Some articles worth checking out.

Neil Kleinman and Chris Garvin have left some interesting links to articles written about Second Life. Check out the Links section of the blog.

Any links that people leave will be posted up on that section of the blog.

What are your initial reactions to Second Life?

Are you a fan or a skeptic?  For what purposes do you see the medium as useful?  Please post any comments, questions or concerns.  In addition, share any interesting places that you have been with other Fellows.

Welcome UARTS Second Lifers!!

Hello and welcome to the University of the Arts' Second Life community. This blog is an open forum for questions, concerns, or simple observations within this virtual 3D environment. Weekly we will post some small task to keep everyone active and communicating on our findings within Second Life.

To start off I would like to inform everyone on a few issues before you start up your account within Second Life.

1. When you enter Second Life you are asked to create an avatar, a 3D representation of yourself within the space. You are asked to create a user name for your avatar that will identify you within SL. You are limited to the last names that SL provides, and often people come up with very creative or unusual first names as well. When you post on the blog please put your real name followed by your user name so that others can find you within Second Life.
   
2. After logging on for the first time, you start on what is known as Orientation Island. There will be many other new Second Lifers around you with their user names floating above their avatar's head. It is important that you follow the path on this island and read all the instruction signs you come across. These signs give you small tasks to learn and also let you take the information that they provide on a note card which you can store with your avatar. Take all the note cards from that island because they will be very useful for you as you start off in Second Life.
   
3. When you have completed your tasks, which include a number of things like a bit of flying, you end your journey with a final sign that teleports you to a new island when touched. This is Help Island and should also be examined pretty thouroughly. Help Island has a Sandbox, an area that you can practice building on. Teleporting and flying are your two main ways of traveling in Second Life. To find new places to teleport to in Second Life your best option is to use the search function on the Second Life web site and after finding your location you are looking for click on the teleport now. The website will send the information to the Second Life program and all you have to do is open your map and hit the teleport button.
   

With that bit of info out of the way let's go to Second Life. Your task is simply to teleport to three different locations and report back to the blog about anything that you have seen in Second Life that interests you. Also feel free to post any questions that you might have.

Adam (Rad Beam)

Virtual Reality and a Second Life: Theory, Examples, Practice

On March 8th, Chris Garvin’s class – Survey of Multimedia – will be discussing virtual reality, including versions of it like that of Second Life. Chris thought it might interest the 2nd Life Fellows so he’s inviting the fellows and anyone else who wishes to attend. The class starts at 4pm and is currently held in Room 1102 (Terra). If there’s a lot of interest, we’ll move to a larger room so please let Kim Thomas (ext 2014) know if you’re expecting to attend. The discussion is going to be based upon readings drawn from Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality (the expanded edition), pp 257-266, 272-299 and 352-269. We have copies of the readings in the Dean’s Office (Terra 1101), and the book is also on reserve in the library.

If we change the room number, we’ll let you know.

ALL THE FELLOWS INFO YOU WOULD EVER NEED!!

REGISTRATION


• Register yourself at www.secondlife.com using the Join Now link.
• Choose your Second Life name and enter basic information as required.
• Please email Kim Thomas, kthomas@uarts.edu with your Second Life name, after you have registered so that you may be added to the UArts Second Life group.
• Download the Second Life client by visiting www.secondlife.com, and choosing Downloads on the bottom left side of the screen.

REIMBURSEMENT

• Once you have set up your account, visit www.secondlife.com to view Your Account link in the upper right screen.
• Under Membership on the right side of the screen, click Update Payment Method. Enter in your credit card information and click Save Changes.
• Once you have entered your credit card information, choose to Upgrade/Downgrade Account, also located under Membership.
• We recommend that you choose to pay quarterly, which means that you will be billed one flat rate of $22.50 ($7.50/month), and this will last you through the duration of the Fellowship (February–May).
• To receive your reimbursement, you must submit the Second Life Fellows Reimbursement Form attached to this page as well as provide a printed record from your Second Life My Account summary:

To do this, log into www.secondlife.com, choose My Account in the upper right hand screen and print out the page. Also, please attach the Second Life Reimbursement Form that requires you to fill out your name, address, payment plan, social security and date.

Send your Account Summary and Reimbursement Form to Kim Thomas, Room 1103, The College of Media and Communication, or email her the information at kthomas@uarts.edu.

* Students – Please sign up for a basic membership. Notify Kim Thomas, kthomas@uarts.edu, once you have done this so that she may provide you with your sign-up bonus and weekly stipend that will be paid directly to your account once a week.

* If you have already registered to pay monthly, you may submit your receipts either every month or collectively at the end or your fellowship.

SPECIAL PROJECTS POOL

We have reserved a small pool of money for special projects in Second Life. If you have an idea or project in mind that you would like to create, please send a brief proposal, including a summary of the project, the anticipated length and an estimated budget to Kim Thomas at kthomas@uarts.edu. We will take a week to review it and send you a notice if it is approved.

UARTS GROUP

Once you have registered in Second Life and sent your Second Life name to kthomas@uarts.edu, we will invite you to join our UArts Second Life Group. This will allow you to find other Fellows in Second Life so that you can exchange information and explore together when you are logged in at the same time.


UARTS LAND

Coming Soon…An official home is being set up for UArts Second Life Fellows to congregate and practice building. If you would like to visit the land while you are in Second Life, you may choose Map at the bottom of your screen and Search for Denso Heights or enter in its coordinates (41, 115, 97) under Location. Then press Teleport. Stay tuned to the blog for more information about when this site will be open for building.

Until then, you may always practice building at any of the Second Life Sandboxes, and save your projects in Inventory.

BLOG

The UArts Second Life blog at www.uartssecondlife.blogspot.com will serve as your main Second Life Fellows Information Center.

Here you will find announcements, links, cool places to visit in Second Life, as well as a discussion forum for you and your fellows to talk about issues and share experiences you are having in Second Life.

Each week, a new topic will be posted regarding issues in Second Life such as Education, Economics, Business, etc. We ask that you contribute your thoughts at least once every two weeks.

EXTRA SUPPORT

• Second Life Support System – Second Life has its own extensive support center with many help topics accessible by visiting www.secondlife.com, and clicking on the Support tab. You can then browse general help topics or search for specific questions and answers.
• UArts Second Life Virtual “Help Desk” – A UArts assistant named Rad Beam will be available in Second Life for direct assistance on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. He will be located on our Second Life Land, discussed above.
• Seconduartslife@gmail.com - If you have a question, and cannot find the answer through the Second Life Support System or through the Virtual Help Desk, you may email an inquiry to seconduartslife@gmail.com. Please note, however, that this will only be checked periodically.