Rob Knop's Gratuitous Virtual Worlds Page

In the last few years, I've become very interested in the human communication and educational potential of virtual worlds such as Second Life. After leaving my assistant professor job at Vanderbilt, I worked for Linden Lab for just under two years.

Second Life accounts are free, as are accounts on many OpenSim grids such as OSGrid.

The Meta-Institute of Computational Astrophysics (MICA)

This is an entirely in-world astrophysics institute, founded primarily by Piet Hutt of Princeton, together with some collaborators of his (who work on N-body simulations) and some other astronomers. It's notable because it's not the metaverse extension of a real-world organization, but one that exists entirely in the metaverse. Most months, I give a popular talk as a part of a series entitled "Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy".

The Avatar Repertory Theater

Between MICA and this, it should be clear that those who claim that "Second Life is not a game" are right. This is a theater company that does fully staged productions fo paly in world. I started with their February, 2009 production of The Tempest. Our next production will be Howard Barker's 13 Objects in late October, as part of the Barker "21 for 21" celebration.

Giving a Presentation in Second Life

Some tips, as well as the mechanics of getting slides uploaded, for giving a presentation in Second Life.