The Chameleons In World Experience

The virtual society seems to be filled with many personalities, some that you may or may not find in a real world situation. Perhaps the biggest difference is how often you are approached by strangers. In reality, you won't often find another person willing to simply walk up to a complete stranger and ask them to be your friend. We took our group photo at the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum. It was a great opportunity to see Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and learn about his life. During our group photo, there were numerous other avatars that seemed to be fascinated by what we were doing. People seem to be much more outspoken in virtual worlds then they would be in a real world situation. While that may not always be a good thing, the topics people can have conversations over seem endless. This leads to better communication between people, which plays a big part in the popularity of programs like Second Life.

Meeting in Second Life was fun, and we found it better than simply chatting with my group members in a chat group. One downside is how easily distracted one can become while playing the game. With the ability to see and do so much, it is sometimes hard to focus on the task at hand. That very same ability to see and do so much is what makes Second Life a great tool for both students and teachers alike. Second life allows people to visit educational places like museums, universities, and other virtual recreations of spectacular cities and monuments. This can help enhance the learning experience and encourage students to get more involved in their studies. A great example of this is when our group member Jessica teleported to the Second Life Planetarium Dome, and had the opportunity to learn about stars and space all while in the comfort of her own home. This type of learning could be more appealing to students compared to standard textbook reading or even classroom discussions. Overall our experience in Second Life was positive and introduced us to an entirely new way of life.

Apollo Moon Landing

My final trip came from some inspiration from my trip to the International Spaceflight Museum. I did some research and found a spot in Second Life dedicated to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, which surprised me. It felt pretty weird since it was just myself and 2 or 3 other avatars just sitting around in silence staring at the landing shuttle. Nevertheless, the experience was still very cool and everybody should check this place out.

International Spaceflight Museum

For my fourth trip in Second Life I deviated from the path of Universities and schools and went down a different one. I decided to check out the Spaceport Alpha International Spaceflight Museum. It was kind of funny, as the world was loading I was unimpressed. Then all of the sudden, these towering space shuttles appeared on my screen. I wasn't expecting all of that to appear, and it was a pretty cool sight to behold. You can't see it in the pic but I stood on top of this glass dome in order to capture my snapshot. Overall it was an enjoyable pit stop in my Second Life experience.

Ohio University

The third stop in my tour of online universities was at Ohio University. I'm not sure how true to life this replica of the campus really is, but I do know that I like it a lot. I particularly liked the learning center portion of the map, since it was very well made and a nice place to check out. Another good place on this virtual campus can be seen in my picture, and it is labeled the Art and Music Center. I really dug the auditorium you see in the picture, and figured I would use it for my snapshot.

Northern Illinois University

For my second educational visit in Second Life, I checked out another University. This time I took a trip to Northern Illinois University, in what Second Life called its Glidden Campus. I found out that this Glidden Campus is actually a replica of the Universities older campus. Once again, my reason for visiting this University was simply curiosity.

Harvard University: Austin Hall

For my first trip into Second Life, I decided to take a trip to Harvard University. More specifically, a replica of Harvard's Austin Hall. Austin Hall is essentially one large classroom for Harvard Law School. I'm not particularly fascinated with the idea of going to a school like Harvard, I just thought it would be cool to check it out. I did some research on Austin Hall, and it turns out that law students would actually participate in classroom cases on the second floor of Austin Hall.

Paris, 1900

I was able to step back in time to see what Paris, France was like in the year 1900. This was the year that Paris held the world’s fair including the Summer Olympics of 1900. I visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and the Champs Elysees. There is a hot air balloon available to take avatars on tour of the city. Here I am driving down the cobblestone streets past the Moulin Rouge and a French Café in my old steam car.

Dell

My visit to Dell island was very interesting. The island included virtual walkthroughs of a factory, conference center, learning center, auditorium, and museums. Plus a walkthrough of a huge computer where you can see what things move and work in a computer. This is definitely a neat place to go to because of all the knowledge that can be learned from Dell, and the amazing sites of the computer.

Golden Gate Bridge

I found this replica of the Golden Gate bridge in a Star Trek world for some reason, but nevertheless, it is still a great image of the bridge. This is something that is worth checking out, and even though it isn't the best representation of the bridge, it is still a neat replication.

Second Life Planetarium

The Second Life Planetarium Dome is one of my favorite places in Second Life so far. Here I can watch amazing pictures of space courtesy of NASA. You are able to visit the Galilean Moons of Jupiter, view the Aurora Borealis, take a tour in a giant Zeppelin, or use the public use Hover Bike to fly around space. This is a great educational tool for anyone interested in learning about space. It is also a relaxing place where many avatars go to chill out on couches to take in the beauty of the heavens. Here I am standing on the observations deck viewing the constant changes going on in our solar system.

Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China replication is very cool because of the detail that has been put into it. There was also a great coastline that near the wall which looked amazing as well.

Pyramid Gallery

This world was interesting because of all the different Pyramid structures found within it, of course. All in all, definitely something interesting to check out and take a picture of

The Stonehenge

This is a really cool replication of the Stonehenge, that is worth checking out. It has great detail on one of the seven wonders in the world.

Virtual Art Gallery

I decided to see what it would be like to visit a virtual art gallery. Here I am at the Toulouse –Lautrec exhibit at the TOC Art Gallery. This place is amazing – there are three levels in the gallery featuring countless exhibits from artists like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Raphael, Monet, Degas, Picasso, M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali, etc…You can view high resolution replicas of famous paintings like Leonardo DiVinci’s Mona Lisa or Van Gogh’s Starry Night. All of the paintings are for sale (some are free) if you’d like to decorate your house with one.

Rainforest - Costa Rica

I visited a rainforest located in Costa Rica’s virtual Tenorio National Park. The sounds of nature here are amazing and the weather simulations are just like real life. The sounds of pouring rain, thunder, and birds chirping were very relaxing. There were places to camp in, canoes to take out on the water, and plenty on other avatars in larger fishing boats. I even got to hang-glide through the rainforest. A large variety of local wildlife including spiders, fish, and birds like parrots and toucans are crawling and flying all over the place. Beautiful butterflies kept landing on my shoulders. Here I am standing near the water with a vicious crocodile. Unlike in real life though, it didn’t bite!

Splash Aquatics

Here I am at Splash Aquatics. This place is like a giant virtual Aquarium that anyone can visit. Above ground there are giant fish tanks, swimming pools, as well as fountains and ponds where exotic tropical fish swim. There are habitat domes that house penguins, beavers, and sea turtles. If you want to enjoy the water there are places to rent hovercrafts, go scuba diving and chairs with fishing rods attached so you can just sit down and go fishing. The most amazing part of Splash Aquatic is the underwater walk-through glass tunnel that showcases beautiful aquatic animal like humpback whales, sharks, piranha, and dolphins. Here I am standing in front of the penguin habitat dome.