My Hideaway

This week our assignment was to create alpha textures and incorporate them into our idea of the perfect hideaway.  I decided that my hideaway should be surrounded by scenery.  I chose to use a picture from my trip to the Smoky Mountains a few years ago.  At first I couldn't figure out how to make all four sides look the same but discovered that if I checked the flip box for horizontal, the picture would look the same all the way around.  I also incorporated the full bright option to brighten up my surrounding.

Next I knew that I wanted to use some type of log cabin and built the shell of one.  I utilized the half circle shape and stretched it so that it would resemble a log shape.  I then applied my gumball tree texture to the logs.  I have two enormous gumball trees in my "real" front yard and thought that this texture would be perfect to apply to the logs.

 
After constructing the cabin, I decided that I should make a few pieces of furniture to put at the front of the cabin.  I had planned on making a rocking chair but couldn't figure out how to make the "rocking" parts.  I constructed a basic chair and used plaid fabric for the back and seat of the chair.  I used my gumball tree texture for the legs of the chair.  I then constructed a simple table and applied my gumball texture to it.

 

I decided that I needed to incorporate some textures from my yard and utilized pictures of an arborvitae tree.  I started  with a triangle shape and stretched it to the desired size.  I then applied my tree texture to it and then placed my trees along the backside of the cabin.

I wanted to incorporate a picture of my "real" pond and thought that it would be fun to make it appear as if a bluegill fish was jumping into it.

 On the other side of my cabin, I chose to use several pictures of flowers from my yard along with a few pictures of butterflies that have visited my yard.  I took each of the pictures and make them transparent before attaching them to cubes that I had stretched to the appropriate size.

The ground cover is split as half mulch and half grass.  The mulch texture is one that can be chosen in Second Life and the grass texture is from my "real" front yard.

I wanted to build even more items for my hideaway but ran out of time.  I also found that it was very time consuming when trying to incorporate my own textures.  I did enjoy using my own textures but it did take a tremendous amount of time to bring it all to reality but it was all worth it.

Readings and Adventures in Second Life
This week I was only able to read the assigned readings.  Hopefully I will be able to have more time to explore Second Life articles next week.

Intellectual Property Rights in Second Life
This article was interesting and I'm glad that Second Life takes this as serious as it is in real life.  People often utilize trademarked and copyrighted items without thinking about the consequences of doing so.  I didn't really learn anything new as I am familiar with the process.

The Psychology Behind Games
I agree with all of the points made in this article.  Personally I feel that games are played for fun and as a way of escaping real life temporarily.  The value from playing games is that it expands the mind and keeps it in an active state.  I can see the value in using games to further education.

Manipulating Scripts

Our assignment this week was to build a scene and insert scripts into objects.  As usual I struggled with a concept but finally came up with the idea of teaching others about the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.  This was my way of incorporating an educational aspect into a virtual environment. 

My exhibit area consists of a welcome sign, start here box, picture of the Eiffel Tower, nine question panels and three colored boxes for people to click on to receive a gift of a black scarf, a landmark to the Eiffel tower in Second Life and a URL to learn more about the Eiffel Tower.  I also tried to label items so that the display made more sense. Here is a listing of the scripts that I incorporated in my exhibit:

Avatar receives greeting in the chat window
Avatar touches an object and receives a landmark
Avatar receives a URL
Object rezzed when correct answer written in chat (I am still trying to get this one to work)
Notecard vendor script
Hovering text script

Initially I was going to have an Eiffel Tower picture that had nine squares in front of it to represent questions but I couldn't figure out how to make the squares disappear after someone answered the question.  Here's a picture of what that looked like:

I then came up with the open area concept so that people could wander around freely.  I also incorporated the "phantom" option to each piece of the display so that people could just walk through an item to get inside the display if they wanted to.  I also made sure that the back of objects looked exactly like the front so that it would provide a 360 degree visual.  Here are some pictures of my open display:

 
7 Steps of Interactivity

Level 0 - this reminds me of many of my undergraduate classes where the instructor speaks, the students listen and follow along the PowerPoint presentation.  I remember not being a fan of PowerPoints because students are usually provided with copies of the presentation and can read them on their own time.  There is no need for the teacher to read them to the class word for word.

Level 1 - this reminds me of a lot of literature classes that I attended where we as a class discussed stories, poems, etc.  Having the teacher ask questions before moving on was essential to overall understanding of a concept.

