Kitely Forums

For several hours this morning I've been working on the basics of scripting. It would be so much easier if I had help. My little band of misfits has an artist/builder, another builder, and me who usually buys what I need, but dabbles in random stuff when I need something done and can't find anyone to help me. So we lack a scripter, and I think it'd be a useful skill to have.

The more I wander around the non-SL grids, the more I find people who really want to make the best out of their experience as possible, but don't have the tools or skills to do so. I know Metropolis has an academy, and I'm wondering if the same sort of thing might work well for Kitely. As I've noticed SL's education offerings have really dropped to almost nothing lately, and since Kitely is HG-enabled, perhaps this would be a great way to not only help Kitely users develop their worlds, but also to bring others into Kitely to see what it's all about.

We could also (slowly) develop free do-it-yourself kits. I've seen a few sims in SL with those, and found them helpful.

I'll be honest and say that I'm not the person to teach building or scripting, but I can do clothing, and also things like intro to Kitely and how to use virtual worlds. If we wanted to branch out a bit from the standard metaverse learning school, I can teach roleplaying, building roleplaying sims, writing, and I'm a certified ESL teacher. I know we have quite a few educators in Kitely, and incorporating a wider course list could be a fascinating spin on metaverse learning schools. I would love to take another language.

It's just an idea, and it possibly could be a lot of work, but I think it might be worth considering.

Hi Roswenthe,

the idea of an Kitely Academy is appealing - here just some thoughts on that topic.
To successfully run such an academy you need people who are ready to dedicate considerable amount of time & efforts into that and you need a large enough community of interested folks to attend if you don't want to frustrate the teachers.
We also cannot expect the teachers to carry the cost of the effort - so we need some compensation of cost for participation of non-premium and HG-attendees or a fixed price world covered by Kitely or the community. The "Universal Campus" e.g. would be a good place for this but need changes for teaching there: Teachers need the rights to rezz education tools there and run scripted items like presentation boards, writing boards, video-players there. As it is today it's just a nice decorative building but useless for teaching.
I might consider convincing my alt Archie doing some scripting course (later in winter after some prep) but I'm not sure if we really should start at the very basics or focus more on specific topics. I also would need to plan carefully as RL is demanding its fair share of time.
We should run a survey asking both - would-be teachers and students - if they would be interested in academy-courses and in which topic and @ which level. My experience with participation in Kitely events so far (except from party) is not overwhelming and no teacher wants to prepare for lessons if no one shows up.

If it's for small classes (which at this stage it probably would be), I'd be happy to offer space on Intersections, a Starter World.

I realize it has a lot to work out. I wanted to throw the idea out there and discuss it. No need to rush or even do it, but maybe something workable could come out of it.

And thanks for the offer, Dot, that's really nice of you.

There are/were a number of academies in SL, some I'm not sure are still around. NCI, Mystic Academy, etc. A survey would probably be a good idea.

I know Hyperica has a calendar, though I have to admit I'd use it more if the things in it had some details. Some of them don't even have locations.

Roswenthe Blackwell wrote:I realize it has a lot to work out. I wanted to throw the idea out there and discuss it. No need to rush or even do it, but maybe something workable could come out of it.

And thanks for the offer, Dot, that's really nice of you.

There are/were a number of academies in SL, some I'm not sure are still around. NCI, Mystic Academy, etc. A survey would probably be a good idea.

I know Hyperica has a calendar, though I have to admit I'd use it more if the things in it had some details. Some of them don't even have locations.

I hope you get lucky in finding some help, Im now so busy building the 16 world that can 0only focus on that but when I turn it to fixed price I will be glad to allow for free that teachers come and hold big classes on a big area - Actually my future replica of London University will be prepared specially for that and there is no stress on visitors because fixed worlds don't pay extra and a 16 world allows many Avis at once

Reach me when you have the need, cheers

I am totally up for helping with an Academy! It could start very simple and small and see how it grows. There are a lot of great builders who I would love to just sit and watch while they build and talk about what they are doing. Other things, like scripting would take more effort to put together a class. I can teach basics I've picked up over my 8 years in vworlds.

