VWER Meeting Transcripts by Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.vwer.org.
Transcript of the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable
July 26, 2012 Topic: Avatars
Photos by Grizzla. Join our VWER groups at Flickr and Koinup to add your own pictures!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Hi everyone and welcome to the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Before we begin today’s discussion, here’s some basic info about VWER meetings:
Grizzla Pixelmaid: This is a forum to educate and inform about virtual worlds issues that are important and relevant to education.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Each week we get a wide variety of educators, from seasoned veterans to the newly-rezzed.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We meet here each Thursday on the virtual campus of Bowling Green State University, from 11:30-12:30 pm SLT.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: (SLT = “Second Life Time, which is the same as U.S. Pacific time).
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We’ve met every week since March 2008.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Roundtable discussions are held in TEXT chat, not voice chat.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: If you’re new to VWER meetings, be aware that the text chat can run pretty quickly.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Don’t worry if it takes you awhile to get used to two or three conversations going on simultaneously.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: If you make a comment or ask a question that isn’t acknowledged, don’t take it personally;
Grizzla Pixelmaid: unfortunately, good contributions are sometimes inadvertently overlooked when chat is moving fast.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: If that happens to you, don’t be shy to say the same thing again
Grizzla Pixelmaid: – or IM me and I’ll find a break so I can make sure your important question/comment is addressed.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: This is a public meeting, so we keep and publish a transcript of what is said in local chat.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Transcripts from all previous meetings are at our website: http://www.vwer.org – select the LIBRARY tab at the top.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We have some groups you are welcome to join!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We love to include members’ photos in the published transcript, so please take pix today and post them to the VWER groups on either Flickr or Koinup.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Check out the Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable group in Second Life and our group on Facebook.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Follow us on Twitter @VWER:
Grizzla Pixelmaid: When you blog or tweet, please remember to include the hashtag #VWER.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: OK, that’s it for the general announcements.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Today our discussion will focus on AVATARS.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: In SL, your avatar can look like almost anything you want.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Some of us have avatars that look and dress very much like our first-life selves, others not at all, some choose non-human avatars.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: How much does – or “should” – our choices be influenced by our purpose for being in virtual worlds (ie, for education)?
Grizzla Pixelmaid: I expect it’ll be a fun discussion!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Now‚ we always begin by introducing ourselves, and if this is your first time here, please say so, so we can take good care of you.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Everyone can type at once!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: I’m Chris Robinson, “Virtual Assistant” in the Office of Educational Technology for Georgia Gwinnett College in metro Atlanta.
JeanClaude Vollmar: I’m Jeff Le Blanc from the University of Northwestern Ohio. I’m their VP for IT.
Profdan Netizen: Dan Holt, Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI. Yay, for summer! Fall semester, I’m teaching 2 sections of first year composition, a section of creative writing, and a section of novel writing in SL, if all four fill, that is!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Please join us around the table, folks! It’s a casual group; you can leave early if you need to.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Joe Essid, U Richmond Writing Center, proprietor of the Virtual House of Usher, layabout and loafer
Zotarah Shepherd: I am working on an MA in Education Technology at Sonoma State University in northern California. I finished all my classes. My Thesis project: Teaching and Learning Life Awareness & Success Skills in Virtual Worlds.
Grizzla Pixelmaid applauds grad students
Galileo Zeplin: Ed Johnson, Information Technology Services, Board of Regents, University System of Georgia
Grizzla Pixelmaid: My neighbor! (sort of)
Karelia Kondor: Helen Myers, Languages teacher, The Ashcombe School, Dorking UK
ArthurConan Doyle: I am a retired teacher and own Alice Academy mostly for the benefit of the U of Oregon where I volunteer my time.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Anybody else? Don’t be shy – and do let us know if it’s your first time here.
Kali Pizzaro: Evelyn McElhinney RN, Lecturer, doctoral student Glasgow Caledonian University
Wolwaner Jervil: I’m Harald Schwarzmuller, Austria, retired and sometimes giving educational classes to seniors in RL and to Groups in SL. I never was a teacher, but gave instructions and Workshops to customers during my active time
JerryBuchko: Hello. Jerry Buchko, Counselor, Coach & Tutor of Personal Finance in private practice.
