Second Life is a 3D virtual world where users interact through avatars. Users can explore, meet other residents, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services. The presentation introduced the Second Life interface and navigation tools, covered how to customize an avatar, and discussed potential educational uses of the platform. Questions from participants focused on what surprised them about Second Life and the challenges and opportunities of using it in an educational setting.

1. Introduction to Second Life
Introduction to Second Life
April 4 2013
Emin Saglamer
Instructional Technologies Support

2. Introduction to Second Life
Meet the Texas State SL Team
Second Life Team at ITS
•Emin Saglamer
– Manager, Archirect, Marketing
•Robyn Herry
– Architect, Digital Media Specialist
•Steve Lux
– Architect, Digital Graphics

3. Introduction to Second Life
WHAT IS SECOND LIFE?
Open-ended MMORPG with free membership and integrated
content building tools operated by Linden Lab since 2002.

4. Introduction to Second Life
Your World, Your Imagination
Teaser Video Tour of Second Life

5. Introduction to Second Life
A Year in Second Life!
A Year in Second Life – user created video tour.

6. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Persistent 3D virtual reality
First available in 2002

7. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Users are represented by avatars
Avatars can take any shape or form

8. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Users are represented by avatars
Avatars can take any shape or form

9. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Text chat, voice chat
Real time communication

10. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Has its own currency (L$)
Economy & Merchants

11. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Free or paid membership options
Rent or own land

12. Introduction to Second Life
What is Second Life?
Login concurrency 70K at peak times

13. Introduction to Second Life
SECOND LIFE COMMUNITIES

14. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is Creative Expression
Wastelands in Second Life

15. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is a Party: Second Life Birthday Celebration
Second Life 9th Birthday Celebration 2012

16. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is a Live Concert
Live Concert during SL9B Celebrations

17. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is a Gallery Opening
Gallery Opening Party for Troy Vogel

18. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is Fashion & Style
Create the avatar of your dreams thanks to SL content creators

19. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is a Wedding!
Let them know how special they are for you.

20. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is Technology Convention
Share ideas, learn, communicate, inspire…

21. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is an Educational Platform
All shapes and sizes gather and discuss…

22. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life is Role Playing: Robots, Vampires, Furries
“Come, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire
worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you
broke your vows a hundred times, Ours is the
portal of hope, come as you are.”
- Rumi

23. Introduction to Second Life
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY – SAN MARCOS
IN SECOND LIFE
Our Second Life 2006-2012

24. Introduction to Second Life
BobCat Village (2006 - 2013)

25. Introduction to Second Life
QUICK SL ORIENTATION
Basic Skills

26. Introduction to Second Life
Second Life Client
SL Client
Splash Screen
• SL client runs on Macintosh
and Windows computers.
• If your lab computer's version
of SL tells you, you need to
upgrade, please ignore it. You
can still log in with the version
installed.

27. Introduction to Second Life
Terms of Service Agreement
TOS Agreement
Accept the TOS
• Before you can sign onto
Second Life, you have to agree
to the terms of service (TOS)
agreement as presented by
Linden Lab.
• You will have to accept the
TOS once however from time
to time Linden Lab will make
changes to the TOS and when
you log in you may have to
agree to TOS again.

28. Introduction to Second Life
First Arrival in SL
No more Orientation Island!

29. Introduction to Second Life
Navigate to Our Virtual Campus to Start Your Orientation
Notice the field at the top of your window that looks like a URL field for a web browser. Type
“bobcat village” and hit return in this field to teleport to our island.

30. Introduction to Second Life
Walking
Use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to make your avatar forward
and back. Use left right arrows to make your avatar turn.

31. Introduction to Second Life
Camera Turn
Holding down Alt and holding down a left mouse button click, drag your mouse
forward and back or use the wheel to zoom in and out. Move the mouse sideways
to rotate around your focus point.

32. Introduction to Second Life
Alt Zooming
Holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, left mouse click on various parts of
the fish tank to focus on details. Use ESC to go back to default view.

33. Introduction to Second Life
Light Control
Day Night Cycle
Second Life days consist of three hours of daytime and one
hour of night, meaning in a real-world 24-hour day, there are
six Second Life® days.
Sun Override
1. Go to World->Sun
2. Select the time of day you desire from the following list:
1. Sunrise
2. Midday
3. Sunset
4. Midnight
5. Estate Time (sets back to the default time)
3. Light settings will now be fixed until you changed them
back to “Estate Time”.
4. If you quit and re-launch, this setting will reset back to
default.

34. Introduction to Second Life
Snapshot Camera
Snapshots are a quick way to capture an image of
where you are visiting in SL.
How to take a snaphot in SL:
1. Position your camera at the exact angle and
distance you like from your subject using the
camera controls discussed earlier.
2. Click the camera icon on the left side of your
screen.
3. A snapshot will be captured by SL client.
4. Click E mail button under the preview picture to e
mail the picture.
5. E mail interface will allow you type in:
1. the adress of the recepient
2. a subject line
3. and message
To send along with your snapshot.

35. Introduction to Second Life
Chat
Type in the chat field located at the bottom left of your window and press enter to
say something in public chat.

36. Introduction to Second Life
Instant Message
Right click one of your fellow classmates' avatar and select IM to send them a
private IM message. This will open an IM window for this conversation.

37. Introduction to Second Life
Sit
You can right mouse click and sit on most surfaces in SL.
Some scripted seating may also let you sit with a single left mouse click.

38. Introduction to Second Life
Stand Up
To stand up, you must click the “Stand Up” Button located at the bottom of your
window right above the Move button.

39. Introduction to Second Life
Fly
Holding down Page Up key on your keyboard will make your avatar fly.
Holding down Page Down key on your keyboard will make your avatar land.

40. Introduction to Second Life
Search
Use Destinations button or Search button to look for a destination.
Destinations are locations to visit that have beenreviewed and rated by Linden Lab.

41. Introduction to Second Life
Teleport
Search results will display a teleport button and you can visit the place by clicking
this button.

42. Introduction to Second Life
Avatar Makeover
Default Avatars
These are the default avatars SL offers as of October 2010.

43. Introduction to Second Life
Avatar Makeover
Endless Possibilities for Your Own Avatar
Only a few samples from thousands of user created avatars available in SL.

44. Introduction to Second Life
Avatar Makeover
Edit Shape
Shape refers to anything and everything that changes the
shape and texture of the BODY of your avatar:
– Body Parts
• Shape
• Skin
• Hair
• Eyes
– Clothes
• Shirt
• Pants
• Shoes
• Socks
• Jacket
• Gloves
• Undershirt
• Underpants
• Skirt
To edit your shape:
1. Right click your avatar.
2. Select Edit Appearance from the pull-down menu.
3. The Appearance Window will come up.
4. Your avatar will turn and face you.
Your avatar will turn around
and face you.

45. Introduction to Second Life
Avatar Makeover
Edit Shape
Shape is broken down into the following parts:
–Body
–Head
–Eyes
–Ears
–Nose
–Mouth
–Chin
–Torso
–Legs

46. Introduction to Second Life
Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers

47. Introduction to Second Life
Questions & Answers
Group Activity
Turn to Page 3 on your handouts
and follow instructions

48. Introduction to Second Life
Questions & Answers
Debrief & Reflections
– What surprised you the most about SL?
– Do you think you will revisit SL?
– What challenges do you expect using SL in class?
– Would you recommend SL to a friend? Why or why
not?