Legal

All contents copyright © 2010 Virtual World Education. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this document, and the information provided herein is provided "as is." Virtual World Education makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Trademarks: This document identifies product names and services known to be trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective holders. They are used throughout this document in an editorial fashion only. In addition, terms suspected of being trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks have been appropriately capitalized, although Virtual World Education cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, registered trademark, or service mark. Virtual World Education is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this document.

Acknowledgements

The protocols included in this document were designed for and by San Antonio College. They are provided by their gracious nature and are free for you to adjust to fit your own requirements.

Introduction

Welcome to distance learning with Virtual World Education. We have provided this document for instructors and students to help get you started in the virtual environment for distance learning. 

Our staff is dedicated to providing you with the most rewarding educational experience possible. If you need technical support or personal assistance with any aspect of Second Life, please do not hesitate to contact one of us with your questions.

Contents

Introduction.. 3

Protocols. 6

For Students: How to get Online Tutoring. 6

For Students: How to Join Second Life Using Your Home Computer. 6

For the Work Study: Instructions. 8

For the Tutor: Instructions. 9

I want to try Second Life! Where do I begin?. 11

How can I use Second Life from a different computer?. 11

How can I change my avatar’s name?. 11

How do I change my avatar’s appearance?. 11

Editable Items within Appearance: 12

Saving an Outfit. 12

Wearing a Saved Outfit. 13

How do I move my avatar?. 13

How do I find out everything I'm wearing?. 13

How do I set my Home location?. 14

What are Landmarks?. 14

Seeing Landmark Details. 14

I'd like to add a friend to my Contact List. 15

What are groups?. 16

How do I find a group?. 16

How do I join a group?. 16

How do I Change the Title in Front of my Name?. 17

How do I Chat?. 17

How do I Instant Message (IM) someone?. 18

Voice Chat. 18

How to Use Voice. 19

Voice-Enabled Parcels and Residents. 19

Spatial Voice Chat. 19

Volume and Camera Position. 19

Turning Your Microphone On and Off 20

How to rez and open an object in Second Life. 20

How can I attach a landmark or inventory item to a notecard?. 21

Troubleshooting. 21

How do I take pictures or snapshots of things inworld?. 21

Snapshot Preview.. 23

Taking Snapshots to Inventory. 23

Taking Snapshots to Disk. 24

Lateral Features for Better Second Living.. 24

Up Close and Personal. 24

Turn Down the Sounds! 25

Direct Snapshot to Disk. 25

Tearing off Menus. 25

Hover Tips. 25

Shortcut Keys. 25

User Interface. 25

Edit. 26

Client. 26

Rendering. 26

Building. 27

Camera Controls. 28

Protocols

For Students: How to get Online Tutoring

 To learn about online tutoring services from the [Insert School Name], please watch our video at:
[insert url]

 We strongly recommend that students use a microphone for online tutoring. It is not required, but Second Life tutoring sessions are much more productive if you have one.

1.       The student should call the Writing Center (Insert Phone Number) or email the Writing Center (Insert Email Address) to set up an appointment to create an avatar.

2.       When students set up their avatars, they need to be online and at a computer that they will use for future on-line tutoring sessions.

3.       The student should call the Writing Center (Insert Phone Number) or email the Writing Center  (Insert Email Address) and set up an appointment to meet with a tutor on Second Life. Be sure to tell the Student Assistant your avatar’s name.

4.       Before the tutoring session begins, students should email their essay and assignment to the Writing Center (Insert Email Address).

5.       The student should log in to Second Life at least 15 minutes before the tutoring session begins so that the Student Assistant can help the student teleport to the Virtual Writing Center.

6.       After you have built your avatar, having an online tutoring session will start with step #3.

Note: It is not necessary to download Second Life to your computer if you have a flash drive. If you can come to the Writing Center in person (no appointment needed) with your flash drive, we can put the program on your flash drive and show you how to use the flash drive, the Internet, and a computer to have your online session.

For Students: How to Join Second Life Using Your Home Computer

You will need an active email account and to download a small program to join the online community of Second Life.

Follow the steps below to set up your account.

