7 posts tagged “sl”
(Education Track)
11am Connie Yowell, MacArthur Foundation speaks about Digital Media and Learning. Essentially, she describes a polychronic classroom.
About Philanthropy in SL: "It's community that matters."
She finished by saying she supported a merge between the teen and main grid (in different words). She also said that the integration of such a digital classroom would not be seen in K-12. Many folks seem to think (from conversations today and last night) that a pre-13 grid would be highly supported.
12pm Humanities and the Arts - A report on Goons (griefers) which featured on plastic duck. Also, a report from Buffalo State U. on a fashion course taught in SL and a PowerPoint lecture on giving a (powerpoint) lecture in SL.
LUNCH
1pm Bonnie Mitchell and I host a breakout session on teaching the creative fields in SL.
(NOW REVISED)
Our session went pretty well. We met several gentleman from the UK, the U. of Georgia, and nearby Elgin college, who we later had dinner with. Mark, from the UK made this mindmap about the proceedings of our session.
(non-linear edit)
I forgot to mention that I went and saw an artist panel at Columbia College which featured the SL performance group Second Front, of which my friend Patrick Lichty is a member. They played a few of their videos, including one called 28 Avatars Later, in which they dressed as Zombie's and invaded several dance clubs.
That night, they performed a piece where they th rew objects out of a virtual Sears Tower.
At Columbia College I met Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins and Mark Bell, co-authors of Second Life for Dummies and extremely cool folk. Back at the hotel I met the creator of the virtual building on Northern Illinois University's campus, Altgeld Hall. I've always admired this build for it's attention to detail (it's replicated superbly).
Sunday
I spent Sunday making a lot of connections and continuing conversations from previous days. Fleep Tuque, who also ran the Best Practices in SL conference (in SL) was at the conference and a volunteer here(and inspiring me to volunteer for next time). I met Johnny Ming and Lordfly from my favorite Second Life podcast, SecondCast. I don't think Lordfly will remember me however, since I was dressed like a dog when we met at the Masquerade ball the night before (seen new post on The Dogs book now available in SL. )
I also suggested that maybe next year there be a n00b track, since many people there were so new and unaware as to much of the capabilities (and limitations) of SL. Also, since there was little to NO internet connection at a conference for an ONLINE world, I strongly suggested that next time they concentrate on that. Some of the folks running the event didn't seem to think it was important or possible, however if they can do it at Siggraph (a computer graphics conference of 26,000) they can make internet for a tiny SL conference of 800.
I also got to Millennium Park and saw the shiny jelly bean, where I took this pic.
Next week my solo exhibition at the Heldscalla Foundation in Second Life will open. Join us Thursday May 17th, at 9pm for the opening reception at this SLURL. There will be an opening at 9pm BST to kick things off and another at 9pm EST. The final event of the night will be at 9pm PDT or Second Life time.
Here is the show statement:
Fontana 2.0 is an exhibition of new works that focus on the web 2.0 ideology of socially motivated peer production and recontextualization of the artist himself through previous works. "As an artist, I am interested in the sequential narratives of comics, digitally manipulated imagery, the aesthetics of visual culture, and how little visual information we need to construct compelling narratives. Most of my work has focused on symbols of cartoon expression, incorporating themes of violence, sexual fetishism, gaming, and both popular and subculture."
ReCon(Text) #2
Using elements from Anthony's previous works over the past two years,
this interactive work calls for audience participation in two ways.
First, gallery goers may interact with the control panel located on the
gallery floor to change the images along the left wall. In doing so,
many variant compositions emerge. Audience members are encouraged to
alt-zoom-in and take screenshots of the compositions they create then
upload and add them to the animated slide shows off to each side. (Do
so by crtl-dragging the screenshot texture over the slide show prim.)
"My hope is to engage the audience through collaborative creation of
new compositions and narratives. Essentially, I am releasing the
elements found in this work through a Creative Commons Sampling License. Over
the course of the show and with the help of Second Life residents, I
would like to see each slide player evolve into its own stand alone
work."
YouToo
The other set of works in this exhibition explore the modes, speed, and
content of information transfer in the Web 2.0 era. The cornerstone of
this series is the image titled "YouToo".
"Mona Lisa represents 500 years of critical discourse on one singular
work of art. I am very interested in the rate at which society must
process and evaluate new media. Does meaning emerge through the
combination of transient images, and if so, when does one stop to
contemplate and understand that meaning?"
Yesterday I got inworld and had a seat in front of the big screen at the Gonick theatre on the NMC Campus where the De Lange conference for Emerging Libraries was underway. The panel I saw had the Presidents of Rice University (from which the video was being simulcast), Standford, and U of Michigan.
The panel discussed the future of the library and it's role as a digital entity, as well as its future as a companion to the classroom. These topics by and large struck a cord with the audience, which consisted of about 15 individuals. Personally, I was very interested in the topic because I am currently formulating a vision for the future of the classroom called:
The Polychronic Classroom.
While the Presidents respectfully raised questions about these issues, they presented them as if they had been "briefed" and not thoroughly informed. Questions like "What will a Librarian do in the future?" were not answered in their panel. However passionate discussion among the SL audience, some of whom are involved with the SL library and some who were actually at the panel discussion at Rice, did.
