Monday, October 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April events for SL Libraries and Groups
special thanks to Bryte Jewell ;)
Book Discussion27 April 2009 6:00 PM SL
The Gazebo at Mystery Manor
This month's discussion of international crime fiction goes to Cubawith a discussion of Havana Black by Leonardo Padura (full nameLeonardo Padura Fuentes), one of Cuba's best known writers. He is bestknown in the English-speaking world for his quartet of detectivenovels featuring lieutenant Mario Conde, Las cuatro estaciones (Thefour seasons). Mario Conde is a cop who would rather be a writer, andadmits to feelings of “solidarity with writers, crazy people, anddrunkards." The novels are:
* Pasado perfecto ("Havana Blue", 2007), 1991 * Vientos de cuaresma ("Havana Yellow", 2008)), 1994 * Mascaras ("Havana Red", 2005), 1997 * Paisaje de otoño ("Havana Black", 2006), 1998.(source: Wikipedia)
Havana Red is often thought of as the first book in the quartet sinceit was the first translated. Havana Black was the second booktranslated but the last in the quartet.
Reviewers of the Mario Conde novels describe them as literary fictionrather than action oriented hard-boiled detective stories.
Havana Black is set 30 years after the revolution and detective Condewould like to retire. Conde is persuaded to investigate when a formerminister, responsible for confiscating pre-revolutionary art-works, isfound dead, washed ashore, bludgeoned to death, and mutilated. Theminister, Miguel Forcade, had been living in Miami and a majorquestion is what brought him back to Cuba.
The Independent described Havana Black:The unraveling of this story, which reaches far back into Cubanhistory, is overlaid with a rich smoky patina, an atmosphere thatreeks of slums and riches, cigar-smoke and exotic perfumes. Fuellingit all, one senses Padura's rage at a succession of betrayals: by thecapitalist exploiters who jumped ship when the Communists came; by thecorrupt comrades, among whom survived the luxury and corruption of thebourgeoisie; by the naked greed of the exiles in Miami.
Padura is one of a lost Cuban generation: brought up with the optimismof the revolution, imbued with egalitarian ideas, yet enraged by thewretched poverty of fellow islanders to whose misery the revolutionhas made little difference. This is a strong-tasting book, a richfeast of wit and feeling.
Links to reviews and articles about Leonardo Padura and Havana Black
This month's discussion of international crime fiction goes to Cubawith a discussion of Havana Black by Leonardo Padura (full nameLeonardo Padura Fuentes), one of Cuba's best known writers. He is bestknown in the English-speaking world for his quartet of detectivenovels featuring lieutenant Mario Conde, Las cuatro estaciones (Thefour seasons). Mario Conde is a cop who would rather be a writer, andadmits to feelings of “solidarity with writers, crazy people, anddrunkards." The novels are:
* Pasado perfecto ("Havana Blue", 2007), 1991 * Vientos de cuaresma ("Havana Yellow", 2008)), 1994 * Mascaras ("Havana Red", 2005), 1997 * Paisaje de otoño ("Havana Black", 2006), 1998.(source: Wikipedia)
Havana Red is often thought of as the first book in the quartet sinceit was the first translated. Havana Black was the second booktranslated but the last in the quartet.
Reviewers of the Mario Conde novels describe them as literary fictionrather than action oriented hard-boiled detective stories.
Havana Black is set 30 years after the revolution and detective Condewould like to retire. Conde is persuaded to investigate when a formerminister, responsible for confiscating pre-revolutionary art-works, isfound dead, washed ashore, bludgeoned to death, and mutilated. Theminister, Miguel Forcade, had been living in Miami and a majorquestion is what brought him back to Cuba.
The Independent described Havana Black:The unraveling of this story, which reaches far back into Cubanhistory, is overlaid with a rich smoky patina, an atmosphere thatreeks of slums and riches, cigar-smoke and exotic perfumes. Fuellingit all, one senses Padura's rage at a succession of betrayals: by thecapitalist exploiters who jumped ship when the Communists came; by thecorrupt comrades, among whom survived the luxury and corruption of thebourgeoisie; by the naked greed of the exiles in Miami.
