A Quick Start to Second Life Through NMC Welcome to the University of Delaware's Quick Start to Second Life (SL). Before you can visit the University of Delaware's Island in Second Life, you will need to create an avatar to be your representative in that environment. Once your avatar is created and you have completed your training on the New Media Consortium's (NMC) Orientation Island, you can teleport over to the University of Delaware's Island. http://slurl.com/secondlife/University of Delaware/56/150/26 Second Life is completely free including your avatar(s). (You can have more than one.) Free cloths, vehicles, money, and everything you need to move around in the virtual world is available in any number of places in Second Life. The only time you need money is if you want to purchase land or something that is not free (e.g., a better skin for your avatar, designer clothing, a home, or something that is professionally scripted). Get Your Avatar On (6 easy steps) After the software is installed on your computer, you should open your web browser and go to the NMC's web site http:/sl.nmc.org/join. You will receive some instructions and questions about your school's affiliation with the NMC. These are the same Last names offered on the SL page and they change regularly. If you choose a combination that is already taken, your choice will be rejected. You will be offered some alternatives. You may choose from the suggested combinations list presented to you, try spelling your first choice in a more unusual way, or choose another name altogether. Remember, you and people looking for you will have to remember your name and how you spelled it, so choose your name wisely. After you select your SL name, will be presented you with some basic newbie avatars to choose from. Don't fret too long about this choice; you will be changing its appearance shortly and will likely continue to fiddle with the settings for weeks to come. Just pick one you can live with for a little while. You do not have to pick your real life gender either. There are male avatars who are female, females who are males, furry animals, dragons, shoes, etc. You will see them all at some point. You may be told that an e-mail with a link to activate your account is on its way. If so, be sure to look for this e-mail and use the link to activate your account. If you do not see an e-mail after being instructed that it is being sent, check your junk mail folder for a message that has been filtered as spam. Your avatar is not fully activated until you land on an Orientation Island in SL. The next step is NMC's Orientation Island. The island is designed to teach you the skills you need to navigate the 3D world of Second Life. You will work your way through a series of stations where you will learn and practice your basic skills. It is a big island with many learning modules and videos. There also some free items there for you to pick up: complete avatars, skins, some clothes and free educational tools. Look for the Lone Mountain, mission style building on the East side of the island over in the Education in SL District. Important Newbie Freebies Not to Miss Out On Getting the Good Stuff Skins Hair Because you get the opportunity to receive at least three different designer's hair vouchers, you may want to choose one style from each: maybe a long doo from one, an up doo from another, and a short doo or ponytail from a third. If You Are No Longer a Newbie "Another Skins" is a very good skin designer and has generously put out some totally modifiable frees skin which are available in all skin tones. Learning More And, when you are ready to learn how to build and script the things you see in world, there are plenty of classes for that as well.
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