A Range of Effective Second Life and Open Sim Collaboration Tools for EducationiED Monday, July 27, 2009
Second Life (the leading persistent immersive environment)______________________
Black Board (ISI)
Description: A chalkboard to draw freehand 2D images
Creator: Jules Mandelbrot
Features:
*3 colors of simple 2D line drawings
*Erase drawing with eraser
*Clears itself every minute
*Modifyable scripts & Build
Limitations:
*Non adjustable line width
*Lacks precision
*No owner only mode, so anyone can draw
*Drawing lasts only 1 minute
*At times, it failed to draw lines for me (a bug?)
*Erase clears entire board, not just part of it
*Erase affects all nearby boards
Ease of Use:
*Point, click, draw, erase
*Can't get much simpler than this...
Bottomline:
*Not for precision drawings
*Great for quick illustrations
*Newbie friendly
How to Obtain: Freely available on International Schools Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools/65/94/24
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Ideaographer
Description: An opensource 3D mindmapper
Creator: Jeff Lowe
Features:
*Simultaneous multi-user input
*Hierarchial structure to notes
*Easy finalizing feature for the owner so you can distribute the construct as notes
*OpenSourced, so all is modifyable
Limitations:
*Visibility poor for those unfamiliar with camera controls
*Floattext fades at a distance
*Max of 9 subpoints per point
*No standard text export (Although photos are compelling)
*Once linked, you cannot add more points
Ease of Use:
*Click & drop down menu driven
*Not a lot of options, so relatively short learning curve
*Visibility of text a problem for those not familiar with camera control
Bottomline:
*Great way to maximize idea collection for brainstorming or idea sessions
*Useful for visualizing an outline
*Will have to retype content if text output is needed
*Text visibility may make viewing very difficult
How to Obtain: Freely available on XStreetSL
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=76484
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NetLinkDescription: A URL bookmark distributer
Creator: Krull Aeon
Features:
*Users choose from list of URLs to auto load in browser
*Edit the URL list by changing the CONFIG notecard
*Build is modifyable
Limitations:
*Flash-based video doesn't work in the in-world browser (so no youtube videos)
*The CONFIG notecard URL list is not forgiving (it's easy to mess up)
Ease of Use:
*Point, click, menu driven interface
*Changing list of URL's fairly easy & updates very quickly
Bottomline:
*Good solution for collaborative text notetaking on-the-fly when used with Google docs or EtherPad
*Simple in-world way to link to web resources
How to Obtain: Freely available at EdTech Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/EdTech/146/203/24
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Flip BoardDescription: An image display board
Creator: Krull Aeon
Features:
*Shows images that are placed into the board
*Previews next 5 images at the base of the board
*Reset button returns to first image in the series
*Lock for Owner Only operation
Limitations:
*Resizing board messes up texture sizing
*To correctly order images, you must manually number or alphabetize the images
*Only owner can add images
Ease of Use:
*Very easy to learn!
*Displaying images requires importing to SecondLife, renaming to order, and placing them into tool
Bottomline:
*Simple to operate & effective at displaying images in-world
How to Obtain: Freely available at EdTech Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/EdTech/146/203/24
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PointAtMeDescription: 2D precision laser pointer
Creator: Richard Meiklejohn
Features:
*"Laser" pointer originates from avatar and ends at mouse-clicked target
*Chat "/3pointer" to turn it on and off
*Opensource, so it is modifyable
Limitations:
*10 meters or closer
*May be unstable with multi users
*Currently, no moderator only mode, so anyone can use
*The overlay may prevent other touch/click tools from functioning
Ease of Use:
*On/off chat switch with /3 channel is annoying
*Point and click...pretty simple
*Setting up board overlay may be tricky
Bottomline:
*Useful pointer overlay for any non-touch 2D image
How to Obtain: Instant Message Richard Meiklejohn in-world
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3D PointerDescription: A 3D precision pointer
Creator: Jeff Lowe
Features:
*Tracks user camera position and points towards camera focus
*Can switch between owner only & any user modes
Limitations:
*Tough to determine distance from target, so pointer tip may be too close to too far
Ease of Use:
*Touch, click & dropdown menus
*Requires skill at camera control to be effective
Bottomline:
*Useful for pointing out precise locations within 3 dimensional space
How to Obtain: Available for purchase on Paypal or XStreetSL ($10 USD)
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=76484
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The OpinionatorDescription: Real-time voting tool based on avatar position (A likert scale social graphing tool)
Creator: Entropy Hax
Features:
*Users cast votes by moving to "voting alcoves"
*Real-time results displayed in center pie chart
Limitations:
*Doesn't record or export results
*Limited space if there are numerous avatars
*16 max avatars per voting alcove
*May not fit in small spaces (it's about 15 meters x 15 meters in size)
Ease of Use:
*Requires avatar to move to positions to cast votes.
