On 16 December, Vice-Chancellor Martin Bean used his own avatar to give a presentation in Second Life. The talk, A Journey in Innovation, was given on Open University island and is thought to be the first in-world address by a UK university VC. The event was chaired by Claudia L'Amoreaux (aka Claudia Linden), Education Programmes Manager for Linden Lab, who facilitated a question and answer session.
Martin enjoyed his first visit to Second Life, and was also pleased to open the new Access Centre building on Open University Island, providing new reaches for the Accessibility team (see http://www.open.ac.uk/access-centre/ ). The virtual Access Centre should be fully functioning early in 2010.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Panto Frenzy
Hi ya'all,
The first Panto meeting has been held. It was a great meeting and resulted in the choice of Jadis Mai as Orthnilogical Panto Director, and that on top of caring for three children and one ornery bird, OU studies, and work as event planner. There is only one word for it- committment. You should have seen Mr. Mai flapping in approval.
Fortunately for us all, Titiana is taking on the costumes, and Kick is creating an incredible delivery system. PsiRan is the writer so we know there are some laughs ahead. Its gonna be great.
The first Panto meeting has been held. It was a great meeting and resulted in the choice of Jadis Mai as Orthnilogical Panto Director, and that on top of caring for three children and one ornery bird, OU studies, and work as event planner. There is only one word for it- committment. You should have seen Mr. Mai flapping in approval.
Fortunately for us all, Titiana is taking on the costumes, and Kick is creating an incredible delivery system. PsiRan is the writer so we know there are some laughs ahead. Its gonna be great.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Panto audition
The panto audition is coming sometime on the weekend. If I find out when I will let ya know.
Vampires on OU Island
SL! You gotta love it. Rumour has it that a certain uniformly person we all know has been allowing a unknown female vampire to bite him. Rumour has it that She asked politely and our brave OUtopia member offered his neck for the science of a vampire. Ludovico Fatenelli would be so proud. At the OU - Research rules!
Q&A
Wow Wed. night Q&A really turned into crowd magnet. Tons of strangers popped into OU Island. It was an impromtu close encounter of the SL kind. Alls kinds of Q's were asked and all kinds of A's were given between some real interesting holiday dilemma discussions and multitasking online shopping.
I was short hand turned into somewhat of a bird roost as a slightly loony bird sat on my head. Gosh I miss ESH!(the birds preferred target!heeheeeeeeeheee)
It was great to see the place so full of quickly typing av's while being serenaded with the murmurings of Art Inventor in the back ground who in spite of introductions still remains unknown somehow.
All in all it was a rather pleasant info session. If you need some basic sl training (orientation) then stop by the nOUbie Centre for the nOUbie Q&A orientation support, Wednesday - 7:00 pm GMT and Friday - 10:00 am GMT.
I was short hand turned into somewhat of a bird roost as a slightly loony bird sat on my head. Gosh I miss ESH!(the birds preferred target!heeheeeeeeeheee)
It was great to see the place so full of quickly typing av's while being serenaded with the murmurings of Art Inventor in the back ground who in spite of introductions still remains unknown somehow.
All in all it was a rather pleasant info session. If you need some basic sl training (orientation) then stop by the nOUbie Centre for the nOUbie Q&A orientation support, Wednesday - 7:00 pm GMT and Friday - 10:00 am GMT.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Casting Call
It’s panto season and the OU’s community in the virtual world Second Life is staging Snow White in December. If you have theatrical zeal in the veins and are a confident avatar driver, let us know when you are available for rehearsals and performance by filling in the dates you ARE available at http://www.doodle.com/y2vcd654kerbgmmr (and don't forget to leave your avatar name so we can contact you!) Closing date for this casting call is Friday 27 November.
Revisiting the OU Ocean
Have you visited OU Ocean? Newcomers may not be aware and oldtimers might have forgotten, but right off the shores of OUtopia there is a vast ocean thats perfect for dwaddling in.
