To this Second Life resident, virtual reality represents an exciting opportunity to develop rich, engaging instructional content. Many educators seem to agree and there are plenty of educational sites to explore. Still, it is difficult to predict what will be effective, which design elements are essential. It is likely that we are far from seeing any standards emerge for instructional design.

“The Source is Within” - a SL art installation

There is, however, something to be learned about engaging a Second Life user. Rezzable’s community of artists, designers and developers seem to consistently deliver an experience. Have you visited “The Source is Within” (SLURL), their recent installation showcasing the SL imagery of Melodious Source? This is a must-see build, in my notecard.

As evidence of their ability to capture attention, have a look at this video. The interactive object seen in that video was developed simply to promote a current event in the grid (titled “Garden of NPIRL Delights“; loosely, a festival of building in SL). If you happen to have a parcel—and room for 24 prims—a description of the interactive invitation can be seen here, they are distributing the object freely.

And finally…thank you, Bettina Tizzy, for the information shared at Not Possible IRL. The care you take in writing every post is apparent to this reader.

Flabbergasted and puzzled.

I certainly botched the freebie vendor for Pollster. For nearly a year, visitors who clicked on the vendor at the ICT Library (SLURL) received the display version of the tool (not a working model).

I thought Pollster had real potential as a tool for teachers and presenters in SL, yet I never heard a word from folks who had received the object. Recently, I returned to SL after a six month hiatus and learned about my error. The message read:

The version of your Pollster in the ICT library is only the demo. Can I get the full CC licensed version anywhere please?

/me whacks self on forehead.

I remember the night well…scrambling to prepare my first SL presentation, editing images for the slideshow…popping into the grid for yet another snapshot, and another…scripting and testing the Pollster Presentation version (yet a third variation of the tool I was juggling that night). I had scripted a freebie vendor a week earlier, planning for the tool’s release to occur on the day of the presentation. It was in this last-minute rush that I (apparently) loaded the vendor with the Demo version.

I was dumbstruck on receiving that message. Hundreds of people had received the wrong version (distribution data is tracked); and nobody said a thing!

That is, until one user had enough interest to inquire about a week or two ago…(Thank you, Simon)

There are at least two possible explanations for the lack of feedback from Pollster recipients:

1. Folks just do not expect much from SL, yet (and so, are not surprised when they obtain tools or objects that do not work) or…
2. Folks just opened their Pollster Set folder, rezzed the tool for a look, and never actually tried to use it.

Likely a combination of both.

The situation has been corrected. The working version is now being distributed. Thank you, Milosun. (And yes, this too shall pass.) Might even get to see it in action one day.