Second Life Session
Before you start:
1. Apply for a free Second Life account, and post your avatar name on Blackboard
2. Change the appearance of your avatar (see how to).
3. Add the instructor and your classmates as friends (see how to)
4. First stop, visit Orientation Island Public. After you install Second Life software, click on this link, you'll see a "teleport now" button which will take you to the Island in the Second Life automatically.
*Task 1: Follow the arrow on the ground in the Orientation Island Public, and then complete the activities along the path. These activities can help you get familiar with the Second Life operation. Take a snapshot of yourself playing the ball, and upload the snapshot to Blackboard (see how to take a snapshot).
5. View the following Second Life presentation slides.
Second Life presentations:
Information for regular users
*Task 2:Answer the following questions on Blackbaord:
- In your opinion, what makes people want to engage in the Second Life virtual world?
- Share three interesting features you observed in the Second Life.
6. Teleport to the following landmarks and explore these islands.
*Task 3: Take a snapshot of yourself doing something on these two islands. Post the two images on Blackboard and explain your actions. (Example snapshot: I'm observing the Mars Tornado on the International Spaceflight Museum).
7. View the next three Second Life presentations.
Information for advanced users (SL land developer)
*Task 4: Answer the following question on Blackbaord:
- As a SL user, what features could make you come back to visit an island, especially island build or construted by a company?
8. Teleport to Second Life Library and explore ideas to use SL in teaching and business
*Task 5: After you explore the Second Life Library, answer the following question on Blackbaord:
- Share one good idea to use Second Life in teaching and learning
*Task 6: Search for a landmark and save its Slrul (see how to search a landmark). Describe the feature of this landmark (see how to create a Slrul). On March 8th we will meet on the Second Life. You will take us to the landmark you found on March 8th, and show us why you chose this landmark.
Ideas to use SL: (we will expand the list altogether)
Product demonstration
Simulation
Field trip
Other Resources
Web sites
Papers
*Task 7: Research paper (due April 5)
-Choose one of the following topics
- What educators are doing with Second Life? Report 3 cases and the learning outcomes.
- How can you use Second Life in your company (organization, school)?
- As a trainer or an educator, what possibilities Second Life offer to help you engage your learners?
- If you build it, will they come? (If you build a land, how do you lure and retain the SL residents?)
- Or other topic approved by me
-1300 words, double spaced, APA style, include at least 8 references
-Embed at least one snapshot
-APA style: Follow APA style to format your paper. Use the APA formatting and Style Guide to help you format the paper. As a graduate student, you must have the ability to follow APA style to write research paper. Here is an APA format sample paper (PDF).
-Structure:
- Abstract (100 words)
- Introduction (why are you interested in this topic)
- Literature review (what people already know about this topic)
- Your arguments (your position or thoughts on this topic and why)
- Conclusion
- References
-Draft paper due March 29.
-Resources help you write an academic research paper
- What is a Research Paper?
- Writing research essays: A guide for students of all nations
- Avoiding Plagiarism – Mastering the Art of Scholarship
-Use academic database to locate references
- Google Scholar
- NYIT ebook
- ERIC: ERIC is a bibliography database which locates the article information for you, but you need to find the full text through the library or other services.
- New York Times News Archive