL examples might seem natural. But what about turning part of a RL town into SL? That is what happened in Austria. Or a video spoof of SL on YouTube.com (see above post) in which RL people move and perform as SL avis? Hmmm.

Meeting Students In World

Metaphor Voom watching a film in an empty detention center.

Metaphor Voom (right) with 2 students.

Metaphor Voom inside a holodeck.

We are now 4 weeks into the semester and all students in the course have spent time in world. Some students are experiencing the normal challenges of learning the technology and discovering how to move, fly, and other required tasks to gain permission to leave Orientation Island. Each student figures out how to "mouse around" (a term I borrowed from a dear friend of mine, Mike) and find her/his level of comfort in the virtual environment. Getting used to being virtual takes time.

Some students have taken to SL like digital ducks to digital water. I spend many late nights online and in world. I am finding that some of my students do, too. I have met with a couple of students in world late at night and on the weekends in unscheduled sessions. These sessions have taken the form of guided tours. In the first meeting with each of these students I was the tour guide. I showed them a few landmarks I thought were particularly interesting for whatever reason. The subsequent meetings have been ones in which the students have been the tour guides. I like this approach. I am the student. They are showing me what they think is interesting and offer explanations as to why. I suspect this turn of roles--when the tour guide becomes the guided--is a feature of SL as an educational context.

The Beginning of It All...

Last week I spent time with 2 students in Second Life-actually, my avatar Metaphor Voom spent time with their avatars. These students are enrolled in my EDCI 689: Contemporary Visual Culture course. I spent time with each student individually, taking them to various points of interest, making sure they has worked out their flying, landing, and landmarking skills; and generally giving them a good old avatar welcome into the Metaverse. The first avatar Metaphor met was Demeter Offcourse (In the image to the left, Metaphor is on the left, Demeter is on the right). The second avatar was Erwan McBride.


Metaphor teleported (TP) both to the Teaching, Learning and Visual Culture (TLAVC) parcel on the Educators Coop.

"The spirit of our vision for the Educators Coop Residential Community is to provide eligible educators and researchers with a simple and easy way to feel at home in an SL community and to begin exploring, collaborating, teaching, and conducting research in Second Life more easily and seamlessly. The heart of our effort is building a real community that provides educators with a unique cooperative residential environment in SL offering opportunities for creating meaningful new relationships and collaborations. Residents enjoy these benefits and share in the responsibility for cultivating and supporting a community spirit."

TLAVC is where Metaphor will spend the year trying to figure out various questions related to teaching and learning visual culture in the Metaverse. I was lucky enough to secure this parcel on the Educators Coop and receive support from my department, Teaching, Learning and Culture (TLAC) at Texas A&M University. The Coop has already been a wonderful place to meet other educators in a relaxed and supportive environment. It seems to be a great model that gets better everyday.

This should be a good year. Stay tuned.