Level 2 - I don't think I have experienced this much, but can see the value in skipping back and forth.  It may serve as a strengthener for learning a particular concept.

Level 3 - some of these concepts remind me of science classes that I have previously attended where it was necessary for the teacher to have different questioning strategies to ensure that all students understood a particular concept.

Level 4 - I think that this level can be applied to students learning in a virtual environment.  Students learn how to do things and become immersed in what they are learning.

Level 5 - I think that this level really applies to learning in a virtual environment such as Second Life.  Students create unique content and can apply their own individual elements that make their projects unique.

Level 6 - Again I think that this level applies to learning in a virtual environment.  Students are provided with basic parameters for completion of a project and this enables the students to be as creative as they want to be.  This often allows for students to come up with several different ideas and projects about the same topic.  The instructor at this phase most definitely serves more as a coach or spectator.

Level 7 - By allowing students to be creative, it really makes them responsible for what they learn and how well they do as far as the grade that they receive.

I believe that interactivity is absolutely essential to student learning.  When a student sits in a classroom and just listens to a teacher, it tends to go in one ear and out of the other.  When a student is allowed to be part of what they are learning through immersion, they are more apt to retain the content they are learning about.

Favorite Script Project

My favorite script project has to be giving a "URL" to someone.  This can be attained by clicking on the pink "Learn More" box at the end of my display.  By providing another link about a particular topic, it provides further understanding and continued research about that topic.  I think it is essential to encourage students to want to learn more about a specific topic on their own.  It can only lead to bigger and better things.  Here is a top view picture of the box:

Progress with Second Life Skills

So far I think that learning how to create a Holodeck has been the most fun and the most challenging at the same time.  The fun part was coming up with and implementing a room that made sense.  The challenging part was in completing the many steps to ensure that in the end the Holodeck would work.  It was quite satisfying seeing the end product come to life.  I think that using a Holodeck would be most beneficial in a classroom environment.  I say this because a user can have several rooms contained within a single Holodeck, which would require less land.  This could be beneficial for schools with limited budgets.

Recent Readings/Viewings
This week I chose to investigate how to script by looking at a few videos on YouTube.  The first video, "An overview of Scripting in Second Life" provided a good basic overview of scripting.  This video discussed scripting, states, events, default and on/off. 

The next video was entitled, "Scripting Tutorial for Second Life linden scripting language."  I learned that "default" is used in every script to begin scripts.  The "touch" option is used to tell when someone touches an object.  All codes have to be inside events.  If codes are outside of an event they will not work.  I also learned about the types of variables that are used (integer, float, vector, rotation, string and key).

I also read an article about the "Isla Sonoita Virtual Community."  It is an educational community in Second Life that is for educators that do not have a lot of funding.  Thsi space is provided to enable educators to build and do research in a 3D environment.  This virtual community has an agreement that everyone must abide by if they wish to remain part of the community.  This agreement is called the "Isla Sonoita Covenant."  This covenant is quite strict but I can see how it would deter people with bad intentions.  To read more about the Isla Sonoita community, please go to:  http://sites.google.com/site/islasonoita/announcements/home.

My First Holodeck Scene

I began this process by trying to think of an idea that would work for a scene.  I came up with the idea of a Reading Room.  I began this room by making a shell out of three cubes and stretching them to make a floor and two walls.  I then lined the three stretched shapes up until they appeared as a floor with two walls.  I then applied a bluish-purple texture to the walls and floor and linked them together so that they would form one object.  I did think about creating a third wall and ceiling but I thought that it would feel too enclosed that way and liked the idea of the openness of the room.  Next was trying to figure out what to build and put in the room and I decided on a couch, a blanket, an area rug, an end table, a lamp, a plant and a bookcase with books and other various objects placed on it.

 

The Couch
To build the house, I used two cubes and two hemisphere shapes.  I then stretched each shape to the desired size and then moved the pieces together to form one piece.  I then applied a leather fabric texture to the back and seat of the couch.  I chose Select Face for the seat of the couch and changed the color to brown.  Then I applied a Leather Brown texture to the arms of the couch.

 

 

 

 
The Blanket
To build the blanket I used one cube shape and stretched it to the desired size where it would fit on the couch.  I then chose to edit the shape by right clicking on it and then choosing the object tab to apply Twist, Taper and Top Shear until the shape resembled a blanket.  I then applied a Zebra Skin texture and colored it pink.

