Second Life Basics Website: http://etc.usf.edu/te/

What is Second Life? do not have to know how to build Second Life is an online 3D virtual objects from prims to enjoy Second world. While Second Life has the look Life. Many objects are already and feel of a video game, it is not a included in your Library when you game. There are no winners or losers, join and you can also locate many free nor points to obtain or levels to objects made available by other achieve in Second Life. Instead, residents. Second Life is a loosely structured online community where residents are How do I get started? free to communicate and interact with In order to access Second Life, you each other with few restrictions. must sign up for an account at the Second Life website. There are two Second Life runs on servers owned by types of accounts in Second Life: a company called Linden Lab that is basic accounts and premium based in San Francisco, California. accounts. Linden Lab also develops and maintains the software that makes Your first basic account can be Second Life possible. While Linden obtained free of charge. Premium Lab owns the Second Life platform, accounts and additional basic the objects created in Second Life are accounts require you to pay a small owned by its residents. This has fee. The primary benefit of a premium made it possible for the virtual world to account is that it will allow you to own develop its own in-world economy land in Second Life. However, land where objects are bought and sold. ownership does require that you pay Second Life even has its own land taxes which will vary with the currency, the Linden dollar, which can amount of land you own. used to buy and sell the objects created within the world. Linden To sign up for a new account: dollars can be acquired in-world or 1. Go to http://secondlife.com and they can be purchased with real world click on Get Started! currency. 2. Choose your Second Life name. You have some choice for your in- The Second Life world is divided into world first name, but you must several areas that consist of inter- choose your in-world last name linked regions made up of virtual land, from a list of pre-existing names. water and sky. Each region can 3. Enter the required personal support 15,000 prims, which are the information such as your birthdate basic 3D geometrical shapes that and email address and click on make up the virtual objects in Second Continue. You must enter a valid Life (such as buildings, trees, etc). email address in order to access Using Linden Scripting Language an account activation link. (LSL) these objects can be animated 4. Click on one of the radio buttons to and made interactive, bringing them to select an Avatar and click on life in the virtual world. However, you “Choose this avatar”. This will

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 1 of 12 Last Updated: 1/6/09 determine your initial appearance Getting Around in Second Life in Second Life. When you first log into Second Life 5. On the next screen, enter your real you can go through a brief tutorial in name, gender, and country of Orientation Island to help you become residence. familiar with the controls needed to 6. In the Password section, enter a move around in the virtual world: password and select a security • Up arrow: moves your question. The answer to this avatar forward. question will be used to verify your • Down arrow: moves identity if you forget your user your avatar back. name or password. • Right arrow: turns your avatar to the 7. Scroll down on the page and enter right. the code from the image in the • Left arrow: turns your avatar to the ReCaptcha field. left. 8. Check the box to indicate that you • Shift + Right arrow: moves your agree to the Terms of Service and avatar right. click on Submit. • Shift + Left arrow: moves your 9. Click on “Skip this step” to sign up avatar left. for a basic account. • Page Up: makes your avatar jump. An email with the activation link will be • Page Down: makes your sent to the email address you avatar crouch down. provided. Click on the activation link to finish setting up your account. You are not limited to keyboard commands for moving in Second Life. Once you've signed up for an account, You can also turn on the Movement you will have to download a client Controls in the View menu. These program to access Second Life. Client controls are shown below: programs are available for Windows, Move Jump the Mac and Linux. Before you download the client, you should visit the system requirements page available at:

http://secondlife.com/corporate/ sysreqs.php Look Another way to move around in The information on this page will help Second Life is by turning on Fly Mode. you determine if your computer meets This allows you to use the arrow keys the specifications required to run the on your keyboard to fly around in the Second Life client. In general, you will virtual word. To turn on Fly get the best performance from Second mode, click the Home key on Life if you have a fast connection your keyboard (or hold down (broadband) and a fairly fast graphics the Page Up key until your avatar is card. flying). Once you are in Fly mode, you

