This project focuses on “virtual worlds”: online 3-D animated environments in which people can interact socially, express themselves creatively, fly, play games, shop, build things, own “land,” share music and video, and learn in new educational contexts.  I intend to use this Fellowship to research various virtual worlds, such as Second Life, ActiveWorlds, and There.com, with particular emphasis on two foci important to Berklee: how the music industry might become involved with virtual worlds, and the educational opportunities for virtual worlds. The Fellowship project dovetails with and complements my proposed sabbatical project for AY08-09, “Sharpening the Cutting Edge: What’s New in New Media?” by assessing whether and how Berklee might engage in virtual worlds, and contribute to the sabbatical project goals of strengthening my scholarship, artistic practice, teaching and curriculum development.

Lori's blog, Prof. LL's Second Life, explores the experiences of Lori's "avatar" L1Aura Loire in Second Life.

The wider context for an exploration of the current and future potential of music and education in virtual worlds is the issue of having experiences in simulated environments.  One way to think about it is that the text-based model of online learning may at some point be eclipsed by simulated classrooms in a virtual world; instead of meeting with classmates from around the world in a chatroom, the meeting would take place in the simulation, with students and teachers interacting with each others’ avatars.  Similarly, instead of sharing music through a social networking site like MySpace, fans might “gather” in a virtual club to listen to, watch, dance, and talk about music.  Or instead of using the iTunes Store interface, consumers would “go” to a virtual store, walk though aisles, look at album covers, and have a simulated version of the experience of going to a record store (an experience increasingly difficult to have in the “real” world).  Although the graphics and animation in current online 3-D simulations can be clunky, the quality is bound to make the same exponential improvements that video games have made from Pong to current 3-D animated games.  Some larger issues that I plan on thinking about include: how creating avatars relates to identity, the nature of virtual or simulated “experience,” what it means to visualize experience, how to define agency in gaming and virtual worlds, and a critical interpretation of the benefits and drawbacks of participating in virtual worlds.