a newbie on the street! beginning second life

new beginnings

phip Irelund meets SecondLife

already in trouble in Mt St Michel

‘Discovered Mt St Michel in sl but explored very little before coming up against a seemingly insuperable dead end corner. Unable to fly up, down or backwards? Noone to be seen … gave up, returned home to wander deserted courtyards and experiment with falling in the water! Not very productive’ … but amusing …

Dragonswalk Blog 30.4.2010

newbie trouble in Amsterdam!

kicked, jumped on and chased off a pro’s beat … very unexpected, very unpleasant

but …

managed to collect a free magazine from an Amsterdam newsstand, skirted around night deserted canals, survived the assault and kept walking

a success overall …

Dragonswalk Blog 28.4.2010

the gamer outfit will have to go!

Alady Island shopping is so not me …

but is that the point?

still window shopping

at Alady Island 2010 Expo

observing the virtual consumer

fashionista rules!

what else rules in sl?

discrimination or inclusivity?

back home with new

jeans, pinkt-shirt and

coffee

pink is not perfect, but I discovered how to take off the belt!

no-one about!happiness is a great view

and blue water …

sl disappoints

*‘girlie’ shopping is not my favourite past-time

*emulating airbrushed body fashion is not my most creative pursuit.

*beauty and intelligence seem scarce in sl.

sl offers a very sexualised, commercialised environment where credit card purchasing beckons all ages to enable fantasy and encourage gaming.

(background: la Princessse de Rohan by Nattier, Chateau de Chenonceau, France)

is there value in gaming?

‘Does virtual living develop imaginative (Lego, Dizzywood, Moshi Monsters), caring (ClubPonyPals) and responsible citizens (Whyville) for an environmentally conscious future (Ecobuddies), or simply accustom teenagers to competitive demands (Action Allstars) and consumer societies (Gala Online, Stardoll, BuildaBearVille, MyMiniLife)?’

Dragonswalk Blog 4.4.2010 ref. Kids, Tweens & Teens in Virtual Worlds http://www.slideshare.net/nicmitham/kids-tweens-and-teens-in-virtual-worlds-2091502

sl excites and confuses

‘Sl is an exercise in discovering, following and remembering relevant instructions; a mixture of information literacy for games and real life involving both strategy and trial and error. It is a friendly, well-meaning, although not totally safe environment where the individual is left to find meaningful journeys, collaborations and contacts.’

Dragonswalk Blog 6.4.2010

messing about at home …

wish I could go for a drive!

car problems continued …still cannot get in!

gave up!visited Trinity College, Dublin for great

newbie welcome information, great pub, great advice …

only empty streets now

meet you?meet who? at the Blarney Stone pub?

*creature facilitator who is kind, helpful and generous with his L$

*habitual visitors on the prowl

*very elegant avatars who may run out as fast as they run in

*nude newbies kindly offered new skins, clothes, hair

*late night party frockers and frolickers

*international advice and ‘friendship’ in French, Italian, German … as you please

if you go down to the woods today …

*beware of strangers

*beware of strangers with personal questions

*beware of letting slip your rl identity, your sl ‘home’

*beware of your ‘new best friend’ who may be:

*a stalker

*a wolf (voice modified male) in sheep’s clothing (with tutu and fairy wings)

or they may just be out to have fun!

*to dress up

*to experience new worlds

*to try new skills

*to explore new identities

*to play games with new friends

*to consolidate new communities

or expand their professional network!

*join a professional group

*meet colleagues where geography does not matter

*discuss issues, advances, concerns

*raise professional awareness, support, advocacy

*promote new literacies, transliteracy and education

I went shopping in the woods,checking the

pub’s fave haunts.

I met a goat, a mouse and handsome, silent Simon who was a little strange, but spoke kindly.

and midnight shopping in Berlin

*I met gruff cross-dressing Sammy who was not wearing much, but directed me kindly.

*I ‘bought’ freeware dresses, skirts, bags and long black hair

*and from the Karlsplatz, coffee and a bike

(can I ride it? no.

can I take it back to Amsterdam? yes)

landed!new cords, new boots, new hair from Berlin

I rather liked blue hair …

relaxing at home with a book

the boots are a bit silly …

shopping will have to wait …new worlds to

exploreTempura

Island

Rouge Forest

playing with WindLight settings

and faerie light

in the marshes

and so to Kenroku

modelled on the seasons ofKenroku Gardens, Ishikawa, Japan

a moonlight visit

zen by starlight

Caledon by candlelight

Independent Artists of Caledon now showing …

Tenniel and Alice

back home again

slight clothes malfunction, but phip’s lost to worlds of fantastic design and opportunity

and ready for the Unconference

*expanding communities of practice

*exploring transliteracy

*continuing active learning and reflection

Sl / rl … a walk on the wild side …

Librarians and teachers “interpret transliteracy as a practice that enables the enhancement and the expansion of the services they provide. In this respect they emphasise the shift across diverse media literacies by capitalising on web 2.0 and virtual technologies, and by establishing new forms of dialogue with the communities they support”

Andretta, S. (2009). Take a walk on the wild side http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/papers/ifla75/94-andretta-en.pdf

with thanks for newbie welcome information at

Wollongong and Charles Sturt Universities, N.S.W.,

Murdoch University, W.A. and

Trinity College, Dublin.

adventures by phip

photography by Phillipa