Dec 6, 2007

Today is our last day so we'll wrap up the semester. I'll collect the Cell Phone papers, then I'll have just a few final words and take a few closing comments.

Then you're done!

Topics

Homework

Dec 4, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 29, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 27, 2007

Yet another brief day as all we have to do is see Luke's presentation from last week.

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 20, 2007

Today is a very brief day to let you start your Thanksgiving a bit early.

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 15, 2007

Topics

Homework

Nov 13, 2007

I don't think it's possible for the day to get any simpler.

Topics:

Scavenger Hunt:

Nov 08, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 06, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Nov 01, 2007

Topics:

• Real Life Sim Presentation by Heather
• Discuss: Virtual Itza
• Discuss: Virtual World, Real Life Lawyers
• Discuss: Second Life Faces Mobile Death
• Discuss: Beijing Police Will Patrol Web Virtually
• Discuss: Real Hope in a Virtual World
• Discuss: Dennis Kucinich Opens Up Shop in Second Life
• Discuss: How a Computer Game Glitch Could Help to Fight Off a Global Pandemic

Homework:

Oct 30, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Oct 25, 2007

Today we tackle the issues surrounding the second half of your "final" project. ...among other things...

Homework

Oct 23, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Oct 18, 2007

No Class in the classroom today.

Please take this time to work on your Software Simulation Instructional Design packet. They're due next Thursday!

Oct 16, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Oct 11, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Oct 9, 2007

Topics:

Homework:

Oct 4, 2007

Three Real Life Sims: Bobby, Alex, & Brian

Topics:

• Oddware Presentations.

Homework:

Oct 2, 2007

No SL Presentations today.

Topics:

Homework:

Sep 27, 2007

Two Real Life Sim presentations. Bobby & Jesse

Topic:

Homework:

Sep 25, 2007

• The Crooked House
• Virtual Hallucinations
• Myst Online

Scavenger Hunt : A pet of some sort. We'll meet at the Beach House and show them off.

Sep 20, 2007

Real Life Simulation Presentation by: Bobby

Topics:

• Hardware Prototypes

Homework:

• Oddware

Sep 18, 2007

Second Life Sim: Mike

Other places by Damian

Homework

• Optional: Jewelry with "bling."

Sep 13, 2007

Real Life Sim: Jerilyn

Topics:

• My 4th Newspaper Interview about UB and Second Life.
• Four interesting Second Life books.
• Second Life Terrorism
• Second Life Punishment
• Reuters in Second Life
• Disaffected!

Homework

• Play Disaffected

 

Sep 11, 2007

Today we meet in Second Life at 11am.
Jesse will be presenting his first Second Life simulation.

Sep 6, 2007

Here are the topics we will be covering today:

• Ricky's Real Life Sim Presentation
• Non-Computer Platforms
• Computer Based Platforms

Homework

• No Homework
• Optional: New Avatar Hair in Second Life

Sep 4, 2007

Today we meet in Second Life.
Regular class time: 11am.
Run Ventrilo and log in to the server.
(Get the server / port info from the blue panel.)
Log into Second Life and I'll send you a teleport
to our location.

Homework:
(Read the Class Requirements for fuller details.)

• Student Setup
• Scavenger Hunt #1
• Class Photo

APPLIED SIMULATION     
COSC330.SG1     
Fall 2007     

-Ventrilo Information-     
Server: 69.12.74.141     
Port: 4143     

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

Now that you've spent a couple of weeks creating the Instructional Design document for a software simulation, you're something of a Subject Matter Expert. And that's the topic for this session.

Simply put, a Subject Matter Expert is...well...the person who is an expert on whatever subject your simulating. We often refer to him or her as a SME, often pronounced "smee". Whatever simulation you're creating, it's a fair chance that you are not--by any stretch of the imagination--an expert on the topic. You may be somewhat knowledgeable, but the SME works with the topic, professionally, for a living. He knows more than you imagine you know. He knows the ins, outs, and secret bits that he uses on a daily basis to get his work done.

When assigned to work on a simulation project you will have an SME assigned to you to assist you. This is the first person you contact if you're unsure about part of the process. Call her up, ask your question, get an answer, get back to work.

You'll often find it handy at the beginning of the project to set up a face-to-face meeting with the SME, in the environment that you're simulating. Ask him to step through the routines and processes. Take copious notes. If possible, take a video camera and set it up so you can capture everything for future recall.

As you complete segments of the project, submit them to the SME for review. It is possible that the SME might not be in your "chain of command"--meaning he isn't required to approve your work before you call it done (although he might be)--but letting him review it achieves two important ends. First, it gives you yet another check on the validity of your simulation. Secondly, it can make the SME feel more valuable as part of the team.

The second item goes hand-in-hand with this cautionary note: The SME, while assigned to you during the course of the project, most likely has a "real job" she must attend to. Being your SME is an additional burden that has been assigned to her and she may resent the extra load placed on her already hectic timetable. Although her assistance will be vital to the success of your project, there is a very good chance that she's not getting paid extra for her role as an SME and time spent with you is time taken away from her regular job. A few basic considerations will help get the most out of your SME:

• Always be courteous when dealing with your SME. Make your intrusions to her day be as pleasant as possible.
• Try to balance "frequency" of call against "content load." Calls every 20 minutes can be very annoying. Similary, 1 call per week that takes 2 hours to complete is also tiresome.
• If part of the simulation is particularly thorny, try to verbally shift the difficulty onto your own sholders. "I must be really thick-headed because I'm not understanding this part..." is much better than, "Your explanation isn't very clear at all."
• On the other hand, don't set yourself up to be the complete patsy if the bottom falls out of the project. You don't want to hear, "We canceled your project because you couldn't grasp the simplest of the job's concepts."
• At the end of the process, a card or inexpensive gift (if the giving is not inappropriate) will express your gratitude for the SME's assistance and help him/her feel better about having spent the time and energy required to help you.

As in all things there are always additional items to keep in mind when dealing with your SME.

• The SME has been doing his job for quite some time. He may inadvertently leave out steps or explanations because (1) he's been doing it so long that he doesn't realize he's left it out or (2) he just assumes everyone knows this and doesn't bother to explain it. Watch him while he's stepping through his processes and ask him about these missing explanations.
• There may be extra steps, shortcuts, or data that the SME includes that isn't vital to the process but are things that she has picked up over the years that make the job easier or are side-steps that aren't critical to completing the job. For instance, the training manual may say: "Go to the menu bar, click File, then click Save As.." But when watching your SME, she may execute a Save by using SHIFT-CTRL-S. Catch it if you can and find out why. Then you have to check with the actual client: Do they want you to teach the manual? The shortcut? Both?