Visit to the House of Usher

Before our official visit in the House of Usher, Skylar (Chelsea), Jordyn (Jordan), and I (Jordin) arrived at Richmond Island in order to change our outfits into 19th Century dresses. After we met with Ignatius (Dr. Essid), we each took turns stepping into the hot air balloon before teleporting from the balloon into the House of Usher. Upon arriving at the House, the outside was parallel to what I had imagined when reading Poe’s short story. There was not one happy or joyful aspect about the outside of the House so I could only imagine how the inside would looks and this only gave the three of us uneasy feelings about the next hour ahead of us.

The role that I was assigned was to follow Roderick around the House and make sure that he remained distracted so I came up with a list of questions and comments in order to keep him occupied. I became quickly frustrated at first because I thought that he was ignoring my questions as I followed him around the House while he was giving me a tour. I am not completely familiar with Second Life however so the communication aspect of it could have been a little off so I was not too worried. However, I would try and ask questions to get clues about what Roderick and Madeline had been up to or what would happen within the hour but at times I was continually ignored. While I followed Roderick around the House, Chelsea searched around the House for clues as to what Roderick and Madeline had been up to before our arrival. Roderick and Madeline continuously told us that “they had a bad feelings as to what was going to happen that night.” This made us worried as we knew the original plot of having Madeline buried alive and our goal was to prevent this from even coming close to happening.

Jordan followed Madeline around the House to make sure that she did not lose sight of her. At one point closer to the end of the night, Madeline fainted and Jordan stood by her bed to make sure that she would stay alive and that no one, especially the curious doctor, would bury her alive. Madeline and Roderick spoke many times about how they had a bad feeling about the night. I would ask Roderick why he had these suspicions and he said that both himself and his sister had fallen ill and very weak and that he would not take her to the doctor because they both feared that the doctor did not have Madeline’s best interest in mind as he had been planning to use her body for scientific purposes. Several times we offered to Madeline and Roderick to go outside because that would be safer than the inside where Madeline was seeing green lights and hearing screeching noises.

Finally, after about an hour of strategy and confrontation with Madeline, Roderick, and Margaret, all of the actors and Jordan, Chelsea, and I all made it outside safely and everyone was alive.

Overall, while visiting the House of Usher I was pleasantly surprised. There were many special effects such as the screeching noises and the green lights that made me feel as though I was actually part of Poe’s story. One mishap that I came across was that I was not so sure what type of questions to ask Roderick. This was a very vague task to “just keep him distracted” and although I could not see his actual face expressions, I felt as though he was beginning to get annoyed with me. I’m not sure if I would change anything particularly for next time to make the House more realistic. I did get lost in the crypt though and I missed a good amount of the action in the end right when Madeline fainted and the doctor was trying to help out. This was the only part of the House that I think could be improved. Other than that, the special effects were extremely well done and everything was very realistic such as the outfits that the three actors were wearing. Roderick repeatedly said, “mind the mice,” every time a mouse trickled by and I found this humorous.

The Fall of the House of Usher

What I would alter about Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher? If I was in the narrator's position I know that from the very second I felt the negative and gloomy vibes that the house gave off, that this was going to foreshadow a negative outcome. The narrator knew from the beginning that something seemed off with this house but he also knew that he needed to do a favor for his friend Frederick and Frederick's twin sister, Madeline. They needed company and he knew that he was supposed to help his friends out. However, I believe that keeping them in this horrid house would only negatively affect them. If I were to alter the story, I would alter it in a way that could maybe create a happy ending. I would have never gone to the house and stayed over as long as the narrator did. Personally, I would have taken Roderick and his sister out to somewhere where they would not be constantly reminded of how gloomy their house felt.

If I had not taken them away from the house, I know that I would have called a doctor when Madeline became severely sick. I believe that even though he was her sister, Frederick had no right to keep her there and bury her himself. The narrator had to have known deep down that this was not the right thing for him to do even if it was his sister. The narrator needed to speak up for himself in order for his word to be heard.

Communication Problems Throughout Second Life

I believe that the biggest problem Second Life faces as a communication technology is the fact that even though these avatars have real people operating them, they are not always 100 percent reliable. It can not necessarily be certain all of the time that the avatar you are talking to is the person you think that it is behind the avatar.

Not knowing who is actually behind the avatar can complicate communication because communication is one of the strongest pieces of our society that keeps structure continuous. If you do not know who you are talking to specifically, there could be someone who allegedly claims that they are someone else and impose on your business or life in general. This could be a problem for obvious reasons such as someone could easily lie about who they are and get information out of another person or even lie just to try and make someone believe that they are someone who they aren't.

This creates flaws in the communication process because one cannot be fully 100 percent sure that who they are communicating with is actually who they think they are talking to.

