Second+Life

=Second Life™= toc is a 3-D virtual world, created by Linden Labs. Everything in the world (in-world) has been created by the residents of Second Life. You will be represented by an avatar within Second Life, mine is called Robins Hermano. Second Life has it's own currency, Linden Dollars (L$) and virtual items, services, and land can all be purchased. We will NOT be spending any L$ for this course, all that you need is available for free (including membership). To get started using Second Life you will need to get an account (where you will choose your own avatar name and type) and download the software. Once you've registered and downloaded the software the next step is to find our Island, ReallyEngagingAccounting and being learning how to use Second Life and to orient yourself to what is available to you on our Island for completing homework assignments and other resources. So let's get started.

**Get an Account:**
There are three steps to using Second Life: 1) Get an account, 2) download the software, and 3) go through an Orientation. Sign up for an account at [|Second Life]. Here you will need to choose a username and password . Once you have created an account, you then need to [|download the Second Life software] (referred to as the client) onto your computer. Since I will need to know who you are in order to give you credit for your HW assignments in Second Life, you will have [|to let me know] your RL name and your SL name so that I can keep track of who is who. You can fill this information in the link above, or in the information area on our ReallyEngagingAccounting Island. Please note that I need [|your Nid] in order to cross-reference who you are, Please don't give me your PID. Watch the video below to see how to get an account, download the software and arrive at our Island (ReallyEngagingAccounting):

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From outside of Second Life:
Click on this link, and then the Teleport button on the web page. This will open your SL Client and you will be at out classroom. If you haven't downloaded the software to access Second Life ("the client") or created an account, click the Sign Up button in the upper right hand corner.



From Inside of Second Life:

 * From Inside Second Life (if you are not already there): Open the Map and Search for "ReallyEngagingAccounting", and choose teleport.


 * [[image:4891721514_e95d3a7e39_b.jpg width="800" height="467" caption="Using the Map"]] ||
 * Using the Map ||


 * From Inside Second Life (from a landmark): Open your Inventory, go to your Landmarks Folder, find the ReallyEngagingAccounting landmark and double click it.
 * From Inside Second Life (if you've set your home to our class), press Ctrl-Shift-Home



Orientation:
To help you get started just click the Second Life icon (the hand) on your sidebar and review the Quick Start Guide and the Learn the Basics (see below), watch the video below or go to one of the orientations see locations below:

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There are various sites in Second Life that will help you get started in learning how to do the basics, walking, flying, communicating, interacting with objects, using your camera controls (how you view things in the environment), etc. Below are links to some of the good ones:


 * [] Just walk towards the robot thingee's and follow the path
 * [[image:NMCV2Orientation_001.png align="center" caption="NMC Viewer 2 Orientation"]] ||
 * NMC Viewer 2 Orientation ||


 * [] Just follow the red arrows on the floor.


 * [[image:_CaledonViewer2Orientation_001.png align="center" caption="Caledon Viewer 2 Orienation"]] ||
 * Caledon Viewer 2 Orienation ||

Second Life and Mac Computers:
Second Life does run on MAC's but some of the commands are different. The primary difference is many things are right-clicked within Second Life. For example, to sit or to choose to teleport from an object. Since there is no left and right button on the MAC mouse, you may be wondering how to do these things. There is a nice wiki with information on [|using Second Life with a MAC]. There is a [|great resource] from the Second Life support knowledge base that discusses this in length and I am copying one of the tables from it below. And here is a link to the [|support forum] for MAC users. One great thread discusses what to do for keys like Home, PageUp, and PageDn (which frustratingly are not on macbooks). Luckily its simple, fn-left arrow = home, fn-up arrow = PageUp, and fn+down arrow = PageDn.

Why Second Life?
If there is one question I am asked over and over, its why use Second Life?, or How will Second Life help me learn accounting? Interestingly, these are the same questions I heard 10 years ago, when I began introducing this thing called the Web in my classes. The web had new tools, like discussion boards, the ability to post PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, and enabled synchronous chats. Like you, some of my students back then didn't understand the need to learn about the Web. I'd like to think that in the last 10 years the ability to use the web has helped immeasurably those same students. In the same respect, virtual worlds, of which Second Life is just one, albeit the largest platform, will provide anyone who learns how to use it the same benefits as learning about the web did for my students a decade ago. Below are some interesting facts that you may not now about Second Life:


 * "**Professional services firm KPMG has succeeded in attracting potential recruits through a jobs fair on the****Second Life virtual world****.** The online fair allowed the company to meet more people and carry out more activities with them than a traditional jobs fair, said Alison Heron, senior manager of recruitment marketing at KPMG."
 * Amazon Second Life Job Fair - July 14, 2009 "The very first Amazon Job Fair in Second Life will take place on Tuesday July 14th and will run from 6 AM to Midnight, PST. This free event is a unique opportunity for candidates to have direct access to hiring managers and recruiters from around the world. Amazon is looking for all levels of technical and non-technical candidates – from hands-on engineers to program managers and game-changing principal architects."
 * "In 2008, the IRS project team established a presence in the Second Life virtual world with the goal of exploring the potential use of this environment for recruitment and training purposes. The team has created the IRS Careers Island and constructed a sky platform with an IRS Careers Center and an IRS Education Center."
 * "TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications, the recruitment advertising agency, is hosting the first virtual, 3D interactive Network in World (NiW) Job Fair in Second Life from May 15 - 17. Candidates will be able to interview (for real jobs) with top companies, including Microsoft, eBay, HP, Sodexho, Verizon, and T-Mobile. "
 * Using the CIA factbook as a source, Second Life is 189th in the list of autonomous regions ranked by size, ahead of the Faroe Islands, Hong Kong and the Seychelles, and closing on Mauritius and the Virgin Islands.