1.       You don’t need headphones/microphone to sign up for—or use—Second Life. (But they are useful because you will be able to communicate verbally with your tutor in tutoring sessions if you have headphones/microphone.)

2.       Open your web browser and go to http://www.vwet.org.

3.        Click the link near the top of the page that starts: http://slurl.com/secondlife[JM1] ...

4.       Build your avatar:

a.       Choose a starting look (which can be modified later).

b.      Use your real first name.

c.       Click “get available last names” and choose one. (Write down this last name for future reference)

d.      [JM2] Enter the email account that you use regularly.

e.      Type the email address account again.

f.        Choose your country.

g.       Choose birth date.

Note:  You must be 18 years old to use this program.

h.      Choose your gender.

i.         Create password. (Write down your password for future reference.)

j.        Enter the password again.

k.       Choose a security question and answer.

l.         Type what you see in the box.

m.    Accept the terms of service.

n.      Click Create Account.

5.       Close the browser window.

6.       Open a new browser window and check your email.

a.       Find the email from Second Life, and click the link to confirm your account.

b.      Click the Download and Install link near the top of the page to download the Second Life software.

Note: While you must have the program installed to run Second Life, you can skip the download step by bringing a USB drive to the Writing Center where we will provide you with a copy of the program to install on your home computer.

c.       After you have downloaded and installed the program, CLOSE THE BROWSER WINDOW. DO NOT GO TO SECOND LIFE FROM HERE

7.       Open a new browser window and go to http://www.vwet.org again

8.       Click the link that starts: http://slurl.com/socondlife[JM3] ...

9.       Click Teleport Now in the middle of the page. You will use this link from now on to enter Second Life

10.   Enter your Second Life user name, and password.

11.   Click Login.

12.   You will appear in a small room: Please wait for our student assistant to meet you there. If you do not have an appointment to build your avatar with a student assistant, then please call our offices to let a student assistant know that you are on Second Life, and you need your security tags. One of our student assistants or tutors will meet you.

a.       This person will invite you to join two groups: ESMGSL and SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE. These invitations will appear in a black pop-up window located near the bottom right of the Second Life window. Membership in both of these groups is necessary to receive tutoring services.

b.      Accept these two invitations! (This will “tag” you as a member of these groups.)

c.       Welcome to Second Life!

For the Work Study: Instructions

As in the actual Writing Center, the work study is the first person that the student meets and interacts with in the virtual world. Also, as in the real world, the work study is the person in charge of setting up tutoring sessions, including scheduling, cancellations, and escorting students (i.e. teleporting them) to their tutoring session.

Important: when setting the appointment, the work study should stress to the student that a microphone is not required but Second Life is much easier to use with a microphone.

1.       When a student calls the Writing Center, the work study needs to ask them whether they want to set an online tutoring appointment or set up an avatar.

2.       If the student needs to set up an avatar, the work study sends the student an electronic copy of the Setting up Second Life form.

Note: If the student already has an avatar it is important that you check to see if there is a blue Second Life Avatar Setup sheet for the student (Sheets are kept in a file at the Assistant Director/Coordinator Desk). If a form has not been completed you need to ask the student for the information and fill out a sheet so we can properly track the tutoring session.

3.       The work study needs to tell the student to go to http://www.vwet.org and click the link that starts: http://slurl.com/secondlife...[JM4] 

4.       The work study needs to request a student tag from the appropriate Writing Center staff member[JM5] . The student will not be able to leave the initial room without that tag.

5.       If the student already has an avatar and wants to set up an appointment, the work study must remind the student to call us 15 minutes before the scheduled tutoring session to more easily meet a work study in second life.

6.       The student is required to email his paper to us before the tutoring session. He/she will email it to the tutoring center email address which the work study will access.

7.       The work study will print the paper and pass it to the tutor who is scheduled for online tutoring

8.       The work study—not the tutor—will find the student and help him/her set up ESMGSL Public Area as his “home.”

9.       The work study then teleports the student to the SAC classroom.

10.   The work study will not leave the student alone in the classroom, but will wait until the tutor arrives.

11.   When the tutor enters the classroom, the work study will transfer files to the tutor then leave immediately. (To avoid confusion from too many avatars and too many voices, the work study will leave as soon as the student and tutor are set up in the tutoring session.)

