Workshops are 1 – 3 hour, hands-on sessions concerning a specific topics within Second Life.
The Benefits Of Virtual Worlds For The Physically Disabled
Workshop Instructor: James Larken Smith/Jameslarken Supply
When a person is physically disabled, they are often thrown into a world full of obstacles. Depending on the disability, things that might have been out of reach for them are gone. Normal life activities such as employment, daily shopping, and attaining a higher education become very difficult due to an often changing physical moving environment. Daily pleasures such as going to a coffee shop, dancing, going to concerts, visiting family, & socializing become major things often out reach and/or difficult to do. By using Second Life® & virtual worlds in general, the disabled are not only able do things they can not do in their real lives, but researchers are discovering that there are rehabilitation benefits as well.
This workshop will look at how disabled users can enrich their lives through the use of Second Life®. We will discuss the technical needs of the disabled community, and see how they are adapting the interface for their particular disability. There will be a practical tips and tricks time, plus a discussion of what the future holds for people with special needs in the virtual community.
California Legacy – from out-of-print literature to modern machinima
Workshop Instructor: Bernhard Drax (Draxtor Despres in SL)
For nine years, the California Legacy Project at Santa Clara University is dedicated to preserving California’s culture. California Legacy has published 40 books and produced 500 radio segments. In Second Life we are now re-creating these segments as machinima, a unique way to link cutting-edge technology with literature and performance and give a new audience eager to learn about California’s history and literature, a place to meet and discuss. The first 5 machinima (in the future one or more will be added each month) will be discussed and shown at SLCC workshop, then the process of making them from original text, through dramatic reading to avatar design and set building, post production to final product, will be broken down. The audience can participate in the production of a brand new segment, filmed ON THE SPOT, and whoever is ready, willing & able can play a role in the production.
The Knowledge Base plus Tips & Tricks (TNT)
Workshop Instructors: Kate Linden, Torley Linden
The Documentation Team, led by Jon Linden, will provide a mixed reality presentation, discussing the Knowledge Base, and our TNT blog. Stop by and learn more about what Documentation Team does at Linden Lab. We will present in person from the workshop, with Torley Linden presenting from inworld. This workshop will cover the following topics:
- Documentation Team introduction
- The Knowledge Base
- What’s new with the Knowledge Base
- Resident Feedback
- Calling all Videographers
- Knowledge Base Efficiency
- Blog: Tips & Tricks (TNT)
- Quick Tips
- Video Tutorials
- Testing and Truth TNT2
- Ask Kate – Blog posts for Beginner Residents
- Knowledge Base Article of the Week
- Documentation Team +
- Discovering Virtual Land
- Questions and Answers
Manx Wharton Presents: SL, The Great Poetry Equalizer
Workshop Instructor: Manx Wharton
Second Life is an outstanding venue for collaborative literary presentation and workshopping. The advantages of the platform for easily gathering talent from around the world in a convenient virtual setting is nearly ideal for offsetting the traditional challenges that poets face in developing and distributing their craft. Serious writers are often itinerant, or isolated in remote locales, limiting their ability to share their work with the greater literary community.
SL demolishes those barricades for new, emergent, and establish writers. The result has been what some regard as a cultural revival in poetry, bursting out from the well-worn conventions of academic writing or slam performance into a wildly diverse yet broadly supportive set of writers who have reinvigorated the traditions of the literary reading as lively, interesting, inclusive, mainstream event.
This workshop will feature readings by some of SL’s best poets, involvement from some of the most successful reading organizers on the Grid, and direct work with those interested in the mechanics of successful readings and workshops.
SL2RL Fashion Portability Workshop
Workshop Instructor: MadamG Zagato
Hands on workshop for the SL fashion designer to learn and explore creating designs for real world production and sales. This workshop will familiarize SL designers with elements of various real life designs while learning to incorporate them into SL designs for the purpose of presenting them to a seamstress or manufacturer for production. Participants will receive a workbook with instructions, forms, and a list of clothing manufacturers as well as other useful tools and information upon completing the workshop. In order to ensure there are available materials for this workshop, please register (at no additional cost) at http://never30.com/slcc/.
Using the Virtual to Teach the Real: Lessons from Teaching MBA, Design and Engineering Students
Workshop Instructor: Dr. Yesha Y Sivan
Dr. Yesha Y. Sivan will be presenting a three hour workshop, titled “Using the Virtual to Teach the Real: Lessons from Teaching MBA, Design and Engineering Students”. This workshop will focus on lessons learned from running 10 university level courses that used the virtual world to teach real life skills. This workshop will cover the following topics:
- Getting to know a new medium (3D3C virtual worlds)
- Living the full cycle of creation
- Idea generating, market research, planning, sub contracting, pricing, selling, servicing and more
- The technical tasks: picture, car, shirt, ball
- The project tasks: plan, final submission, core technology
- How to work in a new system where there is no way to learn it all.
- Grading methods and Testing
- Final project ideas (we will cover 20 different ideas and reflect upon them)
- Concrete technical tips for making groups, funding student work (when to give funds), client setup
- Overall value perceived and actual value for students
