MUVEs and Web2.0

The origin from my story comes from my first steps in SL after I learned some basic skills like flying, chatting, moving, running, searching etc. After I had done my first steps within SL I decided to learn and explore some places within SL, especially I searched for educational environments. Primarily I searched for a possibility to learn playing the guitar within SL. But the outcome was another…

After I had done my first steps within SL I decided to learn and explore some places within SL, especially I searched for educational environments. I used the searching tool where I insert in the searching mask the words “Music School”. One of the outcomes was the place “De Paul University, School of CTI”. I decided to teleport myself to this place because the description of this place sounds interesting: “Most beautiful campus in SL: Explore, Reflect, Learn (Distance Learning), Animation, Gaming, Digital Cinema, Security. “

The starting point of the “DePaul University, School of CTI” was a teleporting opportunity to the place “Fireworks” within the environment. I got the information that there is every Tuesday at 8pm a firework. I choose the teleporting tool and arrived in front of an information board where I firstly read some information about the university. The points were divided in four topics: Welcome, Course OnLine, Requirements and History. After that I visited the website of the university where I find out that the university has changed his surname. Instead De Paul University of CTI (Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems) the surname is now CDM (College of Computing and Digital Media).

After I visited the website I began to explore the campus environment. I achieved the “Tall Ship” where I found a “Stool of Destination”. I sat down on the chair and was teleported to a castle. I opened the door to the castle, looked around and explored via mouselook the area. There were posters on the wall, an aquarium with goldfishes but it was difficult for me to find out what active things I can do in this castle. I went upstairs and found in a corner the game “Whack-A-Mole”. Aim of the game was concentration, speed and reaction. I had to whack the moles per mouse click which came out of a hole. I got 10 points for every successful whack on a mole. But there were rabbits, too. When I whacked on a rabbit I lost 10 points. After a minute of play the game was over. It was an interactive game but the really sense of that game I didn’t understand. On the third floor I sat down on a coach where I could change the sitting position via the keys “Page Up/Page down”. I found at the first floor another “Stool of Destination”.

I was teleported to “Tenny Threa”. There I could jump on a trampoline, could look and take different forms, drive by car and motorbike (it was too fast to drive) and play with balls.

There was a “Destination Stool”, too. I found out that via double-click a list opened and show me a list of places within the campus where I can go and teleport myself. Via double-click on a place at the list the “Destination Stool” changed his destination to my chosen destination. Here some places of the list that I can choose for the teleporting: Fireworks, Open Zone, Teeny Threa, Castle, Lighthouse (There you can test the function “climb Ladder”), Potterswick, Tall Ship, Class/Kiosk, Main Plaza, Vic’s Sub, Race Course, Final Piece of Land Information (here you can use a elevator to go from one floor to another) etc.

One of the main places for me was “Class/Kiosk”. Here you get further information about the management of inventory, a prim finder, about prim creation etc. That is one of the things I still have to learn within SL. I thing that is a complex theme a you have a lot of possibilities to create buildings.

Finally I found info prompter (one day after I wrote my story) which looks like a quarter; I got the hint to wear it. But how can I use the info prompter?

The main functions of this environment for the moment are:
- the function of teleporting within the environment
- the function of opening doors (via double-click on a door)
- the use of camera positions; settings to different perspectives
- the function to create texture applications in the area Class/Kiosk; there you can buy and create texture applications and get some information how it runs
- info prompter (but unclear how to use it)

I think that on that place are much more things to discover and to learn but they are not obviously at once.

It was not easy for me as a nearly beginner to get an overview what possibilities are offered to me at this environment. It would be good when you arrive at a new place to get some information (either via a person who gives you some input and which you can ask some questions or an information board where you can get an overview) about the aim of the environment, what you can explore there etc. I recognized that I have to learn more about creating and changing buildings.

This story evokes me that I need more orientation points in a ‘new world’. What I can do, what can I learn there, what opportunities are offered to me etc. Learning by doing and self-exploring of new things makes fun to a certain degree. When you can’t recognize the really sense of the environment and have no possibility to ask a person it is difficult to getting motivated to explore an environment.

I wrote that story one month ago… In the meantime I learnt more things how to handle, communicate, move and create objects within SL, for example I attended on my first in-world workshop with the topic “Scavenger Hunt”. But I know I have to learn, explore more things within SL to get more familiar with this world.