Remember, you are the first contact the student has with someone in the Writing Center (the same as when a new student arrives to make an appointment). The primary difference between meeting someone online and in person is that the only contact they will have with you online is your voice. For this reason, it is important to remain calm and patient at all times so that both you and the student will have a positive online experience.

For the Tutor: Instructions

The tutor is not in charge of teleporting or finding students. He/she simply waits for the work study to tell the tutor that the student is ready. Then the tutor can log-on and begin the session.

Note: All file transfers are to be done using PDF or Notepad; tutors are not to use Microsoft Word. (We cannot alter the student’s paper, so we will avoid using Word to curtail any tendencies to edit.)

1.       The tutor teleports to the Classroom and waits.

2.       The tutor greets the student (then the work study leaves).

3.       The tutor should offer the student a friend request so they can be on your contacts list.

4.       If the tutor does not see a white dot above the student’s avatar, that is an indication that they don’t have speaking or listening capabilities. Telling the student to log off and back on might fix this problem, or be sure the student’s computer’s sound devices aren’t muted.

5.       The tutor needs to make sure their session is private. Right-click the student’s avatar and click Call. Tell the student to accept your call.

6.       The tutor should write on the white board and encourage the student to comment as well. (In order to start a new line on the board, student must reply – e.g. “ok” or “I understand”—and tutor can continue.) The tutor and student must be actively in their “San Antonio College” group (go to People sidebar, group subtab, San Antonio College, activate) to use the white board.

7.       Copy and paste (Ctrl+C=copy / Ctrl+ V=Paste) white-board notes from the local chat screen to the Writing Center’s email account and email notes to the student.

8.       Upon completion of the tutoring session, make sure the student stands up and then escort the student back to “home” by teleporting yourself “home” and then and then offering to teleport the student out. Remember to let the student know what you are doing before you teleport yourself “home.” You don’t want to just disappear and then offer the student a teleport.

9.       Before logging off, the tutor must clear his or her cache.

a.       Click on Me > Preferences > Setup, and then click on the Reset button. You will be notified that the cache will be cleared after you restart Second Life.

b.      Click Close.

c.       You now need to clear your Web cache. Click the Privacy tab, and then click the Clear History button.

d.      When prompted, click OK. The cache is now cleared.

e.      Click the OK button near the bottom of the preferences window to close the window and return to the Second Life world.

10.   Walk the student through these same steps before you dismiss him or her.

11.   Currently there is no online data form. To track your online tutoring session you, will need to fill out the normal tutoring form (Make certain you mark online session on the tutoring form). You can obtain any needed student information from the blue Second Life Avatar Setup sheet that was originally completed by the work-study that helped the student create his or her avatar.

Note:  Emailing notes and clearing the cache will take a few minutes. Plan to wrap up your session at least 4 minutes before your session is scheduled to end.

If there is a Problem

1.       Try to resolve the problem yourself calmly.

2.       Let your student know that you need a moment and ask for help from the Writing Center staff[JM6] .

3.       If the problem still cannot be resolved, the coordinator, assistant director or director will contact ESMGSL for additional help.

It is very important to remain calm and maintain a polite and relaxed tone of voice should you encounter a problem. Technology can often be frustrating, but your voice is the only contact your student has with you and if you get upset, it will only upset the student. This can lead to a dissatisfying tutoring session for both you and the student.

I want to try Second Life! Where do I begin?

http://www.secondlife.com

 
How can I use Second Life from a different computer?

First, it's important to know that your Second Life account is stored on Second Life’s servers. This includes your inworld inventory, the friends you've made, and certain preferences -- such as your IM-to-email setting. This means that should be able to download the latest Second Life viewer, free of charge, and log in from another location.

Some settings, such as your chat logs and most preferences, are stored locally, which means if you're on a different computer and haven't ported your settings (such as on a USB flash drive) with you, you'll be using the settings local to that computer, not your "home" one.

Remember to exercise proper precautions to protect your account, and don't give out your password; share your account at your own risk!

