Yoko Yamamoto Summer 2009 University of Hawaii
Report 6 and 7 covers my process of decorations and my thoughts and feelings before the party and after the party. I will be reporting my difficulties and problems through my self-witnessing report. If the pictures are too small to see the details, please visit Avatar Psychology Platform, which you can teleport from second floor of the POST building in LILT. I will post pictures in power point presentations.
Self-witnessing
Reports:
1. Task: I was creating six signs for our platform, which you could access from the 2nd floor of POST building in LILT. I feel urgent to post the signs because LILT party is on this coming Wednesday and there might be some possible visitors to check out our platform.
2. Specific Problem: The problem I had was I could not rez two signs (out of six) on the platform. I was able to rez them until I hit the edge of the platform. I need to find way to complete putting out the last two signs. Do I need to make the platform bigger? Is it because of the location I am trying to put the signs are right next to the sky (very high in the sky)?
3. Type: Persistent
4. Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
Puzzled – 7
Frustrated – 9
Annoyed – 7
Hopeful of success – 9
Feeling helpless – 8
Irritated – 9
5. How long it took to solve the problem: gave up after spending 15 min staying in the platform (falling off from the platform, etc). Then, I met up with Monile and Amanda to discuss about decorations. Finally, I asked Monile if she knew why I couldn’t put the last signs and she helped me to put them up.
6. Emotions when the problem was solved: Even though the problem was solved, we still needed to re-connect each pieces of platform. It was hard for me to untie what was already completed and re-connect them. Especially when you are building, it takes a while to put all the pieces together. I always get an immediate relief when the problem was solved, yet I already knew that different problems could pop up anytime so my feelings of relief was only temporary.
Relief – 4
Boost in my self-confidence – 6
Hopeful about future – 5
1. Task:
Changing permissions of the signs
2. Specific
Problem: Changing permissions seem like an easy task, yet I found it bit
complicated. One of the thing is that I cannot make sure if I was successfully
changed the permission or not (because I am the owner and giving permissions to
others). Another thing made me confused was the small "key" sign,
which is displayed on the power point (I simply assumed that if I do not lock
the key, then other people are able to access to my power point).
3. Type:
Persistent and Urgent
4.
Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
puzzled - 8
frustrated - 10
annoyed - 7
hopeful of success - 6
pressure - 10
5. How
long it took to solve the problem: about two days. I got frustrated so I wanted
to ask someone for help and also thought that if I work was to work with a
partner, I could make sure if I complete the task successfully.
6.
Emotions when the problem was solved:
relief - 10
boost in my self-confidence - 10
hopeful about the future - 8
confidence of teaching the task to others
- 8
1. Task:
Displaying lights between trees. When I was creating objects or decorating the
place, I had trouble with clicking other objects that was surrounding myself. This may not sound like that complicated of a
task, yet when you are decorating small objects or wants to display things
accurately and in a perfect position, it really slows you down and annoys
you.
2.
Specific Problem: clicking on wrong objects while creating my own objects.
3. Type:
Persistent irritated
4.
Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
puzzled - 2
frustrated - 9
annoyed - 10
hopeful of success - 5
5. How
long it took to solve the problem: unsolvable.
6.
Emotions when the problem was solved:
When you are in the situation with this
sort of problem, it becomes a task that is hard to avoid so it basically forces
to get good at creating, decorating, building, and displaying the objects. I
consider this is a minor problem, yet it distracted me from decorating quickly
and it annoyed me a lot.
1. Task:
Displaying a big object in a crowded place. I was trying to rez a small house
in LILT, but the space I had had a small hill. When I tried to locate it, it
kept showing the top of the hill. I wanted to display it in that particular
spot, but I had to do it in different spot instead.
2.
Specific Problem: rezzing a object in a not flat ground space.
3. Type:
Irritation
4.
Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
Irritated - 10
puzzled - 8
frustrated - 9
annoyed - 10
hopeful of success - 1
5. How
long it took you to solve the problem: about 10 minutes
6.
Emotions when the problem was solved:
unsatisfied - 10
relief - 7
boost in my self-confidence - 1
hopeful about the future - 1
7.
Comments: I was not sure how to solve the problem because my task as a while is
to display LILT for the party so I do not have the freedom of fixing the hills
or moving some trees to create space. Maybe if I asked Amanda, Sam, or Adra
they would have helped me with it, but the fastest way to solve the problem was
to rez the house in a different area.
1. Task:
Creating treasure hunt objects/boxes. Basically what I learned was to put
something into another object (with floating text). I displayed ice cream
machine, which did not have the floating sign, which says "click here for
free ice cream" I thought it is important to have a floating text
especially for newbies who are not familiar with receiving objects.
2.
