Second Life 2008

An Introduction to Online Virtual Reality

Howard Gregory

Wasson Center Simulation EducatorNortheastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine & Pharmacy

Virtual Worlds Q3 2008

Second Life Login Screen

What is Second Life

Second Life Is a 3-D virtual world

in which all content is created by Residents (users)

Basic Membership is Free

• basic membership allows you to;Create an AvatarExplore Create Content Chat (voice or text)

Premium Membership

• Allows all of the above and in addition;o you may own “Land” (server storage space)

This allows you to have a permanent home for the content you have created, set up a store, rent out homes or storefronts...

o You can buy and sell Linden Dollars on the LindeX™ Second Life uses its own currency called the Linden Linden exchange rate is about 250 Lindens to $1 US

A Premium Account costs about $9.95 a month

Create an Account

• Choose a first name• Choose an basic Avatar from a pool basic

shapes (can be modified into anything)o Human, Furry, Robot, Elf, etc…

• Sign On to your account• You’ll find yourself on an orientation

island* Follow the signs and learn the basics.

Orientation Island first time log on

Tutorials On

• Moving• Searching• Communicating• Changing Your

Appearance

Orientation Screen Shot

Avatar

• Avatar -o a computer user's representation of

himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games or a two-dimensional photo used as part of a profile.

Screen Shot of Appearance Edit Screen

What do Avatars Look Like?

Steampunk AV

Steampunk

NEKO

Neko AVs

Avatar appearance is limited only by

imagination

You could be a;Furry, Centaur, Tiny, Robot, Elf,

Vampire, Fairy, gnome, man eating plant, small green man

orJust about everything else

Vocabulary• Grid: SL is run on thousands of computer servers,

collectively called the Grid

• Region: an area in SL, usually an island

• Island: an area in SL, created using one hard drive • Rezzing: an object in the process of appearing

• Prim: primitives, (cubes, spheres, cylinders) linked together to create complex objects

• Lag: delays in-world caused by slow connections or too many objects in the same place

• Landmarks: it records a location for later return (similar to bookmarks)

• Gestures: scripts for making your avatar wave, dance, shrug, etc…

• Slurl: a direct teleport link to a location in Second Life

• Teleport: a form of instantaneous transportation in Second Life using Landmarks

Kent State Introduction to Second Life Chris Thomas

OK, but…What is there to DO in

Second Life?!?

ShareMeet

Design

Shop

Sell

Collaborate

Take Classes

Hold Classes

Explore

Interact

Create

Hear Live Music

Dance

Role Play

DJ

Jobs in Second Life

• party planner

• nightclub owner

• fashion designer

• aerospace engineer

• jewelry maker

• scripter

• Architect

• machinima director

Jobs in Second Life

• Musician• theme park developer

• real estate speculator

• vacation resort owner

• Magazine publisher

• private detective

• Publicist

• Gunsmith• SL.com 2008

Art Galleries

  Bowling Green State University VIRTUAL CAMPUS

BGSU Classes Offered

• American Culture Studieso Women in Sci-Fi

• Communicationo Gaming Cultures and Globalizationo Adaptive Hypermedia and Immersive

Learning Environmentso Internet Communities

BGSU Classes Offered

• School of Arto 2D Foundations Introduction to Arto Advanced Digital Imagingo Interactive Art Studio

• Technology Systemso Digital Computer Analysis

Indiana University School of Medicine

• Mary T Johnson, Ph.D.• Statewide Director for Problem Solving

Competency• Associate Professor of Microbiology and

Immunology

How they are using SL

• Virtual Clinic developed in order to learn medical microbiology and infectious disease medicine.

• Students* encounter simulated patients and work in teams to apply the skills of a practicing physician as they organize information about infectious disease cases

*1st and 2nd year

How they are using SL

• Students are encouraged to bond within Learning Communities focused on areas of shared clinical interest.

• This is especially meaningful in a distributed environment, where students might feel isolated without such interactions.

• Provides training in diagnosis, laboratory medicine and problem solving

Students at early stages of training are provided with a set of appropriate questions.

Advantages to Students

• Student attending classes online can look forward to a richer experience in a Virtual World classroom when compared to a text only chat-room or an online class management system like WebCT.

• They find that the addition of sight, sound and the use of simulation will greatly enhance their experience.

• The Virtual World will thus be able to supply them the benefits an online education has traditionally lacked.

Flat web VS 3D web

• When people are browsing the flat Web shop of Amazon.com, for example, they cannot see, chat with, and benefit from the experiences/opinions of, other people looking for the same items in real time.

• With 3-D virtual worlds All of those things are possible.

Amazon.comwww

Snowbooks, SL

VS.

NMC Symposium recurring themes

• Identity and self-image• Credibility and the reliability of

Information• Civic and social involvement• The arts, creativity, and design• Social networking• Pedagogical potentials and

implications

http://virtualworlds.nmc.org/portfolio/symposium/

ReferencesLevine, A. (2006, October 7). Symposium on the Impact of Digital Media. NMC Virtual Worlds. from virtualworlds.nmc.org/2006/10/07/symposium/

Avatar Computing. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

Johnson, M. (n.d.). A Second Life Virtual Clinic For Medical Student Training. Slide Share. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/magistra12/a-second-life-virtual-clinic-for-medical-student-training-presentation

Kitsune. (n.d.). Quite Oh: Second Life . Retrieved from quiteoh.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/kitsune/

Snowbooks & Second Life . (n.d.). Snowbooks. Retrieved from http://www.snowbooks.com/secondlife/

References

Universe-graph. (n.d.). KZERO. Retrieved June 1, 2008, from http://www.kzero.co.uk

maximillion kleene live music. Laisola Mediaset it. Retrieved from http://isolamediaset.wordpress.com/2008/05/