The Magic of Literature Alive!

Peggy Sheehy and the folks at the NECC conference are very kind to Literature Alive! They have truly said some nice things about us, and we really appreciate it.

We had the good fortune to work with Peggy and BernaJean Porter on the Story World Project that they are presenting at NECC on Wednesday (a link will be posted after their presentation).

When I started Literature Alive! over a year ago, I was all alone. I wanted to share literature with my students, but I also wanted to share it with the world. Eloise started volunteering a few months later (probably after seeing what a nightmare I was in the scripting department), and Daliah Carter was in the first group of students that came into SL. Over time, we have had some really great volunteers, but, for the most part, it is just the three of us. We have a special magic. Maybe it is because we all do something different (like a rock band), and we don't "compete." Maybe it is because our personalities just mesh, and we adore each other. Whatever it is, it works.

Eloise is our drummer. We all know that the drummer is the most important piece of a band. You can't keep time without it. Eloise is like a virtual Neil Peart (that would be RUSH's awesome drummer for those of you with bad taste in music). She quietly and shyly goes about her business, but, trust me, Literature Alive! would not exist without her. Gondola's through hell? Albatross HUDs? Only Eloise can make that kind of magic.

Daliah is the one that most people never see. She is a professional shopper, and now a growing builder. She also keeps my schedule, and calls me at home to remind me to do stuff. She is the queen of freebies, and does all the makeovers with students. She also hunts for textures like no one's business. She keeps our files up to date, and backs up our backup avatars (ya just nevva know, ya know?). She also reminds me to have fun in SL by dragging me to hair hunts and lucky chairs. In the band, she is our bass player (Geddy Lee, for my fellow RUSH fans).

My job is easy. I am like a lead singer (um, Geddy Lee without the guitar? Mick Jagger?)...I speak on behalf of the band, and I plan out the gigs. My job is content...and only content. I make sure that everything is correct and ethical, and that the overall build is immersive. My focus is student learning, and, for me, that extends beyond my own students and spills over into my global classroom - all those people I don't know that might stumble into one of our builds. I am an idea gyrl. And, of course we all know, I look like Barbie.

So, this is our dream team. We have magic; we have lots of magic. And, we appreciate when people notice and say lovely things about us (thanks, again, Peggy :-)

IMAGE: My first attempt at something creative in Photoshop!