More Innovation using Second Life and the Xbox Kinect

Xbox and Second Life should both be pleased with these "hacks" that bring real life imagery and shapes into the 3-D world of Second Life, hoepfully brining in the future a greater level of realism.

http://youtu.be/aEJhakY-gMk

Screen Sharing finally available for Teaching in Second Life

The wait is over, and join.me has delivered. Screen sharing as a tool and function of distance education has come to Second Life. Once Second Life's viewer 2 came into being in 2010 and one could share websites with an audience, the final frontier for live teaching was sharing one's computer screen, no matter what is on it, for the most robust and interesting classroom experiences.

Join.me is free and way easy to use. Add this to Skype and companies like Citrix that offer GoToMeeting are in real trouble.  Join.me has no voice capability at this time but does have chat, which I think is in the Pro version.

Also of note is join.me has smart phone viewers which can see your screen as well. The service is free unless you add some features in which case, it becomes $30 per month which is steep for just a screen sharing software.

Here are some shots of my demo within Second Life:


This is showing on a screen in Second Life, at the Wyoming Entrepreneur island.

This is the screen at classroom 1.  Once loaded with a screen sharing session, attendees click on it once and start to see whatever is on the screen being shared.

This is what the screen looks like when an attendee clicks on the teaching screen inside Second Life, but nothing is being shared.  Note the tools at the top, showing on the computer screen only, of the person who will share his/her screen.

The above screen is now showing my desktop which currently has this blog being displayed in Internet Explorer.

Hopefully this software will stay around for a while but if not, another should take its place in this open source, open content movement we are blessed with.

Just imagine the teaching possibilities with this tool...

Awesome Tools for Teaching in Second Life

For a school project I have been observing a teacher in Second Life. The new viewer 2, which is not that new anymore, allows access to and displaying of the cloud in Second Life. I can now use Google docs to demonstrate how to develop a business plan with a Word doc, and how to use our financial projections workbook with an Excel doc.

Also, I can teach how to build a website with Webs.com, and by using Scribblar, I have access to a whiteboard which will display asset such as images (diagrams) and PowerPoint. Powerpoint has been available for a long time in Second Life but displaying it with Scribblar allows the use of drawing tools to highlight places on slides and enhance teaching, I have found.

Visit the island by clicking HERE: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wyoming%20Entrepreneur/162/237/46

See photos below for my use of Google docs in Second Life.

Island Build Markers in Place

Met with our builder today for 90 minutes going over the artist's concept (ha ha, mine), resources for images of Wyoming, and some of the legal stuff.

She (our builder) has placed markers around the island in preparation for the build. When setting a timeline, and assuming we do not broaden the scope of the project, the initial build will be finished December 1, 2009. This will be Wyoming Entrepreneur Island 1.0.

Wyoming Entrepreneur Island 2.0 build will take place in 10 months from now and include much more interactive objects on the island that teach entrepreneurs business basic through fun activities and games.

Thar be land ahead! Wyoming SBDC has a Secone Life Island (kind of)

A unique fixer upper? Well, they are all when new and besides, we have an experienced and talented Second Life builder on the schedule. No, not me! But I will get there.

These shots may not be inspiring, but considering the journey I have taken they are awesome!

Thanks to the Wyoming SBDC State Office for support and vision.

And now the real work begins. We are looking to have a working model March 2010 and launch the island officially May 2010. I love exceeding timelines but we'll see.

Universities Buying Land in Second Life - Wyoming SBDC Purchased Island

We are on our way to island ownership. Last night I did an online chat with a SL educational rep. They sent me to a SL site called Special Order in Second Life. The address is: http://specialorders.secondlife.com. This is where an educational orgnizations apply for an island at a discount.

What is needed:

- Name on account and you can have a different name for billing and delivery (island owner)
- Address (obviously)
- You choose a from four island shapes and they have a graphic to look at
- You MUST have your institutions federal tax ID number
- You will pay by invoice net 30 which includes the island purchase price and either 6 or 12 months of island maintenance fee.

Even with this expense, we will save a truck load of our budget if we start meeting internally in SL instead of phone conferencing. Savings will be in the thousands and the timing is impecable considering current budget reductions.

And, hey, this is a fun project with strong outreach potential.

