Final Project Preparations

As I mentioned in one of my earliest posts, I have a problem with procrastination. I never intend to procrastinate, but I’m always so busy finishing one major project that I have to hold off starting the next one. So while my idea for my final project has been bouncing around my head for weeks now, it was only recently that I was able to actually sit down and start working on it. As soon as I did so, several major problems became immediately apparent. Since Diana has been talking about bringing the Writing Center into Second Life, my plan had been to provide a walk-through for my fellow consultants. However, the process of getting started with Second Life takes a lot longer than the 15 minutes that my presentation can last. Even if I downloaded the requisite software onto a few laptops at the Writing Center, and had everyone come ready with details for making an account, it would still take too long. I’ve realized that I won’t be able to explain why Second Life has such potential to help the Writing Center, and walk people through it. Even if I did get everyone online, just navigating one’s way through SL takes some adjustment, and that wouldn’t be the point of my presentation. While learning how to customize your avatar might be interesting, it would do little to help consultants learn how to help clients. I think explaining SL’s relevance to the Writing Center is the most important thing to talk about, so any overview I give about how to use it will be cursory, at best. I’m working on the best way to combine these two ideas, but the issue of time seems to hamper me at every turn. Part of me just wants to chuck the whole thing, but that’s obviously not an option. Everyone else’s final projects have been so different that I can’t compare my project to theirs to see how well mine will meet the assignment requirements/expectations.