Virtual Worlds conference, post #1

Saturday, I spent the entire day at the first Libraries, Education and Museums conference in Second Life. Like conferences in real life, it was equally fascinating and exhausting. Again, my lack of gaming abilities show, if only in my computer stamina. Even for a web junkie like me, 14 hours was a bit long. That said, I felt like it was very worthwhile.

Most of my educational focus to this point has been around children and adolescents, but I found myself very inspired by the potential for SL and virtual worlds in adult free choice learning. So inspired that I am thinking of proposing another independent study for next semester - maybe even a thesis.

Breakdown of the day with notes:

Keynote Address: · OPEN KEYNOTE DISCUSSION: "Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education, Museums, and More" Presented by Barbara Galik (Puglet Dancer in SL) and Kitty Pope (Kitty Phillip in SL)

Location: Babbage Amphitheatre

Galik and Pope, who have been active in the development of the Alliance Information Archipelago and other virtual world library projects, will discuss where we are with library service in virtual worlds and where we are going. They will discuss the the fast progress (explosion) of the project to get to the high level of collaborative development that exists today. They also will discuss what we need to do moving forward to sustain and grow library services in virtual worlds. sustain and grow

Kitty and Puglet spoke a great deal about the success of InfoIsland (slurl) in Second Life. In 2 years they have gone from one to over 40 active sims. Kitty drew attention to the newly opened Land of Lincoln sim, which recently hosted an inaugural ball for President’s Day. The sim was developed in concert with Teen SL students and a local High School. I took a moment today to visit the Land of Lincoln and was pleasantly surprised. Rather than feeling like an anachronism at a living history site, visitors are offered free outfits to help them blend in. This spirit of immersive environments in SL was addressed again at later sessions.

Kitty and Puglet explained that the huge growth in the sims has shown them that there is indeed a need for library services in SL. There is a growing acceptance of virtual library services, and some programs are already offering non-credit courses in virtual librarianship. Reference remains their core service, but programs are steadily growing. Kitty mentioned the potential shown in virtual language programs on Info Island International, allowing immersive language experience with native speakers.

Programs on Info Island seem innovative and fun – and are very popular. Recently II hosted a “Mark Twain Cussing Contest” (See post here) with informational training sessions prior. The island is also home to a mystery manor, where classic mystery stories are discussed.

Kitty made a point that I feel does get missed when speaking to stakeholders about the power of virtual environments. “Behind every avatar there is a person” and “Avatars are inquisitive and social.” Too often avatar interaction is seen as a false sort of social interaction, but being at this conference with 70 other people, all passionate about education and the possibilities of the platform, was proof enough that avatars are an extension of a real person, with real interests and passion.

Puglet brought up many of the needs that still exist. The presence of 70 avatars, plus a gorgeous sim, and slides/streaming media, created a perfect opportunity for lag. In only one session that I attended did the slides rez properly. SL needs to create the ability to facilitate large group meetings without lag and rez problems. Additionally, people need to be educated that while personal expression is nice, avatars need to dress for success in group sessions, by being simple and easy to rez. We also, as a community of educators, need to find ways to get newcomers to overcome the learning curve. We need to find new ways to help newbies learn the ropes in a less painful and plodding way.

The final piece of advice offered…Keep it fun. If your programs are fun, they will be successful. After an evening exploring the 1860’s, in full dress….I would have to agree!

SL Internship, month one

I am now officially one month into my internship with The Tech, and I think things are going well. I am teaching building classes twice a week, and leading tours on weekends. People always say that you learn better when you teach someone else, and I think that holds true here. I continue to feel more and more comfortable with simple building, navigating, and explaining just what the heck we are doing here.

My first class was - less than great. Had 2 people show up 30 minutes late, and neither one really needed a basic class. That prompted me to add a description of just how basic - basic was. Its like, make a cube. Change its size. Change its color. Voila! Simple stuff. I dont want people to come in thinking I am going to teach them how to create buildings and steampunk engines, etc. Nope, just boxes and balls. But...look what we did with boxes and balls!

Tonight, between 4 of us, we experimented our way to a greater understanding of some of the intricacies of prim building. And this, I think, is a point in favor of SL.

Even on the most cohesive exhibit team, not everyone gets to be part of every step. The developer spends a great deal of time coming up with the ideas, while the curator combs the archives. The designer locks herself away to sketch and draw, while the production team asks you to stay out of their hair while they build. Its necessary to have specific skills on the team, and you cannot expect every team member to be able to contribute to every step along the way.

