Potential research in virtual worlds: laws in virtual worlds; banks, money, and safety; who owns the virtual world’s content, is anyone responsible for safety?
I saw a presentation on the use of Second Life for a simulated emergency evacuation at Children’s Memorial. It is a cost effective way to train people in emergency response. Can be used over and over without additional cost.
Here’s the login screen. It changes periodically. Frankly, I liked the winter scene better. This is a little creepy. My avatar is named Kitty Fhloston. You can specify your avatar’s first name, but you pick from list of last names.
Once I log into SL, I am in the place where I last was when I quit SL. This is Info Island by the Alliance Virtual Library. Notice my Group Notices in the upper right-hand corner. I took a tour of Info Island with a group of librarians (Librarians of Second Life) and I joined the group that day.
Here “I” am, Ms. Kitty Fhloston. Notice that I am no longer sporting a pony tail or a pink dress with white polka dots.
To get some ideas of where to go, click on the Search button (lower middle). Amongst other ways of searching, you can look at the Showcase. Under Education and Nonprofit, There is Ecole SL (French School). I went there when I was still having technical difficulties and it was really weird. I think it would be a great place to go to speak French.
NASA International Spaceflight Museum is another location that you can visit. You click to get more information. Then you can Teleport, instantly travel, to your destination.
Looking around I can see a scale model of Cape Canaveral. Also, if I click on certain objects, in this case the Cape Canaveral sign, I get a note to read. I can also keep the note as a souvenir.
I thought it would be interesting to explore.
I’m done and I would like to go somewhere else. So I search for Info Island.
More info on Info Island.
Note that Harvard Law school and Princeton University are showcased. There are many other educational institutions in SL that are not showcased. Though you could find them if you searched for them.
I have teleported to Columbia College Chicago. It is an arts college afterall. There’s a sculpture and a hotdog cart. You can interact with the cart and get both a beverage and a hotdog. This was done by one faculty member and the students in the Interactive Media department.
Here we have some advertising that hasn’t fully loaded, or rez’d as they say. But look, Kitty is flying.
Students can be very resourceful. I love the ideas these folks come up with….cars on a stick in Berwyn. It’s gone now.
This is the upstairs art gallery. Some of the students have also recreated an el stop with a moving train.
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