SL Experiences

I've had a blast exploring Second Life (SL) on my own and with our EDMT 592 class. In SL, you'll come to know me as Sterling Milena.

My first experience in SL was, like several of my classmates, a frustrating experience. After free-falling onto Orientation Island, I found myself awkwardly learning to move around. All in all, Orientation Island was worth the few hours I spent on it. Learning to walk, drive, touch, sit and change my avitar's look took some time, but was fun (especially for homework). My biggest frustration was that I could not figure out how to complete the "movement" section of the island. I learned later from someone else in SL that this was a known "bug" that SL is aware of.

The most interesting thing about my first few visits to SL was having several of my teenage children huddled around me while I was"doing my homework". They were fascinated that I was taking a course that required me to hang out online in what looked to them like a gaming environment. With them sitting by my side, it didn't take too long to discover why there is a separate SL for teens.

I also enjoyed the class interactions in SL. Especially after I got my headset working and was able to use voice chat. (Text chat was very tough to follow... especially with a crowd of us exploring things together.) I really liked flying together to another part of the island and honing my skills using the mini-map. Plus, flying is just cool.

The locations we visited were pretty incredible... the Sistine Chapel, NASA's island, the moon and a Shakespearean theatre. The chapel we visited was also intriguing to me, especially reading their signs about virtual services they hold there on a regular basis. I also spent time roaming around on my own at EduNation and on the University of Arizona's campus. Let me tell you, teleporting is certainly much easier that long plane rides!!

I just received my copy of "Second Life for Dummies" from amazon.com. I look forward to continuing to explore and learn about SL. It's going to be exciting trying to figure out how it can be incorporated into classroom experiences here at EMU.