Imagine a team building an exhibit - they all go into a room that is filled with every substance imaginable. They can all build, as very few skills are required. They take time to experiment with wild ideas. They play. Imagine what kind of exhibit could come from that? I dont see SL as an analogue of the RL design process, but rather as a tool for building creativity.

In RL I am currently working on a new exhibit. Our exhibit process is very open and creative, and we spend lots of time brainstorming, refining ideas, etc. What we dont get lots of time to do is play around with the physical. I can suggest changes, but those need to go to the developer, then to the designer, then to the CAD designer, then to the production engineer and graphics designer, then back to me for approval. Whew! And what if I dont like it after all? It becomes like the classic comedy scene - move the couch over here. No maybe here. No maybe back there after all.

But in SL - I can be working away and suddenly think - Hm, would this look better with a curved surface? Or, what if it were stone? And I can change it in a flash, and change it back. No harm, no foul. And everyone on the team could have their say. And, as the budget manager in me has to say it, you havent spent a dime.

Could museums use SL as a brainstorming lab? A place where they could go to play with ideas?

Internship, week 2

So, today marks the start of week 2 in my internship. I think I am starting to get the hang of this.

Last week I mentioned that some very helpful friends taught me how to navigate better. If you want to know, here is how!

Hit Ctrl+Alt+D to open up the client and server menus. Click the "Client" menu (up top) and go down to "UI". Then click on "Double Click Auto Pilot." When that is clicked, you just need to double click the terrain in front of you, and your avatar walks there - with minimal stumbling.

I helped my first people this week! In my RL I was an interpretation manager for years, which meant lots of public interaction - but it seems that I am a bit shy about approaching avatars! I'm getting braver, and I am sure by next week I'll be down right outgoing. I've also had a chance to meet some more Tech staffers, all of whom have been very helpful!

Tonight I got some great building and scripting sites, which I plan to explore this week. More posts soon!

Virtual Museums in SL

In September, Jim Spadaccini over at Exhibit Files wrote a review of the Dresden Museum's Old Masters Picture Gallery in Second Life. His review is fantastic, and points out some important things to consider when creating a virtual museum.

The Dresden has done an admirable job of recreating a real life (thats RL) place in a virtual environment. I cannot begin to imagine how much time it must have taken.

Here is the real museum.
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And here is the recreation in SL --->


Beautiful. And not just the outside. The interior is just as amazing, complete with parquet work, moulded ceilings, the works. The big problem is - it takes forever to load on screen.

And, like many grand old museums, its easy to get lost. (Of course, in RL you can't just teleport out)

The idea is great - a virtual recreation of a real space, featuring recreations of the artifacts, in this case art. The chances of my visiting this museum in RL are slim, but I can hop on SL and at least see something, right?

Wrong. The images of the art are far too small to provide any sense of what the real art might be like. Add to that the time it takes to load, and the art becomes secondary. Now, for architecture buffs and those who just love beautiful buildings, the site is well worth the visit. But this is a nice example of how what works in RL doesn't always translate to SL.


Next: An update on the internship, a review of some papers from Museums and the Web, and a visit to Virtual Starry Night.

Welcome!

Welcome to Keepers of Stuff, my blog about my museum life. This blog will serve two functions:

1) Primarily, it will serve as a record of my journey through an internship for the spring semester. I am thrilled to be working with Nina from Museum2.0 on what looks to be a very cool and cutting edge project. I have been reading Nina's blog since it started, having met her briefly at a NAME event at AAM Boston several years ago. She's brilliant, so if you aren't reading her blog, go start now! The internship is with The Tech Museum of Innovation, in California. What is particularly cool is that I am in Indiana and will be doing this internship virtually. The Tech has started a fascinating project in Second Life and I will be spending the next semester looking at the question: How can museums use Second Life to enhance their current work? I truly do not believe that virtual museums can ever replace or come close to comparing to a "real life" museum, but I do think that there are things that can be accomplished in virtual environs like SL that can enhance the experience and create more invested audiences.

2) This blog will also function as a place for me to post about my thoughts on museums in general - things in the news, at conferences, from class, or just from discussions with peers. I love museums, and love talking about them, so this will be a great place to do that.

3) Finally, and this will be a small part, this will be a place to talk about the reality of museums - good, bad and ugly. I work in a huge and busy museum, and see lots of all three, so prepare yourself for some good stories every so often.

So, that's me. I'll start posting in earnest soon. If you want to reach me, you can find me in SL as Sera Wrigglesworth (isn't that a great name!) or leave me a message here.

Ta!