Today’s installment of the Daily Rounds, which seems to be a less than daily event recently, features a report on an English language lesson I’d attended earlier at Cypris Village. Though I’ve not been involved at Cypris as I might like to be, each time I visit the community, I am again impressed by the energy and enthusiasm the members put in to teaching and learning English. It is certainly a place worth investigating for those wondering about the vitality of Second Life.
Incidentally, there is no doubt in my mind as to the value of using SL and Google+ Hangouts for making simple presentations such as this. I am however curious about how it will work for a video conference between avatars and real people. If anybody wishes to partake in such an experiment, please get in touch and we’ll try to make it happen.
And just like that, the first installment of Scottlo’s Daily Rounds is in the can. Technically, it was really quite east to execute. I regret over modulating a couple of times on the microphone. I don’t think the distorted sound diminishes or masks the enthusiasm I was feeling. It was a blast.
I intend to put together some sort of tutorial showing how Googe + Hangouts On Air’s screen sharing feature can be used in this way. The video part is really easy. It just requires pressing a button. But if one wants to bring the audio from the application being shared into the Hangout, a bit of rerouting is required. I used Ladio Cast and SoundFlower (it was a minor tweek of the way I’ve done Skype calls on ds106 radio).
I should be able to hobble some such tutorial together in the next few days. I’m trying to decide whether use still images and a text write-up or to shoot it in video. Any thoughts?
One thing I need to find out about is the “legality” of shooting videos in other regions. I heard someone mention that this is a violation of the Terms of Service for SL unless permission is secured. I’ve also heard that it is okay unless the estate owner has prohibited it. If that is the case, I don’t know how to find out whether or not such a prohibition exists.
I do know that it is okay on Corona Cay so I will continue to do the rounds there until I get word from the legal team. Please let me know if you know anything about this issue.
Also, I’m not sure about embedding these videos to the Scottlo Radio Blog on a daily basis. They are on YouTube and my Hangout page for those who are interested. Any thoughts on this?
I need to send a big thank you to Alan for suggesting a better way to use iShowU for capturing video from the desktop. Though I’ve got a long way to go until I’m able get to where I’d like to be with this screencasting thing, I’m pleased as punch with the progress I’ve made in a fairly short time. Again, big thanks Alan!
The video above was captured using “folow cursor” technique described by Alan with capture dimensions of 852×480. It was perfectly fine for capturing a portion of the Second Life window. It might be more tricky when doing a tutorial in which multipel applications and windows are in play. I’ll soon have a chance to try that out when I complete the series of Animated GIF to SL texture.
This video is not a tutorial of anysort. It is supposed to be a trailer for an new project slated to begin tomorrow. Scottlo’s Daily Rounds will consist of a daily Google + Hangout which is originated from some location in Second Life. During which I will be checking to see if SL is dead yet or not. These hangouts will occur at random times and will be announced briefly before they commence.
All are welcome to join in either through Google + or in Second Life.
Camp is now over (see the final story. If you are craving an experience like this, head over to ds106 and see how to participate. For more on the Summer of Magic Macguffin, see.....
