CS 820 Spring 2009 - Classes 1 and 2

Greetings to our CS 820 Usability and Interaction class. Paul Thor and I are delighted to share this class with you.

We have met twice using Adobe Acrobat Connect (Breeze) and Second Life in April 2009. Our second SL class session was smooth as we moved from our Breeze discussion to building skills in Second Life.

Our first class focused on these Second Life skills:

• creating a Second Life account
• using voice in Second Life
• movement and camera controls
• introduction to the build menu
• introduction to sitting on objects (right click and sit/relax)
• tour of a device that rezzes new scenes (like a holodeck)

During our tour, we visited a coffee shop, the solar system, a Japanese tea room and we returned to the ground to remove and rebuild the castle in about 15 seconds or less. The tour device kept removing content too fast for comfort. *blinks and grins* I need to reset the scripts before we use it again.

During our second class, we used the Build button in the bottom center of the display to learn how to rez or create a primitive shape (called a prim), name our box, set the permissions for it, create a simple script, color it and take it into the inventory. We also noted how content that is returned to us is returned to the Lost and Found folder in the Inventory.

Our class building activities included:

• create a box
• name it using the General tab
• set the permissions to copy/mod/transfer
• used the Contents tab to create a New Script
• used the Texture Tab and color white icon to color the box
• copied our box using the shift key and one of the green, red or blue arrows
• used the shift key to left click both boxes
• used control L to link both boxes into a single object
  

Once we were finished editing the box, we clicked it and noted that it stated in the local chat log that the box was touched. This feature is handy for collecting automated measurements during usability tests.

With this script, we can collect a log that lists the interaction objects that are touched. In the preferences menu (ctrl P), and the Communicate tab, you can display the time in the chat log and store it for later use.

We also tested a student project from a past class. Students received a copy of the procedure for the test plan by touching a box that gave them a notecard with the test cases and instructions on it.

Notecards are Second Life content files that allow us to add text, and drag objects, images, landmarks and other content from the Inventory to the card for easy distribution.

As time progresses, we will examine different types of interfaces, how to texture your creations, how to prototype your class project and conduct usability tests with our class. In addition, you will receive freebie folders of content, including vehicles, tools, a touring HUD, a notecard with landmarks for visiting other sites, more texture folders, scripts, sounds and access to an online tool that writes scripts for you.

See you at the residency and online! *cheers*

CS 820 Class, Nov. 5th

After a wild week of classes, conferences and cool tools, I'm back online! *grins* This post serves as a record of this week's Second Life accomplishments in CS 820 and the plans for our next class.

Our Week 5 class began with a discussion of research and our analysis of the IAS Moodle. For Second Life skills, we studied camera controls and avatar movement. In addition to moving on ground, the class learned to fly and land!

We discussed the range of the text chat log (20-40 meters from your avatar) and the concept of spatialized voice over IP in Second Life.

Next, we reviewed virtual world physics via a simple collaboration activity. The students created spheres, enlarged them, made them physical and learned to pass objects between avatars.

To learn new 3D modeling skills in a virtual world, each student rendered a tube and learned to change its shape to create a one-prim stool, fountain and lamp. We learned to texture a single face of the project by using the Select Texture radio menu in the upper left corner of the build/edit menu.

Texturing the lamp led to a discussion of alternatives for horizontal and vertical repeats, a subject that we will reinforce in a later lesson. *grins* If you would like a copy of the lamp project, textures and instructions, left click the lamp sculpture at Acheron LV426 on the grass next to the castle.

We ended the class with a quick discussion of how to prototype our initial project ideas. My rough draft of the Security Control Interface Portal (SCIP) took about 5 minutes to model. The strength of 3D prototyping is that it gave the class a context for discussing alternative features, styles and behaviors.

For tomorrow's class, we are going to take student project ideas and model them, examining alternatives and planning textures. Our new virtual world building skills will include:

• Linking Objects
• Editing Linked Parts
• Setting Permissions
• Transfering objects

See you online! *waves*