Second Lifee-Learning Design Presentation

System Requirements• Second Life recommend the following:

Windows Minimum Requirements

Recommended

Internet Connection

Cable or DSL Cable or DSL

Operating System

2000, XP, or Vista

XP or Vista

Computer Processor

800 MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better

1.5 GHz (XP), 2-GHz (Vista) 32-bit (x86) or better

Computer Memory

512 MB or more 1 GB or more

•* Second Life is not compatible with dial-up internet, satellite internet, and some wireless internet services.

Second Life Installer•Initial software installation required:

•Regular version updates are required •Updates can be in excess of 70MB (Mac OSX)

Operating System File Size

Windows 2000, XP & Vista

35MB

Mac OSX 72MB

Linux i686 55MB

Linden Scripting Language

• An internal, event-driven, C/Java-style language which allows you to control object and avatar behavior

• Basic to Expert instruction on scripting offered for free by veteran Residents and Linden Lab staff.

• Organisations such as the Project Factory can provide in-world design and construction on a fee for service basis

Voice Viewer

• Voice Viewer went live Aug 2007

• Voice is part of the main viewer

• VoIP headset strongly recommended

• VoIP gives the best sound quality & limits reverb

• Min. specs: microphone & speakers

Recording

• In-world interaction can be recorded & reviewed at a later date

• Functionality is relatively new & inconsistent in quality

• SL removed the built-in movie recorder in favor 3rd-party tools

• E.g. Camstudio, Taxi & WeGame.com

Your Second Life presence

• To create a SL presence you will need to lease space on an existing Island OR lease your own Island

• Terrain is completely customisable

• Islands can be grouped, or joined together to create a neighbouring space

• Island access can be restricted for limited use OR entire SL community

Pricing

• US$1,675 for 65,536 square meters (about 16 acres)

• Monthly land fees for maintenance are US$295

• SL offer a 50% discount to verified real world educators and academic institutions

Examples Of Educational Uses• Demonstrations / Presentations

• Practical Training - Role Plays and Simulations

• Self paced Tutorials

• Displays and Exhibits

• Immersive Exhibits

The Old Second Life

Demonstrations / Presentations • Paper presented on “Researching

American Revolutionary War Military Records.

• Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative The Global Kids project, based in New York and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, is focused on raising young people's awareness on a range of issues including human rights, the rights of the child, the environment and respecting difference

Practical Training - Role Plays and Simulations

• Learning To Sail

Practical Training - Role Plays and Simulations

• IBM’s Real-Time Tennis Tournament

Self paced Tutorials• Ohio University Second Life Campus

Learning Kiosks

Displays and Exhibits • The International Spaceflight

MuseumThe International Spaceflight Museum hosts exhibits and events about real-world spacecraft, rockets, and space travel at their two islands in Second Life

• Remember MeRemember Me is an exhibition of a series of photographs by Canadian photographer Cathie Coward that gives visitors a sense of what it's like to be part of the Alzheimer's community

Immersive Exhibits• GippsTAFE's Resort Project

• Play2Train - Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program

• Managing Virtual Teams - Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Second Life

TheTech Museum of Innovation

TheTech Museum of Innovation

Accenture

Accenture

Accenture

Accenture

Benefits

• Shared real-time experience

• Engagement

• Community

• Global reach & accessibility

• Collaboration

• Safety

Challenges

• Why operate another life when I don’t have enough time for the first one?

• Cultural shift required for SL to be embraced organisation-wide

• Digital Literacy - technological competency– Imbed orientation & familiarisation exercises

• “SL is not developed for a corporate environment" (A, Gronstedt, 2007). • "Linden Lab frequently shuts down the site for maintenance

with only a few hours notice." (A, Gronstedt, 2007).

Challenges

• "The amount of data driven by SL virtual environment can tax even high-speed Internet connections" (A, Gronstedt, 2007)

• “SL processing/graphics rendering becomes stressed in situations where there is a concentration of avatars in a confined spaces” (Tony O'Driscoll, Karl Kapp 2008)

• Resource intensive, Voice to increase drain

• Infrastructure discriminate

Challenges • Privacy: unauthorised access to sensitive information

• Interaction b/w SL and Firewall

• Resistance to Web2.0 & Social Networking

• Demonstrated skill in SL, does this replicate to the real world?– All the environmental conditions and risks cannot be accurately

replicated

• SL environment simplifies actual reality, this is both a positive & a negative – For a truly valid and reliable assessment of competency, the

assessment will need to be conducted in a real world environment

Challenges

• Anonymity can lead to anti-social or uncharacteristic behaviour– The Online Disinhibition Effect (John Suler)

• Where is everyone?

• Generationally confined to X and Y?

• Authenticity. I.e. how do I know you are you?

• "This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered

as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us" -

Western Union internal memo 1876

pg 7, Communicating in the 21st Century