How can I change my avatar’s name?

Your Second Life avatar and account name is your account, for all intents and purposes. Your avatar's appearance, inventory, friends, L$balance, etc. are all tied to the name you've chosen. As a result, while you may create additional Second Life accounts, Linden Lab is unable to rename an existing account.

How do I change my avatar’s appearance?

Changing your appearance in Second Life is quick, easy, and free. A wide variety of controls let you settle on exactly the look you had in mind. While the huge number of variables can be intimidating at first, most residents quickly get the look they want. Many residents continue to tweak their look for hours or even days afterward, but that’s a personal preference.

To change your look:

1.       Right-click your avatar and select Edit my Outfit. The sidebar opens in the My Appearance tab, and the Edit Outfit pane displays. Items currently worn by your avatar are displayed in three collapsible sections in the sidebar: Clothing, Attachments, and Body Parts.

2.       Click Clothing, Attachments, and Body Parts to expand or collapse the section in order to see the items you are currently wearing.

3.       Hover your mouse cursor over the worn item you want to edit. To the right side of the item, one of two icons displays:

Editable Items within Appearance:

 Shape: Your shape determines the overall form and shape of your avatar. This is also where you select whether your avatar’s gender is Male or Female.

Shortcut: To access the shape editor directly, right-click your avatar and select Edit my Shape.   

 Skin: This tab determines the color of your avatar's skin, skin details (such as wrinkles), makeup and any tattoos you may have.

 Hair: This tab not only changes the color and style of your hair, but eyebrows and facial hair as well.

 Eyes: Editing eyes can allow you to change your eye color, and it lets you select an image file for your eyes.

 Shirt,  Pants,  Shoes,  Socks,  Jacket,  Gloves,  Undershirt,  Underpants,  Skirt: Editing these worn items allow you to take off or create new clothing pieces. You can set the overall dimensions and color of the clothing as well as apply a texture.

Save, Save As: These buttons stores the changes you have made to the currently selected body part or clothing. Save As lets you pick a new name for the saved item.

Undo Changes: This button undoes all changes made to the current body part or clothing since it was last saved.

 Attachments: You may also attach inworld objects to your avatar to change your appearance. Some people go so far as to fully cover themselves in objects, often changing their shapes into something completely inhuman. 

Saving an Outfit

When you have put together a look that you want to store, you can save the look as an outfit.

At the bottom of the Edit Outfit panel, click the downward facing arrow at the right side of the Save button and click Save As. A window displays, prompting you “Save what I’m wearing as a new Outfit.

Type a descriptive name for this outfit, then click the OK button.

Wearing a Saved Outfit

Click the My Appearance tab  on the sidebar. You can also select Change Outfit from the Me menu. The sidebar opens, with the My Appearance tab displayed.

Click the My Outfits tab near the top of the sidebar. All of your saved outfits display.

Right-click a saved outfit and select Wear - Replace Current Outfit. The outfit you are currently wearing is replaced by the items in the saved outfit.

How do I move my avatar?

Walk:

How do I find out everything I'm wearing?

Very easy!  You can figure out what you're wearing in one of two ways:

·         Click the My Appearance tab  on the sidebar. You can also select Change Outfit from the Me menu. The sidebar opens, with the My Appearance tab displayed. Click the Wearing tab to view a list of all currently worn items.

·         Right-click your avatar and choose Take Off > Detach and look at the submenus. These submenus list all of the attachment points on your avatar. Attachment points without anything attached are dimmed, while the attachment points that have an object attached are selectable menu items

How do I set my Home location?

Your Home location can be a center point of your Second Life experience. You can choose to always log in at your Home location. You can always teleport straight to your Home location by opening the World menu and selecting Teleport Home. Most of all, if you happen to wander (or intentionally march) into a damage-enabled area and are killed, death instantly teleports you back to your Home location (thankfully, none the worse for the experience).

To set Home, go to the World menu and select Set Home To Here. There are three types of land where you can set home: 

1.       Land you own.

2.       Land owned by a group you belong to. The land must be deeded to the group, not just “set” to the group.

3.       Mainland Infohubs.

Note:  You do not have to choose a Home location. If you do not have a Home location designated, you can log in at the last location you were at before you logged out.

