[8:46] DJ Earnshaw shouts: I am DJ Earnshaw (Don Singleton in RL)
[8:46] DJ Earnshaw shouts: In RL I am a Director of APCUG, the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (http://apcug.net), and in SL I am in the process of opening an office for APCUG in Plush #9
[8:46] DJ Earnshaw shouts: It is a work-in-process, but I have set up a couple of communication areas in two of the corners, for Avatars to sit and talk about the Computer User Groups their humans are members of.
[8:46] DJ Earnshaw shouts: UGs we know of that have had avatars visit our office have their group's logo displayed on the wall, and if you click on a group's logo it will take you to that group's website.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: I am in the process of gathering LMs of intersting places in SL and will be making notecards of them available in the APCUG office, with hopes that User Group members will demonstrate SL to their User Group.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: They will first visit the APCUG Office, and pick up notecards of places to sbow their member. If you have any suggestions of places they should go, please let me know.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: In RL I am also President of HelpingTulsa, and we are on the waiting list for space for an office for HT in SL also.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: HelpingTulsa (http://helpingtulsa.org/) takes donated computers and refurbishes them and donates them to schools, churches, and non profit agencies in Real Life.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Here in SL I am working on a Wiki Page http://npsl.wiki.techsoup.org/RL-%3E+SL+and+SL-%3ERL+Communications which is the start of a Cookbook I will be developing.
[8:47] DJ Earnshaw shouts: The Communication Cookbook will help Non Profit Groups implement different forms of "Real Life to Second Life" and "Second Life to Real Life" communications, up to, and including dual RL/SL Events.
[8:48] DJ Earnshaw shouts: I have hopes of getting it working by the end of August, in which case I will do a mini dual RL/SL event between the APCUG Office at Plush #9 and APCUG's Annual Meeting at the Ohio Midwest Regional http://ohiomidwest.apcug.org/.
[8:48] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Here in SL I teach at Happy Hippo Education Centre where I (or rather my teaching alt Professor Viper) has been invited to teach a "Teach the Tools" series at Happy Hippo. This series is a bit different from most of your classes in Second Life.
[8:48] DJ Earnshaw shouts: I certainly don't mean to imply the other teachers are doing anything wrong; I have nothing but praise for all of the instructors that have taught me what I know now. But in Second Life, there are several ways to do the same thing.
[8:48] DJ Earnshaw shouts: For example you can bring up Build menu by: (1) "Clicking Build", or (2) "right click the ground and select Create from Pie", or (3) "Tools, Select Tool, Create", or (4) "Ctrl 4", and probably others.
[8:48] DJ Earnshaw shouts: One teacher may teach one way, and it can confuse the student when the next teacher uses a different way to do the same thing. My "Teach the Tools" series will take one tool, and try to cover all it can do: beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: The higher level stuff the student will not use every day, but hopefully when a student is confronted with one of the other ways of doing something, he will not be confused. For more information see http://teachthetools.com/
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Right now I am teaching a new class each week, at 7pm Tuesday, and then at noon Wednesday. This week I covered Camera Controls. Next week we will cover parts of the General and Object tabs of the Edit menu.
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: The following week we will finish the Object Tab, then in subsequent weeks we will cover the Texture Tab, then Features Tab, then Content tab, starting a multi week series on Scripting.
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Penguin asked me to ask you for subjects you would like to see NPC offer. IM either Penguin Kuhn or DJ Earnshaw. I have just rezzed a gift box.
[8:49] Glitteractica Cookie: this is awesome DJ
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Inside are a LM for the APCUG Office, and an APCUG T-Shirt. Stop by the office, and you can get other color shirts. I am also including an LM for Happy Hippo Education Centre, and a notecard with everything I have said today.
[8:49] DJ Earnshaw shouts: But the real prize is a Help Cylinder. I use them in classes where students may need help. They click on it and it does three things:
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: (1) it shouts they need help, (2) it emits red particle balls so someone can find them, and (3) it provides an SLURL to the location of their cylinder, so a helper can TP right to them.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: I am working on something even better. Consider a Master Board on which you can put a texture with a schedule of upcoming classes, events, etc.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Now consider another board that you can put copies of in many places (like each classroom) in the SAME SIM, and when you change the texture on the Master Board, all of these Classroom Boards change to the same schedule texture within 5 seconds.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: Sound useful? Now consider a Remote Board, that you can put anywhere in Second Life (any sim). It will take more than 5 seconds (maybe 30) but each of them will change texture too.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: One question: do you see a need for one of this Remote Board to be a Sub Master Board, that slaves off of the first Master Board, and allow the Class Boards in their region to get the schedule texture from them.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw: let me know what you think
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts: The three Viper Boards should be ready in one to two weeks, and will be made available here.
[8:50] DJ Earnshaw shouts:
[8:51] DJ Earnshaw: That is it let me know about classes and if you see a need for remote viper boards to be sub master boards
[8:52] Veri Oddfellow: *waves at In*
[8:52] Glitteractica Cookie: any questions for DJ
[8:52] In Kenzo: good morning: evonne @amoration checking in from LA this morning, sorry I missed your intro DJ. ;)
[8:53] Veri Oddfellow: *waves to Zaz*
[8:53] Buffy Beale: Sounds good DJ will check it out thanks
[8:53] Glitteractica Cookie: OK, then next up, we have Ninlil and penguin talking abt volunteering
[8:53] DJ Earnshaw: Everything i said is in my gift box
[8:53] Glitteractica Cookie: (yay volunteers!)
[8:53] cowgrl Crystal: where are your classes held?
[8:53] Ninlil Xeltentat: hooray!
[8:53] DJ Earnshaw: there is an lm for happy hippo