ArthurConan Doyle: First time.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Arthur, special welcome! Glad you can join us.
Kali Pizzaro: 
ArthurConan Doyle: Thanks
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Anybody else need to introduce themselves? Going… going…
Wolwaner Jervil knows himself already
Ewan Bonham: I am ewan bonham- teach social work art a state U. in SW Fl..
Grizzla Pixelmaid: OK, quick question. How many of us have changed our avs significantly, since we first rezzed in SL?
Kali Pizzaro: nope
JerryBuchko raises hand.
Kali Pizzaro: look like me
JerryBuchko: Yes.
Ewan Bonham: raise hand
Wolwaner Jervile raises hand
Lanne Wise: not that much -
Ignatius Onomatopoeia raises his hand “Added the dreads. Otherwise, this is me at 35″
Lanne Wise: just upgraded from noob status
Profdan Netizen: Not much here.
ArthurConan Doyle: I just keep getting new ones for different settings.
Zotarah Shepherd: Appearance is in SL or RL is a visual form of communication. It tells something about you, so what do you want people to think?
Wolwaner Jervil: I tested many avatars, but finally came to this one
Karelia Kondor: same freebie skin, but bought hair
Karelia Kondor: and clothes
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Even the T-shirts are ones I own and photographed. I’m an edupunk IRL and a nerdy guy…so Iggy should communicate that edge
Grizzla Pixelmaid: For me, this is what my ed avatar has always looked like – my artist sister worked with me on it when I created it. I have a personal av that looks more like FL me
JerryBuchko: @Zo, I agree.. it’s a variation of the same kind of visual signaling people do in the rest of RL.
ArthurConan Doyle: I was a literature teacher and AC Doyle junkie.
Galileo Zeplin: probably wise to keep work avi separate from personal avi
Zotarah Shepherd nods
Lanne Wise: I don’t keep mine separate…..I have an avi that I feel comfortable in – and that is where I start from.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Agree. Not that I act differently with either av, but this one represents my college.
Zotarah Shepherd: I have other accounts for things like roleplay and fun.
JerryBuchko: So, what about the value of congruency of self across one’s life?
Lanne Wise: what about it?
Kali Pizzaro: i have this avi but i tell my students to create another if they want to use sl as a social network tool
Zotarah Shepherd: Good Kali
JerryBuchko: Well, common wisdom says better to keep my personal self & work selves separate…
Ewan Bonham: i have 2 avis.. just for that reason
Profdan Netizen: I want students to be comfortable around me, casual, and for my avi not to be too much more highly developed than their noobie avies. Also–add to much to your avatar, and could have some lag with a group of students.
JerryBuchko: are we so certain that is the healthiest option?
Galileo Zeplin: sl is somewhat like any social media….in that whatever you say and do is recorded somewhere…and can come back to haunt you
Kali Pizzaro:
Lanne Wise: I only have one physical avi — and I keep my personal and work things separate….
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Kali, we do something similar. Our students use a college av (which they can modify) for classwork, but we ask them to create a personal av if they want to use SL for non-class activities.
JerryBuchko: @Galileo, But also what you don’t say or do is also recorded… 
Galileo Zeplin: aye
Profdan Netizen: I don’t tell students how to “dress” here any more than I do in f2f. I only ask that their avi be somewhat sentient (don’t want vehicle avis).
Grizzla Pixelmaid grins
Lanne Wise: I agree with you Dan. I leave it up to them.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We ask them to follow the basic campus dress code w their av clothing choices.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Most of mine worked really hard to make their avatars look like their RL selves…I had to loan them Lindens to help out
Karelia Kondor: Mine can do what they like for avatars
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Aw that’s cool
Zotarah Shepherd: Our appearance and our profiles should reflect our professional image as educators.
Profdan Netizen: I’m not sure we even have a campus dress code, but making it consistent between the two makes sense, Grizzla.
ArthurConan Doyle: We have a strict “no weapons” rule.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: I’m not faculty, so I created my av to look more like a student
Lanne Wise: I think that depends on how you define “professional self” Z – tell me more about that.