Tourist's Report on Heritage Key

Heritage Key although still in a virtual world, seems to me to be a lot less active than Second Life. As I teleported from one place to another, I did not notice much action going on here at all. I actually only saw one person and the whole visit and they were asleep standing up, obviously away from their computer. I eventually took the balloon ride and teleported to the area in which King Tut is buried except I could not get into any of the entrances because they were all blocked off. This inhibited me from being able to make any significant observations. Again, Heritage Key seems to be a lot less active than Second Life but as I'm sure as I do more research on King Tut and his tomb there will be more to observe and more to take note of.

Halloween Horror Village Visit

When I first arrived at the Halloween Horror Village I was pleasantly surprised at the number of avatars that I saw. At every other place that I visited up to this point, I had been the only avatar there. This was very entertaining because I saw avatars dressed up in costumes, one that stuck out in my mind the most was a dragon. I’m not exactly sure if this was a costume or an actual avatar though.

As I walked around the Village, I saw random spills of blood all around. I was wondering if this was “real” avatar blood or if it was just merely for the effect of the “Horror Village.” Then I decided to walk into a motel and when I entered this I felt as though I was put into a horror film! There was an avatar, or character I’m not sure if it was an actual avatar but whatever it was, looked to be like an old lady in a night gown and she was running around them motel room with a knife in her hand and looked like she wanted to kill someone! I was terrified until I realized that she was not going to kill me. Then I walked into the bathroom and in the shower was directions that said “click me to be a victim.” This was the last straw for me as when I saw it, I left the motel right away!

The next house I went into looked like a haunted house from the outside and when I went inside, I was attacked by birds! I definitely did not expect this but I got a snapshot of it!

Interestingly enough, when I first got there, I saw so many avatars but after I was there for quite some time I saw no avatars and so I was unable to ask them any questions. After visiting the Halloween Horror Village, I realized though that Second Life can be anything that you want it to be.

Eager Visit

For more exploration in the Second Life, Chelsea and I have decided to visit halloween horror village - FrannyDj Dean-12pm on Saturday, October 18th. I am very interested to find out how the members of Second Life interact with each other at such an event as I have yet to visit a populated area in the virtual world. This might be especially fascinating because the theme is Halloween so I will be able to take note on how the members of Second Life not only interact with each other in general but how they interact on such a holiday as Halloween and how they dress up to conform with the virtual world. I will be updating this blog with my visit sometime after the 18th. I am excited to get back to the blog!

Another View

My second Scavenger Hunt adventure was much more interactive. The first place that I visited was Dublin. On my journey here, I met someone who just joined Second Life it seemed odd because I have not met someone who has just started this off like me. They changed their hair and body styles right in front of me! I by a trash can of burning beer bottles which I found was kind of odd. This is what I took a snapshot of and have posted here on my blog. So far, Dublin has been the most informative place that I have visited in terms of providing information throughout the town.

The second place that I chose to visit was Epiphany Island. I went inside a chapel and the architecture was very elegant and amount of detail put into the architecture was almost hard for me to believe. I became confused, however when I randomly found myself in a building and I do not remember how I got there. And there were just stairs that I kept venturing up and down when I finally saw a sign that I was in "Saint Jerome's Library." My favorite part about this Island was the garden that is in the snapshot that I took and is posted on above.

The last place that I traveled to was Mexico. When I first got there, I had no hair besides a pony tail that came off the back of my head! I was so confused as to why this had happened. There was a stream and waterfall here that I captured in the snapshot and in the corner of the picture I caught a shot of a dragonfly that kept following me. I noticed that there was somewhat of a neighborhood here because there were little huts/homes that looked very calm and relaxing. I went into a hot tub and there were so many features! I could press a button to "get comfy," or "recline" or just sit. My only problem however was that I could not figure out how to get out!

Overall, my second scavenger hunt was much more informative and adventurous as I applied different skills that I knew how to use and learned more about the different places that I visited this time.

Addictive?

I know from past experiences that interactive computer life can be addictive. For instance, Facebook. I have had a Facebook for about four years and have checked for new wall posts from friends, new tagged pictures, or even just recently added photos or status updates from my friends everyday for in total, no less than two hours. I would consider this an addictive habit. On some days even, I would say that I am on Facebook for even more than two hours. When I should be doing homework or writing a paper or doing research I find myself constantly getting distracted by this evil social network. No matter how much I say it is great because I can keep in contact with my friends and family, sometimes I believe that Facebook does more bad than good.

One problem is, Facebook is not even as interactive as Second Life. The more applications and more sociable you can be with people I feel as though the more addicted one could get. Especially due to the fact that you can meet people in almost human form and talk to them and interact with them on the spot makes this whole world so much more addictive. I do not know all of the facts about Second Life however I feel that this whole virtual world could be very time consuming and that time can literally fly by if you are not careful. It is extremely easy to get locked up on trying to figure out what you want your avatar to look like and all of those minor details can add up. Once you have this figured out, those are only minor details then you get into everything else that Second Life has to offer and exploring this virtual world is a process in itself. Something new can appear every day! You can travel somewhere else everyday and learn something new; it is like living in the real world except you are glued to your computer. That’s why I want to know how addictive this can be.

