The Final Presentation

On March 12th, all of our hard work was finally presented. Our class met in person for the second time this quarter. For many of us, it was nice to put a face to each avatar. We all brought food and drinks to celebrate. Professor Tutti had extended invitations to attend our class presentation to the entire C.S.U.L.A. campus. We had many distinguished guests from throughout the campus, including the Vice President of Cal State Los Angeles. Also in attendance, Chogollah Maroufi, the man who gave us funding for our land parcel in Second Life. Thank you!

Each group gave a 5-10 minute presentation on their portion of the C.S.U.L.A. Coffee House and Art Gallery. Our builders discussed their role in creating the outer structure of the building. One of the most amazing parts of their build is the meeting room suspended 500 meter in the sky. One of the major considerations of the building process was the need for privacy. The building group wanted the coffee shop, meeting room, and gallery to be "quiet". They wanted to provide enough space in each area and make the wall tall enough to get away from the sound radius.

The texture group described the process and the colors they chose for the floor, walls, and furniture. They wanted to create a harmonious space with depth and balance. The texture group was also responsible for putting the artwork in the gallery. They showed us how they first photographed their paintings and pictures, then uploaded them to Second Life.

The furniture group described how they found each piece of decor. All members of the groups found many pieces of furniture but were not able to use many of them. There was a limit on the prims that could be used in the building. This was a problem that the building and furniture groups had to deal with. This was a unique challenge. Many of the pieces of furniture were built using the fewest number of prims possible.

The music group talked about how the six original songs were created for the coffee house and what equipment was used. We all agreed that the music really helps to set the mood and fill up the space. Our project manager helped to create the music ball that serves as a kind of jukebox. Avatars may help choose the order of the next songs being played.

The final group to present were the reporters. The reporters unveiled the wiki and blog that had been created to document the building process. They also created a a Flickr photo album and video that took the viewer on a walking tour through the Coffee House, Gallery and Meeting Room. They wanted all of these pieces to help other future classes at C.S.U.L.A. and throughout the world to have a small glimpse into the experience that we had in this class.

Second Life is a wonderful tool for collaboration and learning. Each of the students in EDIT 550 were able to showcase their unique talents. Each one of us gained something different from the class. More importantly we all worked together to construct a place that we can all be very proud of.

Ama Runningbear

See you soon at the Coffee House!

As the reporters take one last look around the CSULA Coffee House and Art Gallery, we are amazed at how much has been accomplished this quarter. There were many of us who had never seen or experienced Second Life when this class first began. We think that we can speak for everyone when we say, this was an amazing experience. All of us learned the remarkable collaboration capabilities that Second Life has to offer. We learned that we too could be a part of it. We learned how to create buildings, furniture, and textures in a 3D virtual world.

In talking to Professor Tutti, she remarked how “The class build exceeded my expectations. I am delighted with the final results.” The Coffee House will remain until December 2008, when it will be time for the next EDIT 550 class to create their space in Second Life. Our space in SL “was quite reasonable at $200/year (to) lease because our university received educational pricing on an educational island.”

We look forward to many other professors taking the leap into the virtual world. This has been a wonderful class. We are all very excited about our presentation and meeting each other, some of us for the first time. We should all be extremely proud of our building. We should be proud of all that we have accomplished! We did this together! It has been an honor and privilege to work with all of you!

We also hope to share a cappuccino or soda with you soon in the Coffee House! CSULA Rocks in SL!

Ama and MsFabulous

Interview with Catt

On March 4, 2008, during class break, I, eagle eye reporter interview Catt, the leader of texture team at coffee shop at CSULA parcel. Catt’s team is in charge of floor, painting, wall, ceiling, and of course coffee shop where we are staying. The coffee shop is nice, and conversation is pleasant.
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Sunflower: Have you heard of SL before this class?

Catt: No, I have never heard of Second Life however the name is really exactly what it says...a second life. At first I was a bit nervous having to venture into an unknown place with unknown people, well...other avatars. I also didn't understand how this would serve educators and students. My main concern was how students would, not adult students like me, but the students in our schools be safe in a virtual setting.

