SL University

The model that SL classes most resembles, I think, is UK evening classes. These can be weekend courses or a whole year or series of years of study. They can be quite informal, or lead to a qualification. Usually an area will provide a list of subjects, the classes held within those subjects and the places where the classes are held.

I think that vast building of a university would be a waste of time and money. There are lots of people who would be willing to lend their land for classes, and be grateful for the traffic it earns them. What would be much more useful is to put money and time into a centralised list of classes and instructors, and provide an up-to-date calendar which only includes these sorts of events.

It could include a locations notecard containing landmarks for all the places where approved events take place.

You could have certain locations approved or use for certain events...and if someone was willing to coordinate, could make them the central point for sending information about classes and events which may be classed as classes.

The notecard could also include a list of recommendations for places in SL that might be useful to anyone wanting to learn more about SL, like the Ivory Tower, and Jopsy Particle Lab etc.

Numbakulla is available for class events if anyone would like to use it. We would have to allow building temporarily if appropriate.

Cali

If anyone is looking to doing something like this, I'd gladly donate some time to building, teaching, scripting, or whatever is needed. I do a little bit of everything here (except skins hair and animations! lol) Feel free to contact me in-world anytime about it.

Yes, I did it. I actually did it you guys. YOU got me so fired up I started an academy. At Avalon. Then moved it withing the week to my TINY island.

SO..my island..and a friend's land across from it...not bad..esp if i get to 'rent' or use another swatch of land near the island. Sort of looks like a 'campus'.

Am going to have events/lectures by some pretty wonderful builders/designers...some of the newer builders/designers as well. And judging by today's performance, some pretty patient folks have been added to the academy to help with stuff..events, lectures. Boy..they did one great job today!

Judging by today's class. I DO have to tweak a few things..but..nothing to do with the actual setup. And I am adding instructors..but...would be nice if there were other university/academy 'extensions'. There are so many cool ppl who can do great work here for it!!

Where's Hank Ramos when you need him. HE not only had a great Uni but the best dorms. And I oughta know. He kept throwing me out of them when I was a noob because I thought that's where we were SUPPOSED to live if we new to sl))

Withnail Academy is doing lessons in drama, ethics, languages, building, texturing and scripting.

We'd be happy to join the consortium of educational facilities.

Anyone putting together a site with a list of SL educational facilities? Might be useful to have places listed, rated, catagorized, and kept up to date.

I'm not that interested in web design, but I may be able to host it depending on what you have in mind.

This is a wonderful idea!

Why not just schedule classes in the Oak Grove site and the other new site?

A scripted object could rez the needed materials at the start of class.

I unfortunately started what turned out to be an hellacious thread bout 'lindenland or dreamland' in regards to customer service. Toy mentioned that it may not be good idea, customer service differences or not, to put another layer between yourself and Linden Labs. Well, here, this may be the place to put that layer for SOME folks because, despite the land issue, it's easier for them to just up and decide to teach at moment's notice...to themselves..hehe..and then just go to it. For me, this is, if not instant gratification faster gratification SL-wise, and is better for me cause my RL is sometimes hectic. When I know (or think I MAY have) a window of time to breathe in SL, and want to teach a class or get in the mood to, I can just post the event Yes, there are event-posting rules, but none that I could ever imagine breaking. Like who WOULD post TEN events in one day?? Snort


So, perhaps that's why I see folks doing what I'm doing. Dunno. Just seems also to have that 'homecooked' touch too. You can sorta put your own brand on things, perhaps. So it's more 'fun'. And all the irrational things I see in SL have one thing in common. They're usually fun

The Linden Provided classroom sites...
1. Suck and always have.
2. Don't have places to provide permanent placement of materials.
3. Are designed/created by evil, low-life, Linden Butt Sucking members of this world.
4. Are too close to newbie areas to be devoid of griefers.
5. Can't handle the influx of class sizes.

You need more than a platform put into the middle of some old sim or in the midst of lots of other stuff and call that "supporting education".

I think the big, elaborate reproduction of a university campus with big buildings that take a huge prim allotment and thus cost a lot of money has been tried and ultimately failed.

