Second Life Basics to Get You Started

1. It will be very helpful for you to go to Second Life and place your mouse over WHAT IS SECOND LIFE and check out each of the links to become familiar with SL. 
2. Follow the directions beginning on Page 2, register and get your avatar.
3. Once you have gone through Welcome Island (see below pg.5), then I suggest you also visit either of the orientation islands below using the SLURL.  What is a SLURL? (video)
University of Caledon Oxbridge, Caledon Oxbridge
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Oxbridge/128/128/2  
OR
Vushi Orientation area: http://slurl.com/secondlife/TSTC%20Alvarado/15/103/26/ 
How to use the slurl:
Copy and paste the SLurl (Second Life URL) into the address bar of your browser, then,  

• Open Second life and login.
• Copy and paste the slurl into the address bar of your browser
• Click on orange Visit this Location button on the slurl page or it might say -Teleport now.
• Go to Second Life and the Inventory window will appear on the right side of the SL viewer.
• Select Teleport (Teleport History video)  at the bottom of the panel.
• You will be transported to the destination.

4. Once you have completed the orientation review the QUICK START GUIDE.
This will give you a very complete overview of the SL viewer 2.0 you are using to access SL.(Introduction to Second Life viewer 2.0 video)
It will help to have SL open as you go through the Quick Start Guide tutorial. 

Getting to SBCC Island in Second Life

Second Life is a popular Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) that is sweeping the globe.  Because the interface is relatively easy for a “non-techie” to use, millions of everyday people have been drawn to it as a new form of social computing. Some are calling it Web 3D.

Currently, many educational, corporate and government institutions are successfully developing innovative and practical uses of this environment.

This tutorial will take you through the very first steps of exploring this online 3D environment, including:

• Creating your Second Life account
• Creating your Avatar (visual representation of yourself)
• Going through the orientation process
• Navigating to the SBCC virtual campus in Second Life

Materials needed:
A computer able to run Second Life
System requirements: http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php

Second Life download: http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/?lang=en-US

Optional but highly recommended:  A headset with microphone if you wish to verbally speak from within the Second Life environment.

Time needed to complete this tutorial:
1 hour minimum.

However, to properly master the basic orientation skills, you should consider spending up to 3 hours.

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Step 1: Creating your Second Life account and avatar name

Go to the Second Life website (http://www.secondlife.com).

Click on the large orange
“Join Now” button.

This will open up the registration page, where you’ll select a username, password and beginning
look for your avatar. You
can change everything about your avatar’s appearance once you log into Second Life.

You can’t change your username, so choose carefully! After logging into Second Life, you’ll be able to
edit your avatar’s display name. This will be discussed later in the tutorial.

You will then need to enter a valid e-mail address and your birth date, then select a security question.

Note: This information is solely for identification purposes and is not given
out to anyone.

Complete the security check and click the orange Create Account button.

Confirm your account by responding to the email sent to the address you indicated.

Note: The activation email may take a few minutes.

If you have not already downloaded Second Life,
click the orange “Download
& Install Second Life” button.

Once Second Life is installed on your computer, open the application using your avatar name and password.

Step 2: Welcome Island

When you first log into Second Life, your avatar will be standing at the entrance of
Welcome Island. 

Welcome Island is designed to teach you basic Second Life skills. You can’t return to Welcome Island after you teleport away, so be sure to take advantage of the tutorials here. If you need more help later, you will be able to visit Help Island Public, which also offers lots of free items.

After you’re finished at Welcome Island, you will have the option to teleport to different locations. One of these is Discovery Island, where you can collect free animations and clothes for your avatar. These areas are not a strictly educational environment and reflect a diversity of personalities, ages, cultures, nationalities and languages. You might try turning up your sound to hear the different sound effects and languages.

Rarely, you might encounter someone who is intent on harassing you in some way (in chat or by bumping your avatar).  Should this happen, the easiest solution is just to walk away, teleport to another location or log out (quit the program, Command+Q) for a few minutes.  This type of harassment (known as griefing) is against the Terms of Service and grounds for temporary or permanent account suspension.

While on Welcome Island and Discovery Island:
Make sure you can do the following before you teleport to SBCC Island:
Tutorial Skills:

• Use arrow keys to walk
• Fly and stop flying
• Change your view
• Chat a short conversation with an avatar nearby
• Right-Click on a nearby avatar and notice the “pie menu” options
• View your inventory. Click on My Inventory to see what you already have.
• Change one thing about your avatar’s appearance (try changing height)
• Change one item of clothing (Note: You don’t have to take off clothing! Just find an item in your inventory and drag it onto your avatar.)
• Click the Home button and look through the Destination Guide for places and events that interest you. (Do not teleport there at this time!)
• Sit – Right click on an object and choose Sit to sit down.

A Scavenger Hunt!

As you walk around the islands, mouse over objects and click on them. You will receive many useful notecards and free objects – some of which are only available on these islands.  As you collect them, they will appear in your inventory.

Find and Take (try Help Island Public):

• A free sailboat
• A free house (that can be modified)
• A sign about video tutorials (vidtuts). Try watching one.
• An entire billboard of free stuff. Great items!
• A multi language chat translator

Step 3: Changing your avatar’s display name

Now that you’ve had some time to explore Second Life, you might want to create a display name. Display names can be changed once a week.

First, open the My Profile tab on the sidebar to the right of the screen. Click “Edit Profile” at the bottom of this menu.

Click the Edit wrench icon below Display Name.

Enter the name you want to use in the menu that pops up. Click Save, then Close on the dialog box that pops up.

Your avatar should now be labeled with the display name you have selected. It might take a few days for scripts, objects, and searches in Second Life to be updated with the change.

Step 4: Getting to SBCC Island

When you are ready to go to SBCC Island, click on the Home button (the hand icon on the upper right of your screen). This menu will give you two ways to access the World Map. You can either click on the large “WORLD MAP” button within the Home menu or click the small “Map” button at the bottom of the screen. A large map will pop up that shows your current location.

You will see three fields you can type into:
My Friends Online, My Landmarks, Regions by Name

There are three main areas on the SBCC island.
You can access these areas two ways:

• SLURL – web link un the url
• Map locations – typing in coordinates on the map

• Explore It!: In the Regions by Name field, type in: SBCC Explore It

In the Location fields at the bottom, type in the following Numbers, 128, 128, 22
Then click the Teleport button below the location coordinates to arrive at the location

• SBCC Classroom: Regions by Name: SBCC - Location fields: 43            191            27

You may also copy this slurl into your browser url: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SBCC/43/191/27

•SBCC Sandbox: Regions by Name: SBCC - Location fields: 227            138            21
You may also copy this slurl into your browser url:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SBCC/227/138/21

Prepared by Cathy Arreguin 2009
Revised by Nina Jensen 2011