Vue Regional Planning Authority (VRPA) Meeting 8 - 15-Sep-2011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attendees: ---------- Sian Bayne (E-Learning, Higher & Community Education) Dawn Ellis (Information Services) Ian Graham (Management School) Fiona Littleton (E-Learning, Higher & Community Education) David Richardson (Informatics) Austin Tate (Informatics & AIAI) Apologies: ---------- Hamish Macleod (Centre for Teaching, Learning & Assessment, Education) Morag Watson (Information Services) Minutes of meeting on 14-Apr-2008 --------------------------------- Available at http://vue.ed.ac.uk/sl/vrpa/vrpa-meeting-2008-10-08-minutes.txt Approved. Actions had been: a) To add points of contact for each project in Second Life regions at the web site at http://vue.ed.ac.uk - done by AT. b) To ask for issues to be raised at VRPSA meetings and invite along anyone who wishes to speak to VRPA about an issue. Done by AT ahead of this meeting via vue@wed.ac.uk mailing list. Current Status -------------- There are 100 members on the vue@lists.ed.ac.uk (alias vue@ed.ac.uk) mailing list as at 15-Sep-2010. Austin Tate should be contacted to add names to the list. Status and Plans for the Vue Regions in Second Life --------------------------------------------------- Linden Labs announced in mid 2010 that they were to remove the 50% discount for educational uses of regions in Second Life. Paying up front for up to two years at the old rates was permitted. Fiona Littleton and Austin Tate secured funding from Information Services, Development & Alumni, Informatics and the Vet School for two years in advance to secure most of the Vue regions to mid 2013. Ian Graham funded the Management School's region for one more year to mid 2012. A couple of regions that were under used were released when their renewals came up. The plan is to seek to maintain funding to the core "Vue" and "Edinburgh University" regions after mid 2013 subject to funding. Other regions will be offered to other Vue members first, or if not released if not required when their renewal comes up in mid 2013. Dawn Ellis suggested that we keep Mary Bownes in Information Services informed of the developments to seek her support in mid 2013 for continuing the Vue regions in Second Life. Dawn agreed to provide the VRPA minutes and information to Mary. [Action DE] There is a region "VCE" associated with the Vue regions which is funded by a project on which Austin Tate is PI. That is currently funded also to mid 2013. All outstanding plot request have been handled. Further requests should be made to Austin Tate initially. OpenSim Use ----------- AIAI in Informatics have been running OpenSim with an "Openvue" grid (http://opensimulator.org) since September 2007 as an alternative to Second Life. A Vue web area and wiki page for the initial work is available via http://vue.ed.ac.uk/openvue/ Austin Tate indicated the system was now very good, and in most respects similar to Second Life, except that the voice solutions included did not have the capacity or quality of the Vivox voice in Second Life. Ian Graham of the Management School has been preparing an OpenSim region for his teaching to replace the Second Life Vue NW region in about a year's time when the renewal is due on that. Sian Bayne of Education and Fiona Littleton of Information Services indicated it currently has no plans to use OpenSim, preferring the open and accessible Second Life areas. But it was reassuring to know there were alternatives to Second Life available if necessary. There was a discussion about how much of a community was in OpenSim, or whether it was many separate grids that wee isolated. Austin Tate said that OSGrid does offer one community element with tens of thousands of registered avatars, and free avatar registration for anyone. It also supported "HyperGrid" travel to other grids, including the Openvue grid. Other Virtual Worlds in Use in Vue ---------------------------------- No other major platforms are currently in use as far as the VRPA is aware. Unity3D was of interest to a few VRPA members and initial exploration had been undertaken. A few groups do use game platforms like "World of Warcraft" and "EverQuest" for specialised teaching. Date of Next Meeting -------------------- To be arranged by e-mail.