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Home , Linden Lab, Second Life

resources Beth Kattelman It’s time for a Resources dedicated to the

here’s no doubt we are living in a digi- SL runs on an open source platform cre- Ttal world. Almost everyone’s got a cell ated by . Soon after its public de- phone pasted to their ear; words such as but in 2003, many educational organizations “texting,” “Facebook,” and “Google” have began to discover the learning and network- become common parlance; iPods are ubiq- ing opportunities SL could provide, and it uitous; and laptops have become de rigueur is now used by organizations all across the in many classrooms. In order to connect with world to hold conferences, conduct research, students who are more comfortable “hitting and advertise products. the mouse” than “hitting the books,” many Educational institutions are using the educators and organizations have begun platform to conduct in-world classes, to keep to explore the possibilities of using virtual in touch with distance-learners and alumni, worlds as teaching tools. Currently, the most and to help new students orient themselves popular virtual world being used in this way to campus life. The building capabilities in SL is Second Life (SL). allow for myriad modeling and design proj- SL is a virtual world, created entirely by ects, and are numerous areas that have its residents, that now boasts more than 15 been created to replicate real-life campuses, million users from around the globe. Each cities, cathedrals, and theaters. participant creates a customizable to For example, avatars can now visit the represent himself or herself in the SL world, Glidden Campus of Northern Illinois Uni- and avatars can travel throughout SL and versity, attend an in-world Shakespearean interact with others in real-time via voice production at The Globe Theatre, fl y through or texting. Stonehenge, or wander the streets of Krakow. In SL you can also own land, build envi- Linden Lab has also created a Teen Grid that ronments, explore areas built by others, run is solely for users ages 13 to 17. The Teen Grid your own store, walk, run, dance, shop—al- works just like the regular , most anything you can do in your fi rst life but is actively monitored to keep out material . . . and more, because in SL you can also fl y, that is inappropriate for teenagers. teleport and instantaneously change shape, Educators are discovering that SL opens gender, etc. SL also has its own unit of trade, up learning potential for those who might the Linden Dollar, which can be used to buy be considered differently-abled. People with and sell goods and services. limited mobility, for example, are fi nding new A basic account in SL is free, but in order freedom in their ability to walk and fly in SL to own land you must sign up for a premium and, in fact, some applications are now being account. For those interested in investing a developed to allow those who are paralyzed larger amount of money, individual islands can be purchased. Many organizations and Beth Kattelman is associate curator at the Jerome universities now own islands in SL including: Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, ALA and the San Jose State University School e-mail: [email protected] of Library and Information Science. © 2008 Beth Kattelman

