jenniferbrola.com

I've got so many tabs going at once right now - on nearly every machine. I don't really use bookmarks; they wind up as dead ends...forgotten ideas. But it's getting a little crazy! I think I've broken my browser at work with all my tabbage. :) Anyway, so I realize that most of the tabs on this machine are probably better off in here anyway.

The underpinnings of Second Life:

• InformationWeek: Inside Second Life's data centers
• Second Life Wiki: Server Architecture

Browser-based Second Life clients:

• IBM/Pelican Crossing's Universal (Second Life) viewer
• Electric Sheep's OnRez viewer with embedded web browser

Second Life research and white papers:

• User acceptance [data] of virtual worlds
  
• OOPSLA: Second Life - the world's biggest programming environment
• 101 Uses for Second Life in the College Classroom
• Putting a Second Life skin on learning management systems
• Gartner: 80% of Internet Users Will Have A "Second Life" by the End of 2011
• CNN: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (about Wikipedia, but has relevance)

Can you tell that my research focus is shifting? Yeah, me too. Maybe it's not so bad, though. This is a topic that uniquely consumes all parts of my past knowledge - interface design, architecture, animation, etc. It's not entirely work related, unlike my previous research starters, but I have a feeling I'll be busy enough at work anyways.

I'm famous! Well, not really. But I did a roundtable discussion with Esme the other night and followed a bunch of Vermonters over to the ISTE presentation. I hadn't planned to go, but I'm glad I did - it was very interesting. It was a voice-enabled event with slide and text support. Next thing you know, I'm going to CNN to see what's what and there I am! Well, maybe not "me" per sey, but my avatar. :) Yeah, yeah, so I'm a dork. But I'm a dork that learned some stuff by going to a recognized National Distance Learning Week event. Who knows, maybe it'll come in handy while I'm trying to cook up a dissertation topic.

Over 70 avatars from around the world packed the International Society for Technology in Education’s island tonight for a panel presentation featuring Sarah Robbins (SL: Intelligirl Tully), Lindy McKeown (SL: Decka Mah) and Peggy Sheehy (SL: Maggie Marat). “Distance Education on the ‘MUVE’ : A place to go to learn together without leaving home” was an officially sanctioned National Distance Learning Week event and was, by all accounts, a great success! - KJ Hax