What are Landmarks?

Landmarks are shortcuts to places in Second Life and stored in your inventory. They are displayed as globe icons   . You can create new landmarks by clicking the World menu and selecting Landmark This Place. The landmark will be stored in your inventory’s Landmarks folder. You can also access a list of your Landmarks by clicking the Places tab in the sidebar .

Seeing Landmark Details

If you would like a more detailed description about the landmark:

1.       Click the Places tab in the sidebar .

2.       Right-click the landmark and select More Information.

3.       The sidebar displays information about the location, including the name of the region, a description that has been entered by the landowner, and the name of the land owner.

4.       You can choose to teleport to that location by clicking Teleport, you can view it on the map to determine how many people are around and what's near it by clicking Map, or you can return to the list of landmarks by clicking the left-facing arrow at the top of the sidebar panel .

I'd like to add a friend to my Contact List.

There are a few ways to add someone to your Contacts list:

If you are near them, just right-click their avatar in-world and select Add Friend.

If you are not near them, or if they are offline:

1.       Click the People tab in the sidebar .  

2.       Click the Offer Friendship to a Resident button  near the bottom left of the People sidebar panel. The Choose Resident window displays.

3.       In the Type part of a person’s name field, type the resident’s name, then click the Go button. All residents matching the name you typed are listed.

4.       Select the resident you want to add to your contact list, and then click the OK button.

You can also add someone to your Friends list from the Search window:

1.       In the search field at the top right of the Second Life window, type the resident’s name, then press Enter. The Find window displays, with search results displayed.

2.       To narrow search results to just resident names, click the People tab.

3.       Click the resident’s name in the search results. The resident listing expands to display the resident’s picture and basic information.

4.       Click the Profile button. The resident profile displays in the sidebar.

5.       At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Add Friend button.

And of course, for even more friends in Second Life, refer your real-life friends!

 Someone has offered friendship to me. How do I accept or decline?

When another resident has offered friendship to you, a special message will appear in their instant message window: 

Clicking Accept will add you to their friends list, and them to yours. The sender receives on screen notification that their offer of friendship has been accepted.

Clicking Decline does not add you to their friends list, nor them to yours. The sender of the friendship offer will receive on screen notification that their offer of friendship was declined.

What are groups?

Groups are organizations you can join and belong to in Second Life. Belonging to a group doesn't inherently improve Second Life, but group members can take part in certain special privileges:

·         Group members and officers get special titles. When you have a group active, your title appears in front of your name. e.g. Cookie Lover Jack Foo. You can change to the title of any of your groups (or no group) at any time through the People sidebar. See How do I change the title in front of my name?

·         You can give certain special permissions to group members only. A group member might restrict their land access to group members only, or script an object that has special functions only group members can activate.

·         Groups have a joint balance. Any Linden Dollars paid to the group are paid out evenly to all group members each day.

·         Groups can jointly own land, with each member making a contribution to help pay for the land's cost. See How does group-owned land work?

·         Other residents can see what groups you are in when they look at your profile.

How do I find a group?

Second Life's Search function makes searching for groups quick and easy.

In the search field at the top right of the Second Life window, type the name of the group you are looking for, then press Enter. The Find window displays, with search results displayed.

1.       To narrow search results to just groups names, click the Group tab.

2.       Click the group name in the search results. The listing expands to display the basic information about the group.

3.       Click the Profile button. The group profile displays in the People sidebar.

How do I join a group?

Joining a group differs, depending on whether the group has open or closed enrollment. Open groups are free for anyone to join. Closed groups require an invitation from an existing group officer.

Joining an open group:

1.       In the search field at the top right of the Second Life window, type the name of the group you are looking for, then press Enter. The Find window displays, with search results displayed.

2.       To narrow search results to just groups names, click the Group tab.

3.       Click the group name in the search results. The listing expands to display the basic information about the group.

4.       Click the Profile button. The group profile displays in the People sidebar.

5.       If the group is open enrollment, the JOIN NOW! button appears above the Owners and Visible Members listing, along with any cost associated with joining the group.

