Holodesks

Below you will find a copy of the notecard we received.

Holo-teaching: a field trip to discover the use of holodecks and their potential use in education.

Definition: 'A holodeck is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases in the fictional Star Trek universe. […] The holodeck is depicted as an enclosed room in which objects and people are simulated by a combination of replicated matter, tractor beams, and shaped force fields onto which holographic images are projected.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodeck

In SL, a holodeck is a facility that allows you to rezz, in a given place, a given scene: a classroom, a theatre, a bus, a restaurant... A holodeck is often presented as an enclosed space, often a cube, in which you will identify at least 3 different elements:
* a horizontal platform,
* a scene controller,
* the (interior) scene.

Some holodecks offer you the possibility to rezz exterior or shell scenes. And these can be completely independent: You can access a house (exterior scene) and find inside a Mediterranean beach (interior scene).

The difference between holodecks is the 'scene':
* In virtual reality holodecks, the scene is made up of 6 different views of an image that reproduce a 360° perspective. The scene reproduced is often a real life image: a view of the space, of the desert, of a museum.
* Other holodecks instead of reproducing an image, renstantiate a full 3D space made up of prims animations and scripts like any 3D space inworld.

They also differ in their size, from 10*10m to the Quarterdeck that represents a quarter of a full sim. Their prces vary as well: everything depends on the functionalities offered. If they are 'consumption' holodecks for visitors to rezz a scene; then they are free or not expensive. If they offer the possibility to add scenes, the price increases. Finally if they are the so called production holodecks, then the price for an standard size can go up to 9000L$.

Once more it is just amazing all the possibilities SL offers to teachers. Just imagine being in a space where you don`t have to move and you are suddenly in the dessert, at the zoo and later on the beach.
Holodesks are just wonderful!!!

All about my avatar: Tamara Ashton

Why did you choose this name?

I choose the name Tamara because it was my grandmother´s middle name. She was born in Russia and that is why her middle name was Tamara. She was a very creative and intelligent person. There were always new horizons to discover and she was constantly inventing new things while she cooked. I chose this name because Second Life is an adventure for me where your imagination can flow...it´s like being a bird with lots of things to discover.

Is your avatar similar to your real life appearance?
The first avatar I created is quite similar but then once I started learning how to change your image I created several different images of myself. Now for example I have dark short hair totally the opposite of my real life.

Why did you create your avatar?
I am a fan of integrating web 2.0 tools in my classrooms. Second Life is one tool that allows me to discover the educational possibilities as a web 3.0 tool. I still have lots of things to discover and have been really lucky that I had the privelige of taking a training course with Dafne Gonzalez. Personally I think that there are still many obstacles to overcome before being able to teach English in Argentina using SL due to the lack of hardware and teacher training.