SLENZ Update, No 140, September 28, 2009

THE SLENZ PROJECT Virtual world makes mastering interview skills  much easier … when virtual ‘really feels real’ “Fabulous”,  “amazing” and “fantastic” were only three of the superlatives used by the  more than 20  educators and researchers who toured the SLENZ Project’s two builds on Kowhai  in Second Life and listened to commentary from educators, developers [...]

SLENZ Update, No 139, September 24, 2009

IN THE SPOTLIGHT SLENZ members  on  international virtual world conference  circuit 1. Cochrane at SLaction 2009 The Valverde conceptual design … as envisioned in Second Life. There are two Second Life conferences over  the next few days which will feature  the work of members of the SLENZ Project team, underlining just   what can be achieved [...]

SLENZ Update, No 138, September 22, 2009

Why aren’t NZ  secondary schools using virtual worlds, video games? or are they …  but just below the radar? Ahead of the game …  Christ’s College, one of New Zealand’s oldest schools, is in Second Life. Given the ever- burgeoning popularity of  video games, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs)  and virtual worlds, or [...]

SLENZ Update, No 137, September 19, 2009

LIFE IN A NEW ZEALAND VIRTUAL WORLD ONGENS  gets its first ‘Kiwi Tavern’ as  virtual ‘Aotearoa’  grows … Sign of the ONGENS times … The Kiwi Tavern  at Port Cook. Even though the New Zealand National Virtual World Grid appears to be going through a difficult and, at times, fragile gestation, there is a small [...]

SLENZ Update, No 136, September 17, 2009

CAN NEW ZEALAND USE THIS LESSON? Texas shows the way forward in virtual world education … John Lester (SL: Pathfinder Linden) and Leslie Jarmon (SL: Bluewave Ogee) meet in front of the virtual version of Johnson Claudia Taylor Hall at the University of Texas System.(Picture: Pathfinder Linden) The New Zealand tertiary education system  should probably [...]

SLENZ Update, No 135, September 09, 2009

CATCHUP READING … Innovate:  a Net Magazine for anyone really interested in virtual worlds I’ve been meaning to comment for some time that, for me, one of the most useful  magazines in the field of online education and virtual worlds is  Jim  (James L.) Morrison’s  Innovate. As  Editor-in-Chief, Morrison (pictured right), Professor Emeritus of Educational [...]

SLENZ Update, No 134, September 02, 2009

Lest we forget unsung heroes … Design and building  in Second Life really is hard ‘yakka*’ … an ‘Oscar’ for Isa/Aaron? Isa Goodman (aka Aaron Griffiths), Second Life builder It’s easy to forget that the often unsung heroes of virtual worlds are the builders – the on-the-virtual-ground developers, scripters, animators but  especially the builders. As [...]

SLENZ Update, No 133, September 01, 2009

CARTOON  OR SUPER-REALISM Do the graphics really matter in virtual worlds? … and is Blue Mars really the third generation? Blue Mars 2050 … does super-realism matter? I have always wondered just how much the graphics matter in virtual worlds: I know my personal preference falls into the super-realism category when it comes to graphics [...]