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 2 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 can go up and down by using the pointer changes to a small square. To Page Up and Page Down keys. The exit Mouselook, scroll back out until arrow keys work the same way in Fly you see your avatar. Using Mouselook mode as when you’re on the ground. can be helpful when you are in Fly To exit Fly mode, click on the Home mode, as you can quickly move in any key once again. If you do this while direction by aiming the pointer and you’re just a few feet off the ground, pressing the Up Arrow to move your avatar will land safely on his or forward. her feet. If you do it while you’re flying higher up, your avatar will have a Using the Camera much rougher landing, but this will not When you are in the default third cause any damage to him or her. person view, you can click on your avatar and drag with the mouse to Mouselook have your avatar and the camera look The default view in Second Life is to in the same direction. The camera have the camera slightly behind and controls can help you get a better view on top of your avatar. In this view, the of the objects in the virtual world. camera’s focus is indicated by the These controls are shown below: white dot in front of your avatar. If you Move Camera left-click on your avatar and drag with Left/Right the mouse, you will change the camera’s focus and the direction your avatar is facing at the same time.

If you don’t like the default view, you can switch the view so that you are in Orbit Camera first person mode, looking through Zoom In/Out your avatar’s eyes. This is known as Mouselook. To turn on Mouselook, If you would rather use the keyboard select View > Mouselook or press the shortcuts, they are as follows (Mac M key on your keyboard. You will see users should use Command instead of a small square pointer in the middle of Control and Option instead of Alt): the screen. You can use the mouse to • Alt-click: sets the focus for the turn in any direction and to look up camera (the point around which it and down, and the arrow keys to will move/rotate). move forward/back and side to side. • Alt-click and move the mouse left/ Note that the menus are not available right (or Alt-click and use the left/ in Mouselook. To exit Mouselook and right arrow keys): moves the camera bring back the menus, press the left and right. Escape key on your keyboard. • Alt-click and move the mouse forward/back (or Alt-click and use Another way to enter and exit the up/down arrow keys): zooms in/ Mouselook is by using the scroll wheel out. on a mouse. To enter Mouselook with • Alt+Page Up/Page Down: moves the the scroll wheel, scroll up until you camera up/down zoom past your avatar’s head and the

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 3 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 • Alt+Control-click: orbits the camera you can return to your favorite around the camera focus point. locations. • Double-click on avatar: resets the camera. To create a landmark, select World > Create Landmark here. This will add You can also zoom in and out without the landmark to your Inventory in a turning on the camera controls by Landmarks folder. To go back to a using Control + 0 to zoom in and location in Second Life using a Control +8 to zoom out. Control + 9 landmark, open your Inventory by resets the zoom. clicking on the Inventory button in the lower right corner of the screen (or Teleporting and Landmarks use the keyboard shortcut Command/ While you can explore a lot of the Control + I), then find the landmarks Second Life world just by walking and folder (under My Inventory) and flying around, when you need to get to double-click on a landmark. You will another island in the virtual world fast be prompted to confirm that you want teleporting is the best option. To to teleport to the location in the teleport to another location: landmark. Once you click on Teleport 1. Click on the Search button at the you will be immediately taken to the bottom of the Second Life window. location you saved as a landmark. 2. Click on the Places tab at the top at the top of the Search window. The Maps 3. Enter a search term in the Find If you get disoriented while navigating text field and click on Search. You the virtual world, you can use the will see a list of places matching world map and the mini-map to get your search criteria on the left side your bearings. The world map can of the Search window. On the right, also be used to teleport to a different you will see a preview of the location in the virtual world. currently selected place, a brief description of what you will find To teleport to another location using there, and its Second Life location the world map: information. 1. Click on the Map button in the 4. To teleport to the selected place, toolbar (or press Command/ click on the Teleport button. After a Control + M) to open the world few seconds you will find yourself map. You can zoom in and out on in the new location. the world map by using the scroll wheel on your mouse. In the upper In addition to places, you can use the left corner of the screen you will Search feature to find people, events see a legend showing what each and groups. symbol on the map represents. Your location on the map will be As you explore the virtual world of indicated by a white circle inside a Second Life, you may want to save yellow circle. If you don’t see this landmarks (the equivalent of favorites symbol on the map, click on Show or bookmarks in your web browser) so My Location on the right side of the window to center the map on your

