I forgot to post my pic!

I took this snapshot near the end of the SLED meeting. Note the Linden leader in the glowing skin! I still haven't changed Avitar's clothing, so I'm the funky one in the center of the screen with the pink head covering. Meeting topic: "Are we our Avatars?" Talked about the way we present ourselves, the names we select... interesting venue. A welcome group of educators whose RL locations spanned the globe from the UK, to Australia, to the US.
Enjoy! Anne

SLED meeting

Those of you who have seen me in SL know I have the walk of a newbie and that I'm just as likely to need you to teleport me to your location as anything else.
Soooo, with that framework in mind, I visited the site of the SL Educator's Roundtable meeting a couple of times before the meeting - even sat in a chair around the table to make sure I could properly sit.
I was in the Montclaire State University promptly at 5 EST, only to learn from Margeret Michaelski that the meeting started at 5:30. Soooo, we chatted a bit - all by type - and I elected to remain there until the hour-long meeting began. Perhaps twenty-five or so were at the meeting, although there weren't that many when I took the photo I'll post. The educators were from around the world - Australia, the UK, and most from the US: Wisconsin, NY, UNLV, Tulsa, NC, NJ. The moderator was Pathfinder Linden; I believe he's the one who was blue in color.
I thought it would be easy to follow the conversation AND to take notes as I listened/read, but the conversations flowed so quickly that multi-tasking was NOT an option.
The environment was welcoming; I was not the only one who entered and asked about protocol. I was there so early that it was easy to do so. It was obvious that several avatars meet there regularly; the conversation was familiar and joking at times. Very pleasant. I felt welcomed... one of the ladies in the forum said she recognized me from the SLED list. I'd only posted two comments, so I was pretty impressed that she remembered me!
The first meeting of each month uses voice; all others are typed.
The hour of the meeting went by pretty quickly. Discussion centered around how much we are like our avatar(s). Turns out that newbies, like me, are easily recognized by our default walk and clothing. I didn't know avatars could change forms...so there was lots of incidental learning going on for me.
I was pleased to learn about two links for SL support... when I searched "slooghud" (at least that's what I have in my notes), I got a whole page of SL support topics. I also searched "sloodle" and have included those hot links in the posting on the main page. The Second Life tutorials may be something I use in the future.

I just included one url, but you get more on the page when you conduct a search for those terms, so you're actually better off doing that.

I used my PC with a nice large screen for my SL experience tonight. Since I had only to walk a short bit and sit primarily, the video card in my PC that isn't up to snuff for SL was ample for tonight's visit. I was pleased to learn that. For future meetings when I can sit, I'll always opt for the PC instead of the laptop. For movement, the laptop is closer to giving me what I need, although I froze frequently last visit to SL and was on the laptop.

There was discussion about how to notify educators of the meetings...at the beginning, someone was sending out reminders to the regulars... It was actually more engaging than a videoconference might have been. I was quite surprised. If I attend more, there's a whole 'nother language I need to learn. I saw a blog at the top of the page when I searched for slooghud to which I might return... a gentleman commenting on what he had learned after his sixth visit to SL.

Why do I feel like I should end with "nanu nanu"?!

Enjoy,
Anne

Lost In Space - My Second Foray into SL

Lost in Space – My Second Foray into SL, written Friday 12 June 2009

Armed this time with microphone and headset, I logged in, saw the notification that d.i. was online, and found myself standing in front of the shopping area where I was last time I’d logged off. I didn’t see any classmates around, so I searched my notes, and typed “control shift home,” expecting to propel myself to the meeting site where d.i. and crew had gathered initially last week. I have that sequence coded as “emergency exit to safety.”

Within seconds, I knew whatever I had programmed into those key strokes wasn’t what I intended. I’d entered a private area and was immediately given 60 seconds to exit. What’s odd is that the experience of entering that unwelcome space evoked momentary anxiety. Typing as quickly as I could, I said I was looking for my classmates. I’m not one for details, so I will only be able to list events without a specific sequence.