6.       Click the JOIN NOW! button to join the group.

Joining a closed group:

      1.       You cannot join a closed group yourself. An officer of the group needs to perform the following steps:
2.       Click the People tab in the sidebar .  

      3.       Click the My Groups tab.

      4.       Hover your mouse cursor over the group name and click the right-facing arrow displayed to the right side of the group name . The group profile displays in the sidebar.

      5.       Click the Roles section of the sidebar to expand it.

      6.       In the Members sub-tab, click Invite. The Group Invitation window displays.

      7.       Click Open Resident Chooser. The Choose Resident window displays.

      8.       Search for the desired name in the Choose Resident window and click Select. The name is displayed in the Group Invitation window.

      9.       Select the desired role from the Choose what Role to assign them to dropdown menu near the bottom of the Group Invitation window.

      10.   Click Send invitations.

How do I Change the Title in Front of my Name?

The title displayed above your name is generated by the group you currently have activated. To change your currently active group:

1.       Click the People tab in the sidebar .  

2.       Click the My Groups tab.

3.       Right-click the group you wish to activate and click Activate. The group  name in the People tab becomes bold, and your assigned group title is displayed above your avatar’s name.

How do I Chat?

Chat is how you communicate with other residents near you in Second Life. Unlike an Instant Message (IM), chat can be heard by anyone (and any scripted objects) within range.

Place your cursor in the field at the bottom-left of the Second Life window. Type what you want to say, then press Enter to say your message. Anyone within 20 meters of your avatar will see your message.

How do I Instant Message (IM) someone?

Instant messaging is a private way to communicate with individuals or groups. IM is different from chat in that you can IM any resident, no matter where they are, inworld or offline, at any time.

The most common ways to start an IM session require you to either have the resident on your contact list, or that you pull up their profile by using the Search function.

Ways to start an IM conversation:

·         Right-click the person's avatar and select IM. This method only works if the person is near you.

·         Click the People tab in the sidebar , then click the My Friends tab at the top of the sidebar. Right-click a person’s name in the list and select IM.

·         If you don't see the person, type their name in the Search field at the top right of the Second Life window, then press Enter. The Find window displays search results. You can click the People tab to narrow the search results to people names. Click the person’s name to expand the search results, and then click the IM button.   

To put more than one person in the same IM conversation, see How do I IM a group of people at once?

Voice Chat

Your listening distance for voice chat is a little trickier to figure out than with text chat:

·         In your Voice Chat preferences (Edit > Preferences > Voice Chat tab) you may choose to either Hear Voice Chat from camera position, or Hear Voice Chat from avatar position.  Because this choice determines the location of your “ears” for listening to Voice Chat, it will affect the distance from which you can hear someone speaking.

·         You are able to hear Voice Chat up to 60 meters from your listening position.  If you have Hear Voice Chat from camera position selected, this means you can hear Voice Chat from up to 110 meters away (50 meters camera tether + 60 meters from your camera).  Under special circumstances, Linden Lab may choose to alter these distance settings on a Region-by-Region basis.

·         In all cases, if you are able to hear another resident, his name will appear in the Active Speakers window, which you
can activate by pressing the  button to the right of Speak on the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. This holds true even if the other resident is hiding or otherwise invisible.

·         Group voice chat and direct calls have no distance limitations. Group voice chat and direct peer-to-peer voice chat will always work, regardless of distance.

How to Use Voice

If you're reading this, chances are pretty good that you're using voice in Second Life, or are simply curious about what it does. This information discusses the voice-related features of Second Life, and how to use them.

Voice-Enabled Parcels and Residents

You'll find that you are only able to use voice on land that is marked as voice-enabled, and then only with residents who have voice enabled.

·         Right-click the address bar at the top of your Second Life window and select Show Parcel Properties. This turns on indicators about the parcel of land you are visiting. When you are visiting a parcel where voice is disabled, you will see an icon at the right side of the address bar:  
If this icon is not present, voice is enabled for the parcel.   

