[HSGS] Building in Second Life
This week was full of new experiences for students. They learned two very important skills in Second Life; building and textures as well as how to create a comic page with Comic Life.
In the building session, students were all very engaged in trying to figure out how to create and edit basic shapes. Then, they got their first building mission to create a snowman! Some students' snowmen were tilted on one side where some snowmen had disproportional body parts.
At the end of the class, one of the students commented "This is the most difficult Second Life class, so far! " Indeed...building in 3D environment is very tricky, they spend a lot of time on aligning the prims, so I recommended them to look at the snowmen in different perspectives to make sure it's what they want.
At the end of the session the sandbox was full of tiny to huge spheres waiting to be part of a snowman, and completed snowmen who are proud of their creators :)
After their building activity, students discussed how they would build in SL some of the furniture in their classroom, and if it would be difficult or easy. Here is an answer: "Door would be easy. Make a cube, then press it make flat and stretch it into a rectangle. That' it." I think this is a good example to show how students create mental animations to transfer their Second Life experiences into real life concepts.
It feels to me, for Second Life, building is like bones, muscles and whatever gives body to a creature where scripting is the brain and heart of the Second Life which makes it alive, interactive. And, the communities are the Soul. So, learning how to build is a big step in Second Life experience.
