Poilination's SecondLife Experience: 2016

Week 10: Playtime & Does Groupwork Ever End?

08:52

This week we all got very distracted and John taught us how to build things and I made a giant burrito that I got stuck in then I turned it into a portal and basically that's what happened in class this week. Here are some snaps.

I made John promise not to remove it but I feel like he will and that's the day I give up on art.

Anyway, in terms of the group work, we're trundling along nicely. We've split up the work into bite-sized chunks and we're using the typeface I designed that Joe found when Googling my name for the title screens. I'm excited to see what everyone else comes up with as it's a very open-ended brief and really you could go anywhere with it.

Week 9: Content Creation and Copyright

08:35

This week my group has started to buck up a little in terms of finding specific angles and choosing how to structure our presentation. At the minute we are considering using video, but John mentioned that video in SL can be unpredictable at times, so we would have to use YouTube. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little uncomfortable with the prospect of having a video of me talking about group projects and people I know up on YouTube, so I'll probably make it a private video and share the link with the class.

I found the readings on copyright to be both concerning and peculiar. There seems to be no strict system for copyrighting in Ireland and the whole thing is just a big blurry blob of a grey area. I find the archaic method of mailing your work to yourself and keeping it in the sealed envelope absolutely bemusing and I feel that this is an area that should be looked at in more detail, and efforts should be made to improve or maybe to rethink these systems entirely.

Week 8: More Group Work

11:20

I'm finding it difficult to find any information on my group online due to the vast amount of Google articles on people with similar names. I can find Joe's website, but that's the only thing I can find, and I already knew the URL. Dan proved even more difficult to research, which I had already anticipated.

We've been using Facebook to keep in touch, although Joe had to create a fake profile in order to participate. It's a great mode of communication, but our main challenge is getting everyone in the same place at the same time. We all have conflicting schedules and my personal workload has been getting particularly heavy in the last few weeks. I feel like this could be solved by comparing class times and perhaps doing our own work and meeting for a very brief and convenient time to share our work.

Week 7: Ins and Outs of Group Work

10:57

This week's task was to start getting to grips with the project brief. I suggested to my group after class one day that we should start to build a profile on each other based on our findings online. However, I believe that this may be a flawed approach, even though it seems to be what other groups have started to do.

I believe it is flawed because my name is an uncommon one and it is relatively easy to find information on me online, which is a scary thought, but an easy task for my group to fulfil. A simple search brings up all events I've attended, projects I've worked on and anything that has my name attached to it.

We have to work through these issue and plan a structure to our presentation that fulfils the brief and answers any questions that may come into play over the course of this project,

Week 6: Virtual Ability Island

05:31

This week we were given a tour of Virtual Ability Island by Gentle Heron. It was eye opening and encouraging to see that people with IRL disabilities could utilise SecondLife to craft a fully immersive and gratifying experience for themselves.

Cape Serenity was my favourite part of the outing. I loved reading the poetry and enjoying the gardens with the animals.

Of course regulation and etiquette are important in communities such as these, where acceptance of who you are is so important. I felt it courteous to detach my drink from my hand as Gentle Heron was giving her introductory speech. I think it's essential that respect is given to those who are kind enough to take time out of their day to show us their world.

Week 5: Visit to Lauk's Nest

05:31

This week we went to Lauk's Nest, one of the oldest parks in SecondLife, built in 2004. Symeon Siamendes gave us a tour and answered any questions we had about the reserve.

After the class had ended we explored Lauk's nest ourselves and I found a giant tortoise walking about outside someones house, so obviously I sat on it and went for a tour about.

I was promptly joined by some of my classmates once they realised what was going on. All in all a great experience.

We then met some Brazilians and Italians and they were very strange. I logged out as soon as a massive popcorn-like yellow thing appeared and obstructed the screen. I have no idea what they did but we were all spammed with messages from them,

After class I started thinking about what John said about crafting your personal brand online. I know that it's something all of us do once in a while. Making ourselves seem more employable and courteous by deleting old statuses on Facebook denouncing brands and people, photos of inappropriate behaviour and any information that might be too personal to have online.

