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Second Life

Second Life

See our video tours around our E-Learning island for more info.

Second Life is an internet-based 3D virtual world which allows users to interact and communicate using an image-based interface.

Anyone using Second Life for the first time will need to register and then download a 'viewer' program onto their computer before creating an Avatar (a graphical embodiment of the user) which will be used to represent their presence in the virtual world.

There are some restrictions on registering for Second Life on the UWE campus. More details are available under our section: How do I do that? Starting in Second Life.

Once set up as a 'Resident' of Second Life, users will be able to explore, meet other residents, socialise, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade items (virtual property) and services with one another.

It's free to join and 'exist' in Second Life, but residents can buy and trade in an internal currency called the Linden Dollar (L$) or buy land, objects, clothes, and services.

A special programming language (Linden Scripting Language) can be used by users to create items and customise the way that an object, for example, might behave.

UWE has an E-Learning island in Second Life.

See our video tours around our E-Learning island for more info.

If you have Second Life setup, you can go directly to the island by following this url http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elearning%20at%20UWE/110/128/35

Education links

An Virtual Environments Enable New Models of Learning
The Simtech Second Life education wiki - contains a wealth of information about Second Life in a teaching environment
Linden Labs (the makers of Second Life) have their own Education wiki

How do I do that?
Starting in Second Life

Sign up for a Second Life account ("Basic" level accounts are free):
- OFF the UWE campus.
  Sign up for a Second Life account through the Second Life website or
- ON the UWE campus.
  It is easy to sign up by filling out the short UWE Second Life Registration form.
You'll need Administrator rights on the computer (as you will be installing some software onto it)
Take a look at the system requirements and make sure your computer can run Second Life: (don't worry if the technical information appears too complicated - you can always download the software and if it doesn't work then just uninstall it)
Download and install the Second Life viewer (either WIN for PC or MAC for Apple Mac)
When you log in for the first time, you start on one of our many Help Islands. A simple tutorial appears in a corner of the Second Life viewer, and helps guide you through Second Life's many controls and features.