[10:11]  Agent Heliosense: hi
[10:11]  Agent Heliosense: this crazy thing called real life, etc.
[10:12]  Abrianna Denimore: hehe
[10:12]  Abrianna Denimore: what is that
[10:12]  Abrianna Denimore: trying to close out all these IM's
[10:12]  Abrianna Denimore: :0P
[10:13]  Agent Heliosense: our site is http://thetechvirtual.org/
[10:14]  Agent Heliosense: we use second life to develop museum exhibit prototypes and
[10:14]  Agent Heliosense: we have a new "Challenge" which is to "Design a challenge"
[10:14]  Abrianna Denimore: I am currently making a original replica of the pullman car
[10:14]  Abrianna Denimore: would that be the type of stuff you all ar working on?
[10:15]  Agent Heliosense: what's a pullman car? sorry
[10:15]  Agent Heliosense: If you like to build things that's great, you can also join teams.
[10:15]  Agent Heliosense: lots of people want to build things however, are not great builders
[10:15]  Agent Heliosense: http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/tech-challenge/
[10:16]  Abrianna Denimore: it is a original train car that was like a hotel on the train tracks
[10:16]  Abrianna Denimore: the original was built in 1857
[10:16]  Agent Heliosense: The object is to "design a challenge" for teams of students that will complete the challenge
[10:16]  Abrianna Denimore: So lots of detail work
[10:17]  Abrianna Denimore: I have made ice boxes that are realistic
[10:17]  Abrianna Denimore: I went and researched the original one and go pictures of the textures to make it as
authentic as possible
[10:17]  Agent Heliosense: Great well what we do as the core of this is, design content for interactive museums, such as science museums
[10:18]  Agent Heliosense: it's an internatinal project in that
[10:18]  Agent Heliosense: designers here can have their work
[10:18]  Abrianna Denimore: Sounds like fun
[10:18]  Abrianna Denimore: I can build anything I see in a picture
[10:18]  Agent Heliosense: displayed in science museums worldwide. We are a Real life sceinece museum in San Jose ca
[10:18]  Abrianna Denimore: How exciting
[10:18]  Agent Heliosense: so how it works is like this
[10:19]  Agent Heliosense: there are topics - which are galleries or exhbitions
[10:19]  Agent Heliosense: within the topic you design an exhibit
[10:19]  Agent Heliosense: the upcoming galleries are called "Art Film Music Games" which opens in 2010 and
[10:20]  Agent Heliosense: "Program for the Future" which is a gallery about Silicon Valley which also opens in 2010
[10:20]  Abrianna Denimore: So you get paid to build in Sl all day?
[10:20]  Agent Heliosense: and our current project that is underway is "Tech Challenge: Design a Challenge"
[10:20]  Agent Heliosense: http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/tech-challenge/
[10:21]  Agent Heliosense: No, very little building, we suport the curators here
[10:21]  Abrianna Denimore: ahh ok
[10:21]  Agent Heliosense: this is called the "open source project" so
[10:21]  Agent Heliosense: we are creating museum content using virtual worlds, well that means second life obviously!
[10:22]  Abrianna Denimore: ok sounds very exciting so then me as a detailed builder what can I do for you?
[10:22]  Agent Heliosense: if you are a builder then great this is a great project to be connected to
[10:22]  Agent Heliosense: take a look at http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/tech-challenge/
[10:23]  Abrianna Denimore: will do
[10:23]  Abrianna Denimore: I am on my laptop so I have to check when I log off lol
[10:23]  Agent Heliosense: sign up and create an account at http://thetechvirtual.org/createMember
[10:23]  Abrianna Denimore: I was bieng a bum this morning
[10:23]  Agent Heliosense: ok np
[10:23]  Agent Heliosense: i'm on a laptop too!
[10:24]  Abrianna Denimore: hehe it is abit pokey for Sl but ti works mostly
[10:24]  Agent Heliosense: yes and so if you get ideas, then you can start a project
[10:24]  Abrianna Denimore: I have ideas all day and night in my sleep
[10:24]  Agent Heliosense: we give space to build and probably about 200 prims allotted
[10:24]  Abrianna Denimore: it haunts me I think
[10:24]  Abrianna Denimore: 255 is the max amount you can link so 200 will work fine for most projects
[10:25]  Agent Heliosense: right, many of our projects are not linked because have moving parts
[10:25]  Agent Heliosense: did you know we have a virtual museum as well, it's next door at sim "The Tech"
[10:25]  Agent Heliosense: this is the workshop sim,
[10:26]  Abrianna Denimore: I didn't know that this is my first time here
[10:27]  Agent Heliosense: yes!