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 4 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 current location. The location of To open the Mini-map, click on the other residents (avatars) will be Mini-Map button in the toolbar or indicated by green circles on the press Shift + Command/Control + M. map. Going Home You can set any location in the virtual world as your home by selecting World > Set Home to Here. To go back to your home location from another location in the virtual world, choose World > Teleport Home or press Shift + Command/Control + H. While viewing the world map, you can 2. Click on the location you wish to quickly teleport home by clicking on visit by clicking once on the map. the Go Home button in the upper right This location will be marked with a corner of the screen (next to the map red circle. legend). 3. Click on the Teleport button on the right. After a few seconds you will Chat and Instant Messaging be taken to the location you The Second Life client includes chat selected on the world map. and instant messaging (IM) to allow you to communicate with the people You can also use the map to teleport you meet in the virtual world. The to a location you have saved as a ability to effectively use these landmark. To do this, select the communication tools is an important landmark using the My Landmarks skill to master as it will help you build pulldown menu on the right side of the meaningful relationships with other map window (below the map legend), users and become an active then click on the Teleport button. community member in Second Life.

The Mini-Map provides a more Chat is a public form of localized view of your immediate communication in Second Life. Chat surroundings. In the mini-map you can messages can be seen by anyone see the outlines of the structures within 20 meters of you in the virtual around you. As on the world map, the world. To begin a chat, click on location of other avatars is indicated the Chat button in the toolbar by green dots. at the bottom of the screen. This will display the Chat bar where you can enter your message. As you type your message into the Chat bar your avatar will appear to be typing (you should also hear a typing sound if you have your sound turned on). When you press Enter or Return to finish your message, it will appear above the Chat bar in a semi-transparent box.

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 5 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 You can shout a message so it is the X in the upper right corner of the viewable over a larger area around IM window to end the session. you (100 meters). To shout a message, type your message in the To send an IM to someone who is not Chat bar, click the up arrow on the near you, you must add them as a Say button and select Shout. This will friend (as described in the next allow your message to section) or find them using the Search be seen by more people feature. To find another user in around you, but it is Second Life, click on the Search considered rude and button and enter the other person’s should be avoided. Second Life name in the Find field of the People tab. When their name When there are too many people in shows up in the search results, select the same area, it may be difficult to it and click on the Instant Message keep track of a conversation. If you button on the right. You can send IM think you’ve missed something messages to other users even if they someone has said, you can always are not logged in at the same time as view a transcript of the local chat by you. The message will be received the selecting View > Chat History. next time they log in.

Instant Messaging (IM) allows for Friends private communication in Second Life. You can add someone as a friend so Only the person you send the IM to that their name appears in your can see it. To send an IM to someone Contacts list and it is easier to near you, right-click on their avatar communicate with them. To offer (Command-click on the Mac) and friendship to someone near you, right- select Send IM from the pie menu. click on their avatar (Command-click This will open on the Mac) and choose Add Friend. an IM window The other person will see a prompt where you asking them to either Accept or can type your Decline your offer of friendship. IM message. When you’re To offer friendship to someone who is ready to send not near you, you will first have to find your them using the Search feature. Open message, the Search window by clicking on the click on the Search button in the toolbar, then Send button or press the Enter key enter the name of the person you’re (Return on the Mac). The other person looking for in the Find field of the will see an IM Received notification in People tab. Once you’ve found the the lower left corner of the screen. He user you want to add as a friend, or she can click on this notification to select their name in the search results see the message you’ve sent and to and click on Add Friend on the right. send you a reply. When you’re finished with your IM session, click on Once the other person accepts your friendship offer, their name will be

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 6 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 added to your Contacts • Push to talk trigger: allows you to list. To view this list, use a key as a trigger (the default is click on the up arrow on to use the middle mouse button). the Communicate • Device settings: this is where you button and choose select the input and output devices Contacts. To the right of as well as set the volume level. each contact, you will see a series of • Voice Chat Setup: allows you to go check boxes you can use to assign through a wizard to configure your friend permissions. voice chat.