C&RL News November 2008 614 to control a SL avatar by using only their request, a message is sent within 24 hours brain waves.1 SL has also been found to be a to the e-mail associated with the account’s place where autistic youngsters can interact credit card holder. The e-mail lists the hours with others more comfortably than in the spent in-world in the last 30 days, the Linden real world.2 And SL has shown promise as a dollar balance, the amount of land owned, language-teaching tool with numerous edu- and the disciplinary status on the account. cators offering English as a second language Access: http://teen.secondlife.com. (ESL) classes.3 The following list presents some of the most useful Web sites devoted to Getting started/connecting with peers SL. While no means comprehensive, this list • Alliance Virtual Library. This site, cre- will hopefully provide a starting point from ated by the Second Life Library Project, is a which you can launch your own learning collaboration of OPAL (Online Programming experiences in and around SL. for All Libraries) and the Alliance Library System. The purpose of the project is “to Signing up extend the programs currently offered online • The Official Web Site of Second Life. to librarians and library users to the Second This site, run by SL creator Linden Lab, pro- Life virtual environment” and is therefore of vides the most comprehensive and up-to-date particular value to those who are specifi cally information on SL. This is the site where par- interested in what type of library presence can ticipants can sign up for be found in SL. The site lists numerous librar- and manage their SL ac- ies and educational organizations that are counts and check for the represented in SL, and it contains a calendar latest news on the SL grid. of in-world library events, such as book dis- Residents can also get the cussions, workshops, meetings, and exhibits. latest currency exchange Access: http://www.infoisland.org. rate for Linden dollars. • Second Life Insider. This is a great The site contains a showcase highlighting site for tutorials and in-depth discussion the best in-world events and creations, and on a wide variety of topics. It has articles also provides a knowledge base fi lled with specifically geared toward those who are useful articles on all aspects of SL. Users can new to SL, covering such topics as cloth- access video tutorials, technical support, an ing, moving around, chatting, and market- official blog and the latest press releases ing. There are also many articles of interest from Linden Lab. For those interested in SL for those more experienced users who are statistics, the site also provides sections on ready to experiment with some of the pro- service quality metrics economic statistics. gramming capabilities of SL. Unfortunately, Access: http://secondlife.com. the site is no longer updated. It suspended • . This site is designed publication on November 2, 2007 when the specifically for 13-to-17-year-olds who are creators premiered a new site devoted to using the Second Life Teen Grid and their news about all massively multiplayer online parents. It has much of the same information games (MMOs) [www.massively.com/]. Even as SL’s Official Web Site, and most of the links though the Second Life Insider is no longer contained here click through to the informa- being updated, the site contains viable and tion contained on secondlife.com. In addition, valuable information. Access: http://www. however, this site contains a special section secondlifeinsider.com/. for parents on how to share their teen’s SL ex- • Second Life Mailing Lists. Here one perience and on how they can help their teen can find mailing lists that users can join to stay safe when using the platform. Parents learn more about SL. The site provides a can also submit an Account Activity Request brief description, subscription information, through this site. Once a parent makes the and application forms for each list. Several

November 2008 615 C&RL News extremely useful mailing lists can be accessed groups, classroom management, lesson plans, through this site, including one for SL educa- teaching resources, and educational locations. tors. Access: https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi One of the most valuable sections of this wiki -bin/mailman/listinfo. is the list of institutions and organizations using SL. Although it is not a comprehensive Enhancing education list, it is a good starting-point for fi nding • Consortium (NMC). NMC peers who are already using the SL platform is an international organization with nearly in their teaching or programming. Access: 300 members dedicated to the use of new http://www.simteach.com. media and technologies to spark learning and • Second Life in Education Wiki. Cre- creativity. Its membership consists of edu- ated and maintained by SL experts Jo Kay (SL cational and arts organizations from around name: jokay Wollongong) and Sean FitzGer- the world, although the largest percentage of ald (SL name: Sean McDunnough), the site members by far come from the . provides general information on using SL NMC sponsors an Emerging Technology Ini- in education and links to useful resources tiative, which has as its centerpiece The Ho- for educators. This is an extremely useful rizon Project. Since its launch in March 2002, site for those who are just beginning with each year The Horizon Project has culminated SL and want to know how it can enhance in an annual Horizon Report, which details the classroom and long-distance learning. The latest discussions surrounding applications site offers a comprehensive list of the ways in of the newest technologies to learning and which SL is currently being used in teaching creativity. A full-text version of every issue and contains links to numerous educational is available on the Web site. While the NMC projects. The site also contains useful pages site is not solely devoted to the use of SL, it on getting started with SL and on establishing has much pertinent information for educators an educational presence. Both pages provide who are interested in using SL to enhance clear, step-by-step instructions. Access: http:// learning. NMC runs its own campus in SL sleducation.wikispaces.com. and can therefore provide fi rsthand informa- tion on the benefits and pitfalls of using the Keeping current platform to host an educational environment. • Linden Lab. This is the offi cial Web site Access: http://www.nmc.org. of the corporation that created SL. The com- • Second Life Education Wiki. This wiki pany was founded in 1999 by is part of SimTeach, an organization that pro- to “create a revolutionary new form of shared vides “Information and Community for Educa- experience, where individuals jointly inhabit tors using Multi-User a 3-D landscape and build the world around Virtual Environments them.” The site contains Linden Lab press (MUVEs).” It is Lin- releases, multimedia content for broadcast, den Lab’s offi cial re- print and online press, and a news archive. source for educators Here a researcher can also find fact sheets in SL, and is one of about the SL economy, business in SL, the the most useful col- technology behind the SL grid, education in lections of information for those who are SL, and the arts in SL. Access: http://linden- new to the platform. The wiki, administered lab.com. by Jeremy W. Kemp, an instructional designer • : Second Life News Center. at San José State University, contains clear, The Reuters’s SL News Center is devoted en- step-by-step instructions on numerous impor- tirely to news about SL and is connected to a tant topics, such as getting started, technical news bureau that Reuters runs in the world of essentials, finding peers, and safety issues. SL. The bureau has two reporters, Eric Kran- There are also useful sections on in-world gal (SL name: Eric Reuters), and Adam Pasick

