Second Life

“Somehow my invented self was becoming a part of my real self, as if I’d somehow caused a dream to breathe.” Meadows, 2008, p12

By Sabine Lawless-Reljic,sabine@reljic.com

April 16, 2008CE6-EDUC550, Dr. Maria SchuttUniversity of San Diego, CA

Agenda1-Terminology2-What is Second Life?3-The Appeal4-K-12 applications?5-More SL educational resources

Terminology• Avatar: online proxy. In 3D interactive worlds, an avatar is a

cartoon-like character representing the user in the 3D space. The user uses the avatar to interact with other avatars and objects.

• Machinima: [machine+cinema]. A technique that allows creating movies inside a game-like platform.

• MUVE: MultiUser Virtual Environments. Acronym used for 3D interactive desktop systems, accessible via the internet, allowing multiple users simultaneously. Usually used to designate non-gaming environments such as Second Life, There, Active Worlds and Croquet.

• MMORPG: Massively Multiple-user Online Role-Playing Games. Acronym used for 3D interactive online games such as World of Warcraft (WoW), Spore, and Badge of Honor.

WHAT IS SECOND LIFE?

• Launched in 2003 by Linden Lab, San Francisco

• Inspired by Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash”

• 3D interactive user-created world

• Web-based platform• Over 13 million avatars (as of

04-11-2008)• Text, Audio, Video, Avatar• Multiple Users• Social-driven system• Roles offer community, goals,

commerce, and a structured method of interacting

SECOND LIFE TRAFFIC ANALYSISsource: http://mayarealities.com

Second Life BusinessMEDIA

AskPatty.com, Australian Broadcasting Co., AOL Pointe, Bantam Dell Publishing, BBC Radio 1, CBS CSI:NY, Channel 4, Choc Hebdo, CNET, Comcast, CW Network, Endemol, Big Brother Outcast Island, MTV Laguna Beach, NBC, Northsound Radio Scotland, Information Week, Penguin Books, Popular Science, Press Association Group, Reuters, Seattle P-I, Sky News, Sundance Channel, The Infinite Mind, The Weather Channel, Wired, WMNF-FM,

RL COMPANIESAccuWeather,, Adidas, Aegon, Ajax

Football Club, Alcatel lucent, American Apparel, AOL Pointe, Armani, Ben & Jerry's, BMW, BNP Paribas, Calvin Klein, Circuit City, Cisco Systems, The Connected Home, Citroen Brasil, Coca-Cola, Coldwell Banker, Comcast, Congrex, Dell Computer, Domino's Pizza, Europ Assistance, Fox Atomic, Fujitsu Siemens, H&R Block, IBM, ING, Intel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Kraft Foods, Lacoste,Major League Baseball, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, MovieTickets, NBA, Nissan, Peugeot, Pontiac, Reebok, Samsung, Sears, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Toyota, Xerox, …

Second Life Education• A Ilha Vestibular Brasil * San Jose State University * Aachen (RWTH

University, Germany) * Aarhus Business College (Denmark) * Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge and Chelmsford, UK) * Arcada University of Applied Sciences (Finland) * The Art Institute of California * The Art Institute of Pittsburgh * Audiocourses Music Production School (London, UK) * Australian Film TV and Radio School * Ball State University (IN) * The Bay School of San Francisco * Beach College (Santa Barbara, CA) * University of Bedfordshire (UK) * Bentley College (MA) * Boise State University * Bowling Green State University * Buffalo State College (NY) * Central Piedmont Community College - Futures Institute (NC) * Columbia University (NY) * Duke University (NC) * Harvard University (MA) * Hong Kong Polytechnic University * Idaho State University (Idaho) * Indiana University (IN) * Iowa State University * Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) * Ohio State University * Penn State University * Princeton University * Rice University (TX) * San Diego State University *

Second Life’s Appeal

BodyPhysicalityGesturesFocusAttentionEngagementManipulativeText-chatAudio

•Co-presence (Isolation/ Inclusion, mutual awareness)•Psychological involvement (expectations, empathy, mutual understanding)•Behavioral engagement (control, attention, assistance, dependence)•Social realism (interactivity, connection)•Realism (locality, permanence)•Transportation•Immersion

1st Virtual Middle School

Suffern Middle School at Ramapo on the Teen Grid

How we Teach and Learn in SL• Self image • Mentor, collaborate• Social networks• Class projects• Role-play• Learning games• Blended reality• Exploration• Build

• Create an avatar - you!• Office hours, facilitation• Share ideas, hold meetings• Applied learning• Immersive learning• Interactivities• Real & virtual meetings• Visit, tour, study• Create and customize

80% of the world’s Internet users will be in a virtual world by the end of 2011 (Gartner, 2007)

Current Programs in TSLGlobal Kids Island in the teen grid is

a place for teen residents to learn about important social and world issues.

-Digital media essay contest-Save Darfur charity campaign in SL-Photo show-Camp Gk (UNICEF A World Fit for

Children Festival)-Machinima program-teen posts, comics,-Virtual video program-Leadership programs

Current Programs in SLKids Connect is a program that connects young people in different countries via media art, performance and creative collaboration.

•Digital storytelling•Live visual performance•Improvisational theater•Soundscaping•Sound recording and manipulation•Video editing•Live video streaming•Collaborative performance•Videoconferencing•3D modeling in SL•Programming (SL scripting)

Current Programs in TSL

Projects•REZuation•SL Model UN•NASA•Goldsphere: Book7 –Machinima Festival•The Epic Resort•TSL Welcomers•The Tech Virtual Museum•SL Ecosystem•College Fair

Eye4You Alliance Sponsored by the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

Presentations•Five Weeks to a Social Library•Computers in Libraries•Teen Second Life: Library Services in 3D world•QueensLand Public Libraries Association•Long Island Library Resources Council•Internet Librarian

Resources• http://simteach.com (Information and Community for Educators using

M.U.V.Es)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9VZKTT6gZ8 (New Media

Consortium virtual tour)• http://torley.com/second-life-simple-answers-to-curious-remarks

(tongue-in-cheek answers to critics of SL)• http://www.slideshare.net/sreljic/aect2007sreljic (make sure to click on

the hotlinks in the presentation to view the embedded videos)• http://willowshenlin.blip.tv (part of a co-presentation on MIT’s Cultura

project and SL. This Machinima introduces some quick ideas of SL use to the conference audience)

• http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti-hrg.040108.VirtualWorlds.shtml (110th Congress Hearing -Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet- “Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium”)

Resources• http://simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life_Education_Wiki#I

nstitutions_and_Organizations_in_SL (Education and non-profit)

• http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life:_Educators_Working_with_Teens (Educators working with Teens)

• http://olp.globalkids.org/second_life (Global Kids’ blog)• http://www.holymeatballs.org/library.htm#video(Global Kids’s videos)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRkcT3PjYyM(Global Kids Science –

Students’ Houses (Machinima)• http://www.holymeatballs.org/pdfs/BestPracticesforNon-

profitsinSecondLife_012008.pdf (Best Practices for Non-Profits)• http://www.holymeatballs.org/pdfs/VirtualWorldsforLearningRoadmap_0

12008.pdf (Report from the Field)

• http://www.holymeatballs.org/pdfs/BestPractices.pdf (Best Practices in Using Virtual Worlds For Education)

• http://trumpy.cs.elon.edu/metaverse/gst364Win2005/handout.pdf 101 Uses for Second Life in the Collage Classroom.

“We feel that the defining characteristic of cyberspace is the sharedness of the virtual environment, and not the display technology used to transport users into that environment.”

Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer, The Lessons of

Lucasfilms’ Habitat, 1990.