Padura is one of a lost Cuban generation: brought up with the optimismof the revolution, imbued with egalitarian ideas, yet enraged by thewretched poverty of fellow islanders to whose misery the revolutionhas made little difference. This is a strong-tasting book, a richfeast of wit and feeling.
Links to reviews and articles about Leonardo Padura and Havana Black
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/havana-...http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/features2005/padura/padura.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/leonar...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/12/cuba.crimebookshttp://www.amazon.com/Havana-Black-Lieutenant-Mario-Mystery/dp/190473...
May 1 - Mystery Manor Grand reopening and Gothic Costume Ball 7:00 SLT. We a giving Mystery Manor a face lift and launching our new exhibit "200 Years of Mystery: Edgar Allan Poe" We will also begin our Poe Scavenger Hunt, which will go through May 15.
Wednesdays in May at 6:00 SLT "Poe's Works of Mystery" - Each week a different Poe story Mystery read in voice with discussion to follow. See the events calendar at Mystery Manor for the list of titles. You are invited to attend the May 2009 Mellon Seminar in Digital Humanities: http://tinyurl.com/472nahThese Seminars are hosted by Todd Presner (Germanic Languages and Comparative Literature, UCLA) and Jeffrey Schnapp (Stanford University, Stanford Humanities Laboratory, and Mellon Visiting Professor of Digital Humanities, UCLA). Topic: Animating the Archive and Digital World Presenters: Lynn Hershman, Henrik Bennetsen and Jeffrey SchnappDate: Monday, May 4, 2009Time: 2 pm – 5 pm SLT/PDTLocation: Real Life (RL): UCLA Visualization Portal (5628 Math and Sciences Bldg.) Second Life (SL): Entropia, the Digital Library Federation’s SL island—rsvp neededSecond Life basic accounts are free: http://secondlife.comNOTE to SL attendees: Please rsvp to Esther Grassian estherg@library.ucla.edu to reserve a space and receive the SLURL (SL url), as well as instructions for viewing the live video feed and adjusting the audio in SL.The May 4th presentation will be devoted to the medium of virtual worlds, with particular emphasis placed upon mixed reality approaches to scholarship, collaboration, creation, cultural programming, and archiving. The presentation will be divided into two parts, the first devoted to the Lynn Hershman / Stanford Humanities Lab Life Squared project; the second devoted to a broader conversation concerning virtual worlds, with special emphasis on Sirikata, a new open source virtual world platform being developed at Stanford the inaugural application of which is SHL's Speed Limits project. For more information, and for seminar readings, please visit http://tinyurl.com/d9zjdb
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Alexandrian Free Library: Caledon, Winterfell, Steelhead, New Toulouse, New Babbage, Amatsu Shima, West of Ireland, Steeltopia, Deadwood, Al Andalus and Constantinople Library Events for April 29 - May 5 2009Continuing Exhibits:19th Century Literary Influences on Steampunk, an exhibit at the Steelhead Public LibraryMarch 15 - June 13, 2009Steelhead Public Library http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelhead/123/184/25
May 1 - Mystery Manor Grand reopening and Gothic Costume Ball 7:00 SLT. We a giving Mystery Manor a face lift and launching our new exhibit "200 Years of Mystery: Edgar Allan Poe" We will also begin our Poe Scavenger Hunt, which will go through May 15.