Kali Pizzaro: it would be interesting to ask the students what they think
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Good question, Lanne
Kali Pizzaro: I ask for my research about the healthcare avi presenting health info —but you will need to wait for the publication for the findings lol
Kali Pizzaro: :-0
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Arthur, I’m giving in on that, for the Usher sim. The students all wanted more danger, including injury or death, in the simulation. So I’ll have a few weapons around
Zotarah Shepherd: Professional image would be consistent with how we would dress in RL for teaching a class presenting a training – if that is what we do in RL.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: But then I only use virtual worlds now for a one-shot simulation, not exploring beyond it as I used to do.
Ewan Bonham: There is the whole question of remaining rather private..
Zotarah Shepherd: And I have seen RL professors teach class in jeans and t-shirts too
Lanne Wise: I teach at a college of art and design – and work in a studio alongside students…..our dress is pretty “casual” and I am sure wouldn’t be considered professional by many
Ewan Bonham: So students don’t know all that we are up to..:)
Ignatius Onomatopoeia nods to Zo. I put Iggy in a suit for class events.
Kali Pizzaro: yeah but it fits the course you are teaching@lanne
ArthurConan Doyle: @iggy, if it fits the class and the setting, why not? If we were studying WWI poetry we ask them to wear the uniform provided.
Lanne Wise: yes
Zotarah Shepherd: What do we want to keep private and what do we want to reveal?
Kali Pizzaro: you can still look smart but casual
Karelia Kondor: I have just cone from a Jane Austen Book Club event
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Depends on the school, Kali. We are formal at Richmond, and I often wear coat and tie to class.
Kali Pizzaro: sometimes i am really smart sometime a combination or if no students in maybe casual specifically
Kali Pizzaro: ha
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Yes, like Kali said, I think a lot depends on who your students are.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: if it’s a good day, I remember to wear pants.
Lanne Wise: LOL
Kali Pizzaro: yeah we are trying to prepare professionals – nurses so……
Zotarah Shepherd: If I had a class where we were going to roleplay a period of history it adds to the feeling of being there when we dress in the clothes of that period.
Profdan Netizen: And we’re much more casual, Iggy. I used to wear a tie at LCC but found students became much more closed, intimidated, than when I didn’t wear a tie.
Kali Pizzaro: sure Zo
Wolwaner Jervil: I always tried to show my personal wants in such cases – so students know what to expect from me
Kali Pizzaro: or if we want them in uniform
Profdan Netizen: Didn’t have to twist my arm, though, to drop the tie!!!
Kali Pizzaro: lol
Galileo Zeplin: heh
JerryBuchko:
Grizzla Pixelmaid:
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Dan, we’d get poor student evals if we were too casual. They pay 53K a year in part to get Mr. Chips, the poor waifs.
Karelia Kondor: I liked the idea of asking the students ….
Profdan Netizen: lol, well, you are in the South!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Kar, what specifically did you ask them?
Karelia Kondor: I reckon mine (11-18) would really respond well to an avatar like Text Timeless!
Kali Pizzaro: yeah we might be surprised at what they say.
Karelia Kondor: You look great!!!
Kali Pizzaro: said ask the students what they think?
Text Timeless: Thanks!
Zotarah Shepherd: It is interesting to see how we relate to different clothes. Why would a certain look mean something specific – like the tie?
JerryBuchko: Social signaling
Zotarah Shepherd: How did these forms of dress take on meaning?
Zotarah Shepherd: Yes Jerry
JerryBuchko: A tie has no meaning outside of a specific social context
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I’ll post to the chat and transcript a URL for a faculty member at a school in Texas. He used SL to teach business etiquette (dining, dressing professionally)
Grizzla Pixelmaid: It does depend on the students & their familiarity w SL, though, I think. Last Halloween I was taking some students around, with my human av but some Halloween attire, and it freaked some of them out.
Kali Pizzaro: what about an animal or robot avatar would you choose that
JerryBuchko: When I wear a suit & tie and walk into a retail establishment, I become “Hello, Sir!”
JerryBuchko:
Zotarah Shepherd: How we relate to dress is social custom to be sure but I think there is also a psychological component to it.
JerryBuchko: When I appear in my normal clothes… I’m “Hey!”
