Teaching with SoaS

It's not unusual to hear educators say that their computers are not suitable to run virtual worlds. I suspect that idea comes from trying to use a virtual world like Second Life (SL) with a very taxing client like the official Linden Lab viewer. But are those same computers unsuitable to run Sim-on-a-Stick (SoaS)? To answer that question, I installed SoaS and Imprudence viewer on a USB drive and asked a friend to run SoaS on his 9 years old computer - the same computer on which he has always been unable to run SL using the official viewer: CPU: Intel Pentium III/Pentium III Xeon (0.25 micron process) with external L2 cache (2260 MHz) Memory: 2000 MB OS Version: Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Build 2600) Graphics Card: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family Windows Graphics Driver Version: 6.14.0010.5420 OpenGL Version: 2.1.0 - Build 6.14.10.5420 The result? SoaS worked. It was even possible to set graphics to High without crashing. So, is your comput...

Epic Castle (aka Alfea Castle, aka Epic Citadel) is a free OAR file that can be loaded into Sim-on-a-Stick. Educators have been using this sim to teach ESL at edMondo grid, but it could also be used to teach several other subjects, from history to spatial planning, literature, or even creative writing. The Epic Castle OAR file is currently available for download at 'Teaching with SoaS' FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/teachingwithSoaS/

As you can see, installing SoaS on a pen drive is not hard at all - just remember that, depending on the quality of the USB drive you're using, running SoaS on a thumb drive can make it quite slow. About the viewer:  if you're planning to upload a lot of mesh content, instead of old Imprudence, you might want to use her younger 'sister', Kokua. Make sure you've downloaded KokuaOS (the OpenSim version of this viewer) Setup file to the USB drive before running it.

Join Teaching with Sim-on-a-Stick group on Facebook: a group for all educators interested in teaching with Sim-on-a-Stick. This group was initially created for Camie Rembrandt's SLMOOC17 webinar: "Beyond Second Life: Creating and Saving Virtual Worlds Offline", June 17, 2017.

"Beyond Second Life: Creating and Saving Virtual Worlds Offline" Free Webinar for Educators Learn how to use virtual worlds in your classes, even when there's no Internet connection, or the school's firewall prevents you from accessing an online grid. This presentation/webinar will take place on Facebook. If you would like to participate, please join Teaching with SoaS group on FB . When: June 17, 2017 - 10 AM SLT / 17:00 UTC / 18:00 Lisbon Where: Teaching with SoaS Facebook Group URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/teachingwithSoaS/ This event is part of  #SLMOOC17