[10:27]  Agent Heliosense: so there are many virtual exhibits
[10:27]  Abrianna Denimore: I will have to check them out
[10:27]  Agent Heliosense: up to 7 or so of those have been developed into real life exhibits
[10:27]  Abrianna Denimore: ahh very cool
[10:27]  Agent Heliosense: a lot of this is shown also in the videos on http://www.thetechvirtual.org
[10:28]  Agent Heliosense: hi morriganne
[10:28]  Morriganne Tatsu: Hi there
[10:28]  Agent Heliosense: hi stray
[10:28]  Agent Heliosense: pls join
[10:28]  Stray Underwood: hello, am I too late?
[10:28]  Morriganne Tatsu: THank you
[10:28]  Agent Heliosense: np we're all new today I think so
[10:28]  Agent Heliosense: i'm explaining what we do here
[10:29]  Stray Underwood: hello all
[10:29]  Agent Heliosense: http://www.thetechvirtual.org is our site
[10:29]  Agent Heliosense: We are a real life science museum located in San Jose CA
[10:29]  Agent Heliosense: this is called The Tech Virtual and
[10:29]  Agent Heliosense: we use second life to create interactive prototypes for buiding museum exhibits
[10:30]  Morriganne Tatsu: IN RL right?
[10:30]  Morriganne Tatsu: The things here crossover?
[10:30]  Stray Underwood: your virtual builds are conceptual designs you convert into real world exhibits?
[10:30]  Agent Heliosense: our current project is http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/tech-challenge/
[10:30]  Agent Heliosense: yes
[10:30]  Agent Heliosense: we do not design just for second life this is for designing for real life
[10:31]  Agent Heliosense: this is a workshop sim, our virtual museum is next door though and
[10:31]  Morriganne Tatsu: How has using SL enhanced the RL exhibt experience?
[10:31]  Agent Heliosense: great question! Well for 1 thing it is faster
[10:32]  Agent Heliosense: to develop a museum exhibit because, you can prototype it here and even get feedback from users
[10:32]  Agent Heliosense: it's also enabled people who work outside a musuem to contribute, design, meet others to work with
[10:32]  Stray Underwood: it says your challange is for grade 5-12, these are people that can not use secondlife,how is the tie in done?
[10:32]  Morriganne Tatsu: Teen Grif?
[10:33]  Morriganne Tatsu: grid
[10:33]  Morriganne Tatsu: that is?
[10:33]  Agent Heliosense: good question Stray - what we do here is - develop for real life
[10:33]  Agent Heliosense: you build a model in this 3D environment
[10:33]  Agent Heliosense: your challenge is to "Design a Challenge" that the youth teams will complete
[10:33]  Stray Underwood: ah
[10:33]  Agent Heliosense: it happens in real life
[10:34]  Abrianna Denimore: Hello everyone sorry was copying all the information
[10:34]  Agent Heliosense: at a real museum location - on 1 day - Tech Challenge day - these teams of kids arrive at the museum with their projects
[10:34]  Stray Underwood: I have to ask, is this just you deligating your job because people get paid large sums for this type of work :)
[10:34]  Agent Heliosense: to complete their challenge
[10:35]  Agent Heliosense: It would probably be great if people could get paid large sums to do so but more realistically
[10:36]  Agent Heliosense: this is a way for improving the end results of the content because it becomes something lots of people can contribute to, like we have PhD's teachers, scientists, students, artitsts
[10:36]  Agent Heliosense: it is an opportunity to create a portfolio/resume piiece in these cases too
[10:36]  Stray Underwood: ah
[10:36]  Stray Underwood: good answer
[10:36]  Morriganne Tatsu: So do you use current theories in mesuem exhibit and practice?
[10:37]  Morriganne Tatsu: If so --what if anything has changed with using SL in your design process?
[10:37]  Agent Heliosense: yes - for example in the sim next door there's a tutorial on this
[10:38]  Stray Underwood: just so i am clear, what is it we are here for right now?
[10:38]  Agent Heliosense: Morriganne a lot of these are also topics of videos on the site at http://www.thetechvirtual.org
[10:39]  Morriganne Tatsu: Okay... thanks
[10:39]  Morriganne Tatsu: I will look at them
[10:39]  Agent Heliosense: yes this is Q&A
[10:39]  Morriganne Tatsu: I was a museum educatero 12 years ago
[10:39]  Agent Heliosense: I think I'm calling it "office hours" nowadays!
