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 August 23, 2012
Topic: “Can You Hear Me?” Voice in SL
Photos, by Grizzla. Please help us by joining 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 every 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: ~
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Today our discussion will focus on using AUDIO to communicate in SL.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: New SLers are often surprised that audio isn’t used more often,
Grizzla Pixelmaid: and more experienced SLers have varying degrees of difficulty using audio.
Grizzla Pixelmaid: When Philip Rosedale (founder & former CEO of Linden Lab) was interviewed at an SL event a few weeks ago,
Grizzla Pixelmaid: even HE had to relog due to audio problems!
Grizzla Pixelmaid: So today, I’d like to take this topic in two basic sections:
Claudia13 Rossini: lol
Grizzla Pixelmaid: First, let’s talk about the advantages & disadvantages of using voice or text to communicate in SL – how we decide when to use which -
Grizzla Pixelmaid: Then later on, let’s ask our questions and share our tricks for using audio in various settings.
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.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia) is Joe Essid, University of Richmond English & Writing Center, teaching with virtual worlds since 2007. I run simulations based on Poe’s House of Usher in SL and Jokaydia Grid.
Claudia13 Rossini: Claudia….still a builder
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): and fashion model
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Dan Holt, Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI. This fall semester, I’m teaching 2 sections of fy composition and a section of creative writing in SL.
Delenn Daines: Judy Kelly, Henry Ford Community college, Dearborn MI
David Stack (richmedia): David Stack, Deputy CIO, UW-Milwaukee
Beth Ghostraven: Beth, middle school librarian in Virginia, and learner of virtual environments
Galileo Zeplin: ed johnson, university system of Georgia
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Others?
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): New folks, don’t be shy -
Beth Ghostraven: Hi, Zo!
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Going once…
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): …going twice…
Zotarah Shepherd: Hi
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Hi Oro! Hi Zo!
Delenn Daines: Hi Zo, Hi Oro
Alfonso Perfferle (alfonso.perfferle): hi everybody
Oronoque Westland: hi everyone
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): We’re just introducing ourselves
Zotarah Shepherd: Hi Beth
Zotarah Shepherd: Hi Oro
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.
Second Life: Items successfully shared.
Zotarah Shepherd: Hi Grizz
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Well, let’s launch into our topic for today.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Is there anyone here who has not been in an SL gathering that uses audio in some form?
Oronoque Westland: Roberta Kilkenny, Hunter College, City University of New York. I teach Africana Studies and peer consult in Ed Tech.
Oronoque Westland: Non Profit Commons meetings are text only at all times
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): But it sounds (from the text-silence) like we’ve all been in gatherings that use audio.
Beth Ghostraven: yes
Zotarah Shepherd: yes
Galileo Zeplin: aye
Claudia13 Rossini: yup
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Is your experience generally good or bad?
David Stack (richmedia): Yes — I suppose that writing about talking, isn’t much stranger than talking about writing
Galileo Zeplin: heh
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): and less strange than talking about contemplative silence, but I digress…
David Stack (richmedia): I prefer audio when just listening, but not facile with using it to speak to the group.
Beth Ghostraven: mostly good–I’m hearing impaired, so it helps that I can adjust the volume
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Yes, and that we can adjust each individual’s volume level
Beth Ghostraven: plus usually the number of speakers is limited, with everyone else texting
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Using voice with a small group can be quicker especially if you have slow typists among you.
Beth Ghostraven: I’m really not comfortable speaking myself
Beth Ghostraven: @Dan yes
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): It works well for our voice meetings…(crossing fingers for next week when I’ll have a RL crowd watch VWER)
Beth Ghostraven: @Iggy what’s next week?
Delenn Daines: What is up with next week?
Galileo Zeplin: curiously, it’s possible for everyone to chat via text simultaneously…but in voice that would just be a mess
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Right. Even in a group of half a dozen, it can be confusing.