Hjortshoj's Misconceptions

Throughout my four years in high school, I was obviously taught the right way to cite sources. However, I wasn’t taught the importance of the effectiveness of citing sources. Hjortshoj takes citing sources to a whole new level explaining to the readers how important it is to make sure at the end of references from outside sources are properly cited by the writer. While I was in high school I overlooked the three misconceptions of Reference and Documentation that Hjortshoj refers to.

 The first misconception that he refers to is that a citation at the end of a paragraph authorizes all uses of that source in previous sentences. The link to that misconception and my high school career is that I was actually taught that it was okay to do this so the misconception that Hjortshoj refers to is actually very common to high school students. 

The second misconception is that minor changes in wording allow you to use author’s language and ideas without reference, quotation, or citation. I was personally taught to always cite ideas even if they were in your own words. This should be done because no matter how you word it, these ideas came from someone else’s head and they are not yours. Hjortshoj also explains that students believe that it is okay to “borrow” phrases if they are related to their beliefs. I was never taught this throughout high school and never actually believed that this was okay. To me, it just sounds like a poor excuse to steal someone’s ideas without punishment. 

The third misconception that Hjortshoj mentions is that quotations do not need an introduction to the reference if you include a citation at the end. Emphasis on an introduction to quotes was always a strategy that was stressed as important throughout high school. Without an introduction and even a conclusion the quotation just stands there in the writing and does not fit into the paper. 

A Whole New World

The first place that I visited was the Sistine Chapel. Still getting used to the Second Life and all it has to offer, I did not even know where to begin. To my surprise, I did not see one other person. This was such a significant detail to my visit because I had to figure that there were many people who would want to visit the Sistine Chapel. However, I made a second visit and went inside and did end up finding one other avatar who was also visiting the Chapel. For some reason, before taking my snapshot, I got kicked out of the Chapel for not following certain "rules." I'm still not quite sure what I did wrong. I did try and make conversation with this person but I got no response. I really enjoyed how detailed the architecture throughout not only inside the Chapel but also outside was too. Everything was beautiful.

Next, I traveled to The Men in Bronze in Virtual Harlem. Again, I saw not a single avatar. This did not really surprise me because I have never heard of The Men in Bronze and figured this would not be a very populated area. Walking around and experiencing this place however very entertaining. When I first arrived, everything was dark and I saw stars. I was not expecting this because I have never been in Second Life in the dark thus far. Then about a minute later, everything became light again. This place reminded me a lot of a typical city with buildings that are close together as seen in the snapshot I took.

Lastly, I teleported to the Second Life Globe Theatre. This was probably the most breath taking place I visited in terms of not expecting what I saw. There were statues and fairy creatures and there was hay on the ground. They hay reminded me of the old Shakespearean times where most of their plays were acted  on. I met someone who was there to learn more about when plays were taken place. This avatar told me they were a big fan of Shakespeare. So they were obviously in the right spot. Overall, my scavenger hunt was a good experience learning about and traveling around the virtual world.

A Whole New World

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Becoming Familiar with The Virtual World

Because I have never used or experienced the Second Life before, I am very surprised at the amount of detail the whole virtual world has. I am kind of skeptical about being a part of the Second Life however because everything seems so mysterious and new to me. People can pick random first and last names and even appearances that have absolutely nothing to do with who they are in real life.  I have not spent as much time as I would like to on my appearance but when I do, I would like for my avatar to look very similar to me. Because I love wearing sweatpants most and I am the most comfortable in them, I will want to find sweatpants to wear. I want to me as best as I can because I have a hard time pretending to be something I’m not even it it’s something as simple as Second Life.  Nonetheless, I am very excited to use and become familiar with the virtual world and Second Life!

I chose the name Jordin Myrtle not for any really special reason but I have always loved the name Jordin and want to name my first child Jordin. I chose Myrtle because my favorite place is the beach and I used to always go to Myrtle Beach as a kid. The beach is the most relaxing place for me. Basically, every detail I chose about my avatar is related to me in some way.

What I wish I learned in high school

I hope I am doing this blog correctly. As I hope for this, I also wish that I learned how to blog in high school. Although that is not one of the main aspects I wish I knew, it is up there because I have been struggling trying to figure all of this out. As my Blog suggests, I am very confused.

More importantly, I wish that throughout high school, that my teachers would have put emphasis in analyzing pieces of writing and how to do that. Of course we would have to write analytical analysis but I feel like I never really got the full explanation and direction on how to do so correctly which is why now, I feel so insecure about my work once I am assigned to analyze work.

Also, I wish I would have learned how to not be afraid to have other people review and edit my work. I am always self-conscious about my work even though having someone review you work and having a second voice reading it is probably one of the best tools you can use. They can pick out spelling errors or grammatical errors that you might never see or fix. 

I hope that I can become more confident with my work and become more confident and sufficient with analyzing pieces of writing because it has always been something I wish was one of my strengths. 

What I wish I learned in high school