Sunflower: How do you feel about taking a class in SL?

Catt: Actually I was excited to learn what this class had to offer me. It was something new and looked like a lot of fun. Today there are so many new ways to get involved in technology and the virtual world is one I hadn't explored.

Sunflower: Your team is in charge of texture, what have you worked on?

Catt: Yes, our team was to work on textures for the parcel. What did that entail? Well... we discovered it was more than finding images of textures, it was also about collaborating on what type of look we wanted to convey and with three people with different likes and dislikes, we had to agree as a team and consider each others suggestions. With access to the internet we could have found thousands of texture images however our goal was to agree on a look and find the appropriate textures for that look. For instance, in the coffee house we agreed on having it look inviting and warm, therefore we looked for warm earthy textures and neutral ones too, like glass and tile. As a team we also discussed the look we wanted in the art museum and conference room. The art museum needed to look clean and serene just like the ones we visit in the real world (RL). We also didn't want the texture in the museum to be too "loud" or "busy" as to not distract from the posted art so we chose a very simple texture in a cool neutral tone. To add, our team was to add decorations and some greenery for the final touches.

Sunflower: What do you feel about doing the texture?

Catt: Our texture team had a lot of fun. We worked very well together always remembering to be open-minded and flexible. Working in a group is actually harder but you learn so much more from other's suggestions and think about things you may have not considered if you were working by yourself. We displayed the many textures we found to each other from woods and metals to tile and fabric. I saw our meeting times as "time to play"! We realized that a small image of a texture might not look so good on an entire wall. We would post a texture on the wall, leave it there for a while and then might decide later on a better texture. The most frustrating part was learning how to keep textures from affecting other sides of the object. For instance a ceiling on the bottom level could affect the floor on the top level because they were the same object. Through trial and error we learned how to eliminate that problem. The other obstacle was having other classmates accidently change or delete a texture we had already placed on an object so sometimes we would do double the work. Overall, our team enjoyed working on textures together and I think we did a pretty darn good job at that!

Sunflower: what have you learned by being in this class?

Catt: Wow! I personally learned so much! I learned how to build, take classes, navigate through SL, work for Linden money (SL money), find freebie stuff, purchase items, upload items, design my own avatar...but mostly...how to work and collaborate with my classmates. I have found that meeting in a class in real life is practically the same as meeting on SL. The function is basically the same because in both types of settings, you will have a group of people who all join at one location to discuss assignments, go over ideas, work in teams, hear a presentation...etc. After taking this course, I see how this works. Taking this course has opened my eyes to new ways students can use this type of technology for educational purposes. This class has driven my interest to learn more about SL and how I can use it as an educator and as a student. I had a lot of fun while learning...as educators, isn’t that what we strive for?

Sunflower Randt

The Art Gallery gets "Painted"

Our CSULA art gallery in SL has been re-painted. The building group has given the gallery a whole new look. There are dark, wood floors and bright, blue walls have given it a fresh, inviting look.

While you are there, take a look at the art created by three of our classmates. Jesus has created many pieces. Many of his pieces are created with acrylic on canvas. Cathy also has many pieces displayed. She has photographs, a self-portrait, and a landscape. Corrine has two photograph displayed. I was extremely impressed with each of the artist's pieces. But don't take my word for it, decide for yourself!

Visit the art gallery soon!

Ama Runningbear

Music at the Cafe

If you have been wondering where Dilla Denja has been hiding, he has been secretly at work creating the music for the CSULA Coffee House. He created 5 original songs. His idea for the café was to produce relaxing, jazzy tracks to help set the mood in the Coffee House.

But did you know that Dilla’s is a hip-hop producer in RL? He has worked on a few PSAs, short films, and worked with several different artists for the last ten years. He really enjoys making music. He is a teacher by day, but has many side projects that involve dealing with recording, mixing and mastering, video, editing, and graphics, a little bit of everything. He describes himself as a "jack of all trades".

EDIT 550 was his first introduction to Second Life. He is very excited about the potential SL has for his professional career. He says “I am in love with it” and plan on using it in the classroom. He, like many of us, has concerns about the safety of using SL with our students.