Claudia13 Rossini: it does tend to get messy at first…voice
Claudia13 Rossini: there are no good visual signals
Beth Ghostraven: yes, because the texts are separated
Galileo Zeplin: altho will admit that voice is good for a single presenter…allows more subtlety in that context
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): True, @Galileo, though some have a real problem with the cacophony of a text chat with a good number of participants!
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): And it’s obvious who is saying what
Beth Ghostraven: text is good because you can use @ to show who you’re replying to
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): I’m curious…if we have any gamers here who use voice. Does it work better in games with multiple speakers? Or is it as bad as in SL?
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): And–voice tends to be quicker with a speaker.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): My first couple of VWER meetings, I had a hard time keeping up with the speed of the chat, and the different conversations going on simultaneously.
Claudia13 Rossini: i used voice in Yahoo briefly Iggy….we had the same problems
David Stack (richmedia): Agrees with @Grizzla
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Chat history is my friend.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): That’s why I added in something about that, in my moderator introduction.
Delenn Daines: yes, i want chat history on my TV
Claudia13 Rossini: (i cheat….i’m a fast reader)
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): At least we can turn on subtitles for most things, Delenn 
Delenn Daines: he he
Beth Ghostraven: and as Claudia said before, you can scroll up to see what you missed
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): @Claudia, a friend played a mutliplayer game with teams of six or so…never mentioned the feedback issue we see or that you saw in Yahoo. I ‘ve had it in Skype conferences, however
GENESISLOVE Magic: it really helps on class to use typing if in case students didn’t catch something you said before, where as in voice, you would have to repeat yourself, but in a language class, it serves to use voice, when practice is needed.
David Stack (richmedia): I’m on a laptop and wish I could have an entire 2nd monitor for the text chat, but Singularity doesn’t support it.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): So let me try to summarize so far: voice is good because it’s faster than typing, and easier on the slow typists, but confusing if more than a handful of people are speaking.
Delenn Daines: sound good grizzla
Galileo Zeplin: good summary
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): It’s also really good when the sound of words is really important,
Claudia13 Rossini: actually, i find Skype works better for voice in SL then the SL voice….much fewer tech problems
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): like language learning, or reading one’s own writing in a writing class.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): I’ll add that when I’m in voice with a few others, I still get confused about – sort of, when it’s “safe” to speak, when I won’t be interrupting somebody else.
Claudia13 Rossini: nods to Griz
Galileo Zeplin: another factor might be variety of accents
Beth Ghostraven: yes, that happens to me on the phone in RL too
Claudia13 Rossini: oh god…looks at dear Kali
Oronoque Westland: voice is also good if you are vision challenged
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Voice is essential for my classes when students are giving each other feedback on their writing.
Kali Pizzaro: hi back
Kali Pizzaro: sorry was catching up
David Stack (richmedia): In RL we often draw a breath to indicate to the group we want to speak – usually isn’t picked up by the microphone
Zotarah Shepherd: Welcopme back Kali
Kali Pizzaro: I like the private call function i forget about it somethimes
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia) eagerly awaits returning from Scotland in 2013 with a Glaswegian accent
Kali Pizzaro: but means you can tp away and pop back but still chat
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid) wants one of those accents
Claudia13 Rossini: jeez
Kali Pizzaro: @Iggy aye ye wull
Zotarah Shepherd: I don’t think I have ever used a private or group IM in Voice
Kali Pizzaro: yes turn taking can be difficult in both text and voice
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Summarizing about using text chat: it’s easier to tell who is saying what, and to go back through the conversation if you missed something
Oronoque Westland awaits Igg’s report back on wearing kilts
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia) grins at Oro
Kali Pizzaro: i use the text chat to reflect on student decisions and so do they
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Text is better for larger groups – it sounds like we’re saying – but has the disadvantages of being visual, more difficult for slow typists
Oronoque Westland: the ISTE tour group has used Group chat with voice with mixed results
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): in the 1990s, we used a text-chat interface called Deadalus Interchange in class. Turn taking was very hard for students then…now it does not both them in similar environments
Delenn Daines: voice works well with the iste tour group, when the leader speaks and the participants text chat
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Text is also really valuable because of the transcript.