My understanding is that the founder in the case I am thinking of didn't want to pay the monetary price and the SL community didn't chip in enough to help cover the costs.

I learned a lot at the Oak Grove Stage, I still have the USL material I got while there.

It just seems sad to me for people who could be teaching spending time creating places to teach in that are too expensive for them maintain.

One vendor can give out any materials needed, for example, there doesn't need to be a multi-prim reproduction of bookshelves and and a prim used for each display item.

Reproducing the roof in a university replica adds needlessly to the overhead costs , for an example of the type of wastefulness I am talking about.

Object rendering and texture loading are slower than they have ever been for a number of people, hence builds that use lots of prims and custom textures are less desirable for visitors than they used to be.

Im a believer that its not the location that matters. If your willing to teach, teach!! Ive given classes everwhere from the old SLU. Oak Grove and my own land.... offer the classes, people will come.

I have been working on the idea of a Second Life Community College.

The site was aquired today. Thanks to the kindness of Jamie Oits from the The Learning Center we are on Abacus Island. We are keeping this simple. Don't look for a giant reconstruction of Havard Just a simple outdoor classroom setting. By going to a island we hope this will keep the griefers away and the lag down.

A class will meet once a week for 8 weeks. The reason for doing this is that a one-hour teaching event just dosn't work. The first 10 minutes wasted in getting everyone seated. Another 10 minutes is wasted while you get everyone up to speed. Toss in a griefer or two. Maybe you get 30 minutes of real teaching time. Then hope the student will remember long enough to do something with it. I feel a real structured class enivorment is something that has been lacking in SL. Yes there will be home work and tests

A tution will be charged. How much is yet to be determined. I still have some final number cruching to do. Instructors will paid and there is rent on the land as well. Advance registration is a must. Due to the class structure we can not take on student who want to drop in for one class. Just like in the real world, you can't walk into class half-way through the term. Projected class size between 10-20 students. If we get more than 20 we will entertain having a second class.

Our first class offering will be Scripting 101. This goes beyond the standard "Hello Avatar" class you would get at a one-hour event. Starting from the ground up, it will cover flow charting, script structure etc.

Hand out materials will be provided to the students. Project date of our first class will is Febuary.

Promotion for the classes will be through in-world advertising, Second Life web sites and word of mouth Hopefully we will become enough of fixture in world people will think of us. We do not feel our type of classes work well for being annouced in the event listings

Funding for this project is comming out of my own pocket and hopefully this will take off enough to become self-funding.

Why am I doing this?

After Linden Lab cut the stipends for most events, I have noticed all the good teaching events along with the good teachers have almost disapeared. It is my sincere hope that this project will bring those people back to teaching and premote a education friendly atmosphere in Second Life.

Long range goals: If our first class generates enough interest, we will offer other Second Life related classes. Scripting 102, building, texturing etc. Including some non-Second Life related courses. I have had a real world journalist express a interest in teaching a writing class.

If properly done I don't really see much limit to what could be taught in Second Life. It is my belief that this where the real power of Second Life resides.

I am interested in your comments and questions. If anyone wishes to discuss this in person do not hesitate to IM me in world.

Thank you

Rox

Kudos on going ahead with a concrete plan focused on education rather than on "build".

A couple of questions:

1. How did you decide to start with Scripting 101? Market research of students, or is that what you know?
   
2. Are any other subjects to be taught?
   
3. Who will teach and what method will they use? Lecture? Lab? Correspondence?
   
4. When will the classes be held?
   
5. How much is the tuition?
   

Sounds like a plan,Roxie! Hope it works out!

I learned alot from the "old" classes that used to be plentiful in the events b4 all the "...ingo's" and "other stuff" started filling the listings.

My hats off to you!!

Thank you for your kind words. I have always felt expending the time and energy to focus on a building is waste. We have a world where it does not rain or snow. Why do we need a roof over our heads?

I picked scripting 101 because I feel it is the hardest of all the SL skills to pick on your own. Granted there many folks out there who do not need a class and have the natural talent to pick it up on their own. I feel they are the minority and most people need some sort of hands on help. The other reason for picking this as our first offering is that I have heard more times I can count from people in the forums and in person. "I would pay money for a scripting class" or "I wish I could hire a good scripting tutor" This is not as precise as hiring Gallup to poll the residents but my guts tell me that this is the way go.

