Understanding Second Life as an extension of ourselves through the Identification of 5 characteristics of this Virtual Environment

UnderstandingSecondLife as anextension of ourselvesthroughtheIdentification of 5 characteristics of this Virtual Environment
Gloria Gómez-Diago (October 2009)
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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
Thisisanexploratoryworkthatidentifiesfivesalientcharacteristics of the Virtual WorldSecondLife. Theslides show someof theactionsthatcan beaccomplished in SecondLife.
Thepurposeistohelp in achievingusefulapplications of this Virtual Environment
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1, The Detail in the representation
Thedetail in therepresentation of theobjects in SecondLifeisveryhigh. Thelights, theshapes, thecolors. .. Thiscontributestocreate a sensation of immersion and tofeelthatyou are in a humanspace. Most of theobjects, buildings and shapes are copyfromthe“real life”.
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1,The Detail in the representation
Thefacilitiyforcreatingscenes, objects and buildingsitisappliedwithdifferentpurposeslikerepresenting real buildings. This can beveryusefulfortestingtheirappearanceorforexplainingtheircharacteristics. Forinstance, organizingan art classintotheSistineChapel, in SecondLife, wouldhelpstudentstobefocusedonthelesson.
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2, Intelligent objects
Objects in S. L can beintelligent. Therefore, there are places thathavetoolsavailablethatgiveinformation and evenevaluatetheknowledge of peopleaboutseveraltopics. ForinstanceSt Georges UniversityParamedic Training Scenarioisdesignedforexplainingpeoplehowtheymustact in emergencysituations
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2. Intelligentobjects
You can choosethecontextin whichyouwanttobeinvolved. In this case, I am (into my avatar) in front of a robot avatar whohadanaccident in thekitchen.
If I touchit, someoptionswillappear in orderto try tohelpthe avatar.
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2. Intelligent objects
OneClimate Island is a place whereyou can findinformationabouttheclimatechange. There are boards, which show data abouttheissue, slidesthatdisplaytextsabouttheactionsthatmustbetakenintoaccount in ordertoavoid more damages...
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3. Tools for displaying contents
Thus, in S.L you can displaycontentsusingboards, screens, etc. In thisphotoyou can see a screenthatis set in OneClimate Island. Ifyoutouchthescreen, youwillbeinvitedtowatchseveral videos. Forchoosingtheoneyouare interested in, youmusttouchit.
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Thetoolsfordisplayingslides are popular foritsgooddesign and ease of use. In theimage, you can see a graphic I havemadetorepresent a classification of communicationtheories done byEm Griffin. Theuniquedisadvantageof usingslidesisthatitisnecessarytopay10 lindsforeachimageyouuploadintosecondlife. Nevertheless, there are alternativessuch as thesloodlepresenterthatallowsshowingimageswithoutpay.
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In SecondLifethere are severalplaces forgettingtoolsthat are suitableforeducativeorresearcherpurposessuch as the International SchoolsorEdunation. Moreover, there are scriptersthat can designthetoolyouneed.
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4. Social environment
Being in touchwithpeoplefromdifferentcountries and culturesisone of thebestapplications of SecondLife. Theenvironmentiscomfortablefororganizingmeetingsbecauseitenhancesthefeeling of sharing a commonspace. Thus, we can do activitiesin groupas brainstormingorgroupdiscussions.
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Forcommunicatingwithotheravatars, you can use the local chat orsendprivatemessages. Moreover, you can communicatebyvoice. Foraddingan avatar as friendyouonlyneedtotouch in hisname (overhis head) Then, youwillcan tosendtohim a “friendshipoffer”. The avatar whomyou invites can acceptorrejectyourfriendship.
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Once time youhaveaddedan avatar as friend, youwillknowwhen he orsheisintoworld. Moreover, itispossiblecommunicatewithavatarsusinginstantmessagealthoughthey are not online. Theywillreceivethemessageswhentheyenterinto S.L.
Otherusefulactionforbeing in contactwithothersconsistsonjoinintogroups. There are severalgroupsrelatedtodifferenttopics and evenyou can createyourowngroup
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Becoming a member of groups of yourinterestisoneof thebestwaysforreceivinginformationabouttheeventsthat are organizedin SecondLife. There are differentkind of groupswhichcoverdifferentissues. Some are notvery active and a few are lively. Ifa Groupdoesnotsendtoyouanyinformation, leaveit and try another. We can be in twentyfivegroups as maximum.
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First times in SecondLife can befrustratingifyouthinkthatyouwillfindmanyavatars in the places youvisit. During my firstweeks in SecondLife, I created 5 Criteria, definedbyitemsforevaluatingeducative places in SecondLife: 1, Affluence of people , 2, Interaction 3, Information, 4, Organization and type of lectures, 5, Possibilitiesforbeinginvolved in a group.Afterevaluatingmany places, I becameaware of thefactthatforsocializinginto S.L wemustjoinintogroups , subscribe tolistssuch as Second Life Educators List or check webpages as Sldevents for educators in Second Life
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5. Linkedto Real World
A smalltravelintoSecondLifewill show toyouthat“real life” isalwayspresentin thisvirtual environmentnotonlybecauseobjects and buildings are similar totheoneswehave in “real life” butbecausethere are places focusedontopics andissuesthat are part of ourlife. In theimagesyou can seeonelocationforsupportingObama and one place whereyou can obtaininformationabouttheswineflue
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Conclusions
SecondLifeamplifiesourcapabilitiesforestablishing social relations. This can improvethedevelopment of business, educationalorresearchactivities. FollowingMcLuhan'sapproach, thesekind of toolsoperate as extensions of thebody, removingbarrierslinkedtothespace and the time. Piere Levy (1998: 24) emphasizesthehumanaspect of these virtual environmentswhen he saysthat“virtualizationis a reinvention, a multiplication, a heterogenesis of thehuman”.
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References
G.DIAGO, Gloria (15 diciembre, 2008) “Criterios para evaluar Sitios educativos en SecondLife” http://fromcommunication.blogspot.com/2008/12/criterios-para-evaluar-sitios.html
LÉVY, Pierre (1994) L'intelligencecollective. Pour une anthropologie du cyberespace. La Découverte, Paris.
MCLUHAN, Marshall (1964) Understanding Media: TheExtensions of Man. GingkoPress
SistineChapel in SecondLifehttp://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/
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http://www.cibersociedad.net	84
http://fromcommunication.blogspot.com	18
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	2
http://mj89sp3sau2k7lj1eg3k40hkeppguj6j-a-sites-opensocial.googleusercontent.com	2
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Understanding Second Life as an extension of ourselves through the Identification of 5 characteristics of this Virtual Environment

by Gloria Gómez Diago on Oct 02, 2009

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Understanding Second Life as an extension of ourselves through the Identification of 5 characteristics of this Virtual Environment — Presentation Transcript