Zotarah Shepherd: Psychology of color and design
Grizzla Pixelmaid: There’s some content about business etiquette at the vushi sim, too
cyber Placebo: most of my female students like choosing among the animals for their first av
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Here it is from 2009 http://iggyo.blogspot.com/2009/03/teaching-etiquette-in-virtual-world.html
Alvestra Karu: Clothing gives a signal as to job or function
Grizzla Pixelmaid tries to figure out what Cybere’s clothing signals about her function…
JerryBuchko: Yes, it communicates a certain meaning and affiliation with a certain set of norms & values.
cyber Placebo: @ alvestra only to the newbies I believe
JerryBuchko: Irrespective of whether one actually holds those norms & values…
ArthurConan Doyle: @cybere – Always like to see some on on the cutting edge.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I have not talked to the prof, Chris Gibson, since 2009 so I don’t know if that project continues, but students liked how it eases the discomfort of the interview luncheon
Lanne Wise: creative – risk taker – that is what I think when I see cybere!
JerryBuchko: Again the relationship between self & presentation of self
JerryBuchko: …
JerryBuchko: but we respond to these signals just the same…
Kali Pizzaro: indeed Jerry
cyber Placebo: Thanks Lanne ^^ I spend a lot of time looking for new outfits to play with, for language learners it is a must!
Zotarah Shepherd: I like to see creative originality of appearance in SL or in RL for that matter.
Kali Pizzaro: I am boring
Kali Pizzaro: lol
Lanne Wise: I can see that
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: LOL yeah, right Ev
Grizzla Pixelmaid: My approach, so far, has been to usually dress in a whimsical way – encourage our newbies to have fun. Although I tone it down when I’m moderating here.
Kali Pizzaro: might change the colour of my shirt thanks Lanne tut
Kali Pizzaro: hehe
Zotarah Shepherd: I also like to see appearance as a sort of image branding. Some wear the same thing always.
Lanne Wise: ahah
cyber Placebo: ^^^
Wolwaner Jervil: I always focused on content rather than look – so my appearance didn’t matter, nor do others’ appearance to me
Lanne Wise: yes….that is also an interesting choice…to wear the same thing.
Kali Pizzaro: interesting point Wol
Wolwaner Jervil: and talking about content – content of presented material as well as “content” of persons – who they are and how they interact
cyber Placebo: depending on the culture of your audience as well
Grizzla Pixelmaid: My sister was an SL clothing designer, so Grizzla has maintained that appreciation of SL fashion, for fun.
Kali Pizzaro: JeanClaude! woooo
JeanClaude Vollmar: Sorry ’bout that.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Maybe it was just our image-conscious students here, Wol. But a colleague who did that in SL was not taken as seriously by students as was my avatar, dreads and all. It was as if I had clearly spent more time “perfecting my look” which matters so much to my students IRL.
cyber Placebo: and the areas you take your students too
Kali Pizzaro: i am disappointed if Iggy changes
Zotarah Shepherd: When you say only class content matters and dress does not matter, you are saying visual social cues do not matter.
Kali Pizzaro: I have grown to love his look
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I have new glasses now
JerryBuchko: I think this issue of content & presentation gets close to this issue people wrestle with about how “real” virtual people & their relationships might be….
Profdan Netizen: And how connected residents are to their avis.
JerryBuchko: Yes
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Jerry, I think Celia Pearce writes about that in her book (just got a copy) on play. The There.com avatars were critiqued by users for being too “cartoony” and I agree—they look like IMVU dolls
Wolwaner Jervil: @Zotarah: I saw lots of “visual social clues” misleading people – maybe because I’m not a professional teacher and my students are people who need the knowledge for their job
Profdan Netizen: I’ve found that students who take time to alter their avis are more immersed than those who don’t.
Kali Pizzaro: indeed Jerry what is real?
Kali Pizzaro: what is identity?
Kali Pizzaro:
Kali Pizzaro: ohhhhh
Galileo Zeplin: do newbies assume a closer relationship between avis they see and the rl people behind them?
Lanne Wise: visual clues can mislead people in either life……and I think we do this in all kinds of ways.
Kali Pizzaro: can i ask – what about the name do you think that matters? Do you make a judgement based on it?