Specific Problem: I cannot put floating text on the object I got from other
place.
3. Type:
Persistent irritation
4.
Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
puzzled - 10
frustrated - 10
annoyed - 10
hopeful of success - 10
5. How
long it took to solve the problem: about 20 minutes
6.
Emotions when the problem was solved:
relief - 2
boost in my self-confidence - 2
hopeful about the future - 2
7.
Comments: Again I could not figure out this one either. I assume that because I
am not the owner or the creator of the ice cream machine... But I right-clicked
the object and chose Edit and went to the content tab and tried to add the
floating text script... I was very confident with my procedure, yet I could not
put the floating text and could not come up with other solutions so it made me
irritated and frustrated even more than how I normally feel when I bump into
problems. I am still investgating on this problem and hope to master the task
soon.
1. What
I was doing: I was trying to get a freebie from a place where I found out from
a blog.
2.
Specific Problem: First, when I teleported to the island, I ended up landing in
middle of ocean. I had to fly to get myself out from the water and look for the
island that has the freebie. When I found the island, I stopped flying and
landed. This is where a problem happened. When I landed, my avatar start to
jump up and down like I am using trampoline. I see a different avatar right
next to me and he did not have any problem with it. The only thing I could do
to get out from this place and problem was to teleport back home.
3.
Emotions:
panicked - 7
irritated - 10
frustrated - 10
annoyed - 10
I put
panicked because I thought somebody is using HUD on me and I will be trapped in
the same place.
4.
Comments: I tried to visit this place more than three times, and tried to land
in different area or tried to get to the place with different ways (e.g. Instead
of arriving with flying and dropping in, I decided to walk to the place from
the ocean). But I could travel to this island without getting trapped in the
trampoline effect that the island was set to. I felt really annoyed and did not
want to go back to the same place ever again. !
Amanda’s
lessons on putting free gift into the objects:
The
first picture I took shows when I accomplished the task. Basically what Amanda
taught me that day was to create object, which has free gift inside of it. In
this case, I put a free gift in rose. Here is the basic process of it:
1. First, you need t rez the object, which
you would like to put the free gift in.
2. Make that object bigger by
right-clicking the object and go to Edit. When you see the window shows up in
the screen, select strech and make the object bigger.
3. Go to content tab in the window. You
will see the script and details of your object. Then, double click on floating
text script. There will be a specific line where you can type in what kind of
floating text you want to display above your object (which is shown in the
second picture).
4. Finally go to your inventory and grab
and drag the free gift you would like to give into the context tab.
5. Do not forget to change the permission
(check off the box says anyone can take and the box below that).
These are the simple steps of creating an object with a free gift
inside J Amanda created couple of boxes (which
includes a note card, freebie stuff, and party timeline). You will almost
always see these boxes when you go to the professional parties. I had to
practice for few times to master the skill. The object (rose) I got from Amanda
already had a floating text script, yet sometimes the objects do not have it. I
am not sure if you could add your own script into someone else’s object… so
please make sure to use the object that has a floating text script! A little
notice is important especially for newbies who are not familiar with free gift boxes.
My
thoughts on decorations (before the party):
I
personally enjoyed decorating LILT courtyard area. It took me while to find the
things that had Hawaiian themes and also free or inexpensive. The whole process
probably took 8 to 10 hrs total (not including our meeting with Amanda). The
most irritated and frustrated part of decoration was the objects I got were not
what I expected. For example, I thought there would be 3D object, but it was
actually textures only. I became more careful with what I buy. When I
right-clicked and chose buy, there is a window, which shows what kind of
materials are in the box. You cannot do this if you are using xstreetsl.com. So
I tend not to buy expensive stuff from them. It is always good to make sure and
be careful with what you buy.
Another
problem I found is how unorganized when the inventory gets overloaded. I tried
to put it in one folder but sometimes I forget and tend to log out. Once you
are logged out, things that were in your recent tab will transfer into all
items tab. I hate when that happens. I tried to delete things that I did not
like right away and try to keep my inventory simple, but when you are working
on decorations you cannot avoid buying multiple objects from one place all in
one time. What I do to solve this problem is by renaming the objects or folder
right away. Most of the time, boxes or folders have their own names from the
previous owner and they most likely have name of the place first, which
confuses me when I try looking for them. But if you rename them for yourself
you will remember easily and help you with looking for the specific items from
your overloaded inventory.
My only
concern at this point is the sim gets overloaded. I did not notice this problem
until Amanda pointed out and my own experience of visiting sims that are
overloaded. If the problem occurs during the party, Monile and I can always
take some decorations down. I'll see how it will turn out on Wednesday but now
I know what to watch out for decorations.