The Area Rug
To build the area rug I used one sphere shape and stretched it to the desired size.  I then applied a Carpet Shag texture and colored it pink.

The End Table
To build the table I used one cylinder shape and one hemisphere shape.  I then stretched both shapes to the desired size.  I then utilized the Hollow option to completely get rid of the hole in the cylinder to make it solid in shape.  I then applied the Water Ripple Layer 1 texture to the base and colored it orange. The top of the table has a White Transparent texture applied.  Finally, I enabled the Full Bright option to the top of the table to brighten the transparency.

The Lamp
To build the lamp I used one cylinder shape and one triangle shape.  I then stretched both shapes to the desired size.  I applied Taper to the triangle so that it would look more like a lampshade.  I then colored the lampshade white.  For the base of the lamp, I colored it orange and utilized the Full Bright option to simulate light emitting from the lamp.

The Book on the Table
To build the book I used one cube shape and then stretched it to the desired size.  I then applied the Leopard Skin texture.

Coffee Cup on Table
I did not build this coffee cup.  It was a free item that I found in a search and felt that it would be in keeping with the idea of a Reading Room.

The Bookcase
To build the bookcase I used seven cubes that I stretched to the desired size.  I then placed each piece next to each other to provide the shape of a bookcase.  I applied the Stem 2 texture to the back of the bookcase and colored the surrounding frame and shelves orange.

The Plant
I did not build this plant.  It was a free item that I found in a search.  I love plants and would definitely have one in a Reading Room if this was a real room.

The Ship in a Bottle
I did not build this.  It was a free item that I found in a search.  I thought that it would be a good accent piece for the bookcase.

The Green Vase
I did not build this vase.  It was a free item that I found in a search.  I thought that it would be a good accent piece for the bookcase.

The Yellow Bowl
I did not build this.  It was a free item that I found in a search.  I thought that it would be a good accent piece for the bookcase.

The Painting
I did not build this and ultimately ended up not using it as when I rezzed my scene the painting was not where it was supposed to be.  This was a free item found in a search as well.

Linking Items

• I linked the table, the lamp, the Leopard Skin book and the coffee cup as one object.

• I linked the couch, blanket and rug as one object.

•  I linked the bookcase, books, ship in a bottle, yellow bowl and green vase as one object.

Once all of my items were built and linked together, I put the AVRS Scene script in the root prim of each linked object.  After that I right clicked on each linked object and chose Take so that each item would be placed in my inventory.

I created a New Crate by clicking on the Horizons control panel and clicking on New Crate.  I then renamed the crate Reading Room.  I opened my inventory folder and drug each of my newly linked objects into the contents folder of the new crate.  I then selected the Contents folder in the Horizons control panel and drug the crate into the contents folder.

When we first began this process it took a while for me to figure out how the pieces of the Holodeck worked.  I read the instructions and nowhere did it say to unpack any items.  Once I figured that out it was much easier.  Initially I couldn't remember how to get each object into my inventory but luckily Shawn was able to help me earlier this morning.  Thanks Shawn.  The only problem that I had while creating this Holodeck was that I could not find the New Crate option.  I ended up finding it, but the process was a little frustrating.  I'm glad that I was able to figure it out. My greatest satisfaction was seeing my Reading Room come to life from the Holodeck.  It worked!

Current Issues and Topics in Second Life
Over the last few weeks, I have concentrated my efforts mainly on building and have placed reading as secondary.  I hope to be able to read and explore more articles, videos, etc. about Second Life in the near future.  I have read the assigned readings for this week and will comment on them below.

I really liked the article entitled, "Teaching in Second Life Reflections a a Language Teacher."  There were so many good ideas about teaching using Second Life.  In "Anna Begonina's Shop Scenes" teaching others Italian by naming objects in a shop in Italian is a great way to implement a concept to learn a foreign language.  By naming these objects in another language such as English it just wouldn't be as effective.  By naming these objects in Italian, it enables the student to comprehend and learn the language more effectively.  I also liked The Owl and the Pussy Cat garden.  What a great way for a student to learn a poem by incorporating a 3D environment as a visual stimulus and reinforcing what the poem is about.  In "Shawn's Maze" students work together to find objects and this is a great way to build team building skills amongst students.

