Agenda o What is Second Life (SL)? o SL Principle o What can you do in SL? o Why is it interesting? o Why should it be important to you? o Potential Research Topics o Demo

What is Second Life? Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE) A massive perpetual 3-D virtual world Created by Linden Research, Inc (formerly Linden Labs) Approximately 15 million registered users* *As of October 23, 2008, SL Economic Statistics,

Is it Real? Second Life is not a game. The environment is virtual But the people are REAL ◦ Avatars

SL Principles Accessible tools User-owned IP Economy

Why can you do in SL? Social Network Creation Education Business

Why is SL Interesting? Gartner.com predicts “80 Percent of Active Internet Users Will Have A ‘Second Life’ in the Virtual World by the End of 2011…” Economy Own economy including land sales, digital creations and services. ◦ Islands are (retail) priced at US$1,675 for 65,536 square meters Monthly land fees for maintenance are US$295 Own currency - Linden Dollars ◦ Linden dollars are bought and sold on LindeX currency exchange ◦ Linden dollars can be converted to real USD (The current exchange rate is about L$270 per US$1)

Why is SL Interesting?

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300+ Educational institutions Penn State University California State University Duke University Harvard University New York University Stanford University Texas State University University of Southern Queensland Australian Film TV and Radio School University of Sydney

Why should it be important to you?

Because … It is one of those emerging technologies that has the most significant influence on how people collaborate. ◦ It changes the ways humans collaborate - in terms of identity and presence. ◦ It requires different skill sets for IT – in terms of collaboration requirements, support, and technologies.

Because … Its potential impact on the workforce, consumers, business, government, education, and society. ◦ Collaboration and co-creation ◦ Innovation ◦ Experiential learning ◦ Simulation and role-play ◦ Data visualization

Because … We are educators and researchers … ◦ Critical part of the learning process. ◦ Connecting with sources of ongoing learning. ◦ Peer facilitated learning. ◦ Community of Practice ◦ Situated Learning ◦ Micro worlds, Simulations ◦ Virtual Learning Environments

Potential Research Topics Technology & Business, Strategy in Second Life Marketing in Second Life Business Planning for Non-profits in Second Life Financial Systems, Investments, Currency Exchange in Second Life Taxation in Virtual Worlds Product Testing in Second Life Identity and embodiment in Second Life And many more …

Have to See to Believe " Why would companies ever set up websites – they are static with a one-page-at-a-time mentality when the opportunity to create an experiential environment in places like Second Life existed?" "It's better than teleconferences, and instant messaging. In Second Life you can arrive early for an event and mingle, and then chat again afterwards. You get a feeling people know each other." -SL resident

Demo Educational Uses of SL video Live Demo