Living in a Virtual World in Second Life

Shane BaptistaComputing ConsultantCenter for Teaching Excellence

Anne Pemberton Instructional Services

Coordinator Randall Library

What is Second Life?

“Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 9,478,857 Residents from around the globe.”

http://www.secondlife.com/whatis

Where Did It Come From?

Linden Lab (http://lindenlab.com/) Founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale Vision and Mission: “To connect us all

to an online world that advances the human condition.”

Based in San Francisco 200 employees worldwide

• Second Life: Get One

• Introduction to Second Life

• Ohio University

What Can You Do in SL?

Explore Meet People

Chat (IM) Talk (Voice now available) Make groups

Buy (Linden $) Build (Shane)

System Requirements

Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)

OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4) NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support

Windows Vista Computer Processor: 800MHz Pentium III

or Athlon, or better Computer Memory: 256MB or better Video/Graphics Card**:

nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better

Population (as of 9/13/07)

Residents Logged-In During Last 7 Days 464,653

Residents Logged-In During Last 14 Days 637,715

Residents Logged-In During Last 30 Days 977,547

Residents Logged-In During Last 60 Days 1,540,605

Total Residents 9,476,089

Is It Free?

Yes and No

Free to create an Avatar and explore (Basic Membership)

Lots of “freebies” available Hair, skin, clothes, etc.

Is It Free?

Want to buy land? A house? (Premium membership)

250 - 320 Linden $ = 1 US $

Make money (Surveys, “camping,” greeter, etc.)

Over $1 million US typically spent in a 24 hour period

What Will YOU Do There?

Personal Explore! Have fun!

Professional Find out what other faculty are doing Have virtual office hours Have a class meet there Have your students explore

Institutions in Second Life

Harvard University

New York University

San Diego State University

Stanford University

Texas State University

Top 20 Educational Locations

Learning Spaces

Re-Think Learning Spaces

Do you really need a building or chairs when you can meet on top of a mountain or discuss a topic while swimming in a lake?

Examples

Campus: Second Life Program

Use of 1 acre of land in Second Life completely free for the duration of your class

Allows you to try out Second Life with your class for the first time at no cost

You will have the land for a single semester (e.g., Fall or Spring). After that semester is over, plot is reclaimed

Campus: Second Life Program

Accepting applications for the Spring 2008 academic semester

Deadline to apply is 12/31/07

You will be informed of decision by 1/5/08

If you are looking for temporary land for your class, you might try posting on the SLED list to see if any other educators in Second Life might be able to help you

http://secondlife.com/csl

Private Islands

Provide ability to create secure "intranet" spaces with restricted membership for your students and you, or you can open it up to be accessible to everyone in Second Life

50% discount for Private Islands to educational institutions and non-profit organizations

Islands are priced at US $1,675 for 65,536 square meters (about 16 acres)

Monthly land fees for maintenance are US $295 (also eligible for 50% discount)

http://secondlife.com/community/land-islands.php

Higher Ed Discussion

http://www.secondlife.com/

http://uncwsecondlife.pbwiki.com/ (Password: uncw)

http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education

http://www.secondlife.com/educationwiki

Getting Started

http://secondlife.com

Create an Avatar First name can be anything you want You will not use your “first life” last name You can be anyone or anything you want! Male/female, human/animal, robot You’ll learn how to change appearance

First stop: Orientation Island

First Life:Anne Pemberton

Second Life:Kirstie Merlin

First Life:Anne Pemberton

Second Life:Brooke Timeless

Building

Getting Help

Video Tutorials

Building Tutorial

Help Island

Ask Residents!

Have to See to Believe

Machinima (making movies in Second Life)

http://www.bellsandspurs.com/

http://secondlife.com/community/videos.php

Libraries In Second Life