Archive for the 'ReactionGrid' Category

A Great Way to Finish 2010!

Published on December 20, 2010 in Begonia Gardens, building, Project Team, ReactionGrid, Students and Teachers. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

After six weeks of preparations, The Ed Tech Crew delivered a fabulous inworld event on Friday 17th December!  Students from our Virtual Worlds Project Team had been working hard to complete their favourite OpenSim 3D objects as well as assisting with building the set for the event.  Our good friends at The Hewitt School (New York), MacICT (Sydney) and Northern Beaches Christian School (Sydney) sent us screen shots for our inworld display, showing just some of the wonderful virtual worlds student work from their schools.

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Although we had some technical difficulties just prior to the event, our “Plan B” was put into action and this, together with the incredible professionalism of The Ed Tech Crew hosts, Tony Richards and Darrel Branson, resulted in a great inworld event!

The event was recorded and streamed live by John Wilson from onlinevents.  We would like to extend our sincere thanks to John for doing such an incredible job.  When we first discussed ways to record and stream the event, we felt that this was something that was best left to the professionals and onlinevents certainly delivered!

Thank you to everyone who was involved:
The Ed Tech Crew – Tony Richards and Darrel Branson
John Wilson from onlinevents
Our Virtual Worlds Project Team
The students from The Hewitt School (New York), MacICT (Sydney) and Northern Beaches Christian School (Sydney)
Special Guests – Steve Collis (Northern Beaches Christian School) and Dean Groom (Macquarie University)

You can visit The Ed Tech Crew site to download the audio and view the show notes.  For the next few months, you can view the video of the inworld event on the onlinevents site.  If you would like to visit The Ed Tech Crew set, join us on Begonia Gardens on ReactionGrid.  The movie below will show you how to access our public OpenSim space and also take you on a tour of the set.

Thanks again to everyone involved and a very Merry Christmas to you!

Begonia Gardens Welcomes The Ed Tech Crew!

Published on December 16, 2010 in Begonia Gardens, ReactionGrid and Students. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

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Well, we’re almost there!  On Friday 17th December, we will be welcoming The Ed Tech Crew to Begonia Gardens, our public OpenSim space hosted by the team at ReactionGrid.

Tony and Darrel will host a “Christmas Special” that will be broadcast live by the wonderful John Wilson from Onlinevents.

Apart from their “Christmas Wrap Up”,  Tony and Darrel will also chat to one of our students who is a member of our school’s Virtual Worlds Project Team.

A special Ed Tech Crew set has been built on Begonia Gardens and will feature work from students around the world.
We have everything from Christmas angels to the Parthenon to a Virtual Worlds Carnival!  Very special thanks to the wonderful educators who have contributed to the display.

How can you be part of  The Ed Tech Crew Christmas Special?

The event will take place on Friday 17th December from 9:00 – 10:00am (Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time). Please click here for information regarding other time zones.
Click here to view the live stream.  Viewers will also have the ability to participate in the event via the chat facility on the live stream page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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The Ed Tech Crew Goes In-World!

Published on November 15, 2010 in Begonia Gardens, building, Project Team, ReactionGrid, Students and Teachers. 2 Comments Tags: .

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I was fortunate enough to be interviewed recently by The Ed Tech Crew regarding our school’s Virtual Worlds Project. It was a nerve racking and exciting experience but one that was so much fun thanks to the wonderful Ed Tech Crew hosts, Tony Richards and Darrel Branson.  Click here to listen to the Episode 141, Welcome to My Virtual World.

During the episode, we joked about an “Ed Tech Crew In-world Podcast”.  I should have guessed that Tony and Darrel would be up for the challenge and so we are now planning an “Ed Tech Crew Christmas Special”. :)

There is a lot to organise in a short space of time so we are hoping that you will be able to assist us. Our Virtual Worlds Project Team are creating items for an Ed Tech Crew set for the event and we would love to include screen shots of your school’s work in Virtual Worlds.  Whether it be OpenSim, Quest Atlantis, Teen Second Life or another platform, we would love to feature it on the set!

Please email your favourite screenshot to <begoniaisland at gmail dot com> together with your school name and any other information you would like to share about your school’s work and we will include it in the display.

Stay tuned for more news regarding The Ed Tech Crew In-World Podcast! :)

Expanding Learning Horizons Conference 2010

Published on August 25, 2010 in Begonia Gardens, Begonia Island, Presentations, ReactionGrid, Students, Teachers and Virtual Worlds in Education. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

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Many thanks to everyone who played a part in our recent presentation at the Expanding Learning Horizons Conference in the lovely bayside area of Lorne in Victoria.  Without the support of a number of people, including staff, our Virtual Worlds Project Team and educators from outside our own school, the opportunity to share our story would not have been possible.

Below you will find a copy of the presentation but you may also wish to visit our public OpenSim space, Begonia Gardens, on ReactionGrid.  We have set up a number of in-world resources for you to explore.  Click here to sign up for a ReactionGrid account then follow the instructions to add ReactionGrid to your 3D Viewer software.  You may also wish to view our screencast if you’re unsure how to do this.

You can visit the Resources page on this blog, for a full list of virtual worlds resources.

Very special thanks to Steve Collis for Ustreaming the session.  You may wish to access the Ustream recording for the session audio, then follow along with the slides below.

Virtual Worlds, Expanding Learning Horizons Conference, August 2010
View more presentations from Lucy Barrow.

Awesome OAR Files!

Published on May 4, 2010 in Administration, Begonia Island and ReactionGrid. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

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It’s been an exciting couple of weeks as the time draws closer to introduce Begonia Island to the students who are part of our Project Team.  During this time, I’ve learnt about OAR files (OpenSim Archives) and have been amazed at what they offer OpenSim users.

What is an OAR file?
The OAR file system allows you to backup your objects, known as primitives or “prims”.  However, OAR files do not just backup primitives but everything on your sim, including all of the assets such as related scripts, textures, etc… It will even include a backup of the terrain!

Restoring your OAR files – the magic begins!
Because you are creating a backup of your sim, it is then possible to restore it when necessary.  However, the file restoration is not just useful if something goes wrong with your sim.  OpenSim users use this facility to make the most of their virtual spaces by creating a series of sims that they know they can backup and reload when required.  Our Begonia Island private grid is made up of four sims.  Therefore, it will be possible for us to backup and reload different sims in each of our four regions.  This, of course, offers amazing flexibility as you can reload sims as required.  One week you may require your Rocketry sim, the next your Gold Rush sim.  OAR files make this possible.

Even more magic!
Another exciting aspect of the OAR file system is that you are not just limited to reloading your own sims.  There is a strong culture of sharing amongst OpenSim users so it is actually possible to obtain other OAR files and load them onto your sim.  I recently read a blog post by virtual worlds expert Jo Kay about OpenVCE resources (Open Virtual Collaborative Environments).  This led me to the OpenVCE resources page where I was able to download an entire sim containing incredible resources.  By loading it onto one of our sims, I was able to copy the items I needed straight into my inventory for use on Begonia Island.

Simple OAR file management with ReactionGrid
The ReactionGrid server tools provide us with an easy way to backup and restore sims using OAR files.  I was actually quite amazed at the simple commands required and the speed at which the entire process was done.  Once again, we are grateful to the team at ReactionGrid for helping to provide these powerful yet simple tools to better manage our virtual space.