Roof Astronomy

I really enjoyed riding my magic carpet to the rooftop of a building at Info Island --Second Life Library found at (238, 36, 96). I was able to learn about many different astronomical topics. Take a look and see what you can see in a virtual sky!

Campin' Out

Campin' Out ....waiting to buy tickets for the TU game! It was fun to sleep in a sleeping bag....on hard concrete...its an Aggie tradition!!

Come to the Aggie Beach house and try it for yourself!

CSI in Second Life

It was great to be watching CSI on television---with their story line about a case taking place "in world" and also be simulanteously logged in on my laptop---Two worlds collide!

I even had some fun when I attended a CSI party--met a new friend who asked me to dance!


Before I left, one of the Lindens stopped by to visit. It is great to have a Second Life!

--Rachelle

Showcasing Students Work

My new friend in SL, Metaphor Voom, has a nice gallery to showcase his students' work and also highlight upcoming events.

I even found a photo of my favorite flowers...a field of Texas bluebonnets!

His gallery is located: 55,12,22

Make a visit!!

"It's not about the tools....it's about the people"

Today, I visited the Cisco System's islands on SL. (Cisco is the leading supplier of networking equipment & network management for the Internet with products like routers, hubs and ethernet connections). They have four islands in Second Life highlighting some of their real-life products comprising "the human network".




In my travels on the Cisco Islands, I saw great meeting spaces, their technology on linking people together,






and I even played a round of pool in the Cisco Lounge and was found shooting hoops on their basketball court!!


Go visit: 487, 6, 21 and take a look for yourself.

For more information on Cisco's research on innovations in virtual worlds: http://www.trainingpressreleases.com/newsstory.asp?NewsID=3121

Wedding in Second Life

Lacie has been a good friend I met several

months ago in this virtual world. Tonite I

attended my first wedding in SL.

I loved Lacie's gorgeous invitation...embellished

with animated purple roses.....

It was a beautiful wedding at Love Knot Weddings, Monterrey dAlliez (150,224,2)--complete with bridesmaids and groomsmen. Lacie and Joffa each had a chance to share their vows with one another witnessed by family and friends...then they were pronounced husband and wife (in their Second Life)...and of course the groom kissed the bride!

Later, the reception was held...with lively music, wedding cake, dancing & white doves! What a wonderful night to enjoy a Second Life!

Virtual Centre for Digital Media

Tonite I telported to the Virtual Centre for Digital Media site, University Project (150, 84, 23) OR
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20Project/150/84/23

While there, I met three avatars and joined in the discussion. I realized that when you happen upon a link or site in SL, you construct meaning by asking questions and observing others.

I also explored the island with one of my new friends. Of course, it is SL.....we flew on magic carpets!!

The web link to this site said that "The field of media arts and technology continues to grow... employers demand...high level of creative and technical competence". This site highlights the transformation from traditional SL learning spaces such as lecture halls to those of pleasing, student designs.

Come and enjoy!!

--Rachelle

Learn to Build...Build to Learn

Last night I went to my first SecondLife building class---it was on texturing objects. (You can find a listing of classes on the sign-in screen).





The instructor, Golda Stein was wonderful!

We each sat on a pillow and had a white board in front of us that synchronously advanced slides as Golda took us systematically through each step of the building and texturing process.

Golda was a wealth of knowledge....and said that she was able to teach more content to us--because she no longer was spending all of her time typing---thanks to Linden Labs, she was able to speak all of her instructions to us and answer our questions with voice.



Woo hooo! I made a new vase for the beachhouse!




--Rachelle

Surf's Up !!

Today I went exploring the surf in SecondLife. The first place I went was Siggy's Water Works Island (179,24,25). It had a variety of spots to try and seemed to work fairly well with my board.

The second place I explored was Midknight Steel Pier (236,199,20) at Inverloch which also had numerous spots to surf--but the best was alongside a pirate ship and various sea creatures.

BUNDORAN REEF

But, my best discovery was Bundoran Reef (of Ireland fame) located at (40,39,26). Its rocky ridges and beautiful water were a perfect match for its tall surfing waves!

What I didn't expect as I explored the island after my surfing was Project Children--described as a project which "brings Irish Protestant and Catholic kids to the USA during the summer months and these kids get an extraordinary chance to play together, live together, and understand each other. Prejudice is replaced by understanding thus hatred is replaced with love. Poverty is replaced by hope for a better tomorrow." Donations are accepted at this and various other locations. See: http://www.slireland.org/ for more info. on donating to the worthy cause!

sláinte! --Rachelle

Play2Train

Since SL is really slow today while Linden Labs work out some bugs, I thought I would highlight a great Internet site with lots of information on how one university professor and his colleagues from many public agencies use SecondLife to train medical personnel for all types of disasters. Through the use of "disaster scenarios", personnel are trained virtually to prepare by developing "cognitive maps" of plausible future disasters.

See more information (including video clips of the 2 SL sites) at:

http://irhbt.typepad.com/play2train/

I think that this takes T&D to a new height. Well Done!!

