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Annabeth Robinson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Annabeth Robinson, whose online Second Life alias is AngryBeth Shortbread, is a multi-media artist and lecturer based in Leeds, UK where she focusses on the teaching of audio, visual and online technologies. Using Second Life and other Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVEs), Robinson explores their potential as a medium for art and design practice whilst examining its educational potential. Robinson has been undertaking such projects since 2005. AnnaBeth Robinson Born	November 15, Other names	AngryBeth Shortbread Occupation	Second Life Performance artist and Educator. Lecturer at Leeds College of Art Website www.annamorphic.co.uk

Contents [hide] 1 Education 2 Career 3 Second Life Residency 3.1 Educational Tools 3.2 Performances and Installation Pieces 4 References [edit]Education

Robinson studied new media at Newport College of Art and Design. Following graduation she worked and studied at Sheffield Hallam University, receiving a MA in Film & TV Drama direction. [edit]Career

Robinson now lectures Digital Media at Leeds College of Art[1] where she develops tools and techniques for using Second Life for educational applications including the widely used Metalab Whiteboard.[2][3][4] [edit]Second Life Residency

Working primarily in Second Life to create Machinima and educative tools, Robinson has created a large amount of works. These are either tools for improving the educational experience that one can undertake on Second Life or interactive performances that anyone is able to participate in. On the Second Life virtual environment platform Robinson is known as AngryBeth Shortbread.[5] This character, Robinson asserts, 'uses her anger proactively to foster and develop ideas'[6] and describes her as a 'radical, trying to push the envelope of new media and education thought in her small corner of the world, developing projects that cross the divide of real and virtual.'[7] Shortbread's work is based on traditional methods of creating performance and has been placed in a Multi-User Virtual Environment. In addition, she incorporates this with ideas which one is not able to do in the real world. (see performances and installations) Robinson owns at least one island in the virtual platform, Second Life, which 'supports art and design practice either speciﬁc to a single course or to a range of courses'[8]. Robinson's avatar (AngryBeth Shortbread) has been listed as someone who has 'inspired with [her] creativity' by Wagner James Au, a reporter on Second Life. [9] Robinson is also listed as an Educator, and Instructional Designer in Second Life by J Hiles in the TCC 2007 Proceedings.[10] [edit]Educational Tools MetaLab Whiteboard The ubiquitous 'MetaLab Whiteboard'[11] is an educative tool that was developed in order to improve the quality of education within Second Life.[12] It is an interactive board 'that you can pre-load with images'.[13] These images can consist of either text or pictures which have a click through function to display.[14] Hand Show Chair

Screenshot from Second Life of the MetaLab Whiteboard In other projects for the MetaLab on Second Life, Robinson has created the Hand Show, or HandUp Chair.[15] This tool can be operated using the PageUp and PageDown keys on a keyboard. If the avatar's hand is up for more than thirty seconds, whilst in the chair, it will begin to wave. The Hand Show Chair is designed to allow student avatars to be able to raise their hand within a class hosted on Second Life. Essentially, the chair allows students to be noticed by their avatar teacher. Both of these educational tools and more are available on the MetaLab in Second Life.[16] [edit]Performances and Installation Pieces Ping Space Whilst working at Leeds College of Art and Design as a lecturer, Annabeth Robinson contributed to the 'Kritical Works in SL' project (2008) with a project called Ping Space.[17] The interactive performance consisted of two cubes being used in 'Kriti Island'. The aim of the performance was to create sound which could only be done when one cube was placed on the ground and the other was placed 300 metres above.[18] AngryBeth Shortbread (Robinson) described the sound created as: "a mixture of organic pink noise [...] water/wind and binaural beats - sine wave tones of sound that range from 7 - 30 hz difference. The type of beats and other sound design within the void is controlled by an external source outside of Second Life [...] Avatars flying around inside the void will also be sending data back out to the interface - effecting its presentation. Between these two spaces ping playful interaction - where each space's activity affect the other"[19]

The Pencil Factory Gallery Annabeth Robinson, along with artists such as Adam Nash and Brad Kligerman,[20] use Second Life as a platform to imitate real life mediums and transfer them into a virtual world. She manipulates everyday objects within the virtual world of Second Life in order to create a performative element that is available for users to view in The Pencil Factory Gallery.[21] Within The Pencil Factory Gallery in Second Life, an avatar can freely walk around the gallery and interact with the exhibitions on multiple occasions and can connect them with exhibitions they have experienced in the real world. Robinson has more recently been focussing on 'the role of the avatar'[22] and how it influences the space around it. In addition, her focus is on the manipulation of sound and instruments where the avatar can choose multiple boxes to create its own compilation of sound[23] For example, a user can create their very own soundscape in the Synthy-Go-Round by clicking coloured boxes to enable or disable sounds. Within The Pencil Factory Gallery there is an area called Sandbox where artists can create work in Second Life and experiment with the creations of objects within this space. Each object must be removed at the end of your session and it must remain clean or else it will be subject to deletion. [24]

Synthy-Go-Round In this installation users can create a soundscape of their choice by clicking different coloured boxes. Clicking the boxes will enable or disable sounds which creates an overall noise of varying timbre according to the users personal choice. [25] The Letter Well In this installation, an avatar can either speak or type by the letter well to throw their words into the well. Then, the words that the user said emerge from the well in steam. In addition, if the user walks into the well they fall under the gallery. This is a replica of the centre of the earth with lava and rocks. This adds a real life element to the well. [26] Avatar DNA In this installation piece, avatars can touch a generator in the gallery. Once touched, the generator will show or create a physical representation of the avatar's unique DNA chain. [27] UUID Polyphony: Harmony of Avatars Developing from the DNA Sculpture, the UUID Polyphony translates the avatar's DNA structure into sound. From this, a unique soundscape is created relevant to each avatar's DNA. The effect of this is greater when multiple users are in the space as these unique clips of music link together making a soundscape for the community present. [28] Free Fall In this installation, users are able to touch coloured squares on a cylinder. Upon touching the coloured squares, a ball of the same colour will 'free fall' into the cylinder. The balls will then bounce around until the time runs out. [29] You Demand Too Much Of Me In You Demand Too Much Of Me there is a large clear box filled with smaller boxes. These boxes have words such as 'whole' and 'undamaged' inscribed on them. As spectators observe the work, the number of boxes decrease in correlation to the amount of avatars viewing the work. For example, if one avatar is viewing the piece, one box will remain. As avatars leave the space, the boxes reappear. [30] SynthyCube - Avatar Harp Another room within The Pencil Factory Gallery contains a large, dark square upon the floor. Within this, there are smaller squares which act as harp strings that create a humming noise. The avatar is then invited to fly through the piece and as the avatar flies closer to the centre of the square, the tone that is produced raises in pitch. Throughout the time spent in the installation, blocks appear showing the avatar's collision with the inner sections of the SynthyCube. [31] Machinima TV Studio This is a specific area which is used primarily by videopodcasters in Second Life which is set up in the style of an interview. There are multiple cameras where the camera view can be changed by the use of the control button on the keyboard. [32] Email Invaders Whilst not based on Second Life, Email Invaders is an inherently interactive performance. Based on Robinson's website, viewers can send an email to either a Red Space Invader or a Yellow Space Invader. Either invader will then grow according to the size of the email sent. Robinson states that this interactive performance is an 'exploration of changing aspects of the virtual world via outside communication.' [33]

Add this to Digital Performance:

Performers such as Annabeth Robinson, also known as AngryBeth Shortbread, use Second Life (the internet based Multi-User Virtual Environment) as a platform to present work online where she creates installations and educational tools.