Villa Vesuviana

This was a Virtual Pioneers tour to Villa Vesuviana, a fictional principality of the 18th century, interpreting the Enlightenment and baroque/rococo era;  dedicated to experiments in immersive education; a joint project of  the Missouri Humanities Council and the Laboratory for Virtual Arts and Humanities.

Jack Buxbaum Teaches in Second Life

I just popped into SL to get the name of someone for a note and this conversation happened:

[16:03] Jack Buxbaum: Hey Thunder I'm in- Auckland NZ teaching a clas on aquatic restoration.. If you wanna Observe or audit you may...
[16:07] Thunder (thunder.insippo): tp me! :)

So there I am auditing a class by a gentleman in New York who is teaching a class in NZ!

Jack is an earth science teacher who happens to restores bodies of water. Here is his first life bio on his Second Life profile:

I'm finishing my Masters Degree in Teaching M.A.T. With SUNY  Empire State college (May 2011 Graduate!) Woo Hoo!

Earth Science ROCKS!

I own a company that restores water bodies through all natural means.

www.clean-flo.com
FACEBOOK >> "LAKESAVERS"

Video of what he does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDPOKieGARk

End of class

BIO-SE

 May 7th Stephen Xootfly visited VSTE Island to share his work in his own virtual world, BIO-SE. He and a group of higher education scientists and other professionals have been experimenting with such things as Sim on a Stick, running a VW from a jump drive. I can't pretend to understand it really. It's still magic to me. Stephen, Dr. Stephen Gasier in RL, and his colleagues are working on spaces for their own students and would like to accommodate K12 students as well. They are also will to help educators learn how to create your own grid, safe for kids and outside the Linden Labs business.

Dreamworld

I'm way behind in blogging and my desktop is covered in screenshots! I'll start here: Dreamworld. It's one of the many beautiful places in SL where you can wander, explore, and lose yourself in art.

VSTE Egg Hunt

ISTE Social: Dinner in a Palace

 Not sure what to say about this. ISTE Island is no more so Maggie has gotten creative in finding venue's for socials. This was a dinner in a 18th century palace with service. We had dinner and dessert.

 I didn't know all the other ladies there but the conversation was pleasant. One couple, two female mermaids, actually is a man and a woman. I'm not sure about whether they are real life spouses but perhaps they are. Anything goes in Second Life!

 After dinner I took a stroll around the palace. This is a view that I got just camming out a bit.

Proud of JMU

Today I arranged for the teacher recertification class from UVA Wise to have a tour of the James Madison University campus, or simulation, in SL. It was awesome! Lykopis Darkstone, who is a professor there and built the sims, lead the tour. She showed us three areas: the theater, Stonehenge, and living quarters for students and professors living and learning abroad in Florence, Italy.

Landing spot with Wilson Hall in the background

Lobby of the JMU Theater

 

Inside the theater
Leko Littlebird has painstakingly recreated the actual theater

Leko uses this space to create scene design virtually before building it in real life, saving money, time and materials. His students have space in skyboxes to do building as well.

Lykopis' own students have several assignments in SL. One is at Stonehenge. They walk through a green space clicking gems for notecards which provide information about the 10000 year old Neolithic site. Once inside they learn even more. She's built it precisely as it was when whole including the sunlight from the correct direction at sunset at the winter solstice.

JMU Study Abroad space in Florence, Italy

Some lucky faculty, graduate students, and undergrads get to spend three months in this space. The house they live and study in while in the physical world is a maze of narrow halls, small rooms, and gated stairways. Visiting this space in SL first, helps them get their barrings and prepare for their experience in Italy. Faculty traveling with family get a realistic look at how small the space is, helping them not to over pack!