Second Life Guide

This post covers what Second Life is, how it works, and some basic user pointers/tutorials.

What is Secondlife?

Secondlife is a free 3-D virtual reality program in which users create and manipulate an alternate identity, or avatar. Users can also create objects and property, manipulating the virtual world in which the avatar exists. This virtual reality interacts with the reality outside the computer in various ways, including financially, educationally, and creatively.

To learn more about the Secondlife program, explore these sites:
http://secondlife.com/whatis/ - Secondlife’s description of the World and its Residents
http://www.second-life.com/ - a helpful site offering information and user tips
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondlife - Wikiedia’s description of Secondlife

Secondlife at Vassar

Vassar College has been very active in the evolution of Secondlife, particularly in the ways that Secondlife is used as an instruction technique. Various psychological and cognitive science experiments are now conducted within Secondlife, and Vassar College has revolutionized the ways that Secondlife can be used to represent and study art in 3D. To explore the ways Vassar conceptualizes this exciting program, visit this site, which contains Vassar’s description of Secondlife and the ways we use it. The site also includes further links to Vassar’s recreation of the Sistine Chapel and to a digital performance that occurred there.

Some classes using Secondlife
160a and b. Issues in Feminism: Bodies and Texts (1) - en exploration of the body, representation of the body, and textuality with a focus on issues in feminist theory
160a and b. Approaches to Media Studies (1) - an introductory study of “new” and “old” media, with a focus on specificity and the many approaches to the study of media

If you’d like to arrange a workshop or a training for a class, contact Baynard Bailey at

New Users
If you are interested in creating a Secondlife account or are looking for helpful tips on the Secondlife World, or even if you just need help figuring out how to modify your avatar’s appearance, the Web staff has created a series of tutorials to help integrate new users into the Secondlife World. To view these tutorials, click here.  For a sneaky way to get to Vassar Island if you already have an account, click here.