Augmented Reality 38/84/37

First sign of Spring in Augmented Reality Island. Augmented Reality is one of the 4 types of virtual worlds, according to Metaverse.org's model. It is an interesting domain with lots of astonishing possibilities. Recently I spotted a video on Youtube in which a SL Avatar appeared in a real-world room. Filled to the roof with ICT - equipment, just to mark the development-status at the moment. With a pair of dedicated glassed on your nose you can expect me to walk in any moment. Or the guys from StarTrek.

Pot au feu

These guys were having fun when I passed them. Sitting behind their own desk at home or anywhere else with some privacy they enjoyed their smoke. By the sound of their voices it was a European lot that used SL to meet and socialise. Not a bad idea at all, allthough many would not approve this use of a public sandbox.

CNWL 118/182/77

MJB Hax, from College of North West London is working on the development of tools for learning in SL. He constructed a ruler that allows student to read out and report on their progress in measuring correctly. This may seem trivial, but remember that the skill to use a ruler is fundamental to many technical competencies. He has many more ideas on adressing other basic skills in numeracy and literacy in SL. He is btw also the first person I met that had his avatar name on his business - card in RL. Good show all together.

Could not resist it.

Allthough I recently said that flying a plane, heli, or driving a car or any other vehicle is silly, I could not resist a try of the heli I keep in my inventory. This storage of notecards, landmarks, contacts and innumereous object is a troublesome partner in SL. It is not easy to maintain some form of organisation apart from the one LLab provides. Every now and then I start organising and filling the bin, but overtime I see the need for a rehearsal of that unpleasant work. Still, its almost impossible to throw this beauty away.

Tintable Suspenders!!!

Wearing suspenders has been my 'trademark' since the early Eighties.There is hardly a day I do not have them clipped to my trousers, be it short, long, jeans or tailormade. All my theatersuits have braces too. So you can imagine that my first transaction in XStreet has been, ..........yes! A pair of braces, and Tintable. L$20,- maybe a bargain or not, I am very pleased them and I hope you like them too. I wonder how much the sixpack will be?

XStreet Exchange/107/85/27

XStreet is a partner or part of LindenLab. The sitebanner says it is an official part of Second Life. You will find terminals validate your Xstreet account everywhere in-world. The combination enables you to buy stuff when logged in SL as well as on the webbased marketplace. I stayed with a terminal for quite a while and saw many people integrate both accounts. I just bought myself a set of suspenders in XStreet. I can change them in any colour I like. Seems to me that the economies of SL and RL are almost one system. The system is robust and solid. It would be a fine thing if other marketplaces make this merge too.

Skinningrove Jetty Halve Maen /32/48/21

Steve Thompson, Teeside University in the UK is doing some fine work in SL and RL by showing a replica of the Skinningrove Jetty in-world. He was assisted by a lot of friends in SL to get this done and the result is great. The project was also recorded in a 7 minute animation, taken in-world. On YouTube you will find a preview of the final version, presented in RL next thursday. This article will tell the reasons behind this wonderful project. If you want to know more I suggest you use Google Earth, or Wiki on Skinningrove and Jetty. The in-world jetty can be found here.

BETT2009 Best Practice Seminar

I can finally present the results of my in-world research to you. All my results are published on Kennisnet, the Dutch national educational portal. In Dutch! You can view and download the pdf you from the url below. It will give you access to my slides and the complementary text of my presentation. I hope you enjoy it and that it meets your expectations. Feel free to contact me if you would like more information or some knowledge on the matter.

http://issuu.com/jpvanschie/docs/bett_2009_for_issuu_1.0

This Second 201/28/22

One would expect a crowd at noon in the World Bank in SL. I met Joni and that was a nice surprise, au contraire the empty chairs all over the sim. According to the map doing business in 2009 is not all that fun, especially when you go below the equator. Even Russia is not green, allthough I know a few dutch millionaires doing business there. Crisis? Yes, certainly in terms of numbers of interested avatars.

Happy New Year

I wish you all a very Happy New Year. In good health and happiness, in Real - and Second Life, or in any other world. May 2009 bring you peace, love and maybe some luck in matters that are important to you.