I was not able to attend the presentation so I have created this blog post. The post basically contains an updated version of my earlier midterm report and proposal.
The Hero’s Journey
Let me just start off by saying, I’ve been all over the place with this project. That is what is neat about development though!
Preliminary Plan
I had decided I would like to leave my mark on the virtual Hero’s Journey by developing a large monitor that would display a slide show. I wanted to place it somewhere near the beginning of the pathway. For my other object, I was going to create light bulbs that could be placed above the archways on the step I had chosen: “Step 2 – Call to Action”. This was the step I had chosen because this was a huge revelation for myself in my own personal hero’s journey. For area of study, I decided to go with video production because that is my passion and has been since I was in middle school!
A Better Understanding
I later gained a better understanding of what this virtual world represents and how I can better contribute to it after speaking with classmates and Professor Brock more about this ongoing project. I learned of the bubbles that we would be placing content inside of. The bubble I am nested in is the Information Technology bubble. These bubbles are different exhibits in our classes’ “Dive Into College Project”.
Professor Brock was kind enough to add a few things to the bubble for me including a photography studio and a desk.
There happened to be a few blank photographs on the floor here which I will use some of my own personal photos from a vacation trip for textures.
An Even Better Understanding
After feeling like I had a better idea of what would be good ways to contribute to this project after speaking more with Professor Brock, I decided I would use a screen recorder to get video footage of the video editing process on my computer and use that as textures to go on the computer monitors on the desk in my bubble. I also decided to go with a handheld holo-projector instead of a light bulb. This projector would display an image of a college diploma. I will more than likely either place this item on the desk in my bubble as well or place it somewhere on Step 2 of the Hero’s Journey. I included this in my Immersive Engagement proposal which can be found here:
I also made mood boards for these items.
Object Development
For the monitors on the video editing workstation, I ended up just pulling a series of stills instead of video footage to work with. I submitted the following stills to Professor Brock so that she could use them for the texture on the left monitor:
Next, I sent her the following stills to be used on the right-hand monitor:
With the development of the video editing workstation, I had hoped to give potential students a peek into the world of video editing and hopefully inspire them to want to pursue an education in the same field. Professor Brock substituted my video about S.T.E.A.M. in the trucking industry on the right-hand monitor instead of the images I had supplied for it. I think this was a great choice!
As far as the holo-projector item goes, Professor Brock worked with me and gave me a few pointers on how to physically build prims in the Second Life world. I then was able to create this:
This is what the workstation ended up looking like when it was done:
Goal
My goal by creating these items is to hopefully inspire others to pursue a career in the video production field with my video editing workstation and to give them an item that they can receive on their journey that symbolizes having an awakening and realizing that they should be thinking about the future.
Keys to Success
My keys to success I have chosen are “develop empathy” and “respect”. I would like to place them in Keegan Hall on the Peninsula College campus. Here is my design for my cape:
I also developed the following QR codes that we can put on campus in Keegan Hall.
Conclusion
Second Life is a vast, open, virtual world that has limitless boundaries. Things are possible here that you cannot even begin to imagine. When I first started this class, not a single thing about it made a shred of sense to me. However, as I’ve experienced before with Professor Brock’s classes, it always all seems to come together towards the end, like putting the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle. The picture is complete and it all makes sense now. I really do hope that future classes build off of what we have added to the experience in a way that’s truly beneficial to newcomers or potential Peninsula College applicants. I will be revisiting in the future to see what has changed!
Side Note:
Having a serious fashion emergency here. UPDATE: I finally am no longer barefoot. Thanks Professor Brock!