Second Life SBDC Island Project Approved

State office approved the Wyoming SBDC Second Life project, so land purchase is now a go and underway. Challenge: figure out how to pay for it using the U of Wyoming purchasing guidelines. Always a learning experience for me, but nice people to work with.

We will purchase an entire island (estate). Part of the proposal is that we will consider leasing a parcel or two to other Wyoming entities that compliment the University of Wyoming entrepreneur services.

Also, I have sent an addendum of the proposal to the state office asking for funding to build the island with a professional Second Life builder. The result will be a faster better build and, the builder will allow me to watch and learn as she is takin' care of business.

More to come on that. But, I discovered the Second Life video tutorials on the official site. I have tried YouTube and other places, but there may be the best out there.

http://secondlife.com/showcase/tutorials

Resources to Get Started in Second Life & Computer Hardware Needed

Upon arriving at Second Life.com and starting a new account, which is free, one ends up on Orientation Island. There, you are given a basic, hands on tutorial about setting up your avatar, moving around, and interacting with objects. You can then go to Help Island and pick up some free clothing, and other objects like things to build with.

But there is more to learn and it does take some time and patience. The pinnacle I would think, is to have a person experience in SL right there with you while setting up. But there are many online resources that are great so I will list a few of them:

Second Life Wiki
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Help:Getting_started_in_Second_Life

Downloadable Quick Start Guide from SecondLife.com
http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/Second_Life_Quickstart.pdf

Second Life FAQ
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Help:Second_Life_FAQ

Once you master the basics and are ready to start building, this non-online resource
that can be purchased at Amazon (or many other places) is quite useful. Building is a
whole new world in comparison to cruising around in SL. And, it is really fun and interesting.

This is a book called: Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470171146/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

System Requirements to Use Second Life

This page at http://www.secondlife.com/ has the requirements needed to run in Second Life.

http://secondlife.com/support/sysreqs.php

If you are buying a new computer and taking yours in for a graphics upgrade, I would recommend at least a 1 gig graphics (video) card which is more than the minimum. Refer your tech person to the link above though and this should provide adequate explanation. Or, refer them to me.

I welcome questions about SL from Wyoming small business owners @ matkins2@uwyo.edu.

I certainly don't know everything, but day by day I am picking this up. Check out Bronco's new hair and clothes as he is standing in front of a fountain in New Orleans Square of Mouse World. Whoa, ready for something formal...

Educational Pricing in Second Life

Universities receive significant discounts in Second Life. This page has the pricing as of August 2009. The title of this article is a link. Or, go to: http://www.secondlife.com/land/privatepricing.php .

Second Life land can be purchased on the Mainland or Private Island. The Mainland is kind of like living in a city where you have neighbors close at hand. A private island is just that and, it should be noted that with a private island purchase, you get a dedicated server, assuming you purchase a full region. Seclusion does have it price, but along with great advantages.

Second Life Proposal sent to Wyoming State SBDC Office

The proposal is off. We may have the first official SBDC island in Second Life. Cannot confirm but searching in SL makes it seem so...

In my investigation for the proposal I have come to believe that Second Life is without question as cost effective, and in some cases more so, than other communication media like telephone. The downside is that telephone conferences can be accomplished through cell phones although I noticed that SL has a program that allows someone to call into and island meeting with a cell phone. Another disadvantage to SL is that most communication is synchronous.

Yet all text communication can be saved and reviewed later.

Linden Labs has done an amazing job with this software and seem to be progressive in responding to their market.

Second Life for Dummies & the Kool-Aid Man

Before purchasing this book on Amazon, I used YouTube, Wikipedia, Second Life.com, and a few general Google searches to learn of this multi-user virtual environment.

Second Life for Dummies brings it all together by two authors that seem highly fluent in Second Life.

Here are a few news unique things I learned from the book (among many, many others):

• Average user age is 28 (although probably rising)
• Where to get lots of free stuff
• What a SLURL is (and you should learn too)
• You can become the Kool-Aid man or, Goofy or, a Jedi in SL
• How to communicate effectively
• Societal conventions
• Sandboxes: places to practice building. I personally use EdTech and pretty much
  stay within the realms of higher education for this type of activity

Mainly bought the book to learn how to build, but the more learned the better. In a few chapters I start building...

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.