I agree it would be smart to take a little survey to see what Kitelyites and people from the other grids want to learn. Does anyone have access to Survey Monkey? I let me subscription go. I can put a survey on a web page though. Or maybe there is a survey function built into the forum software right here on Kitely forums?

This is a wonderful idea. And with HGers able to visit and take classes, this could develop into something that benefits Kitely in general.

I would consider contributing KCs. Maybe some kind of sponsorship could be sold to Merchants to raise funds in exchange for an advert "on campus."

Caledon Oxbridge University in Second Life might be an institution to use as a model. At one time it was an official gateway entry to SL and since LL did away with such things, Oxbridge has continued to thrive and act as an important resource for SL residents with various skill levels.

This is an excellent Idea. Rockcliffe University Consortium has a world here
World page:
http://www.kitely.com/virtual-world/RUC ... Consortium

Rockcliffe University Consortium is a global online non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of science, education, and research in 3D virtual environments through collaborative “work-as-play” initiatives including networking, journals, conferences, forums, and formal academic programs.

Our purpose is to S.E.R.V.E., that is: the promotion of Science, Education, and Research in Virtual Environments.

Science and Education: Rockcliffe supports the advancment of science and education in 3d virtual environments by providing public education to help individuals and organizations overcoming the learning curve associated with virtual collaborative workspaces. Our services include forums, seminars, and educational programs on 3D content development, collaborative workspace effectiveness, and social implications of virtual environments. Specifically our focus is on how virtual environments influence knowledge emergence, knowledge transfer, and their impacts.

Research Outreach: Rockcliffe supports the advancement of research into virtual cognitive sciences and virtual environemnts through public services including our academic research library, peer review journals, and hybrid conferences involving live and virtual interaction.

Accreditation: Rockcliffe is not a formally accredited education institution. Rockcliffe does subscribe to the standards and guidelines of the Distance Education and Training Council and the American Library Association and are working towards eventual accreditation with both of these regulatory bodies at some point in the future.

Hop:
[url]hop://osgrid.kitely.com:8002/Rockcliffe%20University%20Consortium/129/383/43[/url]

I work with Rockcliffe and I believe that Phelan Corrimal (the owner) would grant the use of the space for a home grown Kitely Academy group to offer instructional areas and sandboxes. He would probably let an active instructional group manage to world and run it under the Rockcliffe name if the group wanted to do that.

The world is a 2x2, presently by the Universal campus, but I think it could be cleared and replaced by more useful instructional areas. Examples of what I would recommend are these:

Students
How to start in a virtual world, the video: Now see it on your browser
Basics: UWA offers free online courses to help newcomers start in virtual worlds
Building: Beginner's building on Hypergrid. Primland, building tutorial game

These are from a blog post. You can find the links here:

http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/ ... orlds.html

If we form a group and have a few people offering to take responsibility for developing and running it, I would be glad to approach Phelan about letting the group take charge. I wish I could offer to spend a lot of time helping, but I don't have the time now.

The poll didn't have enough answers to decide on setup, but it did show a pretty universal desire for advanced building, scripting, and mesh classes. Most also wanted languages.

If anybody else wants to vote in the poll, that thread is here.

Roswenthe Blackwell wrote:The poll didn't have enough answers to decide on setup, but it did show a pretty universal desire for advanced building, scripting, and mesh classes. Most also wanted languages.

If anybody else wants to vote in the poll, that thread is here.

Its really a pity many people come here complain about Kitely needs for community and than so few participate on your pool, I wanted to congratulate you for that initiative and say it is always useful for all

Keep up the effort and hope the Academy comes along. As I said, Im too busy building a 16 World but Im glad to offer a big land for the Academy grounds on a fixed price world and also any gadgets I will make available or you need to rezz along - If you need an area to have it fixed price means no more stress about visits and classes costs, all free for all