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I only just found out that this is a missing feature I had assumed would be there. It's such a basic essential. Please prioritize this Canvas developers! This and the dates confusion are two of the reasons I often just recommend creating very small group discussions to complete peer reviews.  ... View more

I agree, this feature is LONG overdue! And please also enable the restrict to section feature too! Thank you Canvas developers! I LOVE Canvas! ... View more

Thanks for posting this Kay! I'm looking forward to your session. I've got a session too, about some OER content I've created to help educators host an immersive activity with their students in-world, with as little work as possible. Community Virtual Library is also hosting an holiday party/event at our location in Kitely to test it out.  I too am very excited to test Firestorm VR!  I just got an Occulus Rift but need a new computer. I'm hoping to test that asap!  See you at the conference. Anyone else interested in this stuff should seriously join us! It's a great event! ... View more

Hi @Kay McLennan, This is another (and very long overdue!) thank you for this post. I ended up attending that conference and I've been involved with OpenSim and found my educational community in-world! I just stumbled on this post while doing research and realized I do owe it all to you for posting this information and the detailed instructions.  I'll keep it short, but in a nutshell I'm working with Community Virtual Library and I built out a Hypergrid Resources Library for educators new to OpenSim (assuming familiarity with SL though). Anyways, our official grand opening is this weekend and I wanted to post instructions here for anybody who'd like to come!  Again Kay - THANK YOU!!! You are cordially invited to the grand opening of CVL's new Hypergrid Resource Libraries! Our vision with this project is to help educators new to OpenSim learn about what hypergridding is so they can connect to educational communities across multiple virtual worlds. Unlike Second Life, which is one proprietary world controlled by Linden Labs, OpenSim grids are decentralized. Virtual worlds may be hosted by individuals or organizations from anywhere in the world, and hypergridding is the means of teleporting from one grid to another! When: Sunday, July 21st 12pm PST. Access: We have two branch locations, on Kitely and Avacon, and both locations have hypergrid portals that connect to the other branch library. Both locations also have multiple hypergrid portals to other locations to explore.  To access either library, we recommend one of two options: 1. Create a new free account on the Kitely grid OR 2. Use an existing OpenSim Avatar/Account to hypergrid to Kitely or Avacon. (If you already have an Avacon account, you could do the same.) OPTION 1: Follow the steps below, or watch this short tutorial video: Find the CVL Hypergrid Library via a Kitely Account (3:12) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ich4LPkYIZE&feature=youtu.be a. Create a free account with Kitely – https://www.kitely.com/ b. Download and install an OpenSim enabled version of the Firestorm viewer - https://www.firestormviewer.org/downloads/ (NOTE: It is possible to use another viewer, this recommendation is to just to keep it simple.) c. Login to Kitely and use the world map to search for Cookie II. d. At the Cookie II welcome station, use the local teleport to the Hypergrid Resources Library (NOTE: The video on how to find us recommends you click on the map to teleport, but we have a teleport doorway there now too. Either way works.) Technical Difficulties or Lost? If you have any difficulties, please see this written tutorial (with five short videos) – http://www.newmediaarts.org/home/projects/have-a-r-t-will-travel/ (New Media Arts sponsors the Community Virtual Library) or refer to the Kitely article:  How to Enter Kitely Virtual Worlds – https://kitely.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/doc/pages/4849666/How+to+Enter+Kitely+Virtual+Worlds Friend us in-world for a teleport - Valibrarian Gregg, or Bethany Winslow (that's my name in Kitely and Avacon) OPTION 2: You can use an existing OpenSim account to search for and hypergrid to Kitely using the URL http://grid.kitely.com:8002. Then search and teleport to Cookie II. At the welcome station on Cookie you can find the teleport to our HG Library Island. Follow the steps below, or watch this short tutorial video: Find the CVL Hypergrid Library via OS Grid (1:59) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJnFOq0t20g&feature=youtu.be a. Login to OpenSim and pull up the world map. (From the top tool bar in Firestorm, click on World, then World Map or use the map icon in the lower tool bar.) b. Search for http://grid.kitely.com:8002 and then click Teleport. c. At the Kitely welcome station pull up the world map and search for Cookie II and click to teleport. (NOTE: You may get a notice that the teleport failed, but that’s normal. It just means the world is booting up.) d. At the welcome area for Cookie II, use the portal doorway to teleport to the library. (NOTE: the video above on how to find us recommends you click on the map to teleport, but we have a teleport doorway there now too. Either way works.) Attachments area Preview YouTube video Find the CVL Hypergrid Library via a Kitely Account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ich4LPkYIZE&authuser=0" tabindex="0" target="_blankPreview YouTube video Find the CVL Hypergrid Library via OS Grid ... View more

I wanted to weigh in on this, because I do think that using caps judiciously can be visually effective. I probably would NOT use all caps for the titles of assignments and pages, but I do think it helps to make text headers distinguishable from other content in a module. Here's an example: That's just my two cents. ... View more

