Activity 6: a narrative about my first steps in SL
[original post 11/10/08. Answers to Activity 6: http://www.muvenation.org/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=118 ]
Summary
- Technical demands of 3D virtual environments: As Linden Labs keeps on adding to the affordances of SL, old technology is left behind. SL does require a solid computer with video card, lots of memory and good boradband access. [i'll search the SLED archives to provide a list of technical requirements here]. My laptop is 2 years old and although I can’t run SL on Vista (my laptop has an integrated video card that no longer is supported by ATI so I can’t update it), it has been doing just fine on Microsoft Office XL. My experience in SL is more stable when hooked up, but I am usually on wireless connection with very little lag to deal with.
- Raise awareness of and reflect on issues relating to the induction of learners into a MUVE environment: The MUVE is less an environment to discover as a medium for the instructor to deliver learning experiences. My belief is that if the students are let to believe that this environment is not compulsery to attend to, attrition will be high and motivation will be minimal. Also adult learners have certain assumptions about the MUVE enviornmetns that are different in needs and answers than younger learners (not to assume that all younger learners automatically know MUVE and/or make the difference between gaming platforms versus social platforms such as SL)