Claudia13 Rossini: i like using the history function of text….i can review something i didn’t understand or missed
Kali Pizzaro: yes
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Keep in mind what Sherry Turkle found in her study of teens and texting…voice is considered “interruptive” and too spontaneous, so texting is preferred.
Kali Pizzaro: stop to think what you are going to say
Kali Pizzaro: sometimes
Claudia13 Rossini: lol
Kali Pizzaro: 
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Very interesting! Is that a book, Iggy, or paper, or…?
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): bingo
Kali Pizzaro: sometimes folk aslo just don’t want to talk
Kali Pizzaro: me thinks
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): @Grizz from “Alone Together,” her latest book. John Lester, Pathfinder to us, is quoted a lot about robotics
Beth Ghostraven: @Iggy, I feel like that too
Kali Pizzaro: yeah not sure i agree with it all
Beth Ghostraven: with text you don’t get the inflections though
Claudia13 Rossini: i don’t mind talking…but i often find it much more tiring then text
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Some prefer voice, some prefer text.
Kali Pizzaro: HI Alpha
Claudia13 Rossini: but i know people who find text more tiring
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): I’ve thought about that, Beth… It’s funny, because most folks at VWER freely use emoticons, though in general they’re considered tacky in first-life
Kali Pizzaro: for small meeting or in world orientation i find voice better
Beth Ghostraven: @Grizzla they do help
Kali Pizzaro: especially if i am showing and tell
Claudia13 Rossini: (some of us find them tacky in SL as well)
Galileo Zeplin: 
Oronoque Westland: I prefer both for the accessibility
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Well, I was going to add that…
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): /me winks at Claudia
Claudia13 Rossini: but you knew i would
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): And if you have to use your hands, like building or moving about, voice is much more useful.
Claudia13 Rossini: laughs
Kali Pizzaro: emoticons can be important they have made my understanding of the data i have collected
David Stack (richmedia): At home we always watch movies with subtitles turned on. Voice with text is its own experience.
Claudia13 Rossini: and really complex subjects
Kali Pizzaro: easier
Beth Ghostraven: @Dan I hadn’t thought of that, you’re right
Kali Pizzaro: but you must understand them
Kali Pizzaro: hellooooooo
Kali Pizzaro:
Zotarah Shepherd: I like that using text only with students helps them type and read faster
Claudia13 Rossini: i don’t teach like most of you do…but when i need to explain something complex about building in VW’s…i actually revert to voice
Beth Ghostraven: @Zo are your students in SL or another format?
Kali Pizzaro: and what a lovely voice it is
Claudia13 Rossini: awwww
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid) has never heard Claudia’s voice
Claudia13 Rossini: it makes men faint Griz
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): “men faint at the sound of Claudia’s voice”
Kali Pizzaro: lol
Claudia13 Rossini: LOLOL
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia) drops dead in a swoon
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): No, it’s because she slugs them
Kali Pizzaro: no comment
Zotarah Shepherd: I used to teach on the teen grid and SL basics and building for ISTE.
Claudia13 Rossini: (we’re not sure if it’s fear or that it’s too sexy)
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): hee hee
Beth Ghostraven: I wish the teen grid still existed
Kali Pizzaro: so what about accents with voice
Kali Pizzaro: says the wee Scottish lassie
Beth Ghostraven: Are accents necessary?
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): I did find that it was MUCH easier to give tours of the Usher build with voice…but for the simulation, we all wanted text
Zotarah Shepherd: Gentle Heron has one of the sweetest voices I have heard in SL.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Oh I agree
Claudia13 Rossini: your accent is hard for me Kali….southern american accents i easily understand
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): especially when I had to be Madeline when no actress showed up!
