VIRTUAL SPACE - SECOND LIFE

SECOND LIFE.

Second life is a very well-known virtual space created by Linden Lab. It was released back in 2003 and still is being used until today.  Although it's not very popular among Malaysians, it's well used by all sorts of people around the globe. To be honest, majority of people know Second Life as a social game to hang out with friends instead of places to do professional work.

Second life is basically a virtual space in which its users or residents are free to interact with one another and create almost everything. From their avatar, their land, and even create their own brand that can earn them real money. Operating since 2003, Second Life has come a long way to provide limitless creation for its users. The world itself is created mostly and solely out of their resident's creativity. All in all, Second Life really do depend heavily on its users.

FEATURES OF THE TOOL

I PLAYED SECONF LIFE FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND HERE'S WHAT I CAN COME UP WITH :

PROS:

1. Can create own avatar however you want.

• You can literally create your avatar the way you want them to be. With 10,000+ creations from the residents, you can buy and sell your items in Second Life. Just like in real life, you can buy your own clothes, hair and even accessories. You can even adjust the positioning of your face with sliders.

2. Beautiful world creation.

• Majority of the residents in SL is indeed very creative. Users can 'jump' through virtual spaces created by SL's user. And most of them are so well built.

3. Easy to navigate.

• Just like every other game, users must the W,A,S,D keypad to move forward, backward, to the left and to the right. Users can also use spacebar to jump and E to fly.

4. Voice chat is available.

• Residents can use voice chat to communicate with each other. Just like in real world.

5. Free to use.

• Despite having to pay more for monthly membership and Linden dollar to but items in SL, most of the stuff in Second Life is actually free to use. Users can even look for freebies.

CONS:

• Avatar creation is not an easy process.
• Requires devices with 6GB ram and above for it to be a smooth experience.
• Not available on mobile.
• Children might access adult content by accident.
• Might get addicted because it's game based.

At first, I was struggling so much with how I want to create my avatars because of the not so user-friendly interface. I feel as if im coding something hahaha.. However, Second Life is indeed a very fun metaverse in which I can do almost everything i want (even flying) or be whoever I want. I really love how the virtual world represents a real world in which you can work to get in game money which is very unique compared to other virtual spaces.

I imagine second life is like a real world but it's virtual and can be accessed from wherever you are.

BENEFIT OF THE TOOL IN TEACHING.

1. Creating immersive virtual classroom.

 Second Life has also been used as a simulation platform to develop student teachers’ classroom management practices (Mahon et al., 2010). In short, teachers can use Second Life to create a virtual classroom that represents the real classroom. And students regardless from wherever they are can enter the classroom without physically having to. And just like in real life, teacher and students both can interact with each other.

Teachers can also conduct virtual 'field trips'. For example, teachers can take thair students to museums like the 

BENEFIT OF THE TOOL IN LEARNING.

1. Provides a very fun learning experience for students.

Students can learn new thing in a fun way. For example, joining a field trip conducted by their teacher in Second Life. Students can visit Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum that was created residents in Second Life and is able to experience going to the museum as if they're really in the museum in real life.

2. Boost student self-esteem.

With SL endless customization, students are free to make their own character and express themselves however they like. With this feature, it could boost students' self-esteem especially those who are usually timid and shy in real life.

HOW TO CREATE A SECOND LIFE ACCOUNT

1. Click on this link, Second Life or search for Second Life on your search engine.

2. Click on sign up.

3. Fill in your information

4. Pick for the avatar that you like.

You can choose from these various pre-made avatar :D

5. After you've chosen your desired avatar, tick the Terms and Condition.

6. Click on create my account.

7. Scroll down, and choose

8. Download and Install Second Life on your computer.

AND NOW WELCOME TO SECOND LIFE :D

Reference:

Mahon, Jennifer & Bryant, Bobby & Brown, Ben & Kim, Miran. (2010). Using Second Life to enhance classroom management practice in teacher education. Educational Media International. 47. 121-134. 10.1080/09523987.2010.492677.