This week I continued my travels in Jokaydia and expanded into Second Life (SL). In Jokaydia I met up with some fellow Etap 620 travelers and learned how to construct a tic tac toe board using scripts. I found this to be so informative and interesting. I had been struggling with scripts so this lesson was very beneficial for me. Below is a picture of some fellow travelers and myself learning how to build our own tic tac toe board using scripts and the build tool in Jokaydia.

In Second life this week, I created my avatar and visited Esme's house. I am looking forward to exploring Second Life further in the weeks to come. 

Exploration

Today I explored a few locations. One place that I found really fascinating was Expanding Horizons II. It was a nice virtual break from the snow. The beach scenery with palm trees and all was a nice change. I loved how this location had different levels and had so much to explore. I learned that this location is used as a virtual meeting place for counseling students so that they can build their skills, while separated geographically. I think I may return in the future for the relaxing virtual tropical environment.

Jokaydia: Week Two

            Week two in Jokaydia: This week marks my second week in Jokaydia and I feel that I have made large strides. The land does not seem as foreign as it did my first week. I feel exploring and meeting people from class in Jokaydia has helped me get better acquainted. It was nice being able to discuss ideas while exploring.

            Even with help from my classmates I did struggle at certain times. For instance no matter how hard I looked I could not find the floating hamburger or a flag on top of the mountain. Perhaps I have not made strides large enough to be successful at all tasks in Jokaydia. Today I also attempted to start the building assignments. Even just the thought of building things in Jokaydia at first made me nervous. I truly wanted to be successful at the tasks but I feel that there is room for improvement. The only virtual building I had ever completed prior to this attempt was in the Sims, Sims 2, and the Sims 3, it was not the same in any sense. I will however, try my best to improve my building techniques in Jokaydia.

            All I can do while on my virtual journey, is to try new things and to keep practicing these new things until I proficient in the tools needed to be successful in the various virtual worlds I will be visiting this semester and beyond. Even though it is not always easy to become proficient in these tools I will do whatever it takes to carry out the various tasks and use the tools available to me in the virtual world. I would not get what I would like out of this journey if I already knew everything.

Some photographs from this week:

Jokaydia

     The shuttle has launched and the first landing sight is the virtual land of Jokaydia. This land has been a great to start my virtual adventure. Having never entered the virtual world before I was a bit nervous setting up and beginning my journey. After wandering around aimlessly a few times, I met with Esme for orientation. Orientation was very helpful. I was taught how to have different views of my new surroundings, how to transport, submit assignments and most importantly give myself a much need Jokaydian makeover. 

     After my orientation meeting getting around and exploring Jokaydia became much easier. I really enjoyed wandering around Malboro College's island. One of the most amazing experiences I had during my journey on Jokaydia thus far has been the meet-up with my fellow classmates and our guide Esme. During this meet-up I got to see how a large group chat works add friends and even learn to fly. 

     Although I am still a little afraid for the remainder of the journey I am also excited to see what the virtual world holds. If the rest of the journey is anything like the experiences I have had in Jokaydia so far, I will definitely continue to explore virtual worlds as an educational resource in the future, beyond this course.