In fact just yesterday Xara and I met up in the underwater cavern there and had a lovely chat and a great laugh because the chair pose animations are just too funny. Check out the snapshots. link coming!http://www.flickr.com/photos/ouvirtualworlds
In fact just yesterday Xara and I met up in the underwater cavern there and had a lovely chat and a great laugh because the chair pose animations are just too funny. Check out the snapshots. link coming!http://www.flickr.com/photos/ouvirtualworlds
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Is your system up to it?
Linden Lab's listed system requirements for Second Life are a bit hit and miss, so they recently launched an online service for testing compatibility.
To run the test, click here: http://secondlife.com/support/systest.php
To run the test, click here: http://secondlife.com/support/systest.php
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Lets get Started!
Hello everyone,
It's me Leo. The Council at OUTopia is starting to take form and I want to invite you all to 'im' me about all your comings and goings around the Islands so that I can plaster the blog with them.
Speaking of plastering. In order for the council to be fully functional we need a concrete base. In other words we need to fill all the positions. Those of you who have wanted to participate more actively should have a look at the open positions listed under Community Council on the upper right corner of the OU Virtual Worlds Homepage http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/virtualworlds..
It's me Leo. The Council at OUTopia is starting to take form and I want to invite you all to 'im' me about all your comings and goings around the Islands so that I can plaster the blog with them.
Speaking of plastering. In order for the council to be fully functional we need a concrete base. In other words we need to fill all the positions. Those of you who have wanted to participate more actively should have a look at the open positions listed under Community Council on the upper right corner of the OU Virtual Worlds Homepage http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/virtualworlds..
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Linden blogs about OU
The Open University's activities in Second Life have been the subject of a post on the official SL education blog. See link below. https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/learninginworld/blog/2009/11/09/announcing-outopia--open-universitys-innovative-experiment-in-community
Friday, November 6, 2009
OUtopia
Following Saturday's naming ceremony, the first Open Life region had its name change today. Open Life Village is now called OUtopia. Congratulations to Titiana Haystack (OU student Aileen Urquhart) who thought of the name.
We have been assured by Linden Lab that existing landmarks and SLURLs will continue to work. Please notify virtualworlds@open.ac.uk if you find a problem with them.
We have been assured by Linden Lab that existing landmarks and SLURLs will continue to work. Please notify virtualworlds@open.ac.uk if you find a problem with them.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
VIP guest to officially name island
Linden Lab's Education Programs Manager Claudia Linden, described in the media as "a visionary whose work is at the forefront of education" will be officially naming our village region this Saturday night at the Halloween party, following this weeks' vote by residents.
The party starts at 8pm and Elsa will be distributing cash prizes for the best Halloween fancy dress. Be there to be among the first to know the permanent name of our village.
The party starts at 8pm and Elsa will be distributing cash prizes for the best Halloween fancy dress. Be there to be among the first to know the permanent name of our village.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Resident Eshala Tabacznyck (OU student and T175 Cafe moderator Teresa Flannery) has given permission for her slideshow of last weekend's event to be posted here.
http://learn.open.ac.uk/file.php/5201/Video/sssl_nomusic_low2.wmv
http://learn.open.ac.uk/file.php/5201/Video/sssl_nomusic_low2.wmv
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Summer social event draws record crowd
I arrived in-world (http://tinyurl.com/q38ba3 ) at daybreak today to start a thunder storm as the back-story to Aseret's treasure hunt. What a lovely surprise it was to find two avatars there already, eager to start the hunt.
It was a sign of good things to come. From 9am until lunch time there was barely a moment when there were less than seven or eight avatars in Open Life Ocean and Open Life Village. The figure peaked at about eighteen - virtually unprecedented for ten in the morning!
Xara, Mulberry, Kickaha and Shailey aboard HMS Primafore
Pictures are already appearing on the Flickr stream. You can see octopus riding, mini-submarines, beach volleyball and lots more here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36723816@N05/
If you come along today, please upload your pics by emailing them to the special Flickr address available from Kickaha. They are added to the stream immediately.