A librarian could a be a guide, directing library goers towards what they seek. They could be a host or administrator perhaps, building virtual outposts and categorizing information. Or, as I suggested in the discussion, they be more like Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash: a collector of information that adds meaningful content to the library.
Events like this conference could be recorded, documented, catalogued and filed onto one database. Which, as a matter of fact one of the participants in the discussion was very interested in doing. I think she was a librarian.
On Sunday at 2 and 3pm, on the NMC Campus in Second Life, I hosted several chats on the topic of "Site-Specific Comics."
Site-specific comics are comics designed to exist IN a certain place. The artist may take that place into account while composing the piece and the comic may therefore in some way affect that place or space. Think airplane emergency instructions. Or the comic hung in a classroom that tells you how to perform the Heimlich manuever.
For NMConnect, the largest symposium of artists in Second Life to date, I created a site-specific comic entitled "Hello n00b", inspired by my 2005 digital image "I'm still a n00b." In this comic, seen in the previous post here on the blog, the big yellow entity named "n00b" begins to emerge from the 2D image into the virtual 3D world of Second Life. I, in my virtual avatar, come face to face with an entity of my imagination and realize... this is just the begining.
We are just beginning to understand the potential of the comics medium for communication of information and how it will add to the history of art. We are also at the dawn of virtual worlds and digital social networking. The possibility that these two mediums may cross again and create even more exciting artforms in digital storytelling is extremely high.
One of the outcomes of the chat was an idea for a HUD, or heads up display (a window of sorts seen in your Second Life client), made up of screenshot comics that is an easy and helpful tutorial for Second Life. Perhaps this is something that is automatically attached or 'worn' at first birth into the game or something that can be picked up at the welcome center. Either way it would be an easy and understandable way to learn the basics of the virtual environment without having to sit through a video. Afterall, comics are read at your own pace rather than determined by creator, as in a video.
I have also been toying with the idea of uploading THE DOGS into Second Life once I publish. A copy would cost around $5 US dollars, the same it would be for a downloadable version, about $1000 Linden dollars. It would also work as a HUD where each page was clicked to turn. I'm still in the planning stages, but I'd be very happy to hear from any Second Lifer who has either purchased, published, or would be interested in a graphic novel in world.
On Sunday at 2 and 3pm, on the NMC Campus in Second Life, I hosted several chats on the topic of "Site-Specific Comics."
Site-specific comics are comics designed to exist IN a certain place. The artist may take that place into account while composing the piece and the comic may therefore in some way affect that place or space. Think airplane emergency instructions. Or the comic hung in a classroom that tells you how to perform the Heimlich manuever.
For NMConnect, the largest symposium of artists in Second Life to date, I created a site-specific comic entitled "Hello n00b", inspired by my 2005 digital image "I'm still a n00b." In this comic, seen in the previous post here on the blog, the big yellow entity named "n00b" begins to emerge from the 2D image into the virtual 3D world of Second Life. I, in my virtual avatar, come face to face with an entity of my imagination and realize... this is just the begining.
We are just beginning to understand the potential of the comics medium for communication of information and how it will add to the history of art. We are also at the dawn of virtual worlds and digital social networking. The possibility that these two mediums may cross again and create even more exciting artforms in digital storytelling is extremely high.
One of the outcomes of the chat was an idea for a HUD, or heads up display (a window of sorts seen in your Second Life client), made up of screenshot comics that is an easy and helpful tutorial for Second Life. Perhaps this is something that is automatically attached or 'worn' at first birth into the game or something that can be picked up at the welcome center. Either way it would be an easy and understandable way to learn the basics of the virtual environment without having to sit through a video. Afterall, comics are read at your own pace rather than determined by creator, as in a video.
I have also been toying with the idea of uploading THE DOGS into Second Life once I publish. A copy would cost around $5 US dollars, the same it would be for a downloadable version, about $100 Linden dollars. It would also work as a HUD where each page was clicked to turn. I'm still in the planning stages, but I'd be very happy to hear from any Second Lifer who has either purchased, published, or would be interested in a graphic novel in world.
My first gallery opening in Second Life was a big success. I met many new people from all over the world and even connected with some friends from another part of the country. Hope everyone had a good time.
I will have another SL event in March as I bring the wall comic "ReCon(Text) #1" into Second Life as an interactive virtual environment installation.
Opening on Friday January 5th, 2007 I will be participating in a group exhibit at a new Art Gallery in Second Life. The A-List Gallery, run by artist and Second Lifer Raz Curtiss, will feature 5 of my digital images from 2005-6. The works focus on juxtaposing cartoon symbolism, sexual fetishims, pop culture, and online gaming in order to question our relationship in flux with the new media landscape (perfect for SL, eh?)
For those already in SL... Here is the SLURL to the gallery.
For anyone interested in exploring the rich and chaotic 3D Virtual World of Second Life, visit www.secondlife.com. While there is a steep learning curve for those who have never maneuvered in a virtual environment before... There is nothing to fear! Many residents ingame will be happy to assist you. Hope to see you there!
This aims to be the first of several art exhibitions I have planned for Second Life. I am also searching for a venue to host the virtual version of the interactive wall comic ReCon(Text) #1, shown recently at the Dorthy Uber Bryan Gallery (click Images tab).
