E-LEARNING IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
L.J.M.Rothkrantz

The Revolution is Hear! Sound Art, the Everyday and Aural Awareness

The Revolution is Hear! Sound Art, the Everyday and Aural Awareness
PhD thesis by Florian Hollerweger at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast. Supervised by Dr. Pedro Rebelo and Prof. Michael Alcorn.

1st European Immersive Education Summit 28th and 29th November 2011 Leganes (Madrid, Spain)

1st European Immersive Education Summit
28th and 29th November 2011
Leganes (Madrid, Spain)

MMVC11 Free Online Event, by Dr. Nellie Deutsch Educational Leadership Curriculum and Instruction

MMVC11 Free Online Event,
by Dr. Nellie Deutsch
Educational Leadership
Curriculum and Instruction

Virtual World Language Learning (Activities)

The Online Author’s Survival Guide

The Online Author’s Survival Guide, by Kivmars Bowling
Senior Managing Editor, Compass Journals, Wiley-Blackwell.

Very clear and useful text. I like very much with the proposal about sharing the links to the text published by using environments as Second Life. This procedure seems specially adequate when the topics covered by our texts are related to virtual environments.I did not know that Wiley-Blackwell has a place at this Virtual World.This allows you to be teleported to there.

Real uses of Dracy Crossword Panel, device created by Akemi Mochizuki (Draceina Pinion avatar) to learn languages at Second Life

Alcuni dettagli su Metaversos 2011, by Laura Fedeli

Alcuni dettagli su Metaversos 2011, by Laura Fedeli

Metaversos 2011. III Congres (photos of the workshop performed by Draceina Pinion and gloriagdiagoGalicia)

More and better photos of the Workshop performed by Draceina Pinion and gloriagdiagoGalicia in Second Life, at the simulation of the Palace of Congres which is in Ibiza (Spain)
Congreso Metaversos 2011 in Second Life (album) by James OReilly

Persuasive Effects of Presence in Immersive Virtual Environments, by Dan GRIGOROVICI

Persuasive Effects of Presence in Immersive Virtual Environments, by Dan GRIGOROVICI.
Being There: Concepts, effects and measurement of user presence in synthetic environments G. Riva, F. Davide, W.A IJsselsteijn (Eds.) Ios Press, 2003, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Asking to a Akemi Mochizuki, a professional scripter in S.L about how she finds scripting software of open source environments

Akemi Mochizuki (Draceina Pinion avatar) is a professional scripter who makes scripts for several individuals and enterprises and who also design educational tools which can be seen and tried by using the demos that she has displayed on her shop, Dracy´s Virtual Shop at Second Life.
She designs devices oriented to satisfy several needs and purposes in Virtual Environments, especially, intendeed to facilitate the learning/tecahing process of a language in this Virtual Worlds. Thus, their tools are being used by Schools set in Second Life as ESL (English as a Second Language, SL) or by marbachgerman2go.

Because Akemi Mochizuki is the best scripter I meet, I wanted to know her opinion about how she finds scripting at Virtual Worlds of Open Source. I have entered in some of them and, for me are pretty similar to Second Life but I have not enought knowledge of scripting for knowing if that Virtual Worlds are offering the same options than Second Life.


G._Akemy, as professional scripter at Second Life, can you enumerate for the problems, if any, you find when scripting at Virtual Worlds of Open Acesss?

A._Actually S.L script is better than the one which can be used at Virtual Worlds of Open Source but this seems logic because these Virtual Environments are under developing. When comparing Second Life with Virtual Worlds of Open Source from the scripter perspective, I found that the order of linking changes in Virtual Worlds of Open Source differs from the one used in Second Life. Apart from this fact, it is important to point out that some function of LSL cannot be used now in those Virtual Environments. For example, if I use 'llDie()' in the script, objects often fail to vanish in opensim. One example of other option which does not work is the touch_start one.
Furthermore, in SL I could use many notecards in one prim. This feature is very important.For illustrating what is for, I give you an example: Using many notecards in a prim, allows ne to save many questions in one tool. For example, in S.L. DRACY CROSSWORD PUZZLE can has 30 puzzles saved but in open source just one.

As Akemy has stated, the fact that scripting of Open Source Virtual Worlds is not so developed as the one used in Second Life, is not of surprise when taking into account that these Virtual Environments are under development. Taking into account the possibilities that these virtual environments are now offereing as allowing to import/export items by using Imprudence viewer (we must have all the permissions of the items) or as permitting to be teletransported between grids by using the hypergrid protocol. (this means, using one avatar, with its inventory), allows to think that these platforms will have more users each day and perhaps we see, a convergence of platforms whereby we can use our avatar with its inventory for entering in all of them, without need to follow a long process. In this way, the communication between users, facilitated by channels as the mail lists as Opensim users mail list would make the process easier.

On the other hand, it seems not fair that for exporting all the items we have in Second Life, we must use a device as Stored Inventory which, surprisingly or not is done by Linds and for which we must pay for. Would be more reasonable to can export our items and our contacts freely between these Virtual Environments because there are many time invested and experience obtained that is needed to protect.

Further readings:

Mochizuki, A.(2009) Description of two educational tools for Second Life:
Memorize and Categorize.IV Congress of Cibersociety

Mochizuki, A. (2009) Notes about Linden Scripting Language (LSL) and its possible applications. IV Congress of Cybersociety.

