Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
versions of a holodeck they all work roughly the
same way. Residents create one scene at a time and
using scripts group that scene together inside the
holodeck. Any number of scenes can be created
and then using a menu a resident can pull up any
scene they need at any time.
For training purposes, holodecks serve as an
invaluable tool because it enables the changing
of scenes at a touch and allow residents to get
around the barrier of prim restrictions. As the
basic building block in Second Life, only a cer-
tain number of prims are allocated to a sim, for a
maximum of 15,000. As land is broken down into
plots, the number of allowed prims gets smaller
and smaller so the crafty developer/builder needs
to find ways to lower the number of prims used
to build their space. Since the holodeck only dis-
plays one scene at a time, only the prim count of
the displayed scene counts against the maximum
number of prims allowed. For example, let's say
a builder has a holodeck loaded with 10 scenes
and each scene has 100 prims; so there are 1000
total prims in the holodeck. However, since only
one scene is displayed at a time only 100 prims
get counted against the prim count for the parcel
and the other 900 are “forgotten” since they are
not currently in use. Being able to get around the
prim count is one way companies can do more
with less space.
At one point in time The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) had been designing a training scenario to
take advantage of the holodeck. As the world's
largest conservation based non-profit, TNC works
in hundreds of different environments around
the world. To create a simulation that would ac-
curately reflect each environment, or at least the
more popular ones, would require a huge amount
of space. However, taking advantage of the holo-
deck, TNC can create multiple scenes within the
holodeck and each one can represent a certain
environment and teach staff and partners about
the projects and efforts currently underway in that
area. This use of the holodeck allows them to create
a massive project in a limited amount of space,
while saving money because they do not need to
buy and maintain multiple sims in Second Life.
Combining the use of media screens, bots
and holodecks into one project allows for a truly
immersive learning experience to occur. Compa-
nies can use all three and replicate anything they
want or need at any time. Just imagine one scene
of the holodeck has a media screen and a bot to
simulate an office environment. This could be
used as the company headquarters and provide
general information to any resident of Second
Life who happened to come by. Another scene
could be loaded with two other bots and be set
in a living room to provide a simulation for the
aforementioned philanthropy training. And yet a
third scene could be set as a coral reef to provide
training to park rangers on the impacts of reef
degradation and over fishing. The possibilities are
almost endless as instructional designers incorpo-
rate other tools and resources found within Second
Life to create even more scenes and provide more
realistic scenarios.
Collaboration and Peer Learning
The final affordance of Second Life that training
and development professionals should be aware
of is the social aspect Second Life allows for
collaboration, peer-learning and communication.
Put aside the immersive 3D environment and the
tools that have already been created in Second Life
and what you are left with is a user driven online
global society. Anyone with a computer who can
run the software and has an Internet connection,
preferably high-speed broadband, can access
Second Life in real-time. This allows for unfore-
seen collaboration between groups of people who
previously might not have had any contact with
each other. Indeed, in my own travels as Oaktree
Inglewood I regularly met with colleagues from
around the U.S., Australia, England, France and
Brazil (Figure 5). We were able to meet in person
and share ideas, discuss our current individual
projects and think of ways we can collaborate
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