Real Life Visual Culture in Second Life: CSI: NY (part II)

Here are three videos related to the CSI:NY/SL cross-over episode that aired on October 24, 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py65wBSKOCE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfXb6zb6Upc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ZmjA7GCzQ

There are numerous other blogs, articles, and postings related to this crossover, such as:

http://members.aol.com/remiped/csi-newyork.htm

http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/10/10/esc-launch-sanctioned-new-viewer-to-tie-in-with-csi-ny-in-sl/

Real Life Visual Culture in Second Life: CSI: NY

Now you can be part of the TV show CSI:NY (sort of).
Go to http://alpha.cbs.com/primetime/csi_ny/second_life/
and register to be part of this real world meets virtual world experience. Solve virtual crimes in virtual reality. Why not?

Out of the Virtual Frying Pan and Into the Virtual Fire

Second Life is not the only virtual world but currently avatars in Second Life are limited to exploring and living in Second Life. This "problem" may not be one for long as developers are discussing the possibilities of avatars moving between and among virtual worlds. Click on the following URLs to read variations of this story:

Free the Avatars (NYTimes)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/free-the-avatars/

Universe Hopping for Avatars? (Daily Trends)
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/14437/universe-hopping_for_avatars

Open Borders Sought for Virtual Worlds (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/10/10/second_life_ibm_in_open_borders_for_virtual_worlds/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Technology+stories

Spur of the Moment Distance Education via SL

Last week we put SL to the test as a quick fix to solve what could be described as a "distance education" opportunity. One student in my Contemporary Visual Culture evening class could not attend but did not want to miss out on the discussion and related class activities. After dismissing several options for webcam fixes we decided to use SL voice to at least include this student in a real time discussion.

The technology worked very well. The sound quality was good and clear and, after we adjusted the volume on the computer we were using in the classroom, all students in the room could hear the "distance education" student and be heard on her end of the line. Prior to class I sent the "distance education" student an e-mail with a PDF of the slides we planned to discuss that evening. Had I been thinking more clearly--and had there been a bit more time to prepare--I could have loaded the slides into one of the slide viewers in the TLAVC house and the student could have viewed the slides we were viewing in class. Unfortunately, the "distance education" student had to diminish her SL screen to view the PDF and then switch back which made for a somewhat awkward experience.

Perhaps we will hold most or all of a future class session in SL and use voice to facilitate discussion along with slides in world. I think I am changing my views of what distance education can be.

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.