When you take a seat in the CSULA Coffee House, as you are sipping your hot cup of joe, enjoy the mellow beats created by our own Dilla.

Ama Runningbear

Who has been decorating the Coffee House?

I spoke to Tunisia Adamczyk, leader of the furniture group, during the final decorating and reorganizing of the CSULA Coffee House in SL. After seeing the amazing transformation that the Coffee House has gone through, I was interested to talk to her about her experience decorating the space. She said that most of the furniture her team found was free, but that many pieces had been built by the team. The ottoman, chairs surrounding the tables, chairs in the meeting room, and the podium were built by Tunisia. She said that after she built the couch, that everything became a lot easier. She learned how to link each shape and watch out for the sizes of each piece. She admitted to be a “naturally hands on person” in RL. I asked her what piece or area was she most proud of. She said that the conference room was her favorite part. She built the blue chairs and the table for the room. “It is beautiful.” I could not agree with her more. It is an amazing space and would be very fitting for meetings and lectures.

To Tunisia and the entire furniture group, you have done an amazing job decorating the Coffee Shop for all of us to enjoy.

Ama Runningbear

Interview with our Project Manager

Interview with Project Manager Gerdofal Kondor

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Time passes fast and it almost the end of this class. CSULA parcel final project is almost finished. As the first building of CSULA in SL, the project manager, Gerdofal Kondor, causes more attention. Today, in front of the building on CSULA parcel, eagle eye reporter interviews him, and hope it help you know more about SL, and the project.

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Sunflower Randt: How long have you been in SL?

Gerdofal Kondor: Wow, (it) must have been almost 4 or 5 years ago, shortly after launch. My oldest avatar is from 6/24/2004, but I had one about a year before that, I just lost it.

Sunflower Randt: I think in 2004, only few people knew SL when SL launched in 2003, I've heard there were barely 1000 users.

Gerdofal Kondor: Yeah, it was pretty barren.

Sunflower Randt: How did you know about SL? Where were you introduced to SL?

Gerdofal Kondor: Hmm... I saw it mentioned on an online message board. Nobody I knew was on it and it was a free account and they gave you in world money just for signing up, so I logged in and played around.

Sunflower Randt: You are really a pioneer.

Gerdofal Kondor: I liked the idea of an online world created by the residents. At the time, it was pretty boring and I had no free time, so I just played around a bit. It was interesting, but not enough people on to really have a nice economy yet.

Sunflower Randt: Did you attend any class like EDIT 550 before?

Gerdofal Kondor: No, nothing online. Though I did attend a couple of discussions and meetings in SL, they were only in SL, not associated with any college or university.

Sunflower Randt: What do you feel that your role as the project manager?

Gerdofal Kondor: Mostly to make sure everything is done on time, that's the traditional major responsibility. Usually, (also making sure that things are) done well is added to that, but in this case that actually became a group leader responsibility. I'm also the scripter and help everyone do what needs to be done.

Sunflower Randt: how do you feel the build is going?

Gerdofal Kondor: It's going great. Better than ever expected. The only large problem we're having is with permissions. When objects are not deeded to the group, they get cleaned up by the parcel and disappear. That has caused some confusion.

Sunflower Randt: What have you learned by being in this class?

Gerdofal Kondor: I've learned a lot of the intricacies of coding and scripting, I've learned a lot about the group permissions in SL. And learned that I don't like them, group functionality needs to be expanded. I've also learned that the first session of this class needs to be more intense with in person training on a lot of aspects of SL before it becomes a home only course

Sunflower Randt: If you were to introduce SL to the people who never use SL before, how would you describe SL in front of them briefly?

Gerdofal Kondor: I've described it as an online world with a great potential to allow collaboration, especially for students who are not physically close to each other.

Sunflower Randt: I believe our project will be great and keep the record in CSULA

Gerdofal Kondor: Yeah, this is awesome

Sunflower Randt: Thank you very much for your time.

Gerdofal Kondor: Sure thing