Digital Natives are Restless....so let's take a tour!

Anders Gronstedt's popular virtual training group, "Train for Success" had a great virtual tour lined up today.

Thomas Stead, from the Virtual Power Station and Grid SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/WIRED%204/117/202/22 --we could walk through and experience a virtual model of America’s second largest coal-fired power station. Developed as part of a $5.1 MM WIRED Grant from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, this huge, fully animated, cut-away schematic of a coal fired power plant features huge firey furnaces, boilers, steam turbines, generator and it’s attached power grid complete from the plant to the consumer. See: http://gronstedtgroup.com/f_about.htm?s_about_train_for_sucess.htm and http://ssuvirtualclassrooms.blogspot.com/ for more info! 

Relaying for Life

Once again, "Team Texas Aggie" had a presence at the annual Relay for Life (RFL) fundraiser and charity 24-hour relay.  Second Life-RFL works hard to be a support for caregivers and cancer survivors and does not require large expenditures in travel, expense, or effort to participate and the benefits are great. Both groups (caregivers and survivors) are honored at this online event.  The grand total (drum roll please) was a whopping $222,204 US dollars going to the ACS to eradicate cancer!  Go Team!  Go Relay!

What would be the value?

What would be the value of a person who was quite knowledgeable in the mannerisms and colloquialisms of the famous character/author Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clements) actually showing up at an online event and speaking and acting like the famous author?

Well, a number of Aggies found out first hand in Second Life on April 13th as Mark Twain (the avatar) made a guest appearance during the Live Streaming event of Dr. Jerry Loving's distinguished lecture series. Dr. Loving, a Distinguished Professor in English at Texas A&M University, spoke about his new book on Mark Twain. The lecture was streamed in real-time to a group of Aggies online in the 3D world. Dr. Loving even took a question from the SL Audience!

Afterward, Mark Twain, the avatar, expressed a few comments about the lecture and the group discussed their new learning about the life of Mark Twain. Several attendees also came in period dress of Mark Twain's adventurous time. So, what would be the value to have a role-play of authors or other notable figures no longer living? What is the value of the attendees experiencing period dress and customs of particular time periods and cultures?

Imagine the possibilities!

An Historic Event!

It was an historic event! For the first time, a live video stream from Texas A&M University came to the Texas A&M Second Life campus. In real-time, we sat and listened to a Distinguished Lecture Series presentation, “How Organisms Tell Time,” by Deborah Bell-Pedersen, professor of biology at Texas A&M. The streaming video provided a virtual venue for those who could not attend in person--and those in the SL audience interacted in real-time as well.