The subject line of the email becomes the picture's title, and body text of the email becomes the picture's description. If you want to add tags, simply add them to the end of the email, after typing tags:
For example, the email below resulted in the Flickr page shown at the very bottom of this post.
It was a sign of good things to come. From 9am until lunch time there was barely a moment when there were less than seven or eight avatars in Open Life Ocean and Open Life Village. The figure peaked at about eighteen - virtually unprecedented for ten in the morning!
Xara, Mulberry, Kickaha and Shailey aboard HMS Primafore
Pictures are already appearing on the Flickr stream. You can see octopus riding, mini-submarines, beach volleyball and lots more here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36723816@N05/
If you come along today, please upload your pics by emailing them to the special Flickr address available from Kickaha. They are added to the stream immediately.
The subject line of the email becomes the picture's title, and body text of the email becomes the picture's description. If you want to add tags, simply add them to the end of the email, after typing tags:
For example, the email below resulted in the Flickr page shown at the very bottom of this post.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
August issue of LOL published
This month's issue of LOL is now available from the Open Life website: http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/openlife
Contributions to the magazine have increased so much that I've done a low-bandwidth edition for those with systems that lack the oomph to download the 3MB version. Both are available from the LOL page of the Open Life website. For the Low Bandwidth Edition, click on the graphics with the pink label. (Example below.)
Contributions to the magazine have increased so much that I've done a low-bandwidth edition for those with systems that lack the oomph to download the 3MB version. Both are available from the LOL page of the Open Life website. For the Low Bandwidth Edition, click on the graphics with the pink label. (Example below.)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Aseret's Treasure Hunt
OLiVe resident Aseret Quintessa (A215 student Teresa Moore) has responded to residents' calls for another treasure hunt by creating her own. It will run all day on Saturday 15 August on Open Life Village in Open Life Ocean, in parallel with our Sun, Sea and Second Life event. The in-world publicity poster and notecard are reproduced below.
Treasure Hunt -$L250 Prize
Due to a violent storm on Open Life Ocean, the good ship Olive sank and scattered her cargo of gemstones.
The strength of the storm was such that some gems may even have washed up on the beaches around the Village Island.
To Hunt
You will have to search the beaches around the village and under the sea to find the gems.
When you find one click on it and 'buy' it. It will be set to $L0 so you don't need money. Once you have 'bought' it click on it and choose TAKE to save into your inventory. Make a folder with your name on and once you have finished searching pass the folder over to Aseret Quintessa.
If I am not inworld open my profile and drag the folder into the box marked GIVE ITEM.
The winner is the person with the most gems at the end of the day.
Bonus
* Out there somwhere are 4 Fire Opals each worth $L 50!
Good luck!
Treasure Hunt -$L250 Prize
Due to a violent storm on Open Life Ocean, the good ship Olive sank and scattered her cargo of gemstones.
The strength of the storm was such that some gems may even have washed up on the beaches around the Village Island.
To Hunt
You will have to search the beaches around the village and under the sea to find the gems.
When you find one click on it and 'buy' it. It will be set to $L0 so you don't need money. Once you have 'bought' it click on it and choose TAKE to save into your inventory. Make a folder with your name on and once you have finished searching pass the folder over to Aseret Quintessa.
If I am not inworld open my profile and drag the folder into the box marked GIVE ITEM.
The winner is the person with the most gems at the end of the day.
Bonus
* Out there somwhere are 4 Fire Opals each worth $L 50!
Good luck!
Sun, Sand and Second Life
Provisional timetable
•0900‐1000: Pink champagne breakfast aboard the yacht HMS Primafore, berthed at OLiVe Harbour.
•1100:1500: Automated submarine tours of the ocean floor.
•1500‐1700: Surfing and jetski fun. Beach volleyball.
