2. Part 1:
Overview of the technology
Virtual Worlds and Second Life
- Joining and costs
What to do on Second Life
- Activities on your land
Communication
- Text and voice
Application of Second Life
- Business and Education
3. Part 2: System Requirements or Restrictions
Windows Minimum Requirements Recommended
Internet
Connection:
Cable or DSL Cable or DSL
Operating System: XP or Vista XP or Vista
Computer
Processor:
800 MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better 1.5 GHz (XP), 2-GHz (Vista) 32-
bit (x86) or better
Computer
Memory:
512 MB or more 1GB or more
Screen Resolution: 1024x768 pixels 1024x768 pixels or higher
Graphics Card for
XP:
NVIDIA GeForce 2, GeForce 4 MX or
better
OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250 or better
OR Intel 945 chipset
NVIDIA Graphics cards
6000 Series: 6600, 6700, 6800.
7000 Series: ATI Graphics
Cards X800, X900, X1600,
X1700, X1800, X1900
Graphics Card for
Vista (requires
latest drivers)
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
OR ATI Radeon 9500 or better
OR Intel 945 chipset
NVIDIA Graphics cards
7000 Series: 7600, 7800, 7900
Staff Training
4. Part 3: Examples of Use
IBM
•utilizes second- Life by purchasing “islands” which they then develop for their specific
needs. i.e, by offering training and induction programs in a virtual landscape, as well
conferences and team meetings
•“IBM is using the virtual world of Second Life as the next best thing to being there for
corporate meetings” (LaMonica, 2006).
Westpac
• has experimented and have used virtual space to conduct centralised induction
meetings for new staff from branches and offices around the country.
•This element of Second life means that both new and old staff may interact in a virtual
world free from the hierarchies of management, the corporate structures which govern
information exchange as well the geographic problem of distance which inherently
hinders effective communication. .
INSEAD (The European Institute for Business Administration)
•Has embraced second life for their third campus to create a learning virtual experience
for all their students and employees worldwide.
• Their aim is to “..reach to participants beyond the length of their programme on
campus .. helping them apply skills and implement knowledge gained from the
programme they took at INSEAD” (Sarvary, 2007).
5. Part 4:
Benefits
•Communication and Interaction
•Geographic distance
•cost
•Easy assessable
•A real- life second life
IBM, Westpac and INSEAD utilization of second life possesses the ability
to initiate key innovation, provide a forum for clear communication and
knowledge sharing within an easily updatable, controlled, flexible and cost
effective setting
intrinsic benefit
6. Part 5:
Disadvantages/Challenges
• Pre-conceived notions and established ideologies relating to compatibility,
feasibility and use in professional learning context
•Acceptance issues due to lack of information
•Large task to implement successfully
•Employees and managers accepting and embracing technology
•Potential for misuse and legal issues relating to this
•Unavoidable resistance
•Long period of time to implement efficiently and effectively
7. Part 6:
Recommendations for appropriate
integration into learning contexts
• A thorough review of current practices and how utilising a virtual world will be of
most value
•Cooperation from upper management/supervisors
•A well rounded and broadly developed team for design and implementation
•An extensive education program for employees/managers/learners to ensure
they are effectively using the virtual world, embracing the technology, and
gaining value from the virtual environment
• Constant monitoring to pick up potential misuse and subsequent legal matters
•Hiring a knowledgeable external team with experience in the virtual world to
implement and initially monitor
8. “There’s no need to differentiate now
between methods of content delivery. The
battle is over, and e-learning has won. It’s
a regular part of the learning mix.”
- Donald H. Taylor, 2007
Taylor, D.H. (2007) ‘It's Time to Drop E-Learning’,
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?
id=170224
• We should be focusing on using online/web/ ‘e’
resources as part of learning as a whole, not
pigeonholing it as ‘e’ learning.
