briandit545

As time passes our group project is developing. This is due to the work we have been doing, attending class, communicating online and our interest in this module. I believe I have contributed my fair share to the development of the group project. Firstly I haven’t missed a class so far which enables me to know what is going on at all times and understand how our project should develop. This also allows me to experience the module to its full potential which will add to the success of the project in my opinion.

Secondly I have been communicating online to the best of my ability with the other students in my group. This is essential when trying to put together a project. There were some initial problems at the start but now we have a group e-mail discussion set up and I add to it whenever it is required.

Finally I contributed a lot to the discussion our group had during last week’s class about how our project should progress. I helped narrow down our list of possible charity ideas to one that helps people with a certain disease/illness. We decided to focus on people with asperger syndrome as myself and two other group members have cousins with the condition. There are numerous support groups for people with asperger syndrome in Second Life which could be the cause or group we choose to help. We decided to give our project a theme of “stepping outside our comfort zone” which will add to the overall project in my opinion. I then contributed in informing the lecturers of our progress and the direction our project will be taking.

There are lots of technicalities and various licence agreements associated with copyright. It is important to adhere to these regulations and be informed about them. The virtual world is different yet also similar to the real world and copyright licences is a feature in both. We need them to protect content creation by individuals as the creator deserves exclusive rights to their work.

However content creators can’t change their license terms after it’s creation. If you create license content under one agreement, you cannot legally change the licensing agreement unless you have included language to this effect in the original license. Copyright legal templates are being created for people to use which will help them create their own legal agreements for licensing. This will help the overall copyright scenario.

To conclude we need copyright laws and proper licensing agreements to protect creativity and make the real world and the virtual world run smoother and be more fair to all users.

Our group have been deciding on what tools we will use to keep in contact, plan our project and share information. Keeping in contact with group members will be an important part of our project and this module. Twitter is one tool we have been using. A group chat has been set up and the free instant messaging will be useful for our project work. Twitter is also useful as it is another tool we can use to contact any of our lecturers in Second Life if we have any queries or if want to link them any information.

E-mail is another tool our group has been using. We have exchanged our e-mails addresses in the hope of sending group messages when necessary. By using e-mail we can link information and send on attachments to our fellow group members.

The virtual world of Second Life is a place we can meet up as well. Here we can talk to our lecturers and group members as we progress with our project. Thursday evenings are a great opportunity as the turnout is generally good and it seems to suit both timezones well.

As of yet I still haven’t been in contact with one member from our group but I’m sure this will change in the near future. But this is an example of the difficulties we face when working on long distance projects. It is important that we learn from it and that is what this module is all about.

My next task was to go outside of the class group and make contact with two people relevant to my interests. The first location I went to was a place called Kickin, because it is a music orientated place and music is one of my main interests. I got talking to a group of people who were at a performance by a guy called Neo. They were all dancing for the duration of my visit. I asked them why they use second life and why do they like to dance at Kickin. The replies I got were typical of music festival goers in real life. “Because the place rocks!”and “Kickin is the best” were the replies. The dancers also gave there reasons for taking part in second life, “Second life is fun” and “I have friends all over the world”. The people seemed to be enjoying themselves at the performance judging by the non-stop dancing and the conversations they were all having while the performance was taking place.

My next place location I went to was Zooby’s, which is a place for people who like pets and animals. I got talking to a girl called Daisy who also liked animals. She told me how she also likes the music in Zooby’s and how she uses Second Life to catch up with friends and relax as she thinks its a “mini vacation from real life”. She also told me how for some people with disabilities, using second life is the only way they can interact with people. This echoes what I read about the Heron Sanctuary which we will visit next week in class.

Hi, my name is Brian. I have set up this blog as part of the “Is One Life Enough” elective module I am taking in college. I study Visual Communications in DIT and I am interested in art, music and most sports.

My first location to visit in second life was Fibber Magees in Dublin. I chose this location because it was mentioned during my lectures in second life and I wanted to see what it was like. Fibber Magees is a relevant location for our group as it is a place we can go to discuss elements of our group project. All of the students taking part in the “Is One Life Enough” elective module know where it is so this makes it a suitable location as we are all new to this online community and technical situations. Fibber Magees is a dark pub with plenty of seats. The interior of the pub is very brown with a band stage for entertainment. Overall I think Fibber Magees could prove to be a useful location.

The second location I visited in second life was the Trinity College Information Area in Dublin. I chose to visit this location as the information area has lots of information about how to use second life and how to get used to the controls and interface. I think this location could be relevant to our group as anyone who is having difficulty getting used to second life could teleport to the location and learn how to become more skilled at operating second life. The information area is a large area with buildings on the perimeter and a stone structure in the middle. There is numerous boards that display the aforementioned information.

My final location that I finished in second life was the Artists for Second Life Gallery on Rainbow Park Island. This was a random location that I visited by using the destination guide. However this location could be useful to our group as it is a nice place to visit and could inspire ideas. The gallery is a large white building with an open topped corridor down the centre of the gallery. It is full of art pieces that are interesting to observe.

Overall I found that exploring second life was an enjoyable exercise that gave me a greater understanding of the online world and also made me realise that there are nice places for our group to meet up and discuss our group project in second life.

This is my first blog as part of the “Is One Life Enough” elective module I am taking in college. It is difficult to say my expectations of what this  module will be like as I have never done anything like it before. However I would have to guess that it will be an interesting, interactive and thought provoking experience. There are numerous skills that I would like to gain from participating in this module. Firstly I would like to learn how to create a unique and accurate online presence as I feel it will a useful tool in my future career as a graphic designer. I would also like to become used to online interaction with other like minded people. Actually speaking and discussing topics with people online is something which I have never done before. I look forward to learning about the various topics that will arise while taking part in this module. I hope to contribute a lot in this module as this will improve the overall experience and affect my grades in the module. I believe I will contribute another intelligent point of view as will all the other people taking part in this module. I hope to contribute any insight or ideas I have about the topics that will be up for discussion in this module. The objectives of this module are definitely relevant to me. The module will give me a chance to improve upon my academic writing and blog writing skills. The objectives of this module are also relevant to me as in my future line of work an understanding of the online world will be invaluable.