My professor, Barry Bratton at the University of Iowa always wanted us to think about the “WIIFMs” when we designed instruction. “WIIFM” stands for What’s in it for Me??? It is pronounced “wiff-em.” I thought about that when I read fellow classmate (Jim’s) posting on our class discussion board. He was relating to us a story…
Category: Technology
Scavenger Hunt in Second Life
Tonight in our class, we had introductions and discussion in the treehouse area. As the sun went down, we did a “Force Sun” and went on a Scavenger hunt. Through notecards and teleports, we navigated through some very interesting places. I found myself very frustrated at the rate of refresh on some areas (the fountain…
Come Visit Our Campus in Second Life
Designing Digitally has helped us establish a virtual presence in Second Life. Come and visit us!
To Be a Student Again!
I was excited to hear about the Educational Gaming and Simulations in Second Life class taught online through Boise State. It was a tad pricey at $1044 with a $55 application fee, but I thought – it sounds like just what I need. I submitted my application online and awaited the registration information. When I got an…
A Night at the Opera
OK, not really! It is 5:33am, and I just downloaded the browser Opera www.opera.com to play with a bit on recommendation from one of my students. I really like the Speed Dial function, but could only have 9??? I guess that is enough, but mine are all full now. It also seems a bit speedier…
Plagued with Red-Eye
Our family is plagued with the red-eye syndrome! Here is the Adobe Photoshop tutorial that I use to remove it from our pictures. Basically, it has you creating a new layer for the fix. On that layer, you select an “eye color” (sampled if possible) and paint over the red portion. Select Filter, Blur, Gaussian…
Ready for Approval
Well, in just 2 short weeks, we are ready for the approval stage! Luck would have it that it hits during finals week!
Building Fast — Some Textures Added
Well, it is starting to take shape now with some textures being added. It is fun to watch the building process. Can you hear the waves? What a peaceful scene, especially at dawn (when I do most of my work)! Ready for class? Here is Exploria at the podium. Here is a look from the…
Mindmapping
I am a fan of mindmapping. While I prefer drawing my mindmaps by hand, sometimes I need to make them more professionally presentable! I use Mind Manager Software for this purpose. I also use it for making to do lists and grocery lists — things that I need to update frequently to keep current and…
A look inside
This is the main entry inside of our building. Here is the board room, complete with viewing screen. All seated and ready to go! A look at the Student Area. Up until this point, I have just been showing the terrain and the main building outside. They have now started working on the interior a…