JerryBuchko: @Kali, Well, yes… without floating too far into the ether I think it’s an extension of the same question, for example, about how “real” our work relationships are… but we just don’t tend to question those particular relationships.
Zotarah Shepherd: I think consistency with the impression we want people to have of us is important and not be misleading.
cyber Placebo: @Dan agree
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Kali, do you mean someone’s choice of av name?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Thank you, Socrates Pizzaro, for that show-stopper Q
Kali Pizzaro: yes
cyber Placebo: in my Spanish class we have a couple of twins, and it is confusing
cyber Placebo: we will see how long it will take them to decide changing jackets
Grizzla Pixelmaid: I’ll turn the question to Kali – since your real name is Evelyn, where did Kali come from?
Kali Pizzaro: ah Grizzla that is my dog
Grizzla Pixelmaid: LOL! I always wondered.
ArthurConan Doyle: Back to our inservice teachers we encourage them to use some variant of their real name for their “professional” avatar.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: As I just told Kali in IM, we spend a LOT of time in my History of Cyberspace class debating “reality.” Facebook profiles are, IMHO, about as real as many avatars here
Lanne Wise: agrees with iggy.
JerryBuchko: @Iggy, LOL agreed
Grizzla Pixelmaid: My av’s name comes from our mascot (the grizzly)
Zotarah Shepherd: When we create our first name in SL we might not know that we cannot change it. And we used to have to choose a last name from a list. Now avatars all have the last name “Resident” and we can change our display names too.
Kali Pizzaro: kalimar goddess of destruction lol
Graham Mills: I assumed it was Cally
Galileo Zeplin: seems to have been some shift in naming conventions….at one time, you had to use a linden provided surname…but now you can use any display name, and change it at will
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Even if at FB you have actual photos of flesh-and-blood you, you choose what to reveal.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Even ftf we choose what to reveal.
Kali Pizzaro: no Graham slap
Ignatius Onomatopoeia grins
JerryBuchko: @Iggy, So it’s a form of personal marketing…
Zotarah Shepherd: Yes Jerry
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Jerry, yes. It’s self-casting with social media
Zotarah Shepherd: for everyone it is
JerryBuchko: Do we assume the marketing image reflects the real person?
Graham Mills: How does your dog feel about you appropriating its name — does he play you in SL?
Kali Pizzaro: she
Kali Pizzaro:
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: An idealized version of the self, sure
Zotarah Shepherd: It all reflects at least some part of us
Graham Mills: not being genderist here
Kali Pizzaro: she only is annoyed when we use voice and someone says kali every two mins
JerryBuchko: The part that’s acceptable to the social market…
Lanne Wise: that very term….real person….confuses me. part of us as Z says.
Kali Pizzaro: the poor thing is confused
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Plato’s Cave still in SL?
Kali Pizzaro: exactly lanne
Galileo Zeplin: nice analogy, iggy
Kali Pizzaro: is there a virtual identity or is it all an extension of the self
Kali Pizzaro:
Zotarah Shepherd: pfft I wish I was as slender and young looking as my avatar. I asume all avatars are some sort of ideal or expression not possible in RL
Profdan Netizen: lol, Kali. I have an alt using my dog’s name.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: the cave is at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teaching%203/85/206/23
Kali Pizzaro: do we have multiple identity for different social situations
Kali Pizzaro: Dan
Zotarah Shepherd: I do
JerryBuchko: Plato’s cave is a good reference… on a certain level I think all we ever have to work with is relating to our abstractions of one another…
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Many people’s avs are their ideals, I think – but others find great importance in not looking Barbie-ish/Ken-ish
Lanne Wise: I invite you to look at my profile statement – the quote by Anais Nin….it is how I introduce students to thinking about the self in SL.
[Editor's note: The quote is as follows: "We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations." — Anaïs Nin]
Wolwaner Jervil: I use multiple avatars as well as multiple layouts of the avatars depending on the situation
JeanClaude Vollmar: I think we do Kali. Don’t you all go into baby talk mode of sorts when dealing with children?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Well, I’m doing a combat RP game in SL, so I created an ALT to cut up other rascals with his sword
Zotarah Shepherd: All my avatars are different to explore different expressions and parts of my personality.