(The
pictures above show some of the process of decorating the courtyard. The last
two pictures show Monile and I are trying out dance ball. We had trouble
stopping our animations for couple of minutes. Monile solved the problem by
deleting the dance balls. But you could also stop it by right-clicking the
dance ball and chose stop or no for animation.)
My
thoughts on after the party:
There
are many things I would like to discuss in this section. I was surprised to see
that many people (around 50 people) showed up to the party. I felt nervous
because I am not sure whom exactly I was talking to... I usually am not shy in
SL, but knowing the fact that the crowd is mostly University professors and
faculties, it automatically made me less outgoing and friendly. The first
problem I had was Kaomea could not teleport to LILT. She received messages
saying that the sim is full. I immediately led Amanda know and took down some
of the big decorations. I am not sure if it affected or not but Kaomea was able
to join within few minutes. I assume Sam and Adra worked out something. But
whether I was able to help Kaomea or not, the sim was overloaded with the
amount of visitors. I took down some of the decorations, yet my computer was
barely handling the system. Another problem I encountered was one of my
decorations, which I could not take down. Here I will explain in
self-witnessing report form:
1. Task:
I need to take down a HUD (the one that releases particles), because it is not
working properly and destructing Sam's tour.
2.
Specific Problem: I cannot find the HUD because I did not attach it to a
object.
3. Type:
Urgent. Emergency. Persistent irritation.
4.
Emotions while trying to solve the problem:
sorry (for destructing) - 10
irritated - 10
pressured - 10
annoyed - 10
urgency - 10
panic - 10
5. How
long it took to solve the problem: I could not solve the problem. I asked
Amanda for help and she tried to contact with Sam. But Sam has activities that
he is in charge (he was doing more than three things at the same time).
6.
Emotions when the problem was solved:
The problem was not solved... so I felt
highly:
annoyed - 10
dissapointed at myself - 10
sad - 10
irritated - 10
Even with my mistake, Amanda was cheering
me up and it is okay because I did not know how to put them properly. I
searched my inventory and found the name of the object but when I went to the
area where I rezzed, no such object was showing.
7.
Comments: I truly felt sorry for Sam who was giving tours to the visitors. Even
I was not aware of my mistake until the party, I was mad at myself for making such
a mistake. Everyone worked hard to make this event possible and I was hoping
not to cause any trouble... but I did and I felt very un-professional.
Since
the place was over populated, I thought there was not enough dance balls to
dance. But I noticed that there is one huge dance ball in the center of the
dance hall. Hopefully people did not think I was not participating... Kaomea
and I were also going over some of the trivia stuff to be ready. I was very
nervous about the trivia. Amanda said it is okay to post questions in chat, but
Adra was sort of suggesting using voice chat. I agree with Adra's opinion, yet
I was not confident enough to use voice chat... There was couple of mistakes I
made during trivia. First, I mistakenly typed the answer. Second, I gave money
to wrong person. I thought the only was to pay someone was by right-cliking the
person, but you can also click his or her name in the chat window to pay. But
the person I mistakenly paid was nice enough to pay me back. I really liked the
fact that everyone who was participating in trivia was nice and supportive. I
wish I have seen somebody else doing trivia and observe them before I actually
tried it. My emotion moved from very nervous to relief, stress free, which occurred
by everyone's help. Some people gave us feedback on how they enjoying the
trivia and it was a fun experience, etc. SL is limited in performing emotions
so it is important to constantly express your feelings in the chat window, that
way you will be able communicate with others. I wanted to get smile HUD before
the party to send a good impression during the trivia, but I could not find one
for free. Now I care more about my avatar's facial expressions and movements. I
will go back and take a look at what kind of AOs are available for avatars.
I took
some pictures but I feel like I could have taken better photos. For example,
more actions shots such as Adra giving orientation and Sam doing his tour, etc.
Part of the reason I could not do what I wanted to do was my object being
missing and causing trouble. I thought having a professional photographer (I
would love to act as one!) could help the organizer to keep the memories and
moments of celebrations.
Lastly I
felt bit awkward with my outfit... I dressed up as a hula girl, but maybe it
was not appropriate for such a professional party. I was over festive and
should have worn a UH t-shirt like how some other people were wearing.
(Picture above: When Sam brought his tour to the dance floor. The dance floor was full!! Great music by DJ Becca J)
(Picture above: Adra giving her orientation)
If you would like to check out more photos from the party,
please visit this website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lis-students-sl/. The photos are organized by
Adra.
After the party:
Kokua – we need to take down the decorations. This is an easy process. I did not realize how much of the decorations I put up until this moment. I needed to check the courtyard three times to make sure I took off everything! I felt sad and missed the party. Amanda and Adra gave us some positive feedbacks and the importance of being able to plan a party in SL. Adra briefly mentioned about our future party, which will be more professional (presentations and displaying power point, etc). I already picture the Librarian Career Festival, which was happened during end of last semester. People were using voice chat and power point to express their ideas toward SL and what they have been researching and working for in SL. I cannot picture myself doing that at this point, but I would want to try some day.