Bottomline:
*Very useful non-anonymous voting solution
How to Obtain: Available for purchase on XStreetSL ($99 Lindens... $.38 cents)
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=1227606
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AN ASSORTED GRAB BAG:Event TimerDescription: A timer that rings after a set # of minutes.
Creator: AngryBeth Shortbread
http://slurl.com/secondlife/gourdneck/188/243/64
NameTag
Description: Displays your name, title, or any desired text above the nametag attatched to your chest.
Creator: Jeff Lowe
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=76484
Set Text Agenda
Description: Change the notecard text and it displays the text in-world.
Creator: StarJunky Fermi
Action-point board
Description: Displays a numbered list of text, changable via text chat.
Creator: Cubist Scarborough
Hand Show Chair
Description: Users sit and can raise/lower hand via the "Page Up" & "Page Down".buttons.
Creator: AngryBeth Shortbread
http://slurl.com/secondlife/gourdneck/188/243/64
ReactionGrid (a leading, education-friendly Open Sim grid)______________________
AttitudometerDescription: Real-time display of average participant sentiment
Creator: Jeff Lowe
Features:
*Gauge displays real-time average of all user votes
*Votes are cast via either the vote stations or a HUD
*User votes count only once towards the total, but can change their vote whenever desired
*On/Off button freezes & activates the gauge
*Can set it to auto reset to neutral at specific intervals if needed
*Votes are anonomyus
*Available in Second Life & Open Sim
Limitations:
*Position of vote stations and HUD limited to 20 meters max
*In OpenSim, HUD malfunctions at times (may see a ghost images of a HUD)
Ease of Use:
*Initial setup requires moving and adjustment
*Voting is point & click simple for user
*HUD can be tricky for new users to attach
Bottomline:
*Good when anonymous voting needed
*Can fit in small virtual spaces
How to Obtain: $10 USD
For ReactionGrid-contact me directly
For Second Life-On XStreetSL
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=76484
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The BrainBoard
Description: Think stickynotes on a whiteboard.
Creator: Jeff Lowe
Features:
*Collaboratively create, edit, and organize short text notes
*Import a text outline via chat
*Export text outline via chat & email
*Organize notes via position, color, and votes
*Moderator mode allows secure single person operation
*Point of view chairs with optimal camera angles
*Link to training videos and refresher sheet via the help button
*BrainStore subscription provides a "web harddrive" to save and load sessions
*Available in Second Life & Open Sim
Limitations:
*Visibility of floattext (straight on angle & less than 10 meters away)
*150 notes max per board
*250 characters per note
*No image-based notes, only text
*No connections between notes yet
Ease of Use:
*Easy to create notes and add new lines of text
*Editing existing note text is difficult, requiring copying/pasting in a small editing window
*Importing text outlines can cause problems if not formatted properly
Bottomline:
*Very flexible text-based collaboration tool
How to Obtain: $50 (25% Education discount)
For Second Life-SOON TO BE LISTED on XStreetSL
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=76484
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WhiteBoardDescription: Drop a notecard into the board and display the text on the board & a webpage
Creator: Chris Hart
Features:
*Owner only and collaboration modes
*Collaboration allows anyone to drop in a text notecard
*On the webpage, colors the parts of text based on a specific coding language
*Can change text size
Ease of Use:
*Drag and drop notecard to change text
*Touch to access dropdown menu
Limitations:
*Texture loading times varies...rarely instantaneous
Bottomline:
*Webpage makes for flexible viewing options
*Great for developing programming scripts, but also useful for any text display
How to Obtain: New online marketplace