SLA Blog

SLA Unconference in Second Life on Friday, June 26 at 11 EDT

Please join CEO Janice Lachance and 2009 SLA President Gloria Zamora for a post-conference "unconference" at the SLA space in Second Life!

Chat with them and other SLA members about the highlights of the SLA 2009 Conference. Here's a chance to share what you learned at the conference, and ask questions about the conference if you were not able to attend!

When: June 26, 2009, 8am SLT (8am PT / 11am ET)

Where: SLA space in SL (SLURL:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22)

Getting started: Haven't been into Second Life yet? This is a great reason to jump in and join the conversation! The SLA in Second Life wiki site has a great section on what you need to do to get started.

Second Life help: Members of the SLA in Virtual Worlds Council will be in Second Life 1 hour prior to the session on the 26th to help you with some Second Life basics, answer any questions, etc. Join us at 7am SLT (7am PT / 10am ET) if you need some additional help prior to the session.

We hope to see you there!

Next stop...inworld

Yesterday's "Introduction to Second Life" session in Click University was very informative, and Scott Brown and Christy Confetti-Higgins, both of Sun Microsystems, did a great job of encouraging over 60 participants, including a few SLA staff members, to take the leap into a new world.  Through a PowerPoint presentation, Scott led us through the sign up process and showed us around SL a bit, which seems to be pretty tropical.

What you can do in SL: 

• create a new you...and your avatar (graphic representation) doesn't necessarily have to look like you
• re-name yourself (choose from a long list of last names...the first name is up to you)
• fly and teleport, just like in your dreams and in science fiction movies
• create SLurls (SL URLs) as shortcuts to move around "inworld"
• network with colleagues...have meetings and chat with other information professionals
• connect with vendors...many have spaces in SL where they host meetings and events

Scott emphasized the need for certain system requirements, which are outlined in the presentation notes and on the SL Web site.

Scott and Christi also shared some additional resources with attendees:

SLA in Second Life Blog:  http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life/
SLA Second Life Wiki:  http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Home

Part 1 will be offered again November 13th and December 18th.  A replay of the October 23rd is available if those dates are not convenient for you.  (You may need to download the WebEx player to view it.  Follow these instructions.)

Registration for Part 2 is open, and the session will take place in Second Life.  Avatar required!  Scott recommends spending some time in SL before attending.  Dates for Part 2:  November 4th, November 11th, November 20th, December 3rd, December 10th.

To register, visit http://sla.learn.com/learncenter.asp?page=312.

Best of all...the sessions are free!  Come join us in Second Life.

Do you want to join the Second Life Workgroup?

With the exposure that the Second Life Workgroup has received at the conference, team members are receiving inquiries from SLA members who would like to join our efforts to help all Association members learn more about virtual worlds.  If you are interested in joining the Second Life Workgroup, please email me (Jill Hurst-Wahl), hurst {at} hurstassociates {dot} com

After the conference, the team leaders in the workgroup will be "meeting" to talk about how we can engage new workgroup members in our efforts seamlessly.  We know that some people may have time constraints as well as a learning curve about Second Life (SL), so we will be striving to bring you on-board in a way that works for you.  Ideas that have been informally discussed include:

• Having workgroup members gather information on their SLA chapters and then learning how to make that information available in SL.
• Using workgroup members as designate SL tour guides and mentors.  In these roles, people would definitely learn while doing.
• Asking workgroup members to write about their experiences as SL newbies.
• Having people do brief presentations about the workgroup at chapter meetings.

I hope you'll consider volunteering.  I promise that you will not be bored and that you will obtain knowledge about virtual worlds that you'll be able to use in your professional life.

New Blog: SLA in Second Life

Have you heard that SLA owns land in Second Life?  Yes, it's true!  A team of SLA members are now  working to help other members learn more about Second Life (SL).  The team will be publishing information on Second Life, providing learning experiences, and developing our space in SL.  The team has a blog and a wiki, where information will be shared.  Our first article will be published in the June 2008 issue of Information Outlook.

If you are interested in learning more about Second Life, you have two options available to you.  First, you can join the team, since there is no better way to learn but by doing.  Second, you can partake of the output of this team -- its writings, training sessions, and space in SL.  However you do it, we hope that we can help you learn more about virtual worlds and their future.  With dozens of virtual worlds already in existence and with them being used by colleges, universities, businesses and government agencies -- as well as young children -- they are not going away. So jump in with us!  The (virtual) water is fine!