Wednesdays in May at 6:00 SLT "Poe's Works of Mystery" - Each week a different Poe story Mystery read in voice with discussion to follow. See the events calendar at Mystery Manor for the list of titles. You are invited to attend the May 2009 Mellon Seminar in Digital Humanities: http://tinyurl.com/472nahThese Seminars are hosted by Todd Presner (Germanic Languages and Comparative Literature, UCLA) and Jeffrey Schnapp (Stanford University, Stanford Humanities Laboratory, and Mellon Visiting Professor of Digital Humanities, UCLA). Topic: Animating the Archive and Digital World Presenters: Lynn Hershman, Henrik Bennetsen and Jeffrey SchnappDate: Monday, May 4, 2009Time: 2 pm – 5 pm SLT/PDTLocation: Real Life (RL): UCLA Visualization Portal (5628 Math and Sciences Bldg.) Second Life (SL): Entropia, the Digital Library Federation’s SL island—rsvp neededSecond Life basic accounts are free: http://secondlife.comNOTE to SL attendees: Please rsvp to Esther Grassian estherg@library.ucla.edu to reserve a space and receive the SLURL (SL url), as well as instructions for viewing the live video feed and adjusting the audio in SL.The May 4th presentation will be devoted to the medium of virtual worlds, with particular emphasis placed upon mixed reality approaches to scholarship, collaboration, creation, cultural programming, and archiving. The presentation will be divided into two parts, the first devoted to the Lynn Hershman / Stanford Humanities Lab Life Squared project; the second devoted to a broader conversation concerning virtual worlds, with special emphasis on Sirikata, a new open source virtual world platform being developed at Stanford the inaugural application of which is SHL's Speed Limits project. For more information, and for seminar readings, please visit http://tinyurl.com/d9zjdb
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Alexandrian Free Library: Caledon, Winterfell, Steelhead, New Toulouse, New Babbage, Amatsu Shima, West of Ireland, Steeltopia, Deadwood, Al Andalus and Constantinople Library Events for April 29 - May 5 2009Continuing Exhibits:19th Century Literary Influences on Steampunk, an exhibit at the Steelhead Public LibraryMarch 15 - June 13, 2009Steelhead Public Library http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelhead/123/184/25
New Exhibits:Caledon Library 19th Century Spiritualism Exhibit, curated by Mica BraunMay 1st to July 17th, 2009The Jack and Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library, Caledon Victoria Cityhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Victoria%20City/59/196/23
Join us, whether from the earthly realm or The Beyond, to explore the subject of Spiritualism…Spiritualism is looked on variously as a science, a philosophy and a religion: a science that attempts to investigate, analyze and classify facts and manifestations of spirits; a philosophy that studies what it defines as Laws of Nature, both of the seen and the unseen sides of life and bases its conclusions upon observation; and a religion for its striving to understand and comply with physical, mental and spiritual laws that govern the human condition. Covering such topics as mediumship, spirit photography and séances, this exhibit considers Spiritualism as a complex subject, from its distinctly Victorian flourishing in the lives of such eminent 19th c figures as Arthur Conan Doyle and WB Yeats, to its continuing popularity today.This exhibit is offered to the spiritually minded citizens of Caledon by Miss Mica Braun of the Caledon Library, for their enjoyment and edification.Events of the week:WOI -The Awful Truth Behind Mother Goose with Gracee AndelWednesday 29 April, 20097pm - 8pmWest of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Irelandhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29
Learn more about the politics and people behind those innocentchildren's rhymes.-----------------------------------------WOI –
Ghosts and Haunts with Shandon LoringThursday 30 April, 20097pm - 8pmWest of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29
Great ghouly, ghosty, hauntingly chilling tales.-----------------------------------------Winterfell Library Book Discussion: A Storm of SwrodsSaturday 2 May, 20091pm - 3pmWinterfell Palace Library, Winterdell Taur en Lore http://slurl.com/secondlife/winterfell/130/190/25
WINTER IS COMING
Join us to talk about the third book in the critically acclaimed series "A Song of Fire and Ice"; A Storm of Swords.A Storm of Swords won the 2001 Locus Award and 2002 Geffen Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Significantly, it was the first novel in the series to be nominated for the Hugo Award, one of the two most prestigious awards in science fiction and fantasy publishing. A Storm of Swords picks up the story slightly before A Clash of Kings ended. The Seven Kingdoms are still in the grip of the War of the Five Kings, with Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon fighting to secure their crowns. Stannis Baratheon's attempt to take King's Landing has been defeated by the new alliance between House Lannister (backing Joffrey) and House Tyrell, and House Martell has also pledged its support to the Lannisters though the forces of Dorne have yet to take the field. Meanwhile, a large host of wildlings is marching on the Wall under Mance Rayder, with only the tiny force of the Night's Watch in its path; and in the distant east, Daenerys Targaryen is on her way back to Pentos in the hope of raising forces to retake the Iron Throne.-----------------------------------------“Speak to Us!: Victorian Spiritualism" An Exhibit at the Whitehorn Library, Caledon Victoria City Curated by Mica Braun Exhibit Opening and Conversation with the Curator Saturday May 2nd 2-4 PM SLT Jack & Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library, Caledon Victoria City http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Victoria%20City/52/203/23
