The End

So this is my last blog for this DSP class. I am now a pro at blogging. I never thought that this day would come... Well this class was interesting to say the least. I genuinely loved meeting all of the people in our class. We were a very diverse class, and everyone brought something to the table, even the people that dropped it... I liked working together on all of the projects, we were able to create strong friendships, like "The Back Line", and the tripod! This class was nice to be a part of because I felt like our class was really a cosmopolitan canopy. We had a very open and friendly atmosphere. This class also made me more computer savvy. I was totally unaware of SL before this class. I do not think that I will continue exploring SL, but it was definitely an interesting experience. Exploring SL Amsterdam was fun. People in SL are very outgoing and friendly. I feel like pretty much everywhere in SL is a cosmopolitan canopy. 

The other activities that we did like BAFA BAFA, the video about Barbies, were really interesting.  It was nice to hear everyones opinions during class, because since our class was so diverse we were able to have several different views. 

The UK Field project made me realize how oblivious I was to implicit rules of society. I never really payed attention, but after discussing them in class I was surprised to realize how many there are. For example; don't talk while on the elevator, don't talk in the bathroom(for guys)- girls don't follow this rule at all... which is also somewhat strange to me. While working on my UK field project I realized some implicit rules of the Library, like adults don't study on the third floor at one of the large study tables, or that you don't dress up to go to the library. 

Overall I think this class was a good class. I'm not going to lie, I was not expecting the work load... it was a lot of work. I think that the work load was tolerable because of the people in the class, I made some really good friends (tripod and back line). 

Have a great break, and good luck everyone! Stay in touch!

DSP Showcase

The group that I am in for the DSP Showcase is "Team SL; Guiding You Through Your Virtual Reincarnation". 

The people in our group are: Landre, Reecie, Elle, Raito, Phoolendu, Maekeo, Azriquel, Rasay, and myself. We are a large group but we have combined all of our SL projects into a nice slideshow presentation for the Showcase. We are going to have two computers and two projectors. One computer and projector will have Second Life open so people can come and play around in there, and someone can explain to them what SL is all about and help them explore. Hopefully people will want to play on Second Life, I guess we will just make it look as exciting as possible.... Then on the other computer we will have a continuous slideshow going on that will give people a general overview of SL. Then the people working by the powerpoint can tell people about SL projects that we did in class. I think this is a good group, we have several different places represented. This will give our visitors a more well rounded view of Second Life. We represent Amsterdam, Mexico, Bogart's Jazz Club, and Atlantic Wave.  These areas are all completely different and we are all familiar with the University of Kentucky Second Life site, so we can tell them whatever about any of those sites.

Paper for Field Site

Writing this paper is turning out to be a little bit more challenging than I had anticipated. I think I can cram everything in there, but I am nervous about turning in my final paper. 

There are several resources on campus to use, the key is to actually use them.  So far the only resource that I have tried to use are the librarians- I emailed them to find out more about the history of the library. I am now just waiting for a response. Otherwise I rely on other people in the class to help me out, we talk about how each other's projects are going. 

Well I think that Landre is working on a similar type of place, we both are working on a place that is centered around academics, but there tends to be a significant amount of socializing in each place. Reecie and Walugo also have similar places to mine, people go to their sites to study too.  While they are both studying lounges, they are both studying places where people often go to study as well.

The people that I am working with for the DSP Showcase are everyone that wanted to work on showcasing Second Life at the showcase. This includes the members of "The International Back Line",  members of "ECSL", a lone member from "The Cholos". We are a large group, but I think that we will all work well together.

UK Communities Presentation

I am not sure what type of visuals I will end up with for my presentation of the third floor of the William t. Young Library. I think I will probably end up using a poster. Everyone in the class knows about the library so this would just help them pay attention a little bit more. My poster will mostly be pictures. I think that everyone knows about the library but some people do not actually utilize it. I use the library all the time, but do not always use all of my resources that I should until the last minute. I think my project will also help people come to the library.... maybe. 

I think it will be easy for me to talk for a while. There are lots of things that I did not realize about the library that I do know after being in there so much. Maybe I will make people feel more comfortable going to the library if they know what it's all about! After seeing my presentation they will know what they edict is like on the third floor. They will know that it changes depending on the time of day. I think this is the case for many places that the change from day to evening causes a change in peoples attitudes.  

Hopefully my classmates will be willing to comment on my site and project. I think I will just ask if anyone has any questions at the end.