Today, I figured out how to add gestures to my avatar. If you "right mouse click" your avatar and select "Gestures," you can select the "+" sign to add a new gesture.
This will open up a window that allows you to add a description, trigger word, and shortcut key. From the library, select "Animation" and then the "Add" button. Then, you can choose several gestures from a pull-down menu called "Animation to Play" (not depicted). You can also mix and match gestures to add complexity, as well as setting the wait time between movements.
Later, I met up with Laurie Skowhegan and the Incredible Hulk, who were about to record a video of an inworld soccer game for a school project.
I used my new "wave" gesture to greet them.
It took a while for the soccer field to load, and I watched the game from the sidelines until a frozen ball prematurely ended the game.
Afterward, I teleported to Paul Skowhegan, who asked for permission to animate my avatar with a choice of several dance moves. I selected the "monkey dance." It took a while to figure out that I needed to teleport to a different location to stop dancing.
As luck would have it, I teleported to an art museum to find Laurie and Rose Skowhegan. Since Tottenham Fan and Maximus Verusmilitude both logged in close to that time, I sent each of them teleport links in the hope that they would join us, which they did.
Today, I'm reflecting on the fact that I've learned a lot in the past few days, but it has taken quite an investment of time. A part of me feels guilty for spending so much time experimenting in the digital world, but another feels an odd sense of accomplishment. The trouble is that I'm not certain that I should be feeling a sense of accomplishment at all, because the time I've spent learning how to do things in a digital world is time that I'm not spending on creating things in real life. That is probably the biggest benefit to blogging about my experiences, since it is a tangible way to curate and document new learning.
Today's Biggest Take Away:
Online gaming worlds like jokaydiaGRID can be a useful tool for curation, or for reflecting on the concept of the choices we make when we choose to engage in collecting and showcasing artifacts of our work.
I'm enjoying your adventures through JG! I found your comment about feeling guilty interesting. It's always difficult to determine value when you realize you have no physical measure of your efforts. On the other hand, as you've already determined, there's no way to be virtual world literate without investing considerable time. When you consider your many accomplishments in the virtual world to date, including spending time with your community of learners (i.e. fellow travelers), you have achieved so much. Not to mention all the XP you receive for doing all that!
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ReplyDeleteAnother incredible blog! I cannot imagine the time, effort and talent it took to create that awesome house. When I thought of making a house, all I could imagine was four walls and a roof. You have certainly raised the bar!! I was interested in your idea of created worlds from literature in the "game." I have had a few students who have chosen to re-create Egyptian buildings and/or tombs in Minecraft. They seem to enjoy it and some have created incredible re-creations complete with labels and descriptions. For some, it is an excellent way for them to engage with the material. I would think students could do the same in JG. I will have to look to see if there Bilbo's hobbit hole is out there somewhere. Keep on blogging, they are very helpful and entertaining!!
Tottenham, I didn't actually create that "awesome house" from scratch; it was a blue stucco pre-fab house that I "bought" at the Builder's Emporium. All I did was customize it. There are directions for how to do this on your own at Marlboro Island, near the place where the assignments are given out. I hope you can help me learn about Minecraft when the time comes!
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