art and satire.

The above images illustrate transmediation and crossover media. All are satire piece in which images have been put together to show something funny but false. The mug shots were rendered by combining the images of the political figures and the jail setting. A St. Bernard dog is added to the famous mona lisa, and the portrait of George Washington is slipping out of the dollar bill.

New Technologies and Education

We have touched upon many new technologies in our class that open up new ways of modeling thinking, collecting and retrieving information, and sharing knowledge. I agree with my classmates who have already posted that second life is a unique, afforadable, and accessable way for students to interact with one another without losing a sense of creativity and personality. If we think of second life as a new virtual classroom as opposed to discussion boards or even back and forth email communication, Secondlife incorporates spacial interaction between users as well as offering new ways to communicate. I can definitely imagine a virtual classroom in second life, where every student is told to meet in a certain spot (like the isis oasis) and then the class could be taught through lecture or discussion, or traveling to different places. ( I can just imagine a group of 20 avatars flying together to visit an educational slurl).

As far as other technologies go, I really believe that wiki projects online are going to make an impact in the University. Collaboration in learning seems to be prominent here at Duke (from my experiences that is) through group projects, presentations, etc. Wiki's offer a new way for students to interact with each other and gain more insight into a variety of subjects.

After our discussions about the benefits of having a completely online learning experience vs. an in class learning experience, I do believe a happy medium can be reached between the two, to secure the best benefits of both spectrums. We do not want to lose all physical interaction, but the internet does offer a gigantic amount of useful tools for educating.

As for technology fads that wont last, I do agree with Aileen that I'm not a huge fan of the podcast phenomenon. I did enjoy making my own earlier in the semester, but listening to them (especially with my short attention span) can be brutal, and I don't know anyone who really commits to listening to podcasts on a regular basis.

I would also like to know the classes opinion on webcams, and if this device is here to stay. I know webcams used to be big for chatting with relatives/friends online, but I haven't seen one being used in a while. Its also interesting to think of the webcam in education, and if it provides a more personal vibe when interacting online.

sketchup

This is a building i made using google sketchup

SL urls

I found three pretty awesome SL URL's

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dive%20World/214/136/21

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Leykis/60/165/32

http://slurl.com/secondlife/La%20Reve/140/162/26/

Dive is an island devoted to underwater adventure. some cool things: the bubbles churning out of Synth's air tank; the scuba package is a full-body set-up. the background is filled with diverse and colorful creatures.

Kromatic is a new world night club filled predominantly with hispanic avatars. there are a bunch of private corners in the club. It is very futuristic, with abstract artwork among other designs.

La Reve Island illustrates the ability to express yourself on second life. The avatar Lash Xevious fills the island with a mystical atmosphere with dreamy shapes and glowing effects.