Once you’ve set up voice chat, you can start talking with the people around you by pressing the Talk button (you may have to hold it down or toggle it on and off, depending on your preferences). When you’re talking the white dot above your avatar will have green sound waves For example, you can prevent a user coming out of it. To enable hands-free from seeing your online status by voice chat, click on the lock icon on unchecking the box below the eye the left side of the Talk button. icon. Once you’ve added someone to your Contacts list you can use the As with text-based chat, you can also buttons on the right side of the start a private voice chat with Contacts window to send them an IM someone in your Contacts list. To start or to Teleport to their location. a private chat, open the Contacts list and select the name of the contact, Voice Chat click on the IM/Call button on the right Before you can start a voice chat side of the Contacts list and click on session, you need to make sure it is Call. The other person will see a enabled in the Second Life prompt where they can either accept preferences. Select Edit > or decline your invitation. Once a Preferences and click on the Voice connection is established, you can Chat tab on the left. You will see press the Talk button to talk to only the several settings you can change: person on the call. When you’re • Enable voice chat: check this box to finished, click on End Call to hang up enable the voice chat feature. and end the session. • Hear voice from camera or avatar position: this setting will determine Gestures whether your sound will get softer as Your body movements are also an you move your avatar or the camera important component of away from the sound source communication in the virtual world. (another avatar or an object). Gestures allow you to control how • Push to talk: allows to set the Talk your avatar moves. To activate a button to toggle instead of having to gesture, click on the Gestures button hold down the trigger while you talk.

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 7 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 in the Chat bar and select a gesture and its X, Y and Z coordinates. This from the menu. information appears in the menu bar at the top of the window. Once you know a few gestures you can activate them during a chat by entering the backslash character (/) followed by the name of the gesture. Once you have the required information go to http://slurl.com and To add more gestures to your avatar, click on the “Build your own SLurls” open up your Inventory (click on the link. Next, enter the region name and Inventory button in the toolbar or the coordinates in the appropriate text press Command/Control +I). Next, fields and click on Generate SLurl. look for the Gestures folder in the The SLurl will appear in the Your SLurl Library section, choose the Gesture field . You can copy this URL and you want to add, and drag it onto your paste it into an email or post it on your avatar. The gestures you’ve added will website. then appear in the Gestures menu. Modifying Your Avatar’s Postcards Appearance Postcards allow you to send a picture An avatar is a virtual representation of of any location you visit in Second Life each resident in Second Life. It is also to another user, along with a link to the primary way in which residents that location. Postcards can be sent to interact with the virtual environment by any valid email address, even if the moving around in it and manipulating recipient does not have a Second Life its objects. account. To send a postcard, click on the Snapshot button in the toolbar to One of the most popular things to do take a snapshot of the screen, then in Second Life is to change your make sure the Send a postcard radio avatar's appearance to reflect your button is selected. Next, set your personal preferences. You can make image size and quality options and your avatar closely match your click on the Send button. This will appearance in the real world, or you open another window where you can can experiment with a whole new address your postcard and enter the persona. message you want to send along with the snapshot. When you’re finished Your avatar’s appearance is made up drafting your message, click on Send. of your body shape and other physical characteristics, your clothes, and any Second Life URLs attachments (objects you’ve picked up The website for the SLURL builder during your exploration of Second provides an easy way to share links to Life). exact locations in Second Life. You will need to know two things to build a To edit your avatar’s appearance, Second Life URL: the correct name of right-click on your avatar and choose the region you want to link to (spacing Appearance from the pie menu (or and case sensitivity are important) select Edit > Appearance). The