The article "Being there! Learning on the Holodeck" was right on track with the Holodeck experience as being immersive.  Since I first began learning and experimenting in Second Life, I can see the importance of immersion.  When a student feels immersed in an environment, I feel as though more is learned and retained as a result.  This has certainly been my experience thus far.

I also read an article online entitled "Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World" where Second Life is being utilized to simulate conversations of rural Indian farmers.  This is an educational project that educates farmers about how to predict climate change.  Implementation of these recorded conversations will be achieved by having lots of Internet hot spots across India.  I think this is a great way to continually educate people that otherwise would not have the opportunity.

Building an innertube

This week, one of our assignments was to build an innertube, install a seat and then practice paddling around in the water.  Here are some pictures of my build and paddling around in the water:

Assignment 2-2: My Original Build

PROBLEM G

How to build a prison cell

Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a cube prim.

 Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3: Apply a Texture by clicking on the prim, choose edit, then the Texture tab and finally the library folder and choose a texture to apply to the prim.  I chose the Rock-Granite texture in the Rock folder and the VGMetalWindowBars1119 texture in the Trash folder.  

 Step 4:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose a shade of grey.

 
Step 5:  Name the prim by right clicking on the prim, choose edit, then in the General tab name the prim.  I named the prim Prison Cell.

 

Step 6:  To duplicate a prim, click on the inventory folder, then the Object folder, then find the prim named Prison Cell.  Now click on the prim and drag it out onto the screen. 

Step 7:  To apply the Phantom technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, then the Object tab and then check the box in front of the word Phantom.

Step 8:  To apply the Taper technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of taper.  I applied this technique to the cell door.

Step 9:  To apply the Transparency technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then transparency.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of transparency.  I applied this technique to the roof of the cell so that it was 20% transparent.

Step 10:  Line up the prims by right clicking on each of the prims separately, choose edit, and then make sure the Move option is checked.  Then drag each piece of the cell by using the mouse and arrow keys to drag each piece into place.

Step 11:  To link the individual pieces of the cell, right click on one of the pieces, then press the Shift key while clicking on the remaining pieces with the mouse.  Each piece will now be highlighted in yellow.  Press the CTRL key and the letter L at the same time.  Now each piece is linked to form one object.  You'll notice that one of the pieces is highlighted in blue.  This piece is now the root prim.

Step 12:  To apply the Full Bright technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the texture tab and then check the box in front of full bright.

Step 13:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Prison Cell - Problem G.  You should now see this text hovering above the Prison Cell.

PROBLEM A

How to build a line of chain links

Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a Ring prim.

Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3: Apply a Texture by clicking on the prim, choose edit, then the Texture tab and finally the library folder and choose a texture to apply to the prim.  I chose the NW Coastal texture in the Rock folder.
Step 4:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose a shade of grey.

Step 5:  Name the prim by right clicking on the prim, choose edit, then in the General tab name the prim.  I named the prim Chain Links.

Step 6:  To duplicate a prim, click on the inventory folder, then the Object folder, then find the prim named Chainlinks.  Now click on the prim and drag it out onto the screen.


Step 7:  Line up the prims by right clicking on each of the prims separately, choose edit, and then make sure the Move option is checked.  Then drag each piece of the cell by using the mouse and arrow keys to drag each piece into place.

Step 8:  To change the position of the top chain link, right click on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Rotate is enabled.  click on the rotation and move this link to a horizontal position.

Step 9:  To apply Path-cut to the top chain link, right click on the link, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then path-cut.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of path-cut. 

Step 10:  To link the individual pieces of the cell, right click on one of the pieces, then press the Shift key while clicking on the remaining pieces with the mouse.  Each piece will now be highlighted in yellow.  Press the CTRL key and the letter L at the same time.  Now each piece is linked to form one object.  You'll notice that one of the pieces is highlighted in blue.  This piece is now the root prim.

Step 11:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Chain Links - Problem A.  You should now see this text hovering above the chain links.

Here is the finished piece:

PROBLEM B

How to build a pair of handcuffs

Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a Torus prim.

Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3: Apply a Texture by clicking on the prim, choose edit, then the Texture tab and finally the library folder and choose a texture to apply to the prim.  I chose the Steel Plate texture in the Miscellaneous folder.
Step 4:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose a shade of grey.

Step 5:  To apply the Hollow technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of hollow.