Join us, whether from the earthly realm or The Beyond, to explore the subject of Spiritualism… Spiritualism is looked on variously as a science, a philosophy and a religion: a science that attempts to investigate, analyze and classify facts and manifestations of spirits; a philosophy that studies what it defines as Laws of Nature, both of the seen and the unseen sides of life and bases its conclusions upon observation; and a religion for its striving to understand and comply with physical, mental and spiritual laws that govern the human condition. Covering such topics as mediumship, spirit photography and séances, this exhibit considers Spiritualism as a complex subject, from its distinctly Victorian flourishing in the lives of such eminent 19thc figures as Arthur Conan Doyle and WB Yeats, to its continuing popularity today. This exhibit is offered to the spiritually minded citizens of Caledon by Miss Mica Braun of the Caledon Library, for their enjoyment and edification.---------------------------------------
Caledon Library Book of the Month Discussion - first book of Little DorritSunday 3 May, 20091pm - 2:20pmCaledon Library at Caledon Oxbridge
Caledon Library Book of the Month Discussion - first book of Little DorritSunday 3 May, 20091pm - 2:20pmCaledon Library at Caledon Oxbridge
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Oxbridge/196/96/23http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/ March 29-April 26, 2009Little Dorrit Five episodes (episode one 120 minutes, all others 90 minutes) One of Dickens' greatest love stories, Little Dorrit has the timely theme of chronic debt and financial collapse. Matthew Macfadyen (Pride and Prejudice) stars as hero Arthur Clennam, with Claire Foy as Amy "Little" Dorrit and Tom Courtenay as her father.http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dickens/charles/d54ld/index.html-----------------------------------------WOI – Charlotte’s Web with Caledonia SkytowerMonday 4 May, 20097pm - 8pmWest of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Irelandhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29
The miracle in Charlotte’s Web is revealed, but will that be enough to save Wilbur? Off they go to the Fair with “Zuckerman’s Famous Pig” in this next installment of the E.B. White classic.-----------------------------------------
By Whitman, Bi-Weekly!Tuesday 5 May, 20094pm - 5pmCaledon Library, Caledon Victoria Cityhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Victoria%20City/160/117/23
By Whitman, Bi-Weekly!Tuesday 5 May, 20094pm - 5pmCaledon Library, Caledon Victoria Cityhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Victoria%20City/160/117/23
Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is one of the works at the foundations of American poetry. Its expansive attempt to capture the spirit and landscape of the 19th century United States has influenced a culture, and its rich language continues to inspire readers today as it has for the century and a half of its existence."By Whitman, BI-Weekly" will provide an opportunity to look closely at this beloved work. Each time we'll spend an hour discussing its context and examining the poetry of the 1855 first edition.The series will also give those who love Leaves of Grass, and those who would like to learn more, an opportunity to explore Whitman's vigorous and heartfelt poetry together.-----------------------------------------WOI – The Anything Box with Gyro MugginsTuesday 5 May, 20095:30pm - 6:30pmWest of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Irelandhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29
A schoolteacher discovers the magical toy one withdrawn child has created from imagination in order to retreat from a harsh home environment.-----------------------------------------WOI – Travels in Ireland with Aoife LorefieldTuesday 5 May, 20097pm - 8pmWest of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Irelandhttp://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29
Tuesdays in May we'll be visiting Ireland as Aoife Lorefield reads from the collection, Travelers' Tales Ireland. If you're familiar with the Travelers' Tales series, you'll know how wonderful these true life essays are: well written, sharply drawn, and evocative. On each of May's four Tuesdays, Aoife will read several tales, choosing from among writers like Frank McCourt, Thomas Cahill, Nuala O'Faolain, and Maeve Binchy. So whether you're longing to get back or have yet to go, join her as she travels through Ireland, reading in voice, with chat in voice or text. All are welcome!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
updates n events
»Next Week, Available via Second Life: Join the ‘Libraries of the Future’ debate at the Bodleian Library
The event take place at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, UK on April 2nd. If you can’t make it there, you can follow along using Second Life.
