1. Introduction to Second Life
Inter-Professional Education Day
College of Nursing/School of Social Work
University of Texas at Arlington
February 22, 2013
Sarah Jones, UT Arlington Library

2. Introduction to Second Life
Who am I?
• Sarah Jones, Librarian in Digital Library Services, UT Arlington Library
(sjones@uta.edu)
• UT Arlington Coordinator for Second Life since Sept. 2009

3. What is Second Life?
• Online, 3D, real-time interactive environment
• You are represented as an avatar
• All other avatars you encounter are real people typing at their
computers somewhere in the world
• The environments you visit were created by other real people, just
like yourselves
• It’s not a “game” – no inherent quests, goals, or achievements; no
winning or losing
• Secondlife.com

4. • Online, 3D, real-time interactive environment
• You are represented as an avatar
• All other avatars you encounter are real people typing at their
computers somewhere in the world
• The environments you visit were created by other real people, just
like yourselves
• It’s not a “game”
• Secondlife.com
UT Arlington in Second Life

5. Why Should You Care?
• 3D, real-time, shared experience
designed to visually, aurally, and
“physically” support the purpose
and goals of the activity
• Global access to speakers,
discussion groups, networking
with colleagues
• Online platform eliminating travel
and attendant time and cost

6. Conference Room

7. Activities?
• Meetings, discussions, presentations, Birds of a Feather gatherings
 UT Arlington College of Nursing Genomics Journal Club
• Discussions with targeted groups – Virtual Ability Island community
members
• Training – Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program
• Patient/client and caregiver support
 Department of Veteran Affairs – military amputee support
 Alzheimer’s caregiver support
 ShockProof and Dreams – Stroke/TIA, Asperger/autism, pregnancy & infant
loss, BrainTalk.org communities

8. More Activities - Simulations
• Simulations
 UT Medical School
Emergency Department –
hands-on simulation for
emergency medical teams
 Virtual Hallucinations (UC
Davis) – demonstration of
the experience of
hallucinations of patients
with schizophrenia – video
 Valdosta State University –
simulated social service
agency for students to
practice counseling,
interviewing, and client
evaluation skills (A Second
Life for Practice? , 2012)

9. More Activities – Research
• Clinical Simulations in the
Physical and Virtual Worlds –
Comparing the simulation
experience in the physical UTA
Smart Hospital and a re-creation
of a Smart Hospital room in
Second Life
• University of Oregon –
studying the physical and
psychological effects of the use
of virtual environments for people
diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease (info)

10. Places to relax

11. Benefits
• No travel $$ or time
• Co-presence: Sense of Self, Sense of Place, Sense of Presence
 Embodiment - as you adjust to seeing yourself as an avatar, you start to
feel embodied in that avatar .. not scary! You find that what you
experience as an avatar becomes part of your entire personal
experience (same mind! just one body made of molecules, with the other
made of pixels) – visualization/guided imagery, mirror therapy for
amputees
 Co-presence – the other people/avatars share your experience: visually,
aurally, mentally (through the conversations you share)
o As a result, you “feel” that you are all together, even though physically you
are distant.
o More engaging than a videoconference, webinar, or Skype meeting

12. Places to think

13. What do you need?
• Technology
 Fast internet connection (DSL or cable)
 Computer system requirements: http://secondlife.com/support/system-
requirements/
 Not sure? Contact me for help: sjones@uta.edu
• Time and patience with yourself
 Can take a while to adjust to “seeing” in a 3D, computer screen, environment
 Can be an adjustment to “being” an avatar
• BUT – you do not need to be a gamer or techie nerd
• Mostly, what’s helpful is to have a flexible imagination

14. What do you need? (cont.)
• Create your avatar at the Second Life website (http://join.secondlife.com)
 Walk-through of this process: http://www.uta.edu/secondlife/getstarted/
• Teleport your avatar to the UTACON island in Second Life
 Detailed instructions are forthcoming
• Tutorials and other help: http://www.uta.edu/secondlife/tutorials/

15. Coming Up Next:
• Uses of Second Life at UT Arlington – the UTA College of Nursing
• A show-and-tell demonstration of the process of creating your avatar
and entering Second Life

16. Questions?

17. Thank you!
Sarah Jones - sjones@uta.edu
University of Texas at Arlington Library, Digital Library Services
www.uta.edu/secondlife
In SL: Razitra Artizar (Raz)
This presentation: www.slideshare.net/razitra