How to get started in Second Life

Second Life offers a variety of tutorials courses all inside of Second Life.

First: Visit the Second Life website where you will create a free account. You can create your avatar by going to Second Life and clicking the “Play for Free” button. Follow the on screen instructions to create your account and choose your starting avatar. A confirmation will be e-mailed to you to activate your account.

Second: Once your account has been activated, you will be offered the option to become a premium member. This is optional and is not necessary to teach in or explore Second Life. Once you decline the offer to become a premium member, a download of the Second Life viewer will pop up (if it does not pop up, check your pop-up blocker settings and visit here to download it). You may run the program and install the Second Life viewer on your computer, however the majority of Second Life users and faculty on campus use a program called Firestorm.  Make sure first to know whether your computer is 32- or 64-bit, and download the appropriate Firestorm program here.

 

Third: Once you have finished installing the viewer, double click the icon to launch it and enter the log-in information you created at SecondLife.com You will be dropped in an orientation area where you will learn about the basics of Second Life, which include moving your avatar, changing your clothes, and communicating. Once you have finished the orientation area you will be ready to explore Second Life.

 

Additional Getting Started Resources:

Here is an additional getting started guide to help you learn to use Second Life and the Second Life browser