·         When you look at a voice-enabled resident, you will see a white dot floating above his or her head. We call this the voice intensity indicator, and lets you know when someone is talking and how loud they are.

Spatial Voice Chat

Spatial voice chat is the term used to describe talking to someone you can see near you. Here's how it works:

If you are on voice-enabled land, walk up to another voice-enabled resident and talk to them.

If your headset is correctly configured, the voice intensity indicator above your head will change color slightly, and will grow and shrink along with the natural volume patterns and fluctuations of your voice.

When others speak, you'll see their intensity indicators and hear their voices as they hear yours. Walk around someone who's speaking to you to hear the voice move around in 3D based on where you are relative to their avatar. If you turn toward someone and move closer, for example, their voice will be louder. If you speak while walking around someone else, they'll hear your voice tracking your position.

Volume and Camera Position

By default, each speaker’s volume can be determined by their distance from your camera position. For example, if you're in mouselook mode and walk up to someone who is speaking, you will hear their voice become louder the closer you are. As you move away, their voices will become softer until you can’t hear them at all.

You can use the camera controls (Alt+mouse zooming, for example) to create a momentary “audio focus” on a given speaker. This makes it easy to pick a voice out of a crowd of talking avatars while remaining in one location.

In the Sound & Media tab of the Preferences window, you can choose what determines voice volume intensity:

·         Camera position and camera direction

·         Avatar position and avatar direction

Turning Your Microphone On and Off

You may not want to leave your microphone open all the time. Muting your microphone helps if you are in a noisy environment or when you just want to listen and not speak.

To turn on your microphone to talk, click the Speak button in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. Click it again to mute your microphone.

You can also turn voice on and off by clicking your mouse scrollwheel.

Note: If your mouse does not have a scrollwheel, you can go to the Advanced tab in Preferences and use the Toggle speak on/off when I press control to choose another key to turn your microphone on and off.

How to rez and open an object in Second Life.

1.       Click the My Inventory tab in the sidebar . The sidebar displays your inventory.

2.       Click the Objects folder to expand it. The Objects folder is the folder where new items are automatically stored if they are in a box.

3.       Click the object in the sidebar with your mouse, and drag it to the ground in front of you. The box appears on the ground.

4.       Right-click on the object on the ground and choose Open. The Object Contents window displays a list of everything contained in the object. 

5.       Click the Copy to Inventory button. You may or may not see a box that indicates that you are copying No Copy items. If this displays, click OK to continue.

6.       The items that were in the Object Contents window are populated in the My Inventory sidebar.

7.       Once you see the contents in your inventory, right click the object on the ground in front of you and select Take. The object is returned to your inventory.

8.       Right-click the original object in your inventory and select Delete.

How can I attach a landmark or inventory item to a notecard?

Did you know you can attach nearly any type of inventory item to a notecard?  Attached images and landmarks can make a fabulous addition to informational notecards, and notecards-within-notecards can provide you with some interesting options for organizing your text.

To attach an inventory item to your notecard:

1.       Open a notecard you own or create a new notecard.

2.       Make sure the item you wish to attach is fully permissive. The next owner permissions must allow copy, modify, and transfer.

3.       Drag the item from your Inventory sidebar onto the notecard window. You can drop in any kind of inventory item, excluding calling cards.

4.       The item appears as a hyperlink in the notecard. 

Troubleshooting

If Second Life does not allow you to drop the item into your notecard, make sure to check the permissions on the object.  If applicable, also check the permissions on any inventory items contained inside the object.  A notecard will only accept fully permissive attachments, so it is not a good idea to attach anything you do not want other people to copy.

How do I take pictures or snapshots of things inworld?

Second Life lets you easily take screenshots of the things you do or see inworld.

These pictures can be saved to your own computer's hard drive or to your Second Life inventory. Save as many snapshots to your hard drive as you'd like. Snapshots saved inworld to your inventory cost L$10, just as if you uploaded a new image to Second Life.

Snapshot Preview

When first using your Snapshot Preview tool, it will appear on your screen in a condensed version. Click the More button to expand the window and view additional tools. The More button changes to Less. Click the Less button to collapse the Snapshot Preview window again.