[10:39]  Morriganne Tatsu: Then got into Instructional design and online learning --
[10:40]  Agent Heliosense: sounds like perfect backgrouind
[10:40]  Morriganne Tatsu: So this intersect is fascintating to me -especially since my content area was history and old houses
[10:41]  Agent Heliosense: here you can also team up with people and work on projects as well
[10:41]  Abrianna Denimore: I am interested also since I have been makin historical recreations here in Sl
[10:41]  Morriganne Tatsu: It sounds like it --but I think some museums are more open than others into transforming the ways in which patrons interact with its artifacts and collections
[10:41]  Agent Heliosense: http://thetechvirtual.org/createMember
[10:41]  Morriganne Tatsu: Ty
[10:41]  Agent Heliosense: this is correct
[10:41]  Morriganne Tatsu: What kind of recreations?
[10:41]  Agent Heliosense: we strive for interactive exhibits!
[10:42]  Abrianna Denimore: currently the 1850's
[10:42]  Abrianna Denimore: I am making the original recreation of the pullman car
[10:42]  Morriganne Tatsu: Do you work with a RL organization through SL?
[10:42]  Agent Heliosense: yes some, we've just been limited on time to meet up with people!
[10:43]  Abrianna Denimore: thank you
[10:43]  Agent Heliosense: so yes such as "Emerging Museum Professionals" has a group in sl
[10:43]  Morriganne Tatsu: I will need to check that group out as well.
[10:44]  Agent Heliosense: and many others. lots of interesting groups about museums, not to mention scilands here - the continent we ar joined to
[10:44]  Morriganne Tatsu: I work with a University at the moment -- I miss my museum roots ;>)
[10:44]  Agent Heliosense: you know second life has opened up lots of new inspiring ways of collaborating, this is the museum side of it
[10:45]  Abrianna Denimore: yea I am a nurse for a helpline working form home so I have more time then most on Sl
[10:45]  Agent Heliosense: but more than that, we have a lot of things coming up such as Program for the Future http://www.programforthefuture.org in which
[10:45]  Morriganne Tatsu: Are you seeing either people enthusatically embracethe SL pieces or won't touch it? I
find it's been pretty black and white in education circles
[10:45]  Agent Heliosense: worldwide teams will be exhibiting and collaobrating in second life as a meeting place
[10:46]  Morriganne Tatsu: But I think some of the most interesting sims are interactive exhibits
[10:46]  Abrianna Denimore: I have found a bunch they are wonderful
[10:46]  Agent Heliosense: Morriganne yes it's like that it seems - either folks are in and can see the value or they don't
[10:47]  Morriganne Tatsu: *nods* Which can make it challenging for this to be come more mainstream on many frongs
[10:47]  Morriganne Tatsu: fronts
[10:47]  Morriganne Tatsu: that is
[10:47]  Agent Heliosense: if they don't see the value now, i still think it's only a matter of time - just like many saw no point to email either
[10:48]  Morriganne Tatsu: *chuckle*
[10:48]  Agent Heliosense: why email when you can call or send a letter/
[10:48]  Morriganne Tatsu: Why email when you can now text
[10:48]  Agent Heliosense: hehe so i think there is a big value, especially for collaborating
[10:49]  Morriganne Tatsu: I show SL to college undergrads and many of them shun it at first
[10:49]  Agent Heliosense: and this is very experimental even, it's up to you really
[10:49]  Morriganne Tatsu: Very few get the social and collaborative benefits
[10:49]  Agent Heliosense: why do you think that is Morriganne
[10:49]  Morriganne Tatsu: Some of it is still the thought that is it is "gaming" and many aren't gamers in the classical sense
[10:49]  Morriganne Tatsu: or there is also a stigma to them on gamin
[10:50]  Morriganne Tatsu: I think also
[10:50]  Stray Underwood: I am a bit confused, is this tyring to create current themed exhibits, or virtual ways to present history. More so the virtual recreation of current ehibits.
[10:50]  Morriganne Tatsu: that some of their online experiences are purely social. Their expectations of an SL is not for intellectual or professional growth
[10:50]  Morriganne Tatsu: if that makes sense...
[10:50]  Agent Heliosense: sure Stray, we are using second life to develop for real life
[10:51]  Stray Underwood: So it can be "new age" or something historical
[10:51]  Agent Heliosense: it is confusing because, there's a virtual musuem right over there!