C&RL News November 2008 616 (SL name: Adam Reuters), who cover major • Second Life News Network (SLNN). news stories about SL and Linden Lab. The SLNN reports on news occurring in SL and site also contains a blog written by Krangal real life stories that affect SL and its residents. that covers practical elements related to SL The site began in October 2006 to offer residents. Access: http://secondlife.reuters. unbiased coverage of SL. Regular report- com. ers for SLNN are all SL residents who have • Second Life Herald. This site was been using the platform for at least three founded in 2003 by philosophy professor months. The network also accepts stories as the Alphaville Herald. It was from freelance writers. Access: http://www. originally dedicated to reporting on the Al- slnn.com. phaville server of The Sims Online, but soon branched out to cover other virtual worlds. Notes In 2004 the site was rechristened The Second 1. “Brain interface lets paralyzed man walk Life Herald due to its emphasis on SL. The in ‘Second Life,’” Fox News. Retrieved from Herald is considered a muckraking publi- www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,361822,00. cation by some as it often takes a negative html. view of Linden Lab and its administration. 2. T. Loftus, “Virtual world teaches The stories found on this site often have real-world skills: game helps people with adult themes and deal with the seedier side Asperger’s practice socializing” (Feb. 25, of SL. The site is a good resource, however, 2005), MSNBC. Retrieved from www.msnbc. for keeping up with the darker elements and msn.com/id/7012645/. more unusual goings-on in the virtual world. 3. B. Ruberg, “How to spark remote Access: http://www.secondlifeherald.com. learning,” Forbes (March 19, 2008). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/19 /life-lessons-gaming-tech-innovation08 -cx_br_0319innovations.html.

(“When a librarian . . .” cont. from page 608) Overall, I think that teaching the AA tion and working at the reference desk plus course has been a positive experience for me. a commitment to students that make them It has caused me to develop in ways that I potentially excellent teachers for a course like could not have imagined back in 1978. I did AA. While teaching a freshman experience not teach AA this past fall, and I miss the class is not something that I would recom- interaction with my students and co-teacher. mend for every librarian, if you fi nd yourself Believe it or not, I even miss grading student wondering if you might enjoy it, by all means papers. try it. The opportunity to get to know what I think that many librarians have a set of students think and feel will defi nitely make skills developed from teaching library instruc- you a better librarian.

(“Google maps and Second Life” cont. from page 612) useful a technology may be without opening The Moraine Valley Library’s Google Maps the door when opportunity knocks. and Second Life Project was successful, even if we recognize significant changes that should be Notes made if undertaken again. The students com- 1. One Book, One College Web site, pleted useful assignments and engaged the text www.morainevalley.edu/malcolmx/maps in ways they might not have if we had moved /index.html. forward with this project. Many times, and this 2. GMapEZ can be found at n01se.net time in particular, it is difficult to know how /gmapez/.

November 2008 617 C&RL News