SL Presentations in RL

[Bill Sowers]

Yesterday I gave a 40 minute presentation on Sl to about 50 Kansas library folk at our annual convention. I stood at a podium, lap top in front of me, while behind me Rocky walked about on a large screen touring the virtual Kansas Library and a few other locations in the Info Island Archipelago.

I spoke as Rocky moved around accessing various resources, bringing up noteceards and performing basic tasks.

I'm curious to know how others have given presentations on SL at meetings/conventions/classes/etc. Power Point is one way or risking "going live" as I did is another. I did a "tour." A youtube.com movie?

I walked through places and pointed out things... did a few demos of how things worked. Are there other ways to present SL that any of you have used?

[Amanda Townsend]

I would love to hear how others approached this as well. I attended Rhonda/Abbey's presentation at ACRL and it was great but I'm still trying to find the best way to approach it here. Singing the praises of SL and getting a fellow co-worker hooked must be blown up to "hook" my Director and higher up admins.

Amanda/Emaleth

[Bill Sowers]

Amanda... I've been fortunate in having a director who nudged *me* into SL. I also have three coworkers and a library science school student who have jumped in and are all contributing to projects within the Info Island archipelago. We all have a small amount of time during the work day wherein I can instruct the others on performing basic tasks within SL but all of them do a lot of their work at night on their own time. Amazing!

I think directors look for results. How will this benefit our community? How will it make the library stand out as a leader? What sort of special collections/services can we promote that will set our library apart and bring the attention of others?

I've tried to take subject areas that make Kansas stand out or bring positive attention to our state and promote them at the virtual library. I think it's also important to help on system-wide projects... cataloging, reference, broader collections on Info Island. I have a big mouth and people know that that guy from Kansas is involved in projects... and word does get back to my administration about these things. People meet folks from my library at conventions/conferences and say, "I know Rocky Vallejo from you library!" Small stuff I guess but my admin knows that there are people around the country that are aware of the State LIbrary of Kansas in a good light (I hope!).

Bill/Rocky

[Beth Kraemer]

I agree that videos are a nice alternative when a live demo is not possible. We have shown the NMC "Seriously Engaging" video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9VZKTT6gZ8) and a few others from YouTube. We did a combination video, powerpoint, and live demo for several folks at our university. Feedback I received afterward was to skip the other stuff and just jump into SL! They wanted to see it in action and have a discussion. Later this week I'm presenting in a setting where I won't have internet access. So we are relying on powerpoint and canned videos, including one I did to emphasize basics, building and fun. I've just uploaded the low-res version to Ning. I'm able to use a larger, clearer file for the presentation because I don't have to worry about download time.

[Donavan Vicha]

I'd say there's nothing like going "live" as long as you are fortunate not to run into Lag Hell. And you never know when that might happen. What kinda skeers me is the rare occasion when my avatar decides to show up as a female! (I don't mind getting in touch with my feminine side, but I'd prefer that it be of a time of my own choosing!) Eventually he's restored, but it would be rather awkward to explain to a group!

Seeing SL navigated by someone who knows what they're doing is probably the best way to show it off.