Second Life in Hospitality Education

Meeting Held in Second Life

2009-01-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

On this site, there is a video about the Trend Micro meeting held in the Virtualis Convention Center in Second Life. It amazing how fast the technology is improving. Soon, we will be in the Holideck on the Starship Enterprise.

Virtualis Web Site

2008-11-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the new website for Virtualis, the virtual convention center in Second Life. http://www.mabventures.com/virtualis/index.html

Second Life Parody

2008-09-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is a riot: http://www.glumbert.com/media/secondlife

Virtual Jobs

2008-08-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

What will the workplace of the future look like? Will it be an extension of the present, with a physical office space and a team of workers, including telecommuters, temporary workers, and outsourced support staff, and the workers who work at the physical office space?

Second Life is truly an alternative version of reality, with convention centers (such as Virtualis) that host trade shows, schools, homes, dance clubs, concert venues, government buildings, stores, vacation spots, museums, theatres, counseling centers, and more. Many have quit their “real” jobs to work in this virtual world.Second Life is truly an alternative version of reality, with convention centers (such as Virtualis) that host trade shows, schools, homes, dance clubs, concert venues, government buildings, stores, vacation spots, museums, theatres, counseling centers, and more. Many have quit their “real” jobs to work in this virtual world.

Link.

Gambling may be banned in Second Life, but not gambling research

2008-07-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Gambling may be banned in Second Life, but not gambling research. Link.

Virtualis Video

2008-06-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

This is a great 3 minute video of Virtualis Convention Center in Second Life. Link.

Second Life on Cell Phones now a reality

2008-06-04T08:29:00.001-07:00

It is in beta, but it is available. Link

Education in Second Life

2008-06-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

Great article with links. Educators make good use of Second Life. Link.

Play YouTube Videos in Second Life

2008-05-31T12:12:00.001-07:00

Link.

3Dconnexion cap movie

2008-05-15T19:01:00.001-07:00

Second Life for Corporate America

2008-05-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

To save money in these tough times, universities, conference planners and global firms have started holding gatherings for far-flung employees and students in the online world known as Second Life. Link.

Academics Are Biggest Trailblazers in Virtual Worlds

2008-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

Co-Founder of Second Life Says Academics Are Biggest Trailblazers in Virtual Worlds. Link.

A new 3D "mouse" helps you to explore Second Life.

2008-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Using the SpaceNavigator (about $59 at 3dconnexion.com), you glide effortlessly through virtual spaces, eliminating the need for arrow and page up-and-down keys. Link.

Taxing Virtual Worlds

2008-04-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Back on April 1, Congress held its first hearing on virtual worlds, and no, it wasn't an April Fools prank. Warning: If the politicians can hold a hearing on it, then they can probably tax it too.

Uncle Sam is looking for more tax revenue streams. Link

Hands Free Second Life

2008-04-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Demos are underway for a hands-free interface for Second Life. Instead of being roped to a keyboard, motion based controls imbedded in 3D webcams track body gestures. There is a video clip on the site. Link.

Grand Opening of Virtualis - April 23, 24

2008-04-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Stuart Mann, dean of the Hotel College at UNLV, will be a featured presenter at the Grand Opening of the Virtualis Convention Center on Second Life. Link.

From Las Vegas to Hong Kong

2008-04-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I did a presentation from Las Vegas to a class in Hong Kong. They had a few avatars in the room, but 130 students were in a real classroom viewing it on a screen. The toughest part was figuring out that 10:30 am April 1 for them was 6:30 pm March 31 for me. I was able to easily click through the powerpoint slides. They said they could hear me clearly. I had to have them mute their microphones, as I was initially getting reverb feedback. There were about ten minutes for questions at the end of the session and the technology worked well.

SLED

2008-03-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Second Life for EDucators = SLED, which is a new blog for Second Life Educators.

Virtualis

2008-03-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some screen shots from the Virtualis Convention Center, which is having its Grand Opening on April 23 and 24. The two on the left are from a banquet setup in the Ballroom. The one on the right is in an open space learning environment set in a spectacular cave.

Virtual Visit

2008-02-22T10:48:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I spent three hours in Second Life with Paul Penfold from Hong Kong Polytech. Joining us were Dan Parks, Gloria Nelson and Mauri Collins.

Dan is the creator of the Meco Mansion (Meetings Community), and the Virtualis Convention Convention Center. Gloria is an event planner that has created a party yacht for Second Life events, complete with a fireworks display. Mauri is a technology instructional support person here at UNLV. Paul was in Hong Kong, Dan was in Vancouver, Gloria was in Wisconsin and Mauri and I were in Las Vegas. Using headphones, we could talk away - with no phone charges.