Alvestra Karu: Same here, Z
Alvestra Karu: I find folks are more likely to talk to my female avi than my male one.
Kali Pizzaro: interesting point jeanClaude
JeanClaude Vollmar: I think I act differently in different situations. But they are all an extension of me.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Our member Viv Trafalgar will, I hope, write a chapter on ALTs for a book proposal I’m pulling together about agency and influence in online communities. It’s a fascinating topic.
Kali Pizzaro:
cyber Placebo: @iggy please do share outcomes
JerryBuchko: @Alvestra, Yes… an example of how visual signaling affects the behavior of others.
Zotarah Shepherd: It reminds me of the exercise in Social Psychology class where we pretended to be someone different in public to see if there was a difference in people’s reactions and what that taught us about ourselves and others.
Graham Mills: Maybe the Association for Learning Technology would publish it
Galileo Zeplin: the anonymity of sl is significant in our attitude about alts….other vw’s, e.g. cloud party (tied to facebook), take a different approach
Lanne Wise: nice Z
Profdan Netizen: One semester, near the end just before we were going to meet IRL, a couple of students came up to me in SL and said, “Now you do realize, we don’t look anything like our avatars!”
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Cybere, we will for some writers, but it’s not a book primarily about virtual worlds. My research interests are “moving on” a bit
JerryBuchko: @Zo, And how was that experience?
cyber Placebo: @ iggy even better!!!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: It’s a pity Wren isn’t here today. Her av looks so much like her FL self, it’s uncanny.
Zotarah Shepherd: The biggest mask in SL is to never change from the default avatars we are given when we start.
Karelia Kondor: I usually have pink hair in sl and wore a pink mesh to meet some sl friends in RL .. I was treated very very differently during my journey!
Karelia Kondor: (remember Cybere?!)
cyber Placebo: Were you? did I?
cyber Placebo: differently?
JeanClaude Vollmar: @Grizzla, I tried to do one like me, but just didn’t have that artistic slant to get it right. So I used a boxed one.
Zotarah Shepherd: The whole class had revelations about society and themselves Jerry
cyber Placebo: @ I simply loved it K
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Doing a week or more of changing gender or race is an amazing assignment
ArthurConan Doyle: I was stuck on historical avatars for some time and collected quite a few. I still bring them out from time to time. ACD owns so many things I cannot function without him.
Grizzla Pixelmaid quickly changes into her mini-psychopath av
cyber Placebo: I must admit that my outfit extravaganza on Sl has also helped me get wild in RL
cyber Placebo: away from the jeans and boots
Galileo Zeplin: hehe grizzla
Alvestra Karu: I love my pirate drag
JerryBuchko:
Kali Pizzaro: interesting so a bi-directional behaviour change from virtual to physical
cyber Placebo: People tell me I look my avatar, imagine that, they have no idea
Kali Pizzaro: mmmm
cyber Placebo: lol
Karelia Kondor: yes Kali
Lanne Wise:
Zotarah Shepherd: cute Grizz
JerryBuchko: @Kali, Yes.
JeanClaude Vollmar: @Grizzla, that’ one’s pretty creepy
Grizzla Pixelmaid: I talked Claudia into getting one too
Kali Pizzaro: Cybere what about the other way Cybere
Kali Pizzaro: sorry that is not clear
ArthurConan Doyle: How many have changed race or gender for a time?
cyber Placebo: @Kali I also have casual outfits
Galileo Zeplin: tinies are interesting topic in itself
cyber Placebo: I do
cyber Placebo: I have black avis and males
JerryBuchko: Jeremy Bailenson has a great talk about the research that looks at how avi experience affects RL behavior.
Kali Pizzaro: your avatar is fantastic I must say
cyber Placebo: (am caucasian female in RL)
Zotarah Shepherd: The new tinies and mesh avatars allow expanded possibilities for expression
Kali Pizzaro: yes Jerry
cyber Placebo: but no-one makes comments
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Yes, Jerry, that’s really interesting stuff
cyber Placebo: @ iggy I remember your making comments about racism a couple of years ago
JerryBuchko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvGyK6vKIPE
Text Timeless: …and don’t forget about fatism in SL. Marissa Racecourse did a great informal study on that a few years back.
