The Story of My “Second Life”

Here’s a quick little sidebar I wrote to run with an article about Second Life that I, Knowclue Kidd, Zsusa Thomsen, Claird Loon and FIl Santiago worked on together recently. It will appear in the quarterly newsletter for our state ISTE chapter, the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology (NJAET) in a few weeks.

Anyway, several newbies have told me the sidebar was helpful, so, I’m posting it here for easy access by anyone who happens by. I’ll link to the full NJAET newsletter once it’s out.

Hope this helps!

-kj-

Taking your first steps in Second Life
By: Kevin Jarrett

Ok! So you’re ready to take the plunge and try Second Life out for yourself. Terrific! It’s easy to get started.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Check the system requirements to determine if your machine is up to snuff. Second Life needs a fairly modern computer and reasonably powerful graphics card to run smoothly. If you’re unfamiliar with these technical terms, find someone who is and get their help. Second Life will work on older, less capable machines but the experience will be much less enjoyable. Don’t worry, if you have a machine less than two years old that has a dedicated graphics card (in other words, NOT “integrated graphics” or “motherboard graphics”), or if there’s any reference to ATI or NVidia chipsets in your system specs, chances are you’re okay. Finally, if you or your kids play ANY fairly recent games on the computer (especially 3D games) you’ll DEFINITELY be fine.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Ok, you’ve found your way to http://www.secondlife.com and pressed ‘Sign Up.’ You now have to choose a name for your avatar. You can have any first name you want but your last name must be among the choices provided. IMPORTANT: this can’t be changed, and although you may create more than one account (called ‘alts’ for ‘alternate’ avatars), you’ll want to choose your name wisely. Pick a first name you are comfortable being addressed with. Case in point: my first avatar is named “Digital Mincemeat.” I quicky grew tired of being called “Digital” and created my second and current avatar, “KJ Hax.”

CHOOSE A LOOK AND ENTER YOUR ACCOUNT DETAILS. You’ll be presented with a series of choices for your basic appearance. Don’t worry, you can change everything – AND WE MEAN EVERYTHING – later. Just pick one and go. Fill out the rest of the form. Yes, your real life credentials are required! Don’t bother with choosing the ‘Premium’ account option, you can always do that later.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL! Check your email for an activation message, click the link, then download the software. Install it, log in with avatar name (first & last) and password you chose. When prompted, try to choose an orientation location OTHER THAN a regular Linden Lab “Orientation Island.” My personal favorite, Ben & Jerry’s! You’ll find fewer people at these custom-branded orientations and will be less likely to encounter people who, sadly, think it is fun to tease “newbies” as they show up for the first time in Second Life. It happens – just ask Kathy Schrock!

GET THEE TO ISTE! As soon as you complete the orientation, use the SEARCH feature (be sure you’re on the ‘Places’ tab) to locate ISTE Island. Telelport over! (You can also click this link: http://tinyurl.com/yud38g.) You may find some avatars there to converse with, but if you don’t, just walk inside and check out the Docent schedule (on an easel board near the front desk). You’ll be able to see when you can expect to come back and find an ISTE volunteer who will be happy to assist you with everything from the basics (sitting, walking, flying) to finding free items, customizing your appearance and finding cool educational places to visit. Feel free to wander around the island and explore. Set a landmark so you can return easily (click the ‘World’ menu at the top, then, ‘Create Landmark Here.’ Here is the SLURL to ISTE HQ: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/86/58/30

You’re on your way! All you need to do now is join ISTE in Second Life (it’s free, just search using the ‘Groups’ tab and press “Join for $0). Then you’ll get notices of upcoming events and more.

See you in Second Life!