- One female avatar seemed willing to help and asked a question about where I wanted to be.
- Immediately, another called that avatar’s name and said either “no!” or “don’t!” Her tone was emphatic.
- The leader who demanded that I leave immediately seemed to be male.
- The room was dark and devoid of objects I could see. I’m not certain whether that’s because it was “private” or not – perhaps they could see things I couldn’t. In any case, it was not a light, welcoming environment and was not something I would elect to create in cyberspace or in my own first life.
- I was ejected into space and ended up who knows where. Flying in the dark isn’t fun when you don’t know where you’re being sent.

I looked at my screen, noticed I had three SL windows open, and began closing out all but one.
Logging off was definitely something I was ready to do, and I reminded myself to see what the proper sequence is to leaving SL....I’d simply “quit” other times I’d been on the site.

Meanwhile (back at the ranch), d.i. knew I was returning to SL (we’d just gotten off a Skype call) and I’d been sent at least five invitations to teleport to the group. I finally saw an invitation to teleport and gladly accepted it. I find it interesting that being lost in a simulated world can be disconcerting. The reality is that I can simply exit the program if worse comes to worse, yet I was quite anxious to return to the group I’ve identified as friends through our Web 2.0 class.

Sooo, I’m finally with the group and we’re looking at ways to change the appearance of our avatars. I can see that this could take considerable planning and time. While I’m not mentally ready to deal with that, if I am going to spend any significant time in SL, I would change my appearance. I’d already recognized that d.i.’s avatar’s appearance was deliberate, that parallels between d.i. and icabad existed. Note: I was grateful later on when I was searching for the group that d.i. had that wonderful, light-emiting wand. I’m not vain, but admit readily that I’d spend a few real dollars to acquire SL dollars if the outfits could resemble options I like in first life: hiking stuff, a couple jazzy outfits (hey, d.i. did mention dancing in SL!)

Unlike the first SL excursion, I could speak on this visit, but remained frozen more than mobile for most of the night. If one gets points for needing to be teleported to the group numerous times in one evening, I win the award! (May I have that in SL currency, please?) I’d hear d.i.’s request, get ready to move, and literally be frozen in place. It’s probable that SL’s requirements for video cards exceed my laptop’s capabilities. I know that’s true for my PC and I’m prepared in the next few days to investigate getting a newer PC for summer use in Virginia.

When we were asked to search for Apollo’s Garden, I heard only a portion of d.i.’s request, but typed that into the search window in the upper right corner. Hmmm. Lots of options... I correctly guessed that we’d head for the no-nudity Apollo’s Garden and clicked on that. Arriving outside the garden, I meandered in and finally found the group. A frozen state does not promote enjoying Tai Chi. I wasn’t able to grab onto the balls of light that morphed one’s experience into that venue. I had no better luck with movement for the rest of the evening, but found it interesting that we could venture into art and photography galleries, into gardens, and see the Grand Canyon with a 360 degree panorama (well, make that 180 degrees since I couldn’t turn my head!) More teleporting...Jody and company are getting lots of experience in that exercise!

With the amount of tasks I want to finish for the course, navigating SL well isn’t at the top of my list, but it’s something I’ll explore more in the future. Having those experiences will allow me to understand what our adolescents are doing in space and to consider possibilities for myself and teaching, as well. I hear a new PC calling my name and have been advised that an Intel Core i7 is the only way to go! Now, if configuring the rest of the unit will be that easy...

Things to consider for future reference:
Use my digital recorder to record d.i.’s instructions. Hearing and doing at the same time work well to reinforce my learning.
Print out the commands and notes d.i.’s given to us; read carefully and practice.
Adjust whatever command I need to return to our playground so I can eject myself from undesired environments.
Review enough information so I can behave appropriately, follow the conventions in online environments.
See about putting a few $ into Avitar’s account so I can donate to areas I enjoy.
Read about SL so I can get tips for navigating and how SL might be used for education simulations. (I recall d.i. saying something about medical simulations, but my sound wasn’t crystal clear at that time, so I may not have the proper connotation here.)
Consider getting a Second Life for Dummies book. I still enjoy offline reading....haven’t strongly considered a Kindel for downloading books yet.

As I considered signing off with “Danger, Will Robinson!” I wondered how many will recognize that famous (or infamous) phrase.

Enjoy,
Anne