ArthurConan Doyle: I was shocked how differently people I had known for quite a while treated my black avatar not knowing it was me.
JerryBuchko: @Text, Fatism?
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Text…YES! One of my students found that being an overweight avi led her to be ignored
Grizzla Pixelmaid: We’ve got about 10 min left, and I’m going to pop another question. What boundaries might we advise, around an educational avatar’s appearance? Are there specifics that we think should be out-of-bounds?
Text Timeless: Being ignored is probably a blessing; Marissa found that many fat avs were openly abused.
cyber Placebo: We need to think cultural, a lot of saudis for e.g. do not appreciate too much exhib, understandably
Alvestra Karu: Keep it low lag
Lanne Wise: ahaha Alvestra – yes
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Text, she’s an athletic black woman IRL and found the effect of being overweight led to a much stronger negative reaction than did her dark skin in SL…but instead of men trying to pick her up, they just ignored her. Everyone did.
Profdan Netizen: Agreed, Avestra.
Kali Pizzaro: keep it clean
JerryBuchko: Perhaps appearance that would not be expected to distract overly much from focusing on the lesson at hand…?
cyber Placebo: Well I have never been chatted up on SL either
Alvestra Karu: Agreed
Zotarah Shepherd: Willow Shenlin did her dissertation about social presence in SL. As much as we might not like it to be true, our visual cues in dress and expression count in education
Text Timeless: @Jerry, unless appearance (public performance of personality, etc.) is part of the lesson?
Profdan Netizen: No vehicle avis. I want something with face and limbs.
Kali Pizzaro: of it is a simulation then you may need uniforms
Graham Mills: I have a nice Paramecium avie — would really like a slime mould
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Yes, we have a Business School teacher here who makes them dress professionally for a class of his. They lose points for being casual, because in the workplace they must dress up.
JerryBuchko: @Text, Yes
Karelia Kondor: but if the student engages better as a vehicle?
cyber Placebo: @Zotrarah is Willow’s work shared online?
JerryBuchko: @Iggy, Professional indoctrination…
Kali Pizzaro: Gann mcCann Mark Childs also has written on this
Ignatius Onomatopoeia pouts at Dan, since I loved coming to VWER as a Mini-Cooper much like my RL car
Lanne Wise: vehicle-ism.
Zotarah Shepherd: She has some posted at CAVE. Look in her profile for more info.
Karelia Kondor: !!!!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Jerry, hey…yeah. but it’s Social-Darwinist market for new hires. Might as well prepare them.
Profdan Netizen: LOL, Iggy.
Lanne Wise:
Grizzla Pixelmaid: If it is assimilation, maybe we should dress as borgs?
JerryBuchko: @Iggy, LOL
Profdan Netizen: Ooh, time tog go looking for a borg avie!
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: My sense of rebellion has changed. Look like the Man so you can replace him. But I’ve a Nietzschean view of power
JerryBuchko: @Iggy, … also keeping in mind that there’s a set of values & other behaviors that come along with wearing that uniform…
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Graham seems to have turned into a cell…
JerryBuchko: … look like the Man… and end up becoming the Man
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: @Jerry, true. Power corrupts
Kali Pizzaro: that is what he looks like in rl
JerryBuchko: Some games can only be won by not playing…
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: Absolute power…rocks
JerryBuchko:
Kali Pizzaro: a mass of cells
Kali Pizzaro: hehe
Kali Pizzaro: coughs
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I got a pic of Graham for the transcript
Kali Pizzaro: ok folks i got to go this has been fab
cyber Placebo: sorry folks I need to get going (to work)
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: next week…another cool topic!
JerryBuchko: yes, ditto… great discussion
Kali Pizzaro: waves
cyber Placebo: (this time is hard for me to attend))
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: What would YOU include if you built a world from scratch?
Lanne Wise: thanks – was interesting
Karelia Kondor: thanks
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Yep, time to wrap up the official meeting, but feel free to stay and chat as long as you like
JerryBuchko: didn’t know quite what to expect. and pleasantly surprised
Ignatius Onomatopoeia: I’ll moderate next week, in a suit of course