From the Web Site:
A debate to raise the current issues facing librarians and data management professionals is being organised by JISC, bringing together an international expert panel to speak at the University of Oxford’s iconic Bodleian Library on 2 April 2009.
In his blog, Professor Peter Murray-Rust, a speaker at this upcoming ‘Libraries of the Future’ debate, expresses serious concern at the apathy he senses amongst university librarians in their failure to engage with the issues that will seriously affect them as we advance into the digital age.
The international panel of speakers comprises:
+ Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian and Director, Oxford University Library Services
+ Chris Batt OBE, Former Head of Chris Batt Consulting
+ Peter Murray-Rust, Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics
+ Santiago de la Mora, European Partnerships Lead, Books - Google UK Ltd
+ Robert Darnton, Harvard University Librarian
+ Vincent Gillespie, J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language
Much More Information Here
Registration for either the live event or via Second Life here. Source: JISC
Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students
Director Frances Crawford said Second Life, the online tutoring social network, is another advantage offered to students and faculty and the latest addition to the writing center.
Second Life targets online students and those with a tight schedule; it is identical to face-to-face tutoring because of its abilities.
Adding to the assistance of the new writing center, such as help with essays, grammar, sentence structure and MLA, Second Life is a social network controlled by tutors from writing centers worldwide and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Crawford said all students need to download the program at esmgsl.com, which stands for education server management group in Second Life.
Teachers will have access to student assistance items.
For example, a student can create a virtual note card to post a paper and receive help from a tutor; this way, a student can be at home and still receive help through chat.
Tutors also can pull items from a "virtual inventory" list, such as a PowerPoint Presentation, to better explain questions.
Virtual dry erase boards, where students and tutors can converse online and explain questions, are also available.
Tutors can pull up as many boards as needed to describe one's errors or answer questions visually.
Crawford said tutors can have more than one session at a time to better serve those online; they also can have private conversations, where those online surrounding the group will not be able to hear, if they chose.
Much like being in an actual tutoring session, classrooms are also available where the tutor can sit next to a student.
This college, however, is not the only one to use this server, Crawford said. Many universities use the server; there can be from 70,000 to 100,000 surfers worldwide at any given moment.
On the site, there is also a virtual library for those being tutored to do research.
Crawford said even though it is a controlled environment, people do need to be at least 18 to sign up.
Continued...
Living NOAA's Second Life
Mar 23, 2009
As told to Alice Lipowicz
As leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Virtual World program, Hackathorn found new ways for the government to participate in the Second Life virtual environment. He also is co-chairman of the Metrics and Research Working Group at the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds and co-created SciLands, an international user community that meets on its own mini-continent in Second Life to promote science and technology.
NOAA is testing virtual worlds for use in educational outreach, data visualization and other applications. We are using Second Life as a platform because it caters to a worldwide audience and provides access to people who could never visit our real-life offices. Ideally, we can show students parts of our world they otherwise would not see, like the bottom of the ocean or the northern lights. Much of the data that NOAA produces is inherently 3-D, and Second Life provides unique opportunities for visualization.
NOAA Virtual World started as a personal hobby in 2006 outside normal working hours with a generous donation of a virtual acre of land on Second Life. I was able to demonstrate some basic functionality and convince local management there was value to this new technology. In July 2006, Sandy MacDonald, director of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, provided some seed money. NOAA's first virtual island opened in January 2007.
Our program has grown in small steps since then. This process is by no means over. At this point, we have two or three on-site staff and half a dozen subcontractors. Our operational budget is in the low to mid six figures.
Second Life provides the interface, the building tools and the world. It is like an [Internet service provider] hosting a Web site and providing basic tools to design Web pages. The number of regions NOAA utilizes is a function of how much money we invest. Most of the design work is done in Second Life, but more and more, we take advantage of 3-D animation programs like Maya, Blender or SketchUp.
We are beginning to test data visualization in virtual worlds, or what I like to call collaborative [geographic information systems]. One recent prototype we call Second Earth attempted to blend the capabilities of tools like Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth with the collaborative capabilities of Second Life. You can fly through and remotely collaborate about a real-time dataset
The event take place at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, UK on April 2nd. If you can’t make it there, you can follow along using Second Life.
