The Friday before spring break is always an interesting day at IUP. Attendance in class was actually not too bad today, but the campus emptied out by the early afternoon. I am always amazed how empty Indiana, PA becomes when the students are gone for a break, but it makes it a lot less crowded at the stores and restaurants. On one hand, it is nice to know that I now have some time off and do not have to teach classes next week, I still have a lot of work that I need to get done. I made a list of work I want to get done next week and it was longer than I expected. I need to: write 3 letters of recommendations, start a grant, complete a different grant, grade unit papers, grade midterms, practice with the Trimble R8, and start updating both the History Department’s web-pages and the University Senate website. I think that is it – at least I hope that’s it. Anyway, I intend to put all that off for a few days and not start working on these items until Monday and relax with some TV tomorrow.
I finished showing my 3 sections of Digital History a brief introduction to Second Life. It was certainly interesting – they did not seem bored, or disinterested, but more cautious than anything. They had lots of questions, but these questions dealt more with negative items, such as required hardware (graphics cards, bandwidth, and older computers) or perceived dangers (griefing or attacks). By the time we were done talking about SL, I felt pretty good that they will try it out, but it will be interesting to see how many visit more than just when I require it for class.
RSM
Ancient History Ramblings 