Metaverse Creativity. Volume 1, Issue 1.

The Volume 1, Issue 1 of Metaverse Creativity Journal is published.
From the Intellect website, you can read all the articles by free.

This new Journal is edited by Elif Ayiter (Sabanci University) and Yacov Sharir (University of Texas, at Austin). From here congratulations to both for such a wonderfull work.Specially, my recognisement to Elif Ayiter.

The Editorial Board of Metaverse Creativity is integarted by Trish Adams (The University of Queensland, Australia, Selim Balcisoy (Sabanci University, Turkey, Andrew Burrell (University of Sydney, Australia), Stefan Glasauer (Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, Beth Harris (Museum of Modern Art, New York, US), Patrick Lichty (Columbia College, Chicago, US), Steven Zucker (Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, US)and the Advisory Board is formed by Howard Rheingold (Stanford University, US) and Roy Ascott (University of Plymouth)

The articles you can read in this first number of Metaverse Creativity are:

Cyber-archaeology and metaverse collaborative systems, by Maurizio Forte and Gregorij Kurillo
For a critical perspective of the value of web art, by Claudia Sandoval
Using 2D photography as a 3D constructional tool within the metaverse, by Murat Germen
Epoch of plasticity: The metaverse as a vehicle for cognitive enhancement, by Natasha Vita-More
LPDT2, by Roy Ascott, Elif Ayiter, Max Moswitzer and Selavy Oh
Surpassing human nature: Reinventions of and for the body as a consequence of astronomical experiments in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, by Luca Ayala
Virtual puppet, my love impossible, by Semi Ryu

With these interesting articles, there is one I made and titled: Brainflowing, virtual/physical space and the flow of communication: An explanatory approach to the metaverse through a tool designed for brainstorming. On it I try to identify the mainstream characteristics of Virtual Environments (in this case, Second Life), by describing the actions undertaken in the design process of brainflowing, created with Akemy Mochizuki (Draceina Pinion avatar). By considering Second Life as a flow of communication and as a space for communicating, I identify which of the actions performed are more related to one or to another dimension of this Virtual Environment.

From this Intellect webpage, "Brainflowing, virtual/physical space and the flow of communication: An explanatory approach to the metaverse through a tool designed for brainstorming"can be accessed by free



Note 1: This volume 1, issue 1 can be accessed, by free from intellect website

Note 2: Brainflowing has a symbolic price of 2000 linden Dollars, which are equivalent to $5.28, £4.68 or €5.52, and it is available in Dracy´s Virtual Shop, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zerelia/227/99/74, the shop that Akemi Mochizuki has in Second Life.

Open Source technology for creating Virtual Worlds

There are several Platforms done by different communities

Open sim,

realXtend,

Open Wonderland,

Open Cobalt

OSgrid and Reactiongrid are grids, applications of the platform Opensim

Until now, I have entered at Osgrid (first is needed to download it), by using Imprudence Viewer (which alows to enter in OSgrid, 3drock, cyberlandia, gigantgrid, inworldz, legencityonline, localhost, meta 7, reactiongrid, roleplaysworld, sciencesim, second life, theneworldgrid, worlddsimterra or youralternativelife)

The experience is the similar that you can feel when entering in Second Life and the interface is pretty similar, if not the same. You can also enter with the avatar name that you has on Second Life. But, the appeareance will be not the same. By default, my avatar is a man.

James OReilly comments, ways for exporting your things from Second Life to another Virtual Worlds.

SL ACTIONS 2010

The importance of using devices designed for achieving specific objectives in Second Life. Exemplification by introducing tools which can be applied for improving three issues involved in the Learning Process of a language, by Gloria Gómez-Diago (gloriagdiago Galicia avatar) and Akemy Mochizuki (Draceina Pinion Avatar)
November, 19, 2010.

Immersiveness, Presence, Copresence

‘Immersiveness and Symmetry in Copresent Scenarios’, Ralpg Schroeder, Ilona Heldal, Anthony Steed, Ann-Sofie Axelsson, Josef Widestrom and Maria Spante, Proceedings of IEEE VR 2005, Bonn, German

Beyond Presence and Copresence: A Phenomenological Account of Experiences in
Shared Virtual Environments, by Ralph Schroeder

Copresence and Interaction in Virtual Environments: An Overview of the Range of Issues, by Ralph Schroeder

Becker, B and Mark, G (2001) Social conventions in Computer Mediated Communication, In Schroeder, R (Ed) The Social Life of avatars. Presence and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments. Springer-Verlag London Limited. Great Britain.

Staler, M and Steed, A. Meeting People Virtually: Experiments in Shared Virtual Environments in Computer Mediated Communication, In Schroeder, R (Ed) The Social Life of avatars. Presence and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments. Springer-Verlag London Limited. Great Britain.

The Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments and Methods for the Analysis of Interaction

The Usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments and Methods for the Analysis of
Interaction, by Ralph Schroeder, Ilona Heldal and Jolanda Tromp

Virtual Environments and Other Media for Being There Together: Towards a Convergence of Technologies, Uses, and Research Agendas Ralph Schroeder

Virtual Environments and Other Media for Being There Together: Towards a
Convergence of Technologies, Uses, and Research Agendas, by Ralph Schroeder.
Proceedings of Presence 2007, Barcelona, Spain, October 2007.