•1800: Crazyboat Race
•1900: Beach barbecue followed by dancing
ALL DAY: Aseret's Treasure Hunt
ALL DAY: Summer tunes streamed to the regions
Prize for the loudest Bermuda shorts!
•0900‐1000: Pink champagne breakfast aboard the yacht HMS Primafore, berthed at OLiVe Harbour.
•1100:1500: Automated submarine tours of the ocean floor.
•1500‐1700: Surfing and jetski fun. Beach volleyball.
•1800: Crazyboat Race
•1900: Beach barbecue followed by dancing
ALL DAY: Aseret's Treasure Hunt
ALL DAY: Summer tunes streamed to the regions
Prize for the loudest Bermuda shorts!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
We have a Flickr stream
We have a Flickr stream created for the Open Life regions. It is viewable here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36723816@N05/ but doesn't have much content yet.
If you have any snapshots of you and/or fellow avatars around the Open Life regions, please feel free to add them to the stream. The more the merrier. If each resident and regular visitor uploads two picture, we'll have well over a hundred straight away!
Anybody can upload a snapshot direct to the Flickr account by attaching it to an email and sending it to a special address (available to OU residents from Kickaha.)
The subject line of the email becomes the picture's title, and body text of the email becomes the picture's description. If you want to add tags, simply add them to the end of the email, after typing tags:
For example, the email below resulted in the Flickr page shown at the very bottom of this post.
If you have any snapshots of you and/or fellow avatars around the Open Life regions, please feel free to add them to the stream. The more the merrier. If each resident and regular visitor uploads two picture, we'll have well over a hundred straight away!
Anybody can upload a snapshot direct to the Flickr account by attaching it to an email and sending it to a special address (available to OU residents from Kickaha.)
The subject line of the email becomes the picture's title, and body text of the email becomes the picture's description. If you want to add tags, simply add them to the end of the email, after typing tags:
For example, the email below resulted in the Flickr page shown at the very bottom of this post.
Friday, July 17, 2009
X marks the spot as treasure hunt hits the spot
A prize treasure hunt held across the Open Life regions last weekend has proved a big hit with students and staff alike.
The hunt opened at 10am on Saturday, with the first correct finishers submitting their solutions in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Lots of people attempted the treasure hunt, and feedback on the OUSA SL forum was positive. There is a general feeling that it should become a regular event.
The prize and trophy were awarded to Strangie Vaher at the T175 party that night.
The treasure hunt will remain available in-world for a few days, so please feel free to try it. The starting point is here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Open%20Life%20Village/85/56/30
The experience of designing and running the treasure hunt will doubtless prove useful when we create an in-world scavenger hunt as part of the orientation programme.
The hunt opened at 10am on Saturday, with the first correct finishers submitting their solutions in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Lots of people attempted the treasure hunt, and feedback on the OUSA SL forum was positive. There is a general feeling that it should become a regular event.
The prize and trophy were awarded to Strangie Vaher at the T175 party that night.
The treasure hunt will remain available in-world for a few days, so please feel free to try it. The starting point is here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Open%20Life%20Village/85/56/30
The experience of designing and running the treasure hunt will doubtless prove useful when we create an in-world scavenger hunt as part of the orientation programme.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Party!
Last weekend's in-world party in Second Life was a roaring success. Attendance peaked at thirty avatars on Open Life Village green, as avatars calebrated The Open University's 40th birthday.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
40th Anniversary Celebrations In-world
By popular request, we're staging an event in Second Life to mark the 40th anniversary of The Open University.
There will be a free funfair on the Open Life Village green and a disco hosted by our regular DJ Quentin Calvert.
Everybody is welcome. To teleport to the party, click here. (Opens SLURL in a new window.)
There will be a free funfair on the Open Life Village green and a disco hosted by our regular DJ Quentin Calvert.