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 8 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 appearance window will open, your random settings for you. Clicking on avatar will turn to face you, and the this button will only affect the settings words “Editing Appearance” will for the currently selected tab and appear above it. This is to let other button. For example, if you have the people know that you are busy editing Body button selected in the Shape your avatar’s appearance. tab, clicking on the Randomize button will change your body shape but it will Any changes you make in the not affect your eyes, ears and so on. Appearance window will change your avatar’s appearance almost Some of the tabs will include boxes for instantaneously (sometimes there is adding an image. In the skin tab, some lag depending on your system’s clicking on these boxes will open a performance). If you hover over your separate window where you can avatar, you will notice that the camera select an image uploaded to your has been turned on. You can click and Inventory to use as a tattoo. In the drag with the camera to change the Eyes tab, the one box available allows zoom and move around your avatar you to choose an image to use for for a better look. your avatar’s pupils.

The Appearance window has a series To change your avatar’s gender, click of tabs on the left side for modifying on the Female or Male radio button in your avatar’s body and clothing. When the Shape tab of the Appearance you click on a tab you will see a series window. Your body shape and other of sliders and thumbnails on the right characteristics will change to reflect side. There are three ways to make a the gender you choose. change using these controls: • Drag a slider left or right to make If you find you don’t like a change gradual adjustments. you’ve made, you can return to your • Click on a thumbnail to either last unsaved state by clicking on the increase or decrease a setting by a Revert button. This is similar to value of ten. clicking on Undo on another program. • Enter a specific value in the text field However, Revert will not work if you to the right of a slider. have saved your changes by clicking on the Save, Save As, or Save All Some of the tabs will have buttons for buttons. These buttons each work making more specific adjustments to differently as follows: your avatar. For example, when you • Save: saves only the changes made click on the Shape tab you should see in the currently selected tab and a Body button for changing your button. The previous settings will be avatar’s height, body thickness and overwritten with your changes when body fat, as well as buttons for you click on this button. modifying each individual body part • Save As: this button also only saves (head, eyes, chin, etc.). the changes made in the currently selected tab and button, but it does The Randomize button at the bottom not overwrite your previous settings. of each tab has Second Life choose When you click on this button, you

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 9 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 can enter a name for the saved copy You should see a popup window of your settings. where you can name your outfit and • Save All: this button saves the use checkboxes to select which body changes made in every tab and parts and articles of clothing you want button. You should be careful with to include in it. Your avatar will start using this option. wearing the new saved outfit as soon as you click on Save in the Make New Changing Your Clothing Outfit window. The Appearance window also has tabs for changing the clothes worn by Managing Your Outfits your avatar. Changing your avatar’s Each outfit you save is added as a clothing is done in a similar way as folder to your Inventory. To see all of changing your body shape and other your outfits, open the Inventory physical features. (Command/Control + I) and locate the Clothing folder under My Inventory. The one difference is that the tabs in the Clothes section have Fabric and To view the contents of an outfit, click Color/Tint boxes. The Fabric box on the disclosure triangle to the left of allows you to select a different texture its name. The currently worn items will from the Inventory. The Color/Tint box have the word “worn” in parenthesis to opens a Color Picker where you can the right of them. choose different colors for your clothes. You can use the Inventory to manage your outfits as follows: There are several ways to change the • To stop wearing an item, right click color using the Color Picker: on it and select Take Off (you can • Click anywhere in the color ramp on right-click and select Wear to put the the right side of the Color Picker item back on). window or click on a color square at • To delete an item, you must first take the bottom of the Color Picker. it off. You can then right-click on it • enter an RGB value in the text fields and select Delete. on the left side of the color picker. • To remove an entire outfit, right-click • Click on the eyedropper and sample on its folder and choose Take Off any color in the Second Life window. Items. Only do this in a private area (your avatar is going to be naked). Once you’ve chosen a color, click on • To put on an entire outfit, right-click Select to apply it to the currently on its folder and choose Replace selected clothes. Outfit, or drag the outfit’s folder from the Inventory to your avatar. It is recommended that you make a Another way to remove clothing, is to copy of your avatar’s appearance, use the pie menu: right-click on your including the clothes you’re wearing, avatar and choose Take Off > Clothes, before you start making changes in then choose the clothes you want to the Appearance window. This can be remove. done by clicking on the Make Outfit button at the bottom of the window.

