The Second Life Adventures of Kittie Serendipity

The WSU Learning Center has our own Second Life cheerleader, Kittie Serendipity. Kittie is always on the move and out researching new places in SL, attending SL classes, meeting people and learning how they are utilizing their Second Life .

She will be taking snapshots of her adventures and gathering useful information and links to the places she visits.
The Second Life Adventures of Kittie Serendipity is the blog where you can find out what's new and exciting in her Second Life.

Although Kittie's main focus in Second Life is education and new media, she also likes to have fun on the way. She will report on places of exceptional beauty or unique interest she encounters on her quest for knowledge.

Video Chat

We now have a Stickam.com account where we can show live feeds of our daily operations or special visitors exploring our facility.

If a live session is in progress, click the "Enter Chat" button to open a larger player and join the experience using text or your own webcam.

We hope you enjoy this inside look into the LC-NOP.

Growing Green Enterprise Workshop

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

More than 80 people gathered at the WSU Jefferson County/ Learning Center facilities this past Tuesday for a Growing Green workshop. Presentations and breakout sessions focused on exploring trends in the evolving field of sustainable business practices and related opportunities for green enterprise development and community revitalization.

Noted eco-investment, risk-capital speakers included Margie Brand from EcoVentures International, Jason Friedman representing Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Mark Bowman from ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, and Denise Pranger of the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

Sponsors included the Northwest Area Foundation, EcoVentures International, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, the City of Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Food Coop, Enterprise for Equity, Northwest Natural Resource Group, Kitsap Bank, First Federal Bank and Washington State University Jefferson County.

LC staff recorded the event in high definition. Copies of the presentations are available on DVD from Jefferson Extension as well as net-streamed. Each segment is downloadable and able to be embedded to websites or blogs.

View the event on Google Video:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
  

Port Townsend Film Festival 2007

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

The LC-NOP and Jefferson Extension combined their efforts again this year in support of the 8th annual Port Townsend Film Festival. WSU LCD projection equipment was used at the Pope Marine Park, one of the festival's five venues used to show over 60 films in three days. A large sign proudly proclaiming WSU sponsorship decorated the building.

In front of the historic Rose Theater on Taylor Street, NOPLC's Robert Force directed a beer and wine garden hospitality center for festival goers to meet film directors, including this year's guest artist, Elliot Gould. Thurston County Extension Director, Cliff Moore, stopped in for a bit of the fun and helped serve dinner to 550 festival guests on opening night. Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times chief film critic recounted festival highlights, available in the Seattle Times archives.

Jefferson County Fair

August 11, 2007

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Kris Raikes, the LC-NOP lab-tech, and Butch, the WSU mascot, represented WSU at the Jefferson County Fair in Port Townsend this weekend. The booth, organized by Matt Lyons of Jefferson Education Center, was a nexus of information to fair-goers for all of the higher education offerings in Jefferson County. Many of the patrons were pleasantly surprised to see the large number of educational opportunities available to our area.

Lela Hilton in the LC

Image courtesy of Matt Sircely - click to enlarge
Lela Hiton (far-right) awards diploma to Clemente Course graduate

Lela Hilton recently needed a base of operations to continue her work with the Bard College Clemente Course and teaching online courses for ECC. The Learning Center was happy to accommodate. The pairing is a logical step, as making education available to our rural residents is the driving goal of WSU's Distance Degree Program and the Jefferson County affiliate of the Bard College Clemente program is the only rural component to the urban-based education initiative founded by Earl Shorris.

Read Mr. Shorris' note to the Jefferson County Bard College Clemente Course

Andy Mackie Gives 35th Scholarship

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Andy Mackie, holder of the Guinness Book of World Records for the Largest Harmonica Band (1,706 participants), is pictured with LC Director, Robert Force. Andy stopped by the LC office to tell Robert that the result of their having collaborated to set the world record two years ago has resulted in significant increases in donations to his Andy Mackie Music Foundation and that he had just finished giving away his 35th, $500.00 scholarship to a local college-bound youth. Andy's many programs include promoting music in the public schools by teaching and supplying students with free dulcimers, strum sticks, violins and, yes, harmonicas, having personally taught more than 1,000 elementary students to play.

Chimacum HS Accreditation

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

LC Coordinator, Robert Force, is pictured with Tom Edwards, Dean of Students at Washington HS in Tacoma. Both were part of a team of educators who spent a day at Chimacum High School interviewing students and faculty about District goals. The event was part of a self-study for accreditation renewal. Reunited for the first time in nearly 20 years, Tom was a former student of Robert's in the Chimacum Middle School.

Hospital College Fair

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Butch took a short trip to the Jefferson County Hospital along with LC Coordinator, Robert Force. Don't worry, both are fine! The excursion was as presenters for WSU, along with nine other colleges and universities. Organized by Matt Lyons of the Jefferson Education Committee, schools were invited that offer degrees in this county related to the health care field.