Step 6:  Name the prim by right clicking on the prim, choose edit, then in the General tab name the prim.  I named the prim Handcuffs.

Step 7:  To duplicate a prim, click on the inventory folder, then the Object folder, then find the prim named Handcuffs.  Now click on the prim and drag it out onto the screen. 


Step 8:  Line up the prims by right clicking on each of the prims separately, choose edit, and then make sure the Move option is checked.  Then drag each piece of the cell by using the mouse and arrow keys to drag each piece into place.

Step 9:  To link the individual pieces of the cell, right click on one of the pieces, then press the Shift key while clicking on the remaining pieces with the mouse.  Each piece will now be highlighted in yellow.  Press the CTRL key and the letter L at the same time.  Now each piece is linked to form one object.  You'll notice that one of the pieces is highlighted in blue.  This piece is now the root prim.

Step 10:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Handcuffs-Problem B.  You should now see this text hovering above the handcuffs.

Here is the finished piece:

PROBLEM C

How to build a Metal Pipe



Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a Cylinder prim.

Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose black.

Step 4:  To apply the Hollow technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of hollow.

Step 5:  To apply the Transparency technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of taper.  I applied this technique to the roof of the cell so that it would appear 50% transparent.

Step 6:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Metal Pipe-Problem C.  You should now see this text hovering above the metal pipe.

Here is the finished piece:

PROBLEM D

How to build a Radio

Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a Cube and Hemisphere prims.

Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3: Apply a Texture by clicking on the prim, choose edit, then the Texture tab and finally the library folder and choose a texture to apply to the prim.  I chose the Bumps texture in the Miscellaneous folder.
Step 4:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose black and a shade of grey.

Step 5:  To apply the Taper technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of taper.

Step 6:  To apply the full bright technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the texture tab and then check the box in front of full bright.

Step 7:  Line up the parts of the radio by right clicking on each of the prims separately, choose edit, and then make sure the Move option is checked.  Then drag each piece of the cell by using the mouse and arrow keys to drag each piece into place.

Step 8:  To link the individual pieces of the cell, right click on one of the pieces, then press the Shift key while clicking on the remaining pieces with the mouse.  Each piece will now be highlighted in yellow.  Press the CTRL key and the letter L at the same time.  Now each piece is linked to form one object.  You'll notice that one of the pieces is highlighted in blue.  This piece is now the root prim.

Step 9:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Radio-Problem D.  You should now see this text hovering above the radio.

Here is the finished piece:

PROBLEM E

 

How to build a Gun

Step 1:  Choose a prim by right clicking on the ground and choose build, then choose a prim.  For this project, I chose a Cube , Ring and Cylinder prims.

Step 2:  Stretch the prim to desired size by right clicking on the prim, choose edit and then make sure that Stretch is chosen.  Stretch the prim by using the mouse on the little blocks of color that  surround the prim by dragging them outwards.

Step 3: Apply a Texture by clicking on the prim, choose edit, then the Texture tab and finally the library folder and choose a texture to apply to the prim.  I chose the Steel Plate texture in the Miscellaneous folder.
Step 4:  Apply color by right clicking on the prim, click edit, click on the Texture tab and then click inside the color box and choose a color.  I chose black.

Step 5:  To apply the Top Shear technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of top shear.

Step 6:  To enable the avatar to walk through the gun, right click on the gun, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then check the box in front of Phantom.

Step 7:  To apply the Path-Cut technique, right click on the prim, choose edit, choose the Object tab and then taper.  Click the up and down arrows to apply the desired amount of path-cut.

Step 8:  Line up the parts of the gun by right clicking on each of the prims separately, choose edit, and then make sure the Move option is checked.  Then drag each piece of the cell by using the mouse and arrow keys to drag each piece into place.

Step 9:  To link the individual pieces of the cell, right click on one of the pieces, then press the Shift key while clicking on the remaining pieces with the mouse.  Each piece will now be highlighted in yellow.  Press the CTRL key and the letter L at the same time.  Now each piece is linked to form one object.  You'll notice that one of the pieces is highlighted in blue.  This piece is now the root prim.

Step 10:  Click on the Inventory folder, then Scripts folder and double click on the hovering text script.  Change the text between the ("" "") to the name of the problem which is Gun-Problem E.  You should now see this text hovering above the gun.

Here is the finished piece:

My complete exhibit