Cow

I think it was the lurid, glowing greens on the map that attracted me to try the Cow sim. I know I should be writing about the MMC and Maya sims - but I'm a contrary beggar, and felt the need to root out something I'd not seen before, and that is maybe not entirely ready. And for me tonight, the Cow sim meets that need. (I will do the others eventually!)

I don't think it's quite finished -there's a few things missing, including (slightly disturbingly) some cows' heads. And one of the things that is missing is content - in effect, the structure is ready, but the content, such as notecards, slideshows and weblinks is not there just yet. Which made it potentially tricky to track down. However, I had a hunch I'd seen the "Cow" and "Herd" before... and with a teensy bit of help from Google I was able to track 'em down like.... ummm.. lost cows, I suppose.

First off we have Cow PR, strapline "We're not Sheep". While the Herd is "the community networking arm of Cow PR... about helping brands talk to their audiences through 'citizen media.'" Maybe I've spent too long in virtual worlds. When I first read their strapline, I thought it was an oblique reference to Electric Sheep Company! I need to get out more (though even now, I suspect this is not altogether a coincidence). Another part of this bovine empire is Cowshed Productions, responsible for ads and things viral, like this:

From their YouTube site. As for what they've actually done - I will leave it to you to wrestle with the joys of their flash-based websites.

As for the sim, as I said it is not quite ready in terms of content. You arrive in an open sided barn (or something) in front of which is a small field containing a couple of cows, backed by a couple of towering waterfalls. The grass is a vivid green, while the rocks are eye-poppingly orange, and the water - a deeply implausible blue. In fact, it has the feel of a dream - one that follows the ingestion of too much cheese the night before. It looks like there will be a bunch of notecards to be picked up at this starting point - and a guided tour too. But none of these function at the moment.

You need to get up to the top of the waterfall for the main buildings - and there are 2 routes provided. One around the edge of the sim, that takes in the Cow Cafe, where you can milk your own cow(though the ones here had no heads! aaargh!!), before ascending to the top of the falls. The other route takes you through a huge cavern, up a winding path that eventually emerges to join the external path. At the top are several green spheres that will eventually house a cinema, a meetings area and a jobs hall (I've forgotten the last one). At the moment, aside from some seating - and some cows - these spheres are largely bare. One small point... there's a couple of places where the step height is too great, so walkers have to "hop" to progress. It will be easy to fix this.

I have to say, I think I like this place. It is quite memorable, and has a number of pleasing, faintly surreal aspects... And the cows look great, when they have heads on. That said, I don' t think it has the charm, ambience, complexity or humour of the Leo Burnett sim, a company in a not entirely dissimilar line of business. The Cow sim is the work of well-known virtual builder, Luna Bliss.

And finally - some snaps:

Oh... and there's some cool freebies already in place, including a fine sculptie cow, a set of overalls and an animated cow feed. Of these, the cow definitely has it!

An Oldie Visits U21 Global Campus

A few days back I posted an entry about Second Life being used as a visualisation and learning tool by DeSalles University, who have made a simulation of Dante's Inferno, replete with teacher and student notes. On a similar theme, I received an IM today from Lem Skall suggesting I check out U21 Global Campus. Ironically, this sim is right next door to the ne that houses my own little plot, New Alville, yet I had never sauntered across for a look, despite taking many long hikes around SL in search of something interesting.

But before looking at the sim, here's a bit of background: U21 Global is a joint venture between Universitas 21 (an international network of leading research-intensive universities) and Thomson Learning (a renowned information and software solutions provider).
Headquartered in Singapore, they deliver a range of management courses through elearning over the internet. They offer an MBA programme that has been awarded the prestigious European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) accreditation for teChnology-Enhanced Learning (CEL) - or so it tells me on the website - along with a number of other management-oriented courses. Given this background, their interest in Second Life comes as no surprise.

The sim, built by Luna Bliss, is still under construction but looks like it only needs a few bits and bobs before it is completed. Most of the island is taken up with their Metaphorical Garden, which can be explored on foot, or via an automated guided tour. I opted for the latter. I have to say that the hippy-dippy guide to educational method was lost on me - but you might get more from it. Here's a slice from the first of many, many notecards:

"Whenever we learn a psychological process occurs as we absorb new knowledge - a series of phases takes place. For example, there is the phase when learning something new is exciting, and there is a phase when we need to let go of old knowledge and embrace the new. There is also the case where we may have to combine new information with the 'old' to create new knowledge. The gardens on this island are designed to mirror these phases of learning, using metaphors of nature to reflect them (for example, the new knowledge phase is spring, and the letting go or the re-creation of old knowledge makes way for the eruption of new knowledge and is symbolized by a volcano). Constructivist learning (the way U21Global teaches) accesses these processes at a deep level and encourages the student of learning to be free to create their own meaning and knowledge, as opposed to the spoon-fed multiple-choice tests so common in many schools."

Luna has made extensive use of flowing texture scripts and particles to impart some movement and activity to the island. Here are some pictures that hopefully give you an idea:



There's something faintly reminiscent of the classic Svarga sim here, though that may only be due to the guided tour.

As well as the features shown here, there is an Information Area that is still waiting for completion, downloadable podcasts and other information resources, and a number of seating areas. There is a lot happening here, and a lot of neat scripting, but I left feeling a bit disappointed - though I can't quite figure out why. I suspect it is the look and feel, which seemed a tad too vivid for my tastes. Anyway, why not pop along and let me have your views?