Taking Snapshots to Inventory

1.       Click on the Snapshot button  in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. The Snapshot Preview window displays with a preview of your snapshot.

2.       Choose where you want your snapshot to go:

·         If you wish to save the snapshot to your inventory, select My Inventory (L$10.) Your inworld balance will be deducted L$10 when you take the snapshot, and the snapshot will be saved to your inventory.

·         To save the snapshot to your hard drive, select Save to my computer.

·         To send the snapshot as an email attachment, select Email.

3.       Check Capture Interface if you want the chat windows, inventory, map, etc. to be visible in your next snapshots.

4.       Check Capture HUDs if you want objects attached to your HUD to be visible in your next snapshots.

5.       Click Save to save your snapshot.

6.       Click Cancel if you don't like this snapshot and don't wish to pay for it. The snapshot will be discarded.

Other options you can use on the Snapshot Preview window include:

·         Click Freezeframe for a fullscreen preview of the snapshot. Uncheck to turn off freezeframe.

·         Select Auto-Refresh to have the snapshot preview image automatically refresh instead of using the Refresh Snapshot button.

Taking Snapshots to Disk

1.       Press Ctrl+`. (This is sometimes the ~ key, and is usually located next to 1 and above Tab on your keyboard.)

2.       The Save dialog displays. Choose a location to save your snapshot(s), and the filename you wish to use. (You won't be prompted for a file name again this Second Life session; see below.)

3.       Your file will be saved as the name you specified, with a _001 appended to the end of the filename. If you choose the default of Snapshot.bmp, for example, the file will be saved as Snapshot_001.bmp.

4.       You can press Ctrl+` to take more snapshots; the new snapshots will be given the same name as the previous file, with the number incremented by 1. The next snapshots in our example would be Snapshot_002.bmp and Snapshot_003.bmp.

Lateral Features for Better Second Living

Second Life has many lateral features which aren't immediately apparent. "Lateral" means something to the side – it might not be staring you in the eyes, but if you turn your head and look closer, it all becomes clear! So for your benefit, let's have a look at some of these not-so-obvious gems:

Up Close and Personal

You may already be familiar with holding the Alt key and clicking on the ground to zoom, but there's another way to zoom which can add some really cool effects. To try it out, try Ctrl+8 to zoom in and Ctrl+0 to zoom out. Press Ctrl+9 to reset your view to normal. This is super-fantastic for taking close-up pictures of the sun, snapping spaced-out photos at weird angles, and much more!

Turn Down the Sounds!

If you've ever been to a musical event in-world and were annoyed because of all the click-click-click typing and other distractions, there is a Second Life feature which allows you to keep playing streaming music, but turn off those inworld noises. Just go to the Me menu and select Preferences, and then click the Sound & Media tab. Slide the Sound Effects slider to the left to turn down the volume of the audible distractions, then click the OK button.

Direct Snapshot to Disk

It's not the most obvious, but you can directly save snapshots to disk and bypass the Snapshot Preview (accessed by pressing the Snapshot button  on the bottom toolbar) by using the Ctrl+` shortcut. The only downside is that you cannot utilize any of the advanced features in the Snapshot Preview window. The first time you take a snapshot, you are asked to save it to a directory of your choice. After that, each snapshot in that session will make a whirr-click sound and be saved automatically to that directory.

Tearing off Menus

If you've looked at the funny ==== lines at the top of a menu and wonder what they mean, try clicking on them. Notice how the title pops out and you can drag it around like any window? This is useful for frequently-selected options. For example, if you're doing a photo shoot, you may want to tear off World menu > Force Sun and have one-click access to moving the sun! Just press the X on the title bar to close the floating menu and return it to its original location.

Hover Tips

Hover Tips show you additional info about land and objects, such as name and description. To use hover tips, just keep your cursor still for a second over an object or the ground, and the hover tip displays additional information. This even works for accessing information about avatars.

Shortcut Keys

User Interface

Edit

Switching modes while you are editing an object inworld:

Client

Rendering

Building

Camera Controls

The following protocols were designed for and by San Antonio College. They are provided by their gracious nature and are free for you to adjust to fit your own requirements.