Experience of Second Life
Student F faced problems with using the interface at first,
it was my second time on, I teleported, stood on a teleporter, and wound up in this abandoned space station, trapped in a corner, and I couldn't get out. I couldn’t see and I couldn’t turn around and I’m like "I’m stuck" and I was all alone.
However, once past this stage, Student F’s further engagement was motivated by the process of finding some specific personal interest inworld.
I've been on for a while; at least once a day just to get the hang of it. I would spend a couple of hours each day just playing around and finding different landmarks and it enabled me to meet new people,
Student F’s continuing engagement was also supported by connections with other members of Second Life.
I encountered a lot of people in a lot of different areas and they were all more than nice to me. I had people coming up and talking to me and asked if I wanted to join their community
This was in contrast to the experiences of many of the other participants in this case study. I think if I had come across people that were openly hostile, some people said that they had been put in nets or had people run at them with guns and swearing, I think that I would have felt a little bit intimidated by that at first, but I didn’t encounter that at all
Although Student F experienced difficulties with the environment at first, he was able to contextualise this as a normal part of the process of learning to become accustomed to the technologies
167 I got stuck in that corner and I think that was just because I was so new to the environment still, but I think that was really my low point. But I understood going in to it that, like anything, there would be a learning curve, so I wasn't going to let it get me down that I was stuck.
I wasn't afraid of the learning curve and part of that is because I've gone online before in a world or two and have understood that there’s a learning curve no matter what you're going to do.
The development of an inworld identity led to greater confidence.
As I establish my identity more in Second Life, I get more comfortable with walking around and talking to people that I don't know. I think the first week that I was on I was so new to the process I didn’t really know what I was doing, I just flew around looking at things so I didn't have to talk to anybody. Now I don't mind walking around talking to people who I have no idea who they are because I've started to identify who my avatar is, so I’m not so afraid of what other people might think any more.
Creating a sense of individuality through adapting his avatar was also important.
I think that right now I've given him a standalone appearance, not something that's representative of me but just something that is out there. It's not like random choices. One of the costumes that I put on and walked around with for a little bit was the Kool- Aid guy. I put that on and walked around. He's great for sentimental reasons, but at the end of the day I didn’t keep that on that long. I tried to build the avatar in a way that he would stand out on his own and not necessarily blend in with the mix, especially after I got the comment that “oh you look like three others” and then the person listed who they were, so then I said "You know what? I’m going to try to redefine my avatar so that he stands out and doesn’t blend in to everybody else in the class”.... So I made it important that I went out and if I couldn't figure out how to put it in my inventory at least I could try and create something in the edit appearance so that I could edit my appearance enough that I didn’t look exactly like the other avatars any more.
Factors that support presence
Like his classmates in the virtual sessions, Student F stated that he felt a greater sense of copresence amongst his classmates than with other avatars, this was particularly true when he could assign a particular avatar with a particular person.
I feel more connected to the people that I know. When I’m in Second Life on my own and I’m walking around, when I encounter people I talk to them, even just to say "hi", I don't necessarily feel a connection or a presence right there because I don’t know who they are, but as I start to grow my fiends list from the class I know all those people, so as I get to know their avatars and who they are, I definitely feel a greater presence.
168 The sim where the sessions took place also conveyed a greater sense of presence than the world in general.
Like when we're in the open air festival market for class; I feel like I have a greater presence there than I do when I’m out exploring on my own
Opinions on the value of Second Life for learning
Student F identified the reasons that the environment provided a purpose for learning to be around the uses of the environment as a means to deliver more accessibility, to lecturers from other parts of the world, as well as providing an open environment that others could attend.
not only does it provide us with the opportunity to have guest lecturers come in that we might not otherwise have access to, but it enables other people to come in, to listen who aren’t even in our class. It always welcomes outside opinions,
The development of an identity inworld is seen by the student as a requirement for a continued engagement with the world
I think you definitely have to be able to grow if it's an environment that you want to keep at.
Developing this avatar requires the participant to be open to the virtual experience:
I would say the biggest thing for anybody who wants to start using it is, you have to keep an open mind. I think if you keep the mind open that ultimately allows you to better develop your avatar,