[HMDS] Don't underestimate the power of structures...
...even if they're virtual.
Since the inception of Camp Global Kids, our island has shifted. It has been added onto, tweaked, deleted, re-colored and re-visioned as the Camp has demanded different things of the space.
At the start, new structures were small, and not noticable. That was even the point of some of them. Below is a meeting space high in the sky that Mercury, our remote intern, built for the purposes of private meetings and peace and quiet.
At the start of camp, we thought it would be nice to establish a couple of meeting areas. We usually start each camp day in this stylish hut/yurt/gazebo. It was designed by one of our wonderful campers, Brooke, who would go on to make many more things for the island...
For our end of the day closings, Ryan D made us this campfire, marshmallows and all!
But as we went on, it became evident that certain activities would call for different structures. There was the Dance Party of the Oppressed, which Brooke made a sky club for.
For our 'Race to the Bottom' activity Ryan D and Brooke made this fantastic factory. Broken glass, conveyor belt and dilapidated exterior were all included!
Spunky provided the 'corporate' style suits for that activity as well.
And these are just a couple of examples of things that the teens built or brought to the table. There were bunches of others, and will no doubt be more as camp goes on.
But what's the point? Why all these structures? Why the clothes? The glasses? The conveyor belt? Is any of it really necessary?
The short answer is of course. Certain things were simply pragmatic. We needed a place to sit. We needed a place to talk. Certain 'functions' were necessary. That's the short answer.
The long answer is that these structures and accessories are far more than 'pragmatic', but equally important. In Global Kids' work outside of SL, we always need a place to sit, to talk, etc... And we make do with classrooms and desks. But in Second Life, why settle? If I need a place hold a workshop, why can't it be in a factory? Especially if the workshop involves capitalists building factories in developing countries. And why shouldn't the 'capitalists' wear suits, and kick their feet up on corporate tables?
All of this helps to set the stage, add a bit more flavor, engage a youth who might otherwise tune out. More important, it creates an immersive environment, changes thought processes and alters the way a learner relates to a space, a situation or a person.
Aside from this though, is an even more important aspect to these structures and props. The above would certainly hold true if it was me, or another GK staff, or a team we contracted out that created these things. But it's not. It's our campers.
At the start of camp we expressed that we needed a place to meet, and left it at that. After that, Brooke asked himself: 'What kind of place do I want to meet in?' And then he built. I asked Spunky if she might have a corporate style suit, and then she went off on her own, used the resources she had, and contributed something to an activity she would ultimately participate in herself.
I say that these structures have power, mostly, because they are symbols of youth who are engaged in the world. They've become involved, and not only partcipate in something we hand to them, but create integral parts of the activities they later experience.
These structures may be virtual, but have no doubt in your mind: they're really powerful.