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 10 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 Your avatar must always have a The highlight of this virtual museum is shape. If you only have one shape in the Rocket Ring, where students can your Inventory you will not be able to explore virtual replicas of the most delete it. You will have to create a new famous rockets involved in our shape and wear that shape first before exploration of space. Although not you can delete the old one. directly affiliated with NASA, this site has a lot of information that students Attachments can use to study the space program. Attachments allow you to add jewelry and other items to your avatar. One • National Oceanographic and popular use of attachments is adding Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) what is known as “sim hair”. This is Island hair that is worn by your avatar just SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ like clothes. Meteroa/178/160/27/

To pick up an object you find while NOAA’s website includes several exploring the virtual world, right-click simulations related to the weather and on it to bring up the pie menu and climate change. Students can view a choose Buy. You will then see a popup real-time visualization of the US showing you how much the item costs weather, ride through a hurricane (it should say Buy for L$0 if the item is inside a virtual plane, and view a free). Next, click on Buy and the item simulation of glaciers. will be added to your Inventory. • Exploratorium’s Sploland To attach the object to your avatar, SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ locate it in the Objects folder in your Sploland/185/75/25 Inventory, right-click on it, select Attach to and choose a body part This is an interactive science museum where you want the object to appear. created by the Exploratorium based in To detach the object, right-click on it in San Francisco. One of the most the Inventory and choose Detach popular exhibits on this site is Orbital From Yourself. You can also detach Experience, where you can travel the object using the pie menu: select around the solar system on Halley’s Take Off > Detach and choose the Comet. There are also many exhibits body part that has the object attached on optical illusions on this site. to it. To delete an object from your Inventory, right-click on it and choose • Genome Island Delete. SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Genome/180/64/33 Second Life Sites for Educators • International Spaceflight Museum This site includes a number of SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ simulations and virtual experiments Spaceport%20Alpha/48/83/24 related to the study of genetics. On (Spaceport Alpha) and http:// this site, students can find a large slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport% scale replica of an Eukaryotic Cell 20Bravo/12/80/23 (Spaceport Beta)

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 11 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09 which they can enter and interact with, teen.secondlife.com) may be a great as well as models of DNA. place to start exploring Second Life with your students if you are • Roma concerned about online safety in the SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ virtual world. Roma////

Using the objects and notecards on this site, students can learn more about the buildings, lifestyle and politics of Ancient Rome.

Things to Consider Before Using Second Life in the Classroom • Second Life works best when it runs on a computer with good hardware. Make sure to check the hardware requirements and test it out on your lab computers or laptops before planning an activity with your students.

• The virtual environment can be difficult to navigate for students with cognitive and other disabilities. Make sure you take this into account before you design your Second Life lessons. You may need to provide an alternative if you have students who are unable to participate in the virtual environment.

• Like the Web, Second Life is an open environment where your students may easily come across inappropriate content. Before you start a virtual world activity, you should discuss online safety with your students and provide them with strategies for dealing with inappropriate content and behavior when they encounter it inworld. You can find some tips in the Teen Second Life page for parents at http://teen.secondlife.com/parents/ safety. Teen Second Life (http://

Second Life Basics Created by Luis Perez Page 12 of 12 Last Update: 1/6/09