We first toured the Hong Kong Polytech academic building and the their virtual hotel, which is under construction. Very impressive. Then we took Paul through MeCo and Virtualis.

The three hours just zipped by as we were all so engrossed in what we were seeing and showing.

Email me at: patti.shock@unlv.edu if you would like to meet up in Second Life and see the wonderous opportunities that are there for education.

Using Slurls in Second Life

2008-02-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Slurls are direct links to specific places within Second Life. By clicking on a slurl, you don't have to login, find the place you want to go, then transport there. It is easier for people to find you if you give them a slurl to where you are. There is a tutorial included. Link.

Global Connections

2008-02-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things about Second Life is how it facilitates global connections. Link. In fact, tomorrow night I am meeting up with Paul Penfold from Hong Kong Polytech. He is going to give me a tour of their online campus and hotel, which are currently under construction. It will be 9 pm Thursday for me, and 8 am Friday for him. With my headset on, I will be conversing with him as we maneuver our avatars around - for free and with no phone to hold up to my ear. The Second Life environment is amazing. You have to experience it to understand it. The only constant in life is change. You have to keep ahead of the students.

Student Recruiting on Second Life

2008-02-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

Colleges conduct College Fairs in Second Life to recruit students. Link.

Second Life Gateway

2008-02-16T07:33:00.001-08:00

Boise State

2008-02-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a Second Life blog from Boise State. Link.

Hong Kong Polytech in Second Life

2008-02-16T06:44:00.004-08:00

Update: This is Paul Penfold's avatar, Paul Allendale and one of their buildings in Second Life. I have been there, so I know this is an accurate representation. The graphic at the top left is the hotel they are developing.

Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:26:51 +0800
From: "Paul Penfold"
Subject: [SLED] Instructional design help needed
To: educators@lists.secondlife.com

Dear colleagues:

Our School of Hotel & Tourism Management (from Hong Kong Polytechnic University) is building a cluster of four virtual hotels on an island in SL as a learning space to help students develop some generic skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership etc. We have almost built the infrastructure and now need to design some of the scenarios. *

http://slurl.com/secondlife/HKPolyUCampus/128/128/0

We have 2 classes and one project coming up in SL and are looking for instructional design help on a paid contract basis to help us develop a hotel management simulation which will include many of the operational, customer service and interpersonal interactions that take place in a real hotel environment.

1. a customer relationship management role-play with a class of 35 2nd year students - a management game in SL with various job roles tasks and interactions. One hour tutorial class. (1 April 2008)
2. a one hour or more tutorial class in Resort and Spa Management - Scenario still to be defined (1 April 2008) with 100 year 3 students
3. September 2008. We plan a sim that will enable students to take on job roles in the hotel and complete a variety of tasks or activities for which they can then be promoted, get paid LL$ and add to their career portfolio.

We plan for this to be available to all undergrad students in our School (around 1000). We need to define job roles, write customer roles, design tasks, quests and activities and provide a progression for students from entry level jobs to managers and supervisors who can hire and manage teams etc. It is quite a big task and we need help from now until the new semester
in Sept 2008.

If you are interested or know of graduate students or teachers to work on these please let me know and I will send a brief and we can discuss. Many thanks.

Paul Penfold aka Paul Allandale
Manager - Educational Development
School of Hotel & Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
(852) 2766-4092 hmpp@polyu.edu.hk
Skype: paulpenfold ICQ: 320-274-941
Wiki: http://shtmteacherswiki.pbwiki.com/ Message: 12

Cooking in Second Life

2008-02-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well, not exactly, but a good use for Second Life. Link. How could you do this with guest lecturers for your classes?

Second Life on an iPhone

2008-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Students will soon be able take Second Life classes from anywhere. There is a video clip. Link.

Virtual Campus Draws Students

2008-02-11T13:16:00.001-08:00

The virtual classroom. Link.

Virtual Hilton Garden Inn for Training

2008-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

Virtual Heroes has created Ultimate Team Play, a game-based simulation for Hilton Garden Inn to help train employees. Employees are put into a virtual Hilton Garden Inn and tasked with various tasks in differing scenarios while dealing with AI guests in a limited time. The results of the test are then measured according to Hilton's existing SALT (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking) system. "We're excited to introduce a game-based program to enhance training for team members as well as make it fun,"

Adrian Kurre, senior vice president, Hilton Garden Inn, said in a statement. "Ultimate Team Play allows our hotel team members to play their hotel specific role and show them how their various actions directly affect the guest and the hotel. Including SALT was key because it really emphasizes to the entire team that no matter what role they have or what job they do, each person ultimately affects the guest's overall hotel experience."