I also post some of the pictures I took in Avatar Psychology platform for the future students and just for our memory. As I mentioned in earlier, the experience brought me different motivations toward SL learning and research. I admire the professors who have been doing researches in SL because SL may seem simply a place for people to socialize in unlimited possibilities and environment where anything you wish could make it happen, yet it requires a lot of skill to make the possibilities became real. I realized that I get easily irritated and frustrated when I face difficulties and problems and I also take the time to solve one problem. I realized what I need to improve and what to look for and how to prepare myself in terms of party planning and decorating. I hope to utilize what I’ve learned for my future experiences.
Magic Carpet:
Here are some of my thoughts after trying out the Magic Carpet. The Magic Carpet is available in Dr. James’s platform. There are tunnels where you can try and go through while riding your magic carpet. When I first tried it, it took me about five minutes to figure out how to start riding it. If you ever have trouble attempting to figure out how to ride it, the solution is simple. All you need to do is type help in your chat window! You will receive answers and instructions immediately. I was able to go though the tunnel within my first time riding it. The most difficulty I had is when I got off of the platform. I lose my sense of direction easily, especially when you can only see the sky. That is why you have HUD to tell you what is entering in your area. Monile decided to follow me and I was in charge of guiding her to the tunnels. I felt bit pressured and could not approach the tunnels well. This is what I notice about myself: I am not good at riding big vehicles or vehicles that can fly and move fast. I tried to ride cars, bikes, bicycles, blooms, planes, scooters, etc. It depends on where you try riding them and how well the vehicles are made too. But overall I am not good at riding them. Is this because I do not know how to drive cars in RL (I do not have drivers lisence), or because I am scared of speed (I consider it as one of my phobias), or I do not ride them enough times to get used to them or get hang of them?? These are my self observations as to why I am not good at riding vehicles in SL. In SL, you are able to fly and teleport to mostly anywhere you want to go to. I do not see much of the purposes of why riding vehicles in SL. Obviously they are hobby to some residents, and some people can consider them as fun activities. I just think that there are already enough transportation systems (such as flying and teleporting) are already available to you. Maybe I am not interested in riding vehicles in general. But at least I can go through the tunnels without problems now so I am satisfied.
The possible activities (6
weeks long) for G30 students:
One of the things I would like to emphasize in this activity is teamwork and team bonding. Monile and I got along well (even though we never met each other in RL!) I think as you go through a semester, there will be parties, picnics, and presentations that you need to work with others. I did a semester without having classmates in SL and when I met Monile, my experience become more fun and active. Classmates can motivate each other to improve their skills in SL (I never cared much about my avatar’s appearance until I met Monile). She pushed me to learn more and helped me to improve my skills. I think I want G30 students to compete or motivate to engage in a variety of situations and influence each other in a positive way through the activities.
One of the things that I like to do is having someone show you something. For example, as Sam mentioned during LILT party, he is offering a tour every Thursday and Adra’s inventory management class. These two activities were very useful and I personally had fun attending the class.
I think surfing, skiing, diving, etc. Any sort of physical activities are entertaining and help you to improve your controlling and camera skills. Sometimes I try to do treasure hunting (for free). I like collecting freebies and new clothes so I spend a lot of time finding cute free or inexpensive objects.
Within the six weeks, the students can team up and take turns to giving tours to class. They do not need to give presentations. Go around the in-world and send teleport to each other, create landmarks, etc. When I met Monile for the first time and we were doing the exercise, which required us to go to restricted area or public area, etc. I was surprised that everywhere Minile took me I never visited. I thought in this way, people could see different type f settings and residents.
Outline:
I. Week one
A. Orientation
§ How to move around
§ How to use camera
§ Right-click
§ How to fly
§ Joining groups
§ Creating landmarks
§ Sending teleport to each other
§ Etc
B. Who can ride the magic carpet longest??
§ A winner receives a possible prize
II. Week two
A. Activity days
§ Adra’s inventory management class?
§ Sam’s tour?
§ Attending public events?
III. Week three
A. Team Activities
§ Come up with three favorite places and each group will take rest of the class to there.
§ Dress-up and attend formal party as a group?
IV. Week four
A. Building
§ Get familiar with building by creating simple object (like plat form?)
V. Week five
A. Creating power point
§ Have them take notes since day one (at least one picture per day) and post past four weeks of brief explanations on what they have learned.
VI. Week six
A. Class party or get together
§ Each person creates at least one object and decorates with free stuff.
§