flying

Understanding Second Life as an extension of

ourselves through the
Identification of 5 characteristics of this Virtual
Environment

Gloria Gómez-Diago (October 2009) 1

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Index

Introduction
1, The detail in the representation of the things
2, Intelligent objects
3, Tools for displaying contents
4, Social environment
5, Linked to “real world”
Conclusions
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Introduction

This is an exploratory work that

identifies five salient characteristics
of the Virtual World Second Life.
The slides show some of the actions
that can be accomplished in Second
Life.
The purpose is to help in achieving
useful applications of this Virtual
Environment
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1, The Detail in the representation

The detail in the representation of the

objects in Second Life is very high.
The lights, the shapes, the colors. ..
This contributes to create a sensation
of immersion and to feel that you are
in a human space. Most of the
objects, buildings and shapes are
copy from the “real life”.

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1,The Detail in the representation

The facilitiy for creating scenes,

objects and buildings it is applied
with different purposes like
representing real buildings. This can
be very useful for testing their
appearance or for explaining their
characteristics. For instance,
organizing an art class into the
Sistine Chapel, in Second Life,
would help students to be focused
on the lesson.

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2, Intelligent objects

Objects in S. L can be
intelligent. Therefore, there
are places that have tools
available that give information
and even evaluate the
knowledge of people about
several topics. For instance
St Georges University
Paramedic Training Scenario
is designed for explaining
people how they must act in
emergency situations

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2. Intelligent objects

You can choose the

context in which you
want to be involved. In
this case, I am (into my
avatar) in front of a
robot avatar who had an
accident in the kitchen.
If I touch it, some
options will appear in
order to try to help the
avatar.
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2. Intelligent objects

One Climate Island is a

place where you can find
information about the
climate change. There are
boards, which show data
about the issue, slides that
display texts about the
actions that must be taken
into account in order to
avoid more damages...

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3. Tools for displaying contents

Thus, in S.L you can display

contents using boards,
screens, etc. In this photo
you can see a screen that
is set in One Climate
Island. If you touch the
screen, you will be invited
to watch several videos.
For choosing the one you
are interested in, you must
touch it.

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3. Tools for displaying contents

The tools for displaying slides are
popular for its good design and ease
of use. In the image, you can see a
graphic I have made to represent a
classification of communication
theories done by Em Griffin. The
unique disadvantage of using slides
is that it is necessary to pay 10 linds
for each image you upload into
second life. Nevertheless, there are
alternatives such as the sloodle
presenter that allows showing images
without pay.

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3. Tools for displaying contents

In Second Life there are

several places for getting
tools that are suitable for
educative or researcher
purposes such as the
International Schools or
Edunation. Moreover, there
are scripters that can design
the tool you need.

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4. Social environment
Being in touch with people from
different countries and cultures
is one of the best applications
of Second Life. The
environment is comfortable for
organizing meetings because it
enhances the feeling of sharing
a common space. Thus, we can
do activities in group as
brainstorming or group
discussions.

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4. Social environment
For communicating with other
avatars, you can use the
local chat or send private
messages. Moreover, you
can communicate by voice.
For adding an avatar as
friend you only need to
touch in his name (over his
head) Then, you will can to
send to him a “friendship
offer”. The avatar whom
you invites can accept or
reject your friendship.

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4. Social environment
Once time you have added an avatar
as friend, you will know when he or
she is into world. Moreover, it is
possible communicate with avatars
using instant message although
they are not online. They will
receive the messages when they
enter into S.L.
Other useful action for being in
contact with others consists on join
into groups. There are several
groups related to different topics
and even you can create your own
group
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4. Social environment

Becoming a member of groups of

your interest is one of the best
ways for receiving information
about the events that are
organized in Second Life. There
are different kind of groups
which cover different issues.
Some are not very active and a
few are lively. If a Group does
not send to you any information,
leave it and try another. We can
be in twenty five groups as
maximum.

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4. Social environment

First times in Second Life can be frustrating if you think that you will
find many avatars in the places you visit. During my first weeks in
Second Life, I created 5 Criteria, defined by items for evaluating
educative places in Second Life: 1, Affluence of people , 2, Interaction
3, Information, 4, Organization and type of lectures, 5, Possibilities for
being involved in a group. After evaluating many places, I became
aware of the fact that for socializing into S.L we must join into
groups , subscribe to lists such as Second Life Educators List or
check webpages as Sldevents for educators in Second Life

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5. Linked to Real World

A small travel into Second Life will
show to you that “real life” is
always present in this virtual
environment not only because
objects and buildings are similar
to the ones we have in “real life”
but because there are places
focused on topics and issues
that are part of our life. In the
images you can see one location
for supporting Obama and one
place where you can obtain
information about the swine flue

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Conclusions

Second Life amplifies our capabilities for establishing

social relations. This can improve the development of
business, educational or research activities. Following
McLuhan's approach, these kind of tools operate as
extensions of the body, removing barriers linked to the
space and the time. Piere Levy (1998: 24) emphasizes the
human aspect of these virtual environments when he says
that “virtualization is a reinvention, a multiplication, a
heterogenesis of the human”.

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References

• G.DIAGO, Gloria (15 diciembre, 2008) “Criterios para evaluar Sitios educativos en
Second Life” http://fromcommunication.blogspot.com/2008/12/criterios-para-evaluar-
sitios.html
• LÉVY, Pierre (1994) L'intelligence collective. Pour une anthropologie du
cyberespace. La Découverte, Paris.
• MCLUHAN, Marshall (1964) Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Gingko
Press
• Sistine Chapel in Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/vassar/165/91/24
• Second Life Educators List
• https://lists.secondlife.com/cgbin/mailman/listinfo/educatorsG
• Sldevents for educators in Second Life. http://sledeventsmini.blogspot.com/
One Climate http://slurl.com/secondlife/OneClimate/130/127/27
• International Schools. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/54/202/34
• Edunation. http://slurl.com/secondlife/EduNation%20II/142/215/25
• Sloodle (Simulation Linked Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment)
http://www.sloodle.org/moodle/ Gloria Gómez-Diago (October 2009) 19