Inside the environment, staff go about their normal tasks (answering phones, checking guests in and out, etc.) and interact through a series of branching dialog trees. It's not as open-ended an evaluation as some other virtual environment training programs, but the staff will still have to adapt to different pre-set customer types.

"Ultimate Team Play leverages cutting-edge games-based technology in a realistic and immersive virtual Hilton Garden Inn environment where real-world hotel staff can further enhance their training and guest interaction," said Virtual Heroes founder and CEO Jerry Heneghan.

The program will be beta-tested in select Hilton Garden Inns with front desk workers. In January 2009 the program is set to roll out to all locations with positions for housekeeping, food and beverage, and engineering/maintenance as well

Virtual Restaurant in Second Life

2008-02-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a set of screen shots on Flickr that I took in Second Life of a restaurant/diner. It is too bad you can't see the flames flickering or the steam vapor. Link

Some Thoughts on Second Life

2008-02-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

I have been reading many articles on the web about Second Life, trying to wrap my brain around all of the possibilities. Second Life users can be categorized in a variety of ways.

You can categorize by the way they use the platform. Some will be there purely for entertainment and to play. Others will be there for commerce, selling virtual goods (avatar clothing, etc.) or as designers. And some will be there for education.

You can also categorize them as Resident or Tourist. Residents will spend the most time there, become immersed in the medium, make friends, social networks, etc. Tourists will just go there for a specific purpose - to take a class, to make a presentation, for a meeting, etc. Most will probably be tourists.

Don't wait until there is an event you want to attend to log in and create your avatar. Get going now, then when the event comes up, you will be good to go.

Once you register and download the software, you create your avatar and avatar name. Don't worry about how your avatar looks as you can make changes later. You can choose the first name of your avatar, but you must select your last name from a rotating list. (I was reading in one of the faqs that the only people that can use their real names are educators, but you have to apply - you can also do this later, if you wish). Some use FirstName SecondLife Name. If I had done that, I would be PattiShock Voom instead of Patti Voom.

This is a SLurl link directly to a special Orientation area for educators. (You have to have Second Life downloaded onto your computer). The regular Orientation Island is full of newbie kids and can be confusing as you learn how to move your avatar around.

I will soon be scheduling some online tutorials and posting here when I will be in Second Life. You can join me and I will show you the ropes. So, get your avatar ready.

Please post questions in the Comments area for discussion.

Second Life Events

2008-02-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a link from ISTE - The International Society for Technology in Education - that lists events for educators that you can attend on Second Life. Their Wiki site is free and you can collaborate with other educators.

This is my avatar sporting a new UNLV Tee Shirt

2008-02-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

Building a Hotel in Second Life

2008-02-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

This is a link to a one minute video showing a Second Life resident building a hotel in one hour. While you don't have to be a programmer to use Second Life (just like you don't have to know how to build a car to drive one), but it is interesting to see how things are built.

MeCo Mansion

2008-02-08T18:35:00.001-08:00

EdTech Island on Second Life (Revised)

2008-02-08T18:29:00.001-08:00

A brief introduction to Second Life

2008-02-08T18:25:00.001-08:00

How to Live in Second Life

2008-02-08T18:22:00.001-08:00

This is good. It is how to get started.

An Introduction to Second Life

2008-02-08T18:19:00.001-08:00

NMC Campus: Seriously Engaging

2008-02-08T18:09:00.001-08:00

Greater IBM and Second Life Video Introduction

2008-02-08T18:05:00.001-08:00

Second Life Strategies for Companies and Future Uses

2008-02-08T18:00:00.001-08:00

SJSU SLIS Second Life Campus

2008-02-08T17:58:00.001-08:00

Educational Uses of Second Life

2008-02-08T17:52:00.001-08:00

Ohio University Second Life Campus

2008-02-08T17:37:00.001-08:00

Introduction to Second Life

2008-02-08T17:36:00.001-08:00

Second Life Workshop in Las Vegas

2008-02-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

There will be a half-day workshop on Second Life at the Harrah's International Hospitality and Convention Summit. The Summit is scheduled for June 1-3, 2008 in Las Vegas.

Second Life Posts from my other blog.

2008-02-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

I started posting about Second Life on my Hospitality Educator's Blog. As Second Life posts started dominating that blog, I decided to branch off to this blog that will specialize in Second Life resources.

Here are links to my Second Life posts on the other blog:
Second Life
Intercontinental Hotels in Second Life
More on Second Life
Teaching with Blogs, Wikis and Second Life
Conducting Research on Second Life