[10:51]  Abrianna Denimore: Well the thought is for instance the only pullman museum is in Chicago what if you
needed to learn about the pullman car and were only able to do it online...Whatbetter then aninteractive exhibit to teach you about the history
[10:52]  Agent Heliosense: well I guess they would have to first be interested in intellectual or professional growth
[10:52]  Morriganne Tatsu: yes --lol
[10:52]  Agent Heliosense: to see any benefit. There arent' too many buyers for those products.
[10:52]  Stray Underwood: Well Abrianna, that would be virtual reconstruction, It seems more like they want new age exhibits, geared towards virtual themes
[10:53]  Morriganne Tatsu: Anyway --I expect that today's elementary students will be accepting of SL like spaces
[10:53]  Abrianna Denimore: ok I guess I am missing it then I will have to go read
[10:53]  Morriganne Tatsu: since they are already plying in them
[10:53]  Agent Heliosense: We use second life, to model for real life
[10:54]  Agent Heliosense: at this project so for example
[10:54]  Agent Heliosense: here
[10:54]  Morriganne Tatsu: Abrianna-- I agree with you
[10:54]  Agent Heliosense: on this sim, you can create a model which explains
[10:54]  Stray Underwood: I think more people would rather go to a real museum then a virtual one, virtual anything will never replace the real world experience
[10:54]  Agent Heliosense: how you would design a "Tech Challenge"
[10:54]  Agent Heliosense: for the youth teams
[10:54]  Morriganne Tatsu: Stray --the idea I suspect is to balance the two
[10:55]  Morriganne Tatsu: One does not replace the other-- if designed well each enhances the other's experience
[10:55]  Abrianna Denimore: well a tech challenge would be like what them building a interactive realistic engne to put into a car?
[10:55]  Stray Underwood: all i could see virtual museums doing it taking the video guides from exhibits (say one of someone talking about tut's tomb) and allowing you to walk through it
[10:55]  Stray Underwood: but it would be a small add on
[10:55]  Stray Underwood: not replacing or balancing
[10:55]  Stray Underwood: just a small trinket
[10:56]  Agent Heliosense: Could be Abrianna, basically the challenge should be centered around a current design / engineerign / sceince topic
[10:56]  Morriganne Tatsu: Using Abrianna's example --
[10:56]  Morriganne Tatsu: Stray, Let's say that in the SL exhibit of the Pullman car you could explore the mechanics of the machine
[10:56]  Agent Heliosense: There are lots of possibilities Stray, here at Tech Virtual though... despite the name ... we are focused on building for real life
[10:56]  Stray Underwood: so you do want current or new designs. Nothing to do with history?
[10:57]  Agent Heliosense: the "virtual musuem" side is there, but it's not the focus really
[10:57]  Morriganne Tatsu: Could you Agent, have them compliment each other?
[10:57]  Agent Heliosense: Stray it's not as focused on history. Not as focused on historical museums.
[10:58]  Morriganne Tatsu: I've seen work in te Ohio state sim where their medical school has you travel like a molecule through the circulatory system of a human body
[10:58]  Morriganne Tatsu: I can't recreate that really in a RL exhibit
[10:58]  Stray Underwood: with that in mind how do you create anything more then a bunch of rube goldberge machines
[10:58]  Agent Heliosense: These are great ideas
[10:58]  Agent Heliosense: because
[10:58]  Agent Heliosense: there are always ways to interpret these ideas into rL
[10:59]  Abrianna Denimore: I used that for my AP class when i taught nursing for college students it was a wondrful tool to get them to see and understand the mechanics of the body
[10:59]  Morriganne Tatsu: *nods*
[10:59]  Agent Heliosense: i have to wrap up .... in the meantime, take a read at http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/tech-challenge/
[10:59]  Morriganne Tatsu: Thankyou
[10:59]  Agent Heliosense: this iwll be the focus - it runs through Jan 15
[11:00]  Abrianna Denimore: I look forward to doing some reading
[11:00]  Abrianna Denimore: it sounds interesting
[11:00]  Agent Heliosense: please do and i'm here daily really
[11:00]  Morriganne Tatsu: Agent-- are you working with the Teen SL grid?
[11:00]  Agent Heliosense: meetings tue and fri at 10
[11:01]  Agent Heliosense: not this week though on fri - holiday
[11:02]  Stray Underwood: thank you Agent, I will have to read up on it, sorry I did not graps the concept right away
[11:02]  Agent Heliosense: no worries at all, it gets wierd with the virtual crossover
[11:03]  Agent Heliosense: thansks for joining our group, will nanounce upcoming talks, classes