Mesh Models and Alternate Viewers.

     I decided to experiment with alternate methods of building objects in Open Sim to see if there might be an easier way. For example the instructions on how to build a table seemed like alot to take in at first glance:

If I bought a real one from IKEA I don't think there'd be as many steps. I did find out that using some viewers it is possible to upload 3d mesh models created in Sketchup or other 3d modeling programs. This method may be just as complex, but it gives more freedom as to what can be created and could potentially be faster if one is already familiar with the modeling program.   

I decided on trying out the Firestorm Viewer because of it's mesh capabilities and cool name. After setting up Jokaydia grid on the viewer I was amazed by the view distance and clearer rendering capabilities compared to Imprudence.  

Next, I built a table using Sketchup. It took about 20 minutes.  

I was then able to import the table into Jokaydia.

There were some problems that I ran into. For instance, the Firestorm viewer does not allow for object physics in open sim for uploaded mesh models. This feature is essential for truly converting a mesh model to a "prim" in Open Sim. There may be a way to do this in another viewer, I just haven't found it yet. The object doesn't render entirely correctly or intersect with other Open Sim objects as successfully as had been hoped. 

Capitalism II Update

The students completed the Capitalism II simulation a few weeks ago to great success. In total it took about three class periods playing the game before students were successful in implementing a strategy that made their company money. Student's were ecstatic when their income number went from red to green. One student discovered that he could make money simply by trading stocks in other companies. It was great to hear students using economic vocabulary in context. The students were able to intuitively develop an understanding for complex terms by experiencing their meaning in real time. Students were actively discussing production and marketing strategies, they debated the causes of lost demand and affects on price of too much supply. They discussed what it meant for their city to be in a recession and learned the basics of the stock market.

Once students had begun the simulation I was met with some resistance toward completing the gradable assignments. These were tasks that required the application of what was learned while playing into a written analysis. Many students wrote little more than a sentence. These findings show that more scaffolding will be needed in the future to model what a proper response and analysis should look like.