Kali Pizzaro: i was told i have a lovely voice lol
David Stack (richmedia): Accents is why we watched Downton Abbey last night with subtitles turned on
Kali Pizzaro: must have been on my slow telephone voice
Zotarah Shepherd: I like listening to regional and foreign accents.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): @Zo, I should take you west of the Blue Ridge Mountains…it’s another world, linguistically, than valleys 20 miles east of them
Kali Pizzaro: yes some American accents i have found difficult
Zotarah Shepherd: /me smiles
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): OK I have a new question. How does each of us here, rate ourselves in use of SL audio? Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced – or whatever other word you want to use.
Kali Pizzaro: imtermediate
David Stack (richmedia): Absolute beginner
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): I had a hillbilly grandpa on mom’s side. Had that “high lonesome” sound you associate with Bill Monroe and bluegrass music
Zotarah Shepherd: Some acents in RL are hard to understand and on the phone tech instructions are often a challenge.
Delenn Daines: intermediate
Claudia13 Rossini: intermediate…my ‘voice’ settings on my Mac seen to work easily
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): intermediate
Zotarah Shepherd: I have seen Dragon used to translate text quite well in SL.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Intermediate for me – except I still cant get my danged bluetooth headset to work with SL.
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Intermediate/advanced. I’ve used it quite a bit with students.
Oronoque Westland: intermediate
Claudia13 Rossini: and except for Kali, occasionally, most accents i understand….probably a matter of exposure
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Yeah, Dan, I think you’ve used it with students probably more than any of the rest of us.
Oronoque Westland: growing up in a multilingual family and community, accents never seemed to be an issue
Zotarah Shepherd: I rarely use Voice myself in a VW, I mostly just listen and respond in text
Oronoque Westland: I was excused from speech class while at university because the tester said I did not have an African American accent
Delenn Daines: I like to hear a featured speaker in voice
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Agree
Oronoque Westland: when I told him that I had a German accent he wet his pants
Zotarah Shepherd: Yes I do as well Delenn
Claudia13 Rossini: lol
Delenn Daines: too funny oro
Zotarah Shepherd: hehe
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): bizarre
Oronoque Westland: I want to travel with Iggy…I love blue grass
Claudia13 Rossini: that’s like me, except i was excused from reading comprehension classes
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): It can be hard to understand some Appalachian folk, if you are not from the region.
Zotarah Shepherd: I can replicate most accents I hear. I was trained in acting classes. That helps me to understand accents as well.
Claudia13 Rossini: or your mother wasnÕt from NC
Oronoque Westland: in a sense accents get manifested in SL text as grammatical differences
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): So we’ve looked at the pros and cons of audio in SL, and how comfortable/experienced we are with it. Let’s share our questions and tips for optimal use of audio.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Sound check….always and early. And use the camera location for volume.
Claudia13 Rossini: test your voice settings ahead of time and allow at least 15 minutes before hand to retest
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Stereo headset is a must.
Kali Pizzaro: turn up individual volumes
Kali Pizzaro: or zoom in
Kali Pizzaro: to speaker
Oronoque Westland: when I teach in SL I use voice and a Speak Easy HUD for the text…it would take too long to train students in using voice to text in SL
Claudia13 Rossini: note what Griz said about Philip….even he had trouble
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): /me grins
Kali Pizzaro: yes Speakeasy is great
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Yeah, I felt much better about the problems I have with audio, when he had to relog
Zotarah Shepherd: Optimal use of Audio is when the ones using Voice is also transcribed in text immediately.
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//128/128/23
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): A good place to test your mic.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): what is SL voice called, Vivox?
Claudia13 Rossini: lol, he relogged like 3 times
Kali Pizzaro: yes
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): is there a better client?
Oronoque Westland: This is a great place to go to do a voice check — http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Voice%20Echo%20Canyon/128/128/23
Kali Pizzaro: skype and SL open is actually great lol but seems strange
Claudia13 Rossini: you mean viewer Iggy?
