BCOpenSim

BCOpenSim provides access to robust, open virtual worlds free of cost to BC post-secondary institutions wishing to explore the potential of virtual worlds for teaching and learning. BCOpensim regions are not limited in size or scope – institutions can choose to begin with their own island – or a small sandbox. There are currently a number of BC institutions experimenting with virtual simulations, some of which are on a small scale taking place in SecondLife sandboxes and some on a larger scale, leasing large areas from Linden Labs for the purposes of teaching courses and programs.

BCOpenSim provides a gathering place for BC institutions to collaborate on fully featured virtual world projects with the flexibility of increasing the size and scope of projects without facing the prohibitive costs of leasing, maintenance, and licensing to Linden Labs. All learning objects and simulations developed within the BC OpenSim project by UNBC will be made available to all BCOpenSim participants free of cost via an in-world gallery by simulator administrators in addition to .oar files which function as portable, offline backups of regions including all objects and builds. These .oar files will be offered to BC post-secondary institutions via the BCCampus Sol*r repository.

The Hippo OpenSim Viewer is a modified Second Life viewer, targeted at OpenSim users.The current version is based on the official Linden Lab release 1.22.11.

The Hippo OpenSim Viewer helps users take advantage of OpenSim features and extensions. Based on the source code of the Linden viewer, which is published under GPL, Hippo OpenSim Viewer is compatible not only with the Second Life grid but with all the grids running Open Simulator. The additional features allow exploiting the potential of the Open Simulator world and provide a user-friedly way to connect to the multitude of OpenSim grids.

Windows Version
Linux Version
Mac Version

BCOpenSim is fully compatible with the client provided by SecondLife, but connecting to BCOpenSim will require a few easy steps to ensure you connect to BCOpenSim rather than the SecondLife MainGrid.

When you launch the Hippo viewer you will notice a button labelled [Grid] next to the [Connect] button.
Here you can choose which grid to connect to, add new grid details, etc. Let's walk you through setting this up for BCOpenSim.


Click on the Grids button, you will see in the 'Select a Grid' drop-down box that connection details to 3rd Rock, openlife, osgrid and secondlife have already been set up. So, to create your own, click on the Add button. Set the details as follows:

    Loginuri: http://pg-uni-ctlt-02.unbc.ca:9000
    Platform: Opensim
    Grid Nickname: BCOpenSim
    Grid Name: BCOpenSim

Set BCOpenSim as your default region to ensure you connect to BCOpenSim each time the client starts up. Choose BCOpenSim from your Grid drop-down box, click the Default button, then click Apply.

You are now ready to connect to your sim. You can currently access BCOpenSim with a guest account:

first name: ctlt
second name: ctlt
password: ctlt

If you wish to have you own account created, please contact gpotter@unbc.ca.

SLOODLE (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an Open Source project which integrates the multi-user virtual environment of Second Life with the Moodle learning-management system. The BCOpenSim project has been involved in an open source community working on porting the Sloodle project to the OpenSim environment. BCOpensim current has a working prototype of Sloodle in a test region that is interoperable with UNBC's Moodle installation. BCOpenSim will be completing the Sloodle port to OpenSim in Fall 2009 and offer support for integration of BCOpenSim regions with BCCampus Moodle Shared Service subscribers.

Sloodle provides a range of tools for supporting learning and teaching to the immersive virtual world; tools which are fully integrated with a tried and tested web-based learning management system used by hundreds of thousands of educators and students worldwide.

Some notable features of Sloodle + BCOpenSim are listed below:

• Web-intercom. A chat-room that brings Moodle chatroom and BCOpenSim chats together. Students can participate in chats in BCOpenSim using the accessible Moodle chatroom. Discussions can be archived securely in a Moodle database.
• Registration booth. Identity management for BCOpenSim and Moodle. Link students’ avatars to their Moodle user accounts.
• Quiz tool and 3D Drop Box. Assess in BCOpenSim – grade in Moodle. Set quizzes or 3D modelling tasks in an engaging 3D environment. Review grades quickly and easily in the standard Moodle gradebook.
• Choice tool. Allow students to vote (and see results) in BCOpenSim as well as in Moodle.
• Multi-function SLOODLE Toolbar. Enhances the BCOpenSim user interface. Use a range of classroom gestures, quickly get a list of the Moodle user names of the avatars around or write notes directly into to your Moodle blog from BCOpenSim.
• Presenter. Quickly author presentations of slides and/or web-pages in Moodle. Present in BCOpenSim without having go through lengthy processes to convert or upload images.
• … and more. More tools are being prototyped on a regular basis.

FreeSWITCH is a free/open source software communications platform for the creation of voice and chat driven products and is released under the MPL free software license. Its core library, libfreeswitch, is capable of being embedded into other projects, as well as being used as a stand-alone application.

BCOpenSim will offer voice telephony for all regions in Fall 2009. It is currently being used and tested by the UNBC Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology and will be opened to all BCOpenSim users once the testing phase is complete. The quality of the voice telephony within BCOpenSim comparable with voice over IP (VoIP) products like GTalk and Skype.

This added feature will require no modifications on the part of the user as it is fully operational with the voice features embedded in the SecondLife and Hippo client viewers.

The hypergrid is an extension that will be applied to BCOpenSim that allows you to link to other sims on the internet, supporting seamless transfers between sims. The hypergrid is effectively supporting the emergence of a Web of virtual worlds as it allows users to traverse existing grids of opensim installations in addition to the SecondLife MainGrid.

BCOpenSim users will be able to place hyperlinks on their map to hypergrided regions run by others. Once those hyperlinks are established, users interact with those regions in exactly the same way as they interact with local regions. Specifically, users can choose to teleport there. Once the user reaches the region behind the hyperlink, she is automatically interacting with a different virtual world without having to logout from the world where she came from, and while still having access to her inventory.

The BCOpenSim Pavillion will be the default entry for all newcomers to the BCOpenSim grid. The pavillion will offer all learning objects and simulation elements developed within the BCOpenSim project free of cost. This will allow all users to use and remix the objects in their own BCOpenSim regions.