In the future, I would like to see us expand beyond just teaching the skills that are needed to survive in Second Life. Ideas on the table are programing, math, english, economics. I don't really see the limit to what could be taught. We currently have a real world journalist who has expressed a interest in teaching a writing class.


I have currently hired Ice Brodie a very talented young lady as our first instructor. If you ever met Ice you will swear she dreams in code and sees the world like Neo did in the matrix The classes will use a lecture format combined with home work assignments and testing.

The classes will be held once a week. The term being 8 weeks long. The exact time is to be determined. Trying find a good balance between the west coast and the east coast. If enough interest is generated we will of course hold classes for other time zones outside of the U.S.

As I said in the previous post. The tution is yet to be decided. I am still crunching the final numbers. The cost will on par with what the market will bear compared to other goods and services offered in world. I will be frank, this not a charity. I have people invovled in this project that deserve to paid and will be paid. I also feel being able to pay people what they are worth will attract the best and brightest talent from the population of Second Life.

We are starting small with one class and will build on that. I think it is easier to adjust and fine tune it when it's small, than start out with a giant construct. I hope anyone reading this can understand that. The goal is not to reinvent the wheel. Just bring tried and tested education meathods from the real world into Second Life.

I hope this has answered your questions. Do not be afraid to ask more.

Roxanne

I wouldn't trust the instructor you hired! That person has tried everything in the book to have me kicked, banned, shamed, etc. from SL groups, IRC (from #secondlife and from the very IRC servers themselves), from Luskwood, and I wouldn't be a bit suprised if that person tried to get me kicked from Second Life itself! That person is part of a group of thugs and I wouldn't trust that person with anything.

edity *nm wrong thread*

Nahh, the SL world is not against me. I never said that. Just that particular person (who works with zeal and energy in the job) and a select group of powerful people which you are a part of!

my oh my

I hadnt expected you to be refreshing the thread every minute. I was pointed at this thread, and thought it was a certain other one floating on the forums.

So on that count. I am sorry, that was a screw up on my part.

But I am part of this group? WOOT@! At last someone is finally loathing me.

I dunno, Hank...

I've been working with this person on various projects for the last year and a half. She has been nothing but dedicated and knowledgeable. It was great to work with her on these projects and i'd love to get her assistance in future works as well.

Funny, the two responses to my post about the person hired are from the same group of people associated with the person hired. Mmmm...

I'm proud to be an instructor for SL Community Colledge.

To those with positive words for me, thank you. I shall strive to not let you down, Roxie.

My Scripting 101 course is geared towards those who have a serious interest in learning LSL as a programming language, and find the quick courses to be too fast to learn the language through.

The topics I will discuss include an explination of what LSL2 is, some of it's history, resources available to students, structure, technique, and features. The course is aimed at a 8 week class schedule to allow time for concepts to be understood before continuing, there will be homework assignments, and if this idea goes well, it will lead to more advanced courses in scripting for the community colledge.

hank, ya go too far sometimes, this' one'f them times, calm down lil, yah stuff has been screwed up in the past, yer not helpin yer case by goin off like that tho

i'm not sayin ya don have a legit grievance, i'm jus sayin yer not helpin yer own areas, and you know i don do any'f that kinda bs, and neither does luskwood.

As president, founder and sole monetary backer of Second Life Community College, I stand behind my choice of Ice Brodie as our scripting instructor. Her tenure remains firm with us. She comes to us with a solid body of work and a reputation that makes her more than qualified for this role.

Thank you

Roxanne Marten

i, for one, am interested in scripting but am not a rich man
i will be eager to see if these classes are affordable for those of us "lower income" SLers.

as for Hank... if someone's looking to ban you from something, don't you think there's maybe a reason or two that you might want to evaluate? i've noticed in my "limited" SL time (heheh) that the SL community as a whole is much more laid back and tolerant of stupid stuff than in RL. i.e. it takes a lot more to tick people off inworld than RL. i'm not attempting to get in the middle of others' disputes, but it just seems to stand to reason that most things can be worked out in SL with a discussion...

but there i go on another soapbox... lol