Hi Josh,  It's kind of a pain. I just found it's NOT been as easy as I assumed when I began. After all, it's easy to upload to Facebook and Youtube, but most faculty are not using those two things with their students. Making 360 available via Canvas, and assuming students will log in to Canvas on mobile devices makes it a real challenge. I was testing this specifically with a mobile device because my instructor wanted to post pictures and have students use their phones and Google Cardboard to view them. Momento360 was the only way I found it would work without crashing the Canvas app. Of course this assumes you're sharing the content via Canvas, which most people would want to do that.  Another hurdle I've found with two different instructors, is that even stitching the images before sharing them is a challenge. Momento360, you can just upload the images as they are and it will stitch automatically and display nice.  Simply put, it was (and still is for me) the quickest and easiest way to share 360 pictures and video. BUT, when I tested it, I couldn't play the video. But that's what YouTube is for!  ... View more

Ok I'm posting an update because I've found something that seems to work well. Momento360 hosts both photos and video and is free an easy to use. I've even found that when I click on the link to my Momento folder within the Canvas app, and then use Google cardboard to watch the videos or look at the photos, the Canvas app does not seem to crash. Hooray! ... View more

Thanks Lloyd! That generator is very handy! My only recommendation is to add this bit of code to the bottom. (I'm almost positive I got this from @Kona Jones posting code for this tabbed page somewhere else.):  <h4><strong>NOTE:</strong></h4> <p><strong>Click on each one of the tabs (hyperlinks) across the top of this page! </strong></p> <p>After reviewing the information in each section, click on the Next button below to continue with the the content in this module.</p> I'll be watching to see what happens with this tabbing feature, and disappointed that it will one day be removed. I think it's very useful for streamlining course content into related "chunks".  ... View more

After seeing Firestorm again, I'd like to see two very distinct viewers. The first one should  absolutely be a baby version with training wheels. It should be nothing except bare bones navigation. I think if someone can get into a virtual space and just be able to chat, move around, and know how to turn their mic on and off really easily, they'll get hooked enough to invest the time in all the rest of it.  But the viewers are crazy overwhelming. Especially considering most faculty I work with have little to zero experience with gaming and whatnot.  Just my two cents.  If and when someone is helping develop such a viewer for Canvas, I would be VERY interested in doing beta testing and giving feedback on user interface stuff. ... View more

Well if you can get past the initial hurdle, exploring Second Life or OpenSim is pretty amazing because ordinary people create amazing things and share with the community. As Kay mentioned already, however, OpenSim is better because it's open source so you retain ownership of your content and simulations.  Now that I'm getting back into this (I have a lot of faculty who are interested in exploring this and willing to invest their time), I'm really hopeful to find a community of educators who will pool resources to share content they create. But you're right, it's the money spent in the consumer world creating Assassin's Creed and whatnot that's all pretty that sets the bar really high. But the power of just getting people together in a virtual space is a start. I think the people who get started in on this invest so much of their time because it really can be a lot of fun. But no mistake, it's a ton of time invested to do stuff! ... View more

Hi Kelley, Thanks for your insights. I totally understand. It really is a huge learning curve. One of the things I'd like to see with a viewer is a beginner version. When I logged in I remembered how totally overwhelming it was. I still don't know how to do a lot of things.  I do hope to see VR get easier to use and apply to the masses! B ... View more

Thanks Kelley, I've registered and am looking forward to it. Hope to see you there! B ... View more

Hi Kay, Thanks again for all your replies and details. I'm so glad they are recorded here for anyone else in the future. I agree having a viewer seamlessly integrated with Canvas will be one more way to make the experience better for everyone. I'm glad to hear you report that you find students are eager for this, and I do think that will help drive adoption of VR in education. And thank you for the important detail about the ability to save simulation files and pre-create student avatars. That's a critical element. For the sake of simplicity I'm going to focus on OpenSim.  I finally got my account info and just logged in to the conference space. I look forward to hearing you speak this weekend! B ... View more

Pardon my ignorance here Kay, but I wonder if the bigger problem is that it's so overwhelming to even know where to start. I became interested in OpenSim essentially because I realized I couldn't afford to own a region in Second Life, which is what I immediately wanted.  I just wanted my own VR sandbox where I could learn to build on a big scale. (I'm also passionate about open source and freely sharing information and resources, and not getting trapped by proprietary content if at all possible.) But now I see multiple social spaces beyond SL, and I wouldn't know why or how to pick one over the other vs going with OpenSim. VR chat and HighFidelity are free sandbox virtual spaces, are they not? Are there functional limitations that make those places more or less attractive than OpenSim? Like SL I expect they would get expensive depending on what someone wanted to build in there, but what's the easiest one to use?  I think a lot of my faculty wouldn't even know where to start if they want to get started with virtual reality. I've dabbled with this a bit and I'm not sure where to start!! I'm just not clear why the lack of a viewer is the issue, unless there's major functionality I'm just completely ignorant of. Why not just use Firestorm?    I'm clear that you favor OpenSim, but I'm thinking of people who express interest but would say "Oh OpenSim is for developers, that's way beyond my ability. What platform should I use in terms of ease of use?". I know it totally depends on what someone wants to do, but if you had any insights on understanding the differences between all these different platforms, and why one versus the other is better for education that would be helpful. By the way, thanks for all the information you are sharing with this community! Your expertise in this area is really valuable and appreciated! ... View more

Does anybody know how long it takes to get the account activated?  I created the account and selected an avatar days ago, but still haven't gotten an email with my account info yet. (And yes I've checked my spam folder.) I just requested it again and it's "waiting for authorization" or whatever. I've installed Firestorm and am eager to re-familiarize myself with navigating a virtual space before the actual conference. Thanks! ... View more