--Rachelle

Country Hoe-Down

I visited Monroe College (149, 186, 21) for a country hoe-down at their grand opening to celebrate the work of the Monroe Office of Online Learning Internships.

They had a nice dancing area, merry-go-round and an old fashioned hayride providing a tour of SL. It was a wonderful way to learn more about their internships and also make new friends in SL ! Way to Go!

Light Up My Life

I found an awesome place....XIDD Particles & Gadgets (94, 76, 453)....this place is amazing!

The owner, Darek Deluca is a genius! He makes lights dance ....Aurora Borialis, Light Shows, Light Sculptures and many other fun products!

Take a free tour and see all the fireworks!

Angel Learning

Tonite I met some nice folks at the Angel Learning Isle...

105, 117, 23

They said it was a place formed for those interested or already using the Angel software for distance learning

Check out the following link for more info:
www.angellearning.com

--Rachelle

Sunset in SL

Sunset....

It's definitely my favorite time

of day! What's so unique about

the sunsets in SL? The sky is always clear...creating

a perfect sunset every night.

Sitting by the crackling fire...and the melody of the crashing tide...

as the sun goes down in SL....the stars

come alive!

--Rachelle

Smile!!

PHOTO SHOP....

Tonight I visited the ArcheBooks ...got a free e-book chapter of a guide to SL. Then, went next door and visited the Photo Shop (131, 59, 116) where I found the modeling stool & soon touched the canvas and chose from various backgrounds....of course...on a hot summer night..I chose the mountains! By holding down the Alt-key you can find a perfect size for a postcard or uploading to a SL profile.

And how does one manuever a revolving door....very carefully!

--Rachelle

South Seas

Tonite I went to Galveston Isle and visited the Balinese South Seas Showroom (188, 8, 29) and played the piano.


I made a friend who joined in a duet.

This was a very nice place....

Sponsored by www.galveston.com




I even tried my hands at the drums!!

Rachelle

SL Historical Museum

Today I visited the SL Historical Museum (216, 166, 32). It contains the artifacts, images and notecards of information about the evolution of SecondLife from its earliest beginnings.

HistoryWiki found at: http://history.secondserver.net

RL Job Fair in SL

Real Life (RL) job fair taking place in SL. Real companies like e-bay, Verizon, Microsoft, T-Mobile and HP are taking applications & resumes on TMP Island 2 (181, 179, 26) tomorrow.

The interviews will be conducted in SL for jobs in RL. A whole new way of thinking about recruitment and landing a job!

--Rachelle

Virtual Reality Room --VRR

Described as a virtual reality 3D cube, this is a wonderful creation! View pics of New York City or Paris, France....even mountain peaks! You can preview many scenes for free...or buy the device & can even load your own pics into this 3D viewer.

VRR Shop - The Virtual Reality R, Solariam (212, 166, 431) --have a look!

Rachelle

EduIsland

Tonight I took a look around EduIsland. I found an interesting display of the AECT: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Their current publications were shown with links to the web on each.

On their website I found a discussion of technology teachers vs. traditional teaching:

I will collaborate with my peers from around the world – you will collaborate with peers in your classroom.
I will take my learning as far as I want – you must wait for the rest of the class.
The cost of a laptop per year? - $250
The cost of teacher and student training? – Expensive
The cost of well educated US citizens and workforce? - Priceless

Remembering the Fallen

With such a tragic week in our Nation, it is with a heavy heart I look upon flags flying "half mass" for the fallen at Virginia Tech. The tragedy is incomprehensible. At this site, I see the announcement to remember the Aggie Muster.

The "Muster" at Texas A&M is a long-standing tradition. According to the university website, "it is uniquely American, uniquely Texan and most certainly uniquely Aggie - a most fitting tradition for a uniquely American institution. Held each April 21 in approximately 320 locations around the world, Muster is one of Texas A&M's most solemn and visible traditions...In each of those locations, it is a time set aside to honor the memory of Aggies from that area who have died since the last Muster ceremony. No matter where Aggies are, whether they are as few as two or as many as the thousands, they come together each April for Muster."
See http://www.tamu.edu/home/spotlight/muster.html
If you want to join with me for remembering the fallen, IM me in SL.
-Rachelle Munro

Aggie Beach House

I'm relaxing at the Aggie's Beach House...a wonderful spot for graduate students (of Texas A&M or other universities), scholars and researchers to take a break and engage in scholarly conversation.

Rachelle

Politics already!

Political flags, yard signs and t-shirts abound in SL already! It's a year and a half until the Presidential Election...and the race has already begun! I've also visited the John Edwards and Obama sites...and picked up a Romney t-shirt..what fun!!

Just a beginning!

Well, today is the day I officially begin recording my adventures and learnings in Second Life (available free at www.secondlife.com). I've been very interested in this medium for commerce, training and development, education (especially distance education), empowerment for people with disabilities, scenario planning, and leadership development. There are so many possibilities! Please join me on my journey!

--Rachelle