The Boston Feds Economic Education Adventures Coming Soon to Second Life

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The Boston Feds Economic EducationAdventures
Coming Soon to Second Life

• Presentation by Melita Podesta (RL) Oothoon Ogg
  (SL)
• December 3, 2008
• inworld

Oothoon with newbie hair circa 2006
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A bit of Background to FRBBs interest in SL

• Expanded Economic Education program opened in
  October 2003
• Overarching theme
• A rise in living standards results from
  improvements in technology and increases in
  productivity
• 10,000 middle and high school kids visit annually

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The Adventures 4 Parts

• An investment game highlighting three NE
  entrepreneurs (Francis Cabot Lowell,
• Col. Albert Pope, and Ken Olsen)
• Material culture section highlighting 1810, 1890,
  1960
• Rotating exhibits
• Computer Lab
• and lecture hall
• And, of course a website

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Second Life gets onto the Boston Feds radar
screen

• 2007 rotating exhibit Video Games Evolve A
  Brief History from Spacewar! to MMORPGs

• Stumbled onto SL while researching modern
  games Oothoon became one of 300,000 residents

• Oothoon friend dancing at newbie hangout
• The Shelter

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Wall of Second Life Screenshots

• First inkling of collaborative potential of SL
  asked on the Sled list for images
• Torley Linden, Pathfinder, Philip Long, Aimee
  Weber, Intellagirl and many others gave their pics

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Maybe we can use Second Life in our Economic
Education Programshmmmmmm.

• Enticing qualities of SL
• 3-D space in real time
• Bursts with creativity
• Sense of fun and whimsy
• Collaborative its hard to get very far on your
  own in SL it forces interaction
• Makes you want to explore other areas

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Thats nice but how do we use it?

• At FRBB first as an extension of our rotating
  exhibit area in the Economic Adventure
• How? Why?
• Immersive environment in which the visitors can
  explore in greater depth aspects of exhibit
• Replaces just lecture-style program and 2-D
  book and or 2-D website

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Managements Buy-inSL is.

• Easily changeable
• Easily extensible we can add to it
• Flexible can be facilitated or not
• Encourages collaboration can work with other
  people on SL pursuing similar programs

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FRBBs Slow Start

• It took FRBB a year to approve the software
  internally
• The Atlanta Fed took the plunge and rented space
  on Jokaydia, called it the Fed Virtual
  Underground (FVU), and let Boston develop one
  section

Our leader Beena
FVU fire pit built by Sophie Sass
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Nuts and Bolts

• Boston has 15 computers in a lab that arent on
  the LAN
• Accounts for computers rather than individuals
• Pictures of each avatar will be on the wall and
  students/visitors will choose
• their avatar

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The Challenge

• Not simply replicate RL choose well
• Look for things that cant be done in RL or cant
  be done as well

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First Effort

• African American Entrepreneurs from the 18th and
  19th Centuries opens in RL at FRBB in February
  2009
• RL exhibit features 27 entrepreneurs
• The SL exhibit, open in January 2009 features
  three (Paul Cuffe, Harriet Wilson, and Edward M.
  Bannister)

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Needed to Hire a Builder
Philip looks over our space silhouette of
Edward Bannister in the background
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Work on the 19th century romantic painter Edward
M. Bannister section progresses
Paul Cuffe and Harriet Wilsons areas are now
being developed
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Next Steps in Exhibit

• Write the script for our class
• Figure out how to get a bot
• Work on speaker lectures

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Things to Continue Pondering

• How is exhibit space different in SL v RL?
• e.g. how big is BIG or TOO BIG?
• Is there a flow to an exhibit in SL?
• How much text can you use?
• How should it be displayed? Or conveyed?
• How do you combine beauty with information?
• How can we convey themes better?
• (Perhaps a staged setting like a 19th century
  barber shop might be more a more effective way of
  using SL)

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Visit us

• On Jokaydia at FVU 183,238,23
• We would love suggestions
• Other Fed avatars here today
• Kidd Koln
• Sophie Sass
• Beena Albatros