Everybody is welcome. To teleport to the party, click here. (Opens SLURL in a new window.)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
LOL! again
At 14.00hrs BST the first issue of "Living Open Life" magazine was published. At the moment it is a PDF document on the Moodle server, so is only available to OU students and staff. This may change when the planned public web pages are created over the next couple of weeks.
Editor Eshala Tabacznyk (Real Life: Teresa Flannery) in the Open Minds exhibition building, where the magazine was launched.
Editor Eshala Tabacznyk (Real Life: Teresa Flannery) in the Open Minds exhibition building, where the magazine was launched.
Friday, May 22, 2009
LOL!
This weekend will see the launch of LOL (Living Open Life) - a magazine run by for for the residents and users of the Open Life regions.
It will be available at the village shop Open All Hours, probably in the form of a link to a PDF document hosted on the Open Life website.
It will be available at the village shop Open All Hours, probably in the form of a link to a PDF document hosted on the Open Life website.
Open Shutters
OLiVe residents' first exhibition in the dedicated Open Minds building starts today. It is a small collection of snapshots taken by the residents during their first weeks on the island.
Also planned for the summer is a live music performance at the amphitheatre by resident Elsbeth Biedermann, who will be playing the clarinet and/or violin. Watch the Events Wiki for details when they are confirmed.
Also planned for the summer is a live music performance at the amphitheatre by resident Elsbeth Biedermann, who will be playing the clarinet and/or violin. Watch the Events Wiki for details when they are confirmed.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Home improvement
Since moving onto Open Life Village, community members have been enthusiastically organising and creating.
Having developed a way of installing curtains for every window of her house using only one prim in total, one resident (Jadis Mai) packaged the item and then ran an in-world tutorial to share her technique.
Similarly, another resident (Eshala Tabacznyk) shared her expertise in constructing an in-world television at zero cost.
More recently, discussion on the OUSA forum prompted another resident (Hennamono Morpork) to create his own map of the island. When finished it will joing the curtains and television in the village shop.
Another resident (Elsbeth Biedermann), who is a keen photographer in Real Life, has taken it upon herself to organise the first exhibition to be hosted at the Open Minds exhibition space.
Finally, Eshala - not content to rest on her TV laurels -has agreed to be guest editor for the first edition of "LOL" - a magazine for and by Open Life users and residents.
Having developed a way of installing curtains for every window of her house using only one prim in total, one resident (Jadis Mai) packaged the item and then ran an in-world tutorial to share her technique.
Similarly, another resident (Eshala Tabacznyk) shared her expertise in constructing an in-world television at zero cost.
More recently, discussion on the OUSA forum prompted another resident (Hennamono Morpork) to create his own map of the island. When finished it will joing the curtains and television in the village shop.
Another resident (Elsbeth Biedermann), who is a keen photographer in Real Life, has taken it upon herself to organise the first exhibition to be hosted at the Open Minds exhibition space.
Finally, Eshala - not content to rest on her TV laurels -has agreed to be guest editor for the first edition of "LOL" - a magazine for and by Open Life users and residents.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Opening night
Open Life Ocean and Open Life Village opened last Saturday at 8.00pm with a party and Easter Egg hunt, that encouraged people (and a pink rabbit) to move all over the island.
We displayed a list of successful applicants and their assigned addresses. 24 of the parcels are claimed. 25 of the houses are occupied (one person has failed to “buy” their plot.) Another 12 people have confirmed by e-mail that they will be moving in. That’s 37 out of 61 definitely taken. All of the unclaimed ones were offered to ex-Sholokhov residents who have not been seen for a while. They have until 17 April to accept the AUP etc and move in, as there are 17 still on the waiting list.
Three allotments have been taken. Initially, the allotment scheme was only offered to those who had applied for houses but failed to get one. We will advertise the remaining ones more widely soon.
