Monthly Archives: May 2011

May 18 2011

As The Virtual World Evolves

Many virtual worlds require the downloading of a particular viewer to access the virtual world and to interact with it.  Some require nothing but the web, a browser and a current operating system.  Jibe is one of those worlds which I was able to visit recently.

Walking amongst giant chickens in JIbe. They clucked and pecked but I survived.

The look  is similar to OpenSim or Second Life and the feel is like these worlds in MouseView, kind of takes getting used to.  Creating in the environment seems less laborious than the virtual worlds  I typically visit.  The creation/building tool, available as a free add-on, is reminiscent of what you see in a typical graphics program.

A flat terrain in JIbe is "brushed" with hills.

Changing the terrain is as simple as painting with a digital brush. Adding a field of ferns was a s simple as dipping the brush into the “fern” paint and then brushing the terrain in with ferns.

Ferns "painted" into the terrain do not require individual placement.

I  got the feeling that the creation and building within this web-base world was simpler than in the virtual worlds requiring a special browser.  The interaction was not as smooth or easy for me.  It seemed a little unstable but impressive that any of it could be done on the web on my Macbook Pro in Safari.  Perhaps the potential lies in the limitations and lack of complexity.

The Jibe Tools.

The registration was simple (name and password),  avatar selections are reasonable and there is an asset store with objects for free and for purchase.  The items can be imported into Jibe and placed, moved, and rotated as desired to complete the environment.

A Cart from the asset store is duplicated and added to the environment.

The simplified interaction and limited choices in this web-based world reminded me  of the new “basic” browser in Second Life.  Both types of virtual worlds are changing, maybe to accommodate an audience maybe to make a profit, maybe because people have a natural inclination to improve and change what they have.  For whatever reason, the end user will ultimately benefit.

May 10 2011
Gallery

Genetic Study via Virtual Pets and Plants

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Can the virtual world SL breedable pets such as  Meeroos and breedable plants such as Sibotanicals provide some opportunities to learn about biological and botanical genetics?  The breedables are an amusing addition to the virtual setting, as the scripting progresses, the concepts of DNA and … Continue reading →

May 5 2011

Geography Standards via Terraforming and Virtual Mapping

Forming continents, islands, mountains, valleys and rivers works with mashed potatoes, beach sand, mud in the back yard and pixels in the virtual world.  Terraforming physical landform characteristics including  mountains, valleys, rivers, oceans, lakes and beaches is as easy as a click with a mouse on the correct tool and then sliding or moving the mouse in a circular motion to raise, lower, flatten, roughen and smooth the land.

The terraforming tool options are basic and easy to understand

The size of the area as well as the strength of the tool is adjusted as desired.  A little practice in an empty “sandbox” is typically enough to get the “feel” for pressure and size attributes.  Adding Flora and fauna to the newly formed topography is an opportunity to learn about climate, elevations and ecosystems.

A map view of a sim on Reaction Grid

Geography standards include various elements of map reading.   Reading the maps in a virtual world and being able to zoom in provides not only the opportunity for recognizing the use of a legend, direction, location and distance, but also the ability to see  influences of hydrology and physical characteristics of a place.