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Attend in Second Life

Conference Center SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/T2%20PTSD%20Education/72/73/30

Attending the conference virtually in Second Life is easy! Virtual attendees will be able to participate fully in the conference proceedings, including:

  • Viewing presenters and slides via streaming media to our virtual conference auditorium
  • Asking questions during presentation Q&A
  • Engaging in back-channel text chatting about conference topics

All you need is a Second Life account (free!) and have the Second Life Viewer (also free!) installed on your computer. For best viewing experience, we recommend using the latest Second Life viewer 2 by Linden Labs, available at http://secondlife.com.

Instructions for Setting Up a free Second Life Account (Avatar)

If you already have a Second Life account, you may attend the conference using your established avatar. If not, please follow the steps below to create a new, free avatar for Second Life.

  1. Visit the Second Life main page at http://secondlife.com and click on the "Join Now" button in the top-right-hand corner of the screen.
  2. First, you will be presented with several default choices for how your new avatar will appear.  Choose one of these avatars, by clicking “Choose This Avatar” to begin.  You will be able to change the appearance of your avatar once you are “in world.”
  3. Choose a username for your account.  You will always use this username to login to Second Life.  Once you select your username, you cannot change it for the life of your account.  However, you can change your “display name,” or the name by which others know your avatar in Second Life.  When you create your account, your display name is set to be the same as your username, and you may change the display name only after you have logged in to Second Life.
    A cautionary note about names:  Your account name is viewable and searchable by others in Second Life, and cannot change for the life of your account.  Choose wisely!  Additionally, display names are also viewable and searchable, though you may change these from time to time.  When choosing an account name and/or a display name, consider how the name you choose will or will not be appropriate for use in professional settings.
  4. Once you have selected an available username, enter a functional email address (through which you will activate your account), your date of birth (for security purposes), a password for this account, and security question.  When you log in to Second Life, you will be required to enter your username and this password.
  5. Click “Create Account” at the bottom of the screen. 
  6. You will receive an email at the address you provided above asking you to click on a link to activate your account.  Click the link and follow the instructions to activate your account.

Download and Install Second Life Viewer 2

  1. To ensure that your system meets Second Life’s technical requirements, please visit the technical requirements page at http://secondlife.com/support/system-requirements/.
  2. If you are creating a new avatar, once your account is created you will be directed to download a Second Life viewer.  For best viewing experience, we recommend installing the Second Life Viewer 2.
  3. If you already have an avatar, and you wish to install Second Life on your computer without creating a new account, go to www.secondlife.com, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click “Download Second Life” on the right-side of the bottom menu.
    Please Note:  You may not be permitted to install or access Second Life on a government computer or across a government network.  Please contact your system administrator for assistance if you wish to do so.
  4. Once the Second Life Viewer is installed on your computer, launch the application and sign in using your username and password.
  5. Linden Labs provides new user orientation and basic skills training for new users.  If you are new to Second Life, seriously consider completing this training.  Otherwise, please be sure you have spent some time in Second Life prior to the conference to be sure you can perform basic skills, such as sitting, text chatting, voice chatting, joining a group, connecting to a group chat, and connection to a group voice session.

Send Your Avatar Name to Us

  1.  Once you have a Second Life account, it is important that you send your account username to virtualworlds@t2health.org, so that we may add your avatar to the list of virtual attendees.  DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSWORD.
  2. Your avatar will be added to the list of those permitted access to the virtual conference auditorium.
  3. You will receive a notification in Second Life inviting you to join the “T2 VW Conf 2011” group.  Please accept this invitation.  Back-channel chatting during the conference will be conducted using group chat within this group.  You may also receive instructions specific to virtual attendance through this group.
  4. As the conference approaches, we will send a SLURL (Second Life Universal Resource Locator—think of it as a bookmark or landmark) for the conference auditorium to your avatar and to your email.

Log In to Second Life Using Viewer 2

  1. The current version of the Second Life Viewer 2 software gives you the choice of two viewer “modes” on the login screen.  The mode drop-down menu defaults to “Basic” mode.  However, for best viewing experience for this conference, it will be necessary to login using “Advanced” mode.
  2. Click on the drop-down menu under “Mode:” and select “Advanced”. 
  3. You may see a message saying, “Changing modes requires you to quit and restart.”  Click “Quit” which will close the Second Life viewer.  Restart the Second Life viewer, verify that mode is now set to “Advanced” and log in using your username and password.
  4. “Basic” mode does not support many of the functions necessary to enjoy full conference participation, including groups, group VOIP, inventory, and streaming media.  If you log in and see a long menu bar across the bottom of your screen with pictures of different Second Life destinations with the instructions “Where do you want to go?”, you are in Basic mode and need to close Second Life, restart Second Life, and select “Advanced” from the mode drop-down menu before logging in again.

Technical Testing

It is recommended that you test your account, viewer, and skills prior to the conference by logging in and spending some time in Second Life. If you would like some technical assistance, please contact any conference staff who will be happy to link you to assistance.

Also, please note that if you are accessing Second Life from a government computer or on a government network, some IT guidelines may block you from installing Second Life to your government computer. If you are able to install Second Life, some installations and government networks may also block access to important aspects of Second Life through the firewall, such as voice-over-IP, secure sign-on, streaming media, or IM chat. Because the conference will be broadcast into the virtual auditorium using streaming media technology, please ensure you are able to see streaming media through Second Life prior to the conference. If you are not sure and would like to test your connection, please contact one of our conference staff.

For some virtual attendees, it may be best to try to connect with a personal computer through a personal internet connection. Some may find it easiest to request clearance to attend the conference from their home the day of the conference.

Day of the Conference

Please log in to Second Life and teleport (using the SLURL previously sent) to the conference site with plenty of time for trouble shooting group connection, text, and voice.  For best results, please plan to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the conference opening. 

When you arrive, go to your “groups” list, choose the T2 VW Conf 2011 group, and double-click to activate the group chat window.  Then find and click the “join call” button to activate the group voice line.  The conference audio will be broadcast through the media stream, but in order to ask questions verbally of presenters, you will need to be in the group voice call. 

There will be instructions in the virtual auditorium helping you to do the above.  Additionally, we will have a couple of staff members in the virtual space ready and willing to assist you with technical issues.  Please IM them directly (instructions will be available in the virtual space) for help rather than asking for help in the general group chat or voice call.

Page last updated Fri, 06/24/2011 - 12:27


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