We displayed a list of successful applicants and their assigned addresses. 24 of the parcels are claimed. 25 of the houses are occupied (one person has failed to “buy” their plot.) Another 12 people have confirmed by e-mail that they will be moving in. That’s 37 out of 61 definitely taken. All of the unclaimed ones were offered to ex-Sholokhov residents who have not been seen for a while. They have until 17 April to accept the AUP etc and move in, as there are 17 still on the waiting list.
Three allotments have been taken. Initially, the allotment scheme was only offered to those who had applied for houses but failed to get one. We will advertise the remaining ones more widely soon.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
First residents get keys to the door
The sixty most eligible applicants are sent an e-mail offering them a house. At 2.30am sixty Open University students and staff were sent an e-mail saying that their application for a free house in the new residential and social region had been successful. They should be able to move in before the end of the weekend.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Houses nearly done
All sixty residents' houses are in place and work is due to start on internal teleports.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Informatio seepage
Information board appears at what has become the unofficial observation platform. Progress reports will appear there as well as on this group page.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Free houses up for grabs!
Accommodation "Waiting List" is opened during OL Rock Night. A transcript of the announcement will be posted here shortly.
Open Life Village will be open to all visitors, but if you are an Open University student, or member of Open University staff, you can apply for a free tenancy in one of the island's 60 houses.
The standard length of residency is 6 months.
We hope you will join our new community, no matter who you are, what you do or how long you've been in Second Life.
It's not every day that 6000m of residential space in Second Life is up for grabs, so get you name down early. Places are limited.
Put your name forward and/or request a copy of the Residency Charter by e-mailing greg@eygus.co.uk
IMPORTANT NOTE: This offer is open to Open University students and staff only. Therefore only e-mails sent from addresses @open.ac.uk (e.g. from FirstClass) will be read; all other mail is automatically deleted.
Open Life Village will be open to all visitors, but if you are an Open University student, or member of Open University staff, you can apply for a free tenancy in one of the island's 60 houses.
The standard length of residency is 6 months.
We hope you will join our new community, no matter who you are, what you do or how long you've been in Second Life.
It's not every day that 6000m of residential space in Second Life is up for grabs, so get you name down early. Places are limited.
Put your name forward and/or request a copy of the Residency Charter by e-mailing greg@eygus.co.uk
IMPORTANT NOTE: This offer is open to Open University students and staff only. Therefore only e-mails sent from addresses @open.ac.uk (e.g. from FirstClass) will be read; all other mail is automatically deleted.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Rock night! Elsa announces a party.
"Hello Everyone,
Thanks for all your patience over the last couple of months as we move from one island to another. I am very pleased to say that I can now share some news about our inworld future, and would like to do so in true OU SL style...at a party. I look forward to seeing you all at the Events Space on Open Life on the 28th February, from 8pm onwards with a very short break for newscasting at 8:30pm.
Dig out your leather and lycra, let's make it a rock night :o)
Elsa"
Thanks for all your patience over the last couple of months as we move from one island to another. I am very pleased to say that I can now share some news about our inworld future, and would like to do so in true OU SL style...at a party. I look forward to seeing you all at the Events Space on Open Life on the 28th February, from 8pm onwards with a very short break for newscasting at 8:30pm.
Dig out your leather and lycra, let's make it a rock night :o)
Elsa"
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Spy in the sky
LL Satellite picture reveals several large objects on OLV. Unsurprisingly, many are pink.
A veil descends
Structures are observed on OLV. Shortly afterwards a large barrier appears, obstructing the view.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tutorial
OLV plays host to an OU tutorial this morning. This is NOT going to be a regular occurrence. There are extraordinary reasons for relocating the event at the last minute.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Rezzfest
The island and ocean have been temporarily given sandbox status. Anybody may rezz there. Objects will be returned after three hours.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
It begins
A sign is spotted on the beach of OLV. It reads "Building work will begin within the next month for Open Life Village Island, a new acquisition for The Open University in Second Life."
Thursday, January 1, 2009
An island is born
The Open Life Village region appears on the Second Life grid seven minutes before 2009 began. It is discovered by Leornian Naidoo.
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