I know myself that I often google my name to find out how my online behaviour shapes my image and I try to delete anything with the rule of thumb that I wouldn't want my grandparents to see it. It's an act of self-preservation, of cleansing my online persona of any embarrassing misdeeds or cringeworthy comments. I think it's a vital part of having an online presence, that you have full control over your privacy and information.

Week 4: Deciding on a Communication Tool

03:21

In the fourth class, I was unable to attend for long as my internet cut out. However, I did keep in touch with my group as to what our communication tool would be. After deliberating between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, we decided that Messenger was a better app due to its availability on both laptop and phone. It has all the capabilities we need in terms of photo sharing and chat functions.

Week 3: Roaming the Desolate Wasteland

03:11

In class this week, John let me take over as I was standing at the podium. He immediately regretted this decision when I started to build a wall of blocks around myself and his avatar. Sadly, DIT @ SecondLife is now a no-building zone. I can't think why.

This week John told us to go out and look for people to talk to in our areas of interest. I myself have a keen interest in art and music so I decided to go to the Music Region in Something Estates to seek some like-minded individuals.

When I arrived, however, I was told that I was the only avatar in this region. I said never mind, I'll explore anyway. It was in the central plaza that I noticed a sign that said "Whirly Putter". Intrigued, I clicked on it and it spawned an odd flying contraption.

It was while I was in the sky flying about on my newfound favourite mode of transport that I noticed a huge sign on the roof of a building that said "ART GALLERY". I quickly dropped off my beloved Whirly-Putter and flew towards the entrance.

Adjacent to the entrance I spotted a grand piano. On finding that I couldn't play it, much to my disappointment, I sat upon it in defeat. Nevertheless, onwards into the gallery.

After a quick scan of the building I confirmed that I was still the only avatar there and sat in resignation on a hard and lonely bench to admire the artwork.

Now desperate for some conversation or company, I decided that Social Island would be a good place to go to find people. I mean, the clue is in the name.

Yeah, you guessed it, no one here either.

I proceeded to give up on my quest for conversation and played a game where I had to sail a small boat through some rings in a cave. Riveting stuff.

The loneliness made me contemplate returning to my dear friend in 'Fun Girls Extraordinary Strip Club'. I mean, she wanted me to pay her, but at least she talked to me.

I resolved to return to SecondLife at a different time next week.

Week 2: Exploring SecondLife

13:40

The second week of this module was spent getting to grips with the SecondLife environment.

The first place I visited was Something Estates Shopping Centre, where I played a game called Gridberts which made absolutely no sense but I was given a Ray Gun which I was quite content with.

I think the objective of the game was to shoot other avatars but I couldn't find any so I just shot the little ball-people.. things. They started to shout at me so I promptly stopped. Lesson learned.

Next, I visited Dublin in SecondLife. There wasn't much going on in Dublin or many people roaming about to talk to so I didn't spend much time there. Also, I was disappointed to find that there was no iconic spire. Shocking stuff.

Curiosity led me to the Adult Land Portal, where I was dropped at 'Fun Girls Extraordinary Strip Club'. I thought I might find a crowd here but all I found was a solitary dancing hooker, who kept trying to make me pay her to dance for me. After declining the offer, I went and floated in the pool for a while. Admittedly an odd sight while still carrying the Ray Gun.

After that, I decided that exploration was best continued at a more appropriate time to suit other time zones and logged out after a tiring and fun-filled day on SecondLife.

Week 1: Introduction

13:26

My name is Poilination and this the blog I've created to log my thoughts and experiences on SecondLife. I'm excited to start getting into SecondLife over the course of this module. I hope to make new friends and learn more about this virtual environment and new learning techniques. I'm glad that, in this digital age, the 'classroom' concept is advancing along with our innovative technologies. I look forward to contributing to class discussions and to the world I create for myself, and I hope that I'll broaden my horizons and expand my knowledge in doing so.

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Poilination's SecondLife Experience

Week 10: Playtime & Does Groupwork Ever End?

Week 9: Content Creation and Copyright

Week 8: More Group Work

Week 7: Ins and Outs of Group Work

Week 6: Virtual Ability Island

Week 5: Visit to Lauk's Nest

Week 4: Deciding on a Communication Tool

Week 3: Roaming the Desolate Wasteland

Week 2: Exploring SecondLife

Week 1: Introduction

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