Kali Pizzaro: if only speaking to one
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Thanks, Oro…I’ll be sure that link is prominent in the transcript.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): I meant is there another client for voice, yes, that LL might employ instead.
Claudia13 Rossini: i’ve done skye and SL with 4 or 5 Kali…it holds up well
Oronoque Westland: at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Voice%20Echo%20Canyon/128/128/23 you can hear your own voice like you were a third party
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): What happens in those SL voice-check places? I’ve never heard about them.
Kali Pizzaro: sure Claudia
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): I use Skype as a back up.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): For the Treet TV shows they use Skype to record you for a show
Claudia13 Rossini: it’s VoIP isn’t it Iggy?
Kali Pizzaro: voice over internet protocol
Kali Pizzaro: voip
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): @Grizzla, Echo Canyon lets you hear your voice eched back to you.
Kali Pizzaro: ahhhh
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Vivox client is a form of voip, right? I’m out of my depth here.
Zotarah Shepherd: /me cringes
Kali Pizzaro: think so
Kali Pizzaro: not sure
Kali Pizzaro: David?
Claudia13 Rossini: oh man…another point….feedback from audio….
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): It’s really good to test at Voice Echo Canyon and make sure your mic is not too loud.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): and mics that are too hot
David Stack (richmedia): Yes its VOIP because you’re not talking on an old fashioned phone line, just the Internet
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): what he said
Claudia13 Rossini: we need Jonathan from Penn….he develops VoiP
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Those of you who get your students using voice – what steps do you take them through?
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Feedback from audio–you really don’t want to use mic/speakers from a laptop.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): but other clients for VOIP exisit…why Vivox here? http://www.vivox.com/
Oronoque Westland: my students must use a head set if they want to talk, to minimize feedback
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): headset, or at least headphones and laptop mic.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Here’s Vivox on why LL uses it: http://www.vivox.com/collateral/case-study-linden-lab.html
Claudia13 Rossini: and test test test
Kali Pizzaro: i use my iphone headset seems to work well
Oronoque Westland: if we use voice, it is best to come in-world before class time to do an audio check
Kali Pizzaro: i actually found that voice did not work but when i did a private voice call it did and then worked at local too
Kali Pizzaro: not sure if it was a one off
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Agreed, @Oro, and voice check when students/audience are there.
David Stack (richmedia): Does the number of listeners affect the reliability of voice? Are crashes more likely if the (silent) audience is larger?
Kali Pizzaro: sometimes of course it is a case of log off and back on
Oronoque Westland: yes, I get annoyed at SL conferences when the presenter waits until the last minute and has not done an air check
Oronoque Westland: yes, annoyed when they have pot but meant to type not
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): One thing I’ve wondered is – is it possible to balance different people’s audio levels, so one person isn’t hard to hear (usually me) and others aren’t blasting people away?
Claudia13 Rossini: i’ve never noticed any difference Dan…even in meetings of 60….
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): You know…when SL is available via Steam…I *think* those with Steam accounts can chat back and forth through that service, bypassing SL’s voice client
Beth Ghostraven: You can adjust an individual’s volume in SL by clicking on their profile
Claudia13 Rossini: Yes Gris…you can set audio levels seperately for each av
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): Or the voice settings button in your toolbar.
Zotarah Shepherd: I always use the voice sliders to regulate each speakers voice.
Claudia13 Rossini: i think that’s right Iggy…i see it on the JY sim all the time
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): True, as far as my own hearing goes. What I mean is, during a pre-meeting sound check, to try to balance out the levels of everyone who will be speaking – for the audience’s benefit
Oronoque Westland: Also, some prefer to set audio to be heard from camera position, others from avatar position…I prefer the latter but it does make a big difference in how you hear
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): yep…Steam uses the Silk audio codec, same as Skype: http://store.steampowered.com/news/5100/
Claudia13 Rossini: i don’t think you can actually do that Griz
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): So each listener doesn’t have to keep fiddling with the controls (assuming they know how to do that)
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): @iggy, I wonder if Silk can be directional as is the case with Vivox?
