Calendar of Events

• September 6, 2007 3:00 ET CES Second Life Round Table & Business Plan: Next steps in development of Morrill Island (Second Life) and Bailey Island (Teen Life). At that time we will make a decision as a group on three projects (one for each property) to bring to fruition. We would use both eXtension and partner resources to complete these projects. Held in the Learn Room in Adobe Connect: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn

  To participate: No registration necessary. Need computer with Internet access AND phone. Five minutes before the announced time of a session, go to the learning space URL listed for the topic. Most of the sessions will use Web conferencing (Adobe Connect) technology. Enter as a guest. When prompted, enter your name, followed by your institution (Teens - 4-H & your state). Once you enter the learning space, you'll have the opportunity to have the system call your phone for the audio portion of the session.

• September 11 3:00 - 3:30 ET Introduction to Second Life: Multi-user virtual environments such as Second Life are growing in popularity. Learn what Second Life is and how it is being used. Some experts have predicted that 80 percent of active Internet users will be using this type of environment by the end of 2011. Why not spend just 30 minutes in 2007 to learn more about it so you’re better prepared? Presented by Vishal Singh. Learn room in Adobe Connect http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn

  To participate in eXtension Professional Development: No registration necessary. Need computer with Internet access AND a phone. Five minutes before the announced time of a session, go to the learning space URL listed for the topic. Most of the sessions will use Web conferencing (Adobe Connect) technology. Enter as a guest. When prompted, enter your name followed by your institution (Teens - 4-H & your state). Once you enter the learning space, you'll have the opportunity to have the system call your phone for the audio portion of the session. If the time doesn't work for you, the session will be taped and you can watch/listen later.

• October 1, 1:00 - 2:00 ET Meeting for those 18 or older in Second Life: Meeting takes place on Morrill Island in the Discussion Area. Will discuss what has happened since our August calls, test our skills, etc. Getting there: Find Morrill Island after you've logged into Second Life by using the map to search for Morrill. Then click "Teleport," or use SLurl: Location-Based Linking in Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/Morrill/178/142/30. Twig Sodwind and Jonathan Foss are two Second Life residents who can help out if you have any problems.

  Our meeting place looks like this:

  

Our To-Do List

• Get an account. Download SL or TL. Set up a basic account.
• Tell us your SL/TL name. Send your SL / TL name to lisabou at uiuc dot edu. This will enable us to identify you as part of our group, invite you to join, etc.
• Orientation and practice. Get in there and move around. Communicate! Think about how this type of environment can be used with youth. Share ideas.
• Go to our events. See the calendar above. Listen. Talk. Some events may be archived, in case you are unable to participate.

Ideas from August Conference Calls

• The Basics There is Second Life and there is Teen Second Life. Second Life is for adults only: You have to be 18 to enter. Teen Second Life is for teens only: You have to be 13 to 17 to enter. Teen Second Life and Second Life are Internet-based virtual worlds developed by a group called Linden Lab. Started getting a lot of attention about a year ago. Requires good video/graphics card in your computer, as well as broadband Internet. You download a client called Second Life Viewer. Sign up for a basic account (free). Premium accounts, with a monthly fee, are also available, but you don’t need them. You get a name: Pick your first name and choose a last name from the list. Then select an avatar. You can customize its appearance to look like you or very different, and can change its appearance over time. While many avatars are humanoid, they don’t have to be.
• Not a Game Now you are able to explore, meet other users, socialize, participate in activities, create and trade items and services. So this is not a computer game, but a virtual world or simulation. You aren’t trying to achieve a particular goal, but it is a space where you can create the future of 4-H, what 4-H could be like without some of the time – geography – physicality realities of "first life." Think of it as discovering a New World – Lewis & Clark Expedition.
• So What Do You Do?
  • To explore, you "move" through SL. Generally by foot: Walk, run, jump. You can also fly, travel by vehicle or teleport to a specific location.
  • To meet others and socialize, there are two main methods of text-based communication: Local chat when you are physically co-located in a SL space, and instant messaging (which doesn’t require you to be in the same space).
  • One of the great features of SL is that the residents (you) create most of the content: You create your avatar, including your body type, clothes, hair, etc. You create buildings, vehicles and places or objects to see, use. This is part of what we will be doing on Bailey Island, creating an “infrastructure” that supports the kinds of activities and services that we want to offer. Lots of room for innovation, design and engineering. You also create and showcase your "art," i.e. music, graphics, etc.
  • SL has a 3D modeling tool you can use to help you build stuff. It also offers a scripting language (Linden Scripting Language or LSL) so you can animate objects or make things happen in your environment – really creating a simulation or artificial world. These tools allow you to conduct experiments, replicating laws of our natural world, as well as create things that are not possible in "first life."
  • Great place of education. Many universities are starting to use SL as virtual classrooms. Places where you can connect with your teachers and mentors, work on projects, listen to lectures, test an idea. Even hang out!
  • Great place for 4-H! There is the adoption process or learning curve of Second Life, but once there we think this will be an interesting option for 4-H. Think about the potential learning tools, services, meeting spaces and resources. Not only spaces we could create for club meetings and national conferences, but specialty "labs" for project areas – a launch pad for aerospace, designing fashions to "sell" to other users for their avatars, a library for curriculum and resources, a wilderness area for Wildlife and Forestry projects, a veterinarian and virtual pets to work with Animal Sciences, a stage for Performing Arts. Not only these spaces, but a range of tools and resources which we can use to support 4-H members, to socialize, to engage in new challenges and endeavors, and to create opportunities that are not available to us in our geographic community.

• Cell phone with SMS, a PayPal account or a credit card were required to register in Teen Second Life.
• Adults are allowed on the teen grid, provided they pass a criminal background check, but only in our adult-owned island (Bailey); we cannot join teen created groups, and can't visit the mainland of Teen Second Life.
• The educational projects in Teen Second Life fall into two categories: Those that are accessible to all residents of the Teen Grid (public projects), and those accessible to teens associated with a particular project in "real life" (private projects). These private projects are most often inaccessible to Teen Grid residents. We need to decide what we want to be (perhaps half and half).
• Let's meet on October 1 in SL, at least the adults.
• Need to connect the interested youth with opportunities for them to get organized, talking and online together.

Resources

• Tutorial on Second Life
• Community Standards
• Virtual Learning Environments presentation
• A Teen Second Life project report
• Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative
• A Teen Second Life experiment blog
• Kids Connect workshops
• TSLurl: Location-based linking in Second Life

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