Joined Virtual World Committee of the AECT

Virtual World Committee is a committee of the Association of Education Communications and Technology (AECT). This is a very valuable find and it's membership is filled with talented academics who well understand virtual learning and Second Life.

An island called CAVE is under current and fast construction.

http://www.aect.org

Disneyland imitation "Mouse World" showcases great ideas and technology

Being an overt fan of Disneyland, I have searched Second Life for such. Mouse World has basically re-created the entire Park and allows visitors to watch vintage video of Disneyland, and ride many of the current and former attractions. Wow! One may tour the Haunted Mansion, ride Pirates of the Caribbean or the Jungle Cruise, sail in the sky above on the Disneyland Monorail, etc. You may even buy a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich.

Not interested in Disney attractions for our SBDC island, yet the technology used in Mouse World is intriguing and provides great insight to some of the things we can do to create and engaging island.

Mouse World in Second Life is well worth a visit to procure new ideas and view possibilities.

3 Core Competencies of SBDC in SL

While SL is a fantasy world of sorts, there must be some basic competencies that mirror the real world, even though it will be done in a very fun and engaging way. They are:

1. A classroom for teaching a group of people.
2. A counseling location for one-on-one or one-to-many counseling and sharing of documents.
3. A self help area that can be accessed 24/7, with video, PP, templates, and links to other resources and people.

I am working on a schematic of the Wyoming SBDC island and have some good ideas.

A professor from Colorado State University gave me some great advice about my project recently.

My Avatar in Second Life: Bronco Skytower

Here are some photos of my avatar. I am flying in the first photo.

Definitely need to learn the monetary system and find some clothes a little closer to what I really wear. Although the AECT tshirt is very cool.

The avatar seems to resemble me, but I couldn't add gray hair on my sides! Personally, I want my avatar to look like me.

Got started in Second Life

Getting started does take some time, especially the specific physical characteristics of your avatar.

Carefully choosing a first name 'cause you are stuck with it. I wish I had simply chosen my own first name.

I will eventually want to buy some clothes. More on that later. Getting started is good enough and the details can come later.

Once inside, I used the search button at the bottom to find some places to go. And, I searched Google for a guide that shows you how to move around.

I went to the Harvard University Law School site and to Mouse World, which is an amazing recreation of Disneyland. You can even ride the attractions. Wow.

Here is a film from the University of Maryland that demonstrates how to get started. YouTube is an awesome place for learning Second Life:

Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Second Life

Every project has a starting point, this Second Life gig is no exception. So, here I go.

I work for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wyoming, as a Regional Director in Rock Springs. We brand ourselves with the name: Wyoming Entrepreneur.

As webmaster of our site (www.wyen.biz), and a doctoral candidate studying instructional technology, I am ever searching for ways to use technology for outreaching to our clients, the entrepreneurs of Wyoming.

I believe that a Small Business Development Center in Second Life makes sense. We will have a place to hold conferences, counsel clients one-on-one or one-to-many, a video screen and documents download area, and some fun things to do like visit landmarks in Wyoming; perhaps ski at Jackson.

My approach to this project supports my work and my dissertation topic which so far is Counseling entrepreneurs in a 3-D multi-user virtual environment (muve). So, the approach to this will be as academic as possible as I would like to guide the project's efforts by using learning theory when feasible.

That is all for now other than to say that the Wyoming SBDC State Office supports this project and is awaiting a formal proposal.