Zotarah Shepherd: Hi Birdie
Beth Ghostraven: @Griz, maybe that could be done in a sound check?
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): I usually prefer to hear from av position, as long as I can sit close enough. That way I can cam around, and sound level stays the same.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): My guess, Dan, is no. it’s a separate app at Steam and not within a game or virtual world Steam hosts
Kali Pizzaro: in prefernces you can adjust your own voice
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): That’s what I’d like to be able to do, Beth – I just don’t know quite how.
Beth Ghostraven: maybe if everyone goes to the Echo place?
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): which would mean more bandwidth when you are using SL…but I guess voice already means that.
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): I think that’s one thing about Vivox that makes it more immersive–the 3D quality of its directionality.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): Most games involve lots of running and combat, so directional voice would not be optimal for teams
Oronoque Westland: @Grizzla, I am not sure that you can get a group of speakers all at the same level, but you should be able to “normalize” everyone so long as they arrive a bit early to do the sound check
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): The key for normalizing is for speakers to watch their white dot over the avatar’s head. Too much red, too hot.
Oronoque Westland: some of us are naturally hot
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): lol
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid):
Claudia13 Rossini: lol
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): /me grins
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): That goes without saying
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): We have about 5 minutes left… any other burning (hot) questions or advice?
Oronoque Westland: I like conferences where there are pointers given to speakers on how to do these things best…some speakers are ill prepared without a bit of advance help
Claudia13 Rossini: yes, my advice…when your mother tells you that you’ll need to learn to type….take her advice and learn
GENESISLOVE Magic: hello, I teach in rl ESL, how can I convince our organization that SL is a great tool to use teaching ESL for adults?
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): With students, if voice is essential, make sure you have a back up, like Skype.
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): 14 on sim, for the transcript
Claudia13 Rossini: that’s smart Dan
Beth Ghostraven: with technology, always make sure there’s a backup! 
)
Oronoque Westland: @GENES, there are some great language teachers in SL you might want to contact about that…AJ has one on his campus
GENESISLOVE Magic: thanks
Oronoque Westland: sorry I cannot be more specific
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): @Genesis, show them one of these meetings
Birdie Newcomb: Virtlantis might be a place to start with ESL
Claudia13 Rossini: and SL is like any computer tool….it has it’s pluses….and a few minuses
Zotarah Shepherd: The best language teaching I have seen in SL is students talking and roleplaying in text or voice with native speakers that would not be possible or affordable in RL.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Yes, Genes, get yourself very familiar with what is already being done – and also be prepared to help folks in your organization use avatars, in as simple a way possible -
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): -because without experience in SL, they won’t “get” it.
Claudia13 Rossini: exactly Griz
David Stack (richmedia): ESL in Second Life: http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/l-slife.htm
GENESISLOVE Magic: thanks Grizzla good to know
Kali Pizzaro: Thanks david was about to go get that
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Before people start heading out, let me tell you about next week…
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Next week is a very special meeting: AJ will interview Tom Boellstorff and Celia Pearce, authors of _Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method_.
Oronoque Westland: @Grizzla, my preference when I want to convince an admin type about SL is to use a machinima…you do not want the Linden needs to relog 3 times problem to pop up
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): wooot
Iggy (ignatius.onomatopoeia): in voice too
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): It will be an interview in voice, and will be held in the formal auditorium on the other side.
Zotarah Shepherd: If they are still in SL take them to Language Lab for a tour too.
Kali Pizzaro: with transcription for the transcript and the hard of hearing
Kali Pizzaro: at our meetings
Prof. Dan (profdan.netizen): If you’ve never heard Boellstorff, you’re in for a treat–always interesting.
Grizzla (grizzla.pixelmaid): Yes indeedy, with advance thanks to the transcribers
Claudia13 Rossini: he is a great speaker
