In preparation for the next academic year, beginning in four weeks from now, solipCISM has had an extensive makeover this summer, with much of the existing content redesigned, rebuilt, or re-textured, as well as much new content added. The Welcome Zone has been largely redesigned and rebuilt, now with well-stocked freebie shops as well as freebie boxes lining the new quaysides. The Library has been partly rebuilt and fully re-textured. A new Centre for Teaching and Learning in Virtual Environments will deliver educational resources and tutorials to both staff and students; and perhaps of especial value, adjacent to the Centre’s main building, is a complete guide to running an OpenSimulator server and managing a region either standalone, or in grid mode, or connected to an off-SL grid. A new level at 4080 metres has a theatre, a bookshop of key readings for taught modules (full-text books or links to Amazon), shops from which students may sell their creative work, an exhibition centre, and a Virtual Life Research Centre.