From the Web Site:
A debate to raise the current issues facing librarians and data management professionals is being organised by JISC, bringing together an international expert panel to speak at the University of Oxford’s iconic Bodleian Library on 2 April 2009.
In his blog, Professor Peter Murray-Rust, a speaker at this upcoming ‘Libraries of the Future’ debate, expresses serious concern at the apathy he senses amongst university librarians in their failure to engage with the issues that will seriously affect them as we advance into the digital age.
The international panel of speakers comprises:
+ Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian and Director, Oxford University Library Services
+ Chris Batt OBE, Former Head of Chris Batt Consulting
+ Peter Murray-Rust, Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics
+ Santiago de la Mora, European Partnerships Lead, Books - Google UK Ltd
+ Robert Darnton, Harvard University Librarian
+ Vincent Gillespie, J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language
Much More Information Here
Registration for either the live event or via Second Life here. Source: JISC
Writing center adds Second Life for online tutoring for students
Director Frances Crawford said Second Life, the online tutoring social network, is another advantage offered to students and faculty and the latest addition to the writing center.
Second Life targets online students and those with a tight schedule; it is identical to face-to-face tutoring because of its abilities.
Adding to the assistance of the new writing center, such as help with essays, grammar, sentence structure and MLA, Second Life is a social network controlled by tutors from writing centers worldwide and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Crawford said all students need to download the program at esmgsl.com, which stands for education server management group in Second Life.
Teachers will have access to student assistance items.
For example, a student can create a virtual note card to post a paper and receive help from a tutor; this way, a student can be at home and still receive help through chat.
Tutors also can pull items from a "virtual inventory" list, such as a PowerPoint Presentation, to better explain questions.
Virtual dry erase boards, where students and tutors can converse online and explain questions, are also available.
Tutors can pull up as many boards as needed to describe one's errors or answer questions visually.
Crawford said tutors can have more than one session at a time to better serve those online; they also can have private conversations, where those online surrounding the group will not be able to hear, if they chose.
Much like being in an actual tutoring session, classrooms are also available where the tutor can sit next to a student.
This college, however, is not the only one to use this server, Crawford said. Many universities use the server; there can be from 70,000 to 100,000 surfers worldwide at any given moment.
On the site, there is also a virtual library for those being tutored to do research.
Crawford said even though it is a controlled environment, people do need to be at least 18 to sign up.
Continued...
Living NOAA's Second Life
Mar 23, 2009
As told to Alice Lipowicz
As leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Virtual World program, Hackathorn found new ways for the government to participate in the Second Life virtual environment. He also is co-chairman of the Metrics and Research Working Group at the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds and co-created SciLands, an international user community that meets on its own mini-continent in Second Life to promote science and technology.
NOAA is testing virtual worlds for use in educational outreach, data visualization and other applications. We are using Second Life as a platform because it caters to a worldwide audience and provides access to people who could never visit our real-life offices. Ideally, we can show students parts of our world they otherwise would not see, like the bottom of the ocean or the northern lights. Much of the data that NOAA produces is inherently 3-D, and Second Life provides unique opportunities for visualization.
NOAA Virtual World started as a personal hobby in 2006 outside normal working hours with a generous donation of a virtual acre of land on Second Life. I was able to demonstrate some basic functionality and convince local management there was value to this new technology. In July 2006, Sandy MacDonald, director of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, provided some seed money. NOAA's first virtual island opened in January 2007.
Our program has grown in small steps since then. This process is by no means over. At this point, we have two or three on-site staff and half a dozen subcontractors. Our operational budget is in the low to mid six figures.
Second Life provides the interface, the building tools and the world. It is like an [Internet service provider] hosting a Web site and providing basic tools to design Web pages. The number of regions NOAA utilizes is a function of how much money we invest. Most of the design work is done in Second Life, but more and more, we take advantage of 3-D animation programs like Maya, Blender or SketchUp.
We are beginning to test data visualization in virtual worlds, or what I like to call collaborative [geographic information systems]. One recent prototype we call Second Earth attempted to blend the capabilities of tools like Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth with the collaborative capabilities of Second Life. You can fly through and remotely collaborate about a real-time dataset
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