Second
Life Research
Course: Psychology 499 University of
Hawaii at Manoa, Summer 2009
Instructor: Dr. Leon James: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html
Student Author:
Monile Bell
Self
Report 1:
Sunday May 10, 2009
10 AM
Well, I’m still awaiting my new laptop
so that I can play SL (Second Life). I’m
very excited about going in-world after everything I’ve read. I have been through a lot of the material on
SL’s support Center. I feel more
comfortable with the idea of going in-world with some sort of knowledge
beforehand of what is expected. For
example, I know that there may be griefers and that there is a code of conduct
as with most cultures. I consider SL a
culture, more specifically an online culture.
Without ever logging in I have a firm understanding of how to change
clothes without actually becoming naked (due to the many videos which explain
this process step by step). Even before
going in-world for the first time I understand there will be an orientation
island and that I should spend as much time as it takes to have a competent
understanding of how SL works (including their own rules for physics!).
I am very excited about going
shopping! What woman isn’t? I’ve also learned that having different
skins, clothing, and attachments can set apart newbies from non-newbies.
Sunday May 24, 2009
1 PM
Well, my MSI laptop that I had just
bought wouldn’t start. When I inserted
my recovery discs it read, “cannot find bootmgr”. So I called tech support and it’s a
motherboard issue that I cannot fix. I
took it to Costco for a refund then I went to BestBuy and bought an ASUS gaming
laptop.
Tuesday May 26, 2009
11 AM
I haven’t logged in yet, I want to research
a little more before I venture into SL for the first time. One area of interest which I intend to
explore more fully in-world is creating objects and scripting. I know a little html and LSL (Linden
Scripting Language) seems to be similar in that commands needs curvy brackets
to start and end events. Moreover,
scripting allows objects which are built to take on many interactive
functions. I just need to find a Sandbox
to play in. In essence, I learned that
scripting items can be sold for many Linden dollars so long both the scripting
and object being scripted to are both well done.
At some point, probably a few months
down the road, I plan to open a store and sell tattoos. My RL (real life) fiancée is a tattoo artist
and draws his own tribal tattoo designs.
Once I figure out how to incorporate his tattoos into SL then I’m hoping
to make L$ (Linden dollars) and then convert those to real money *smiles*. Anyway, that isn’t until way further down the
road but I’m excited about the possibilities.
If I get stuck somewhere I know that I can always go research how to do
something in-world because they have many resources to help people.
Wednesday May 27, 2009
11:30 AM
I created my account today just so that
I could think about what name I want my avatar to have. I am ‘Kaomea Adored’. Ka’omeaula’okalani is my Hawaiian name and
means, “Heaven’s beloved and respected royal one.” That is one of the meanings. Therefore, I chose the last name Adored
because it is sort of a translation of Kaomea.
Also, I decided to use my Hawaiian name because it is a constant
reminder to me to choose ‘heavenly loves’ instead of ‘hellish loves’. After reading Dr. James view of SL and how it
is so much easier for people to choose their ‘loves’ then my awareness of my loves
needs to be watched more closely. I don’t want to live a life of hellish loves.
Thursday May 28, 2009
11 P.M.
I am amazed at how many awesome
educational opportunities there are in SL.
There is a place called Sietar where people can play game based exercises
to learn about different cultures. Then
there is the Garden for the Missing where RL missing people are Law School,
Princeton and Stanford University who utilize SL as a means of RL teaching! This is amazing! These top ranked schools are utilizing SL to
complement their curriculum. This raises
the question, why not the University of Hawaii?
This research by Dr. James is the perfect opportunity to explore if SL
is a feasible idea to incorporate into at least the Psychology department at UH
Manoa. Also, since Dr. Diane Nahl is a
Professor in the Library and Information Science Program maybe she would be
supportive of such an idea or advancement in education. What a great opportunity SL is. SL appears to be so much more than just a
video game.
Friday May 29, 2009
10:30 AM
After mulling over the concept of a
University of Hawaii at Manoa campus in SL, it could be a great
opportunity. Not only could UHM
advertise the school, but it could also allow many research opportunities to
ICS, Architecture, and Psychology students (at the very least) to contribute
and support the continuing development of a UHM in SL. Any interested students could develop an idea
for the complex and then have all the UHM students vote on which environment is
the best. This way students can decide
for themselves which type of environment they feel most comfortable learning
in. In addition, the department faculty
will of course review all entries before the student population is allowed to
vote. I watched the YouTube video
“Bobcat Village: TXSTATE SecondLife Campus Tour and thought it was very plain
and boring. This is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRNP6IJwY90. For one, if a university is going to have a
campus in SL, why not use out-of-the-box thinking! For example, instead of building rectangular
shaped buildings, why not use maybe one rectangular building but also try a
circular building or a spiral tree house.
Saturday May 30, 2009
2 AM
Today I logged in for the first
time. I set my start page to Virtual
Ability and was sent there as soon as I logged in. Upon first arrival I wanted to change my
avatar’s clothes. I noticed another
avatar nearby but it said ‘away’ so I figured it wouldn’t matter if my avatar
had moments of nudity while I figure out how to dress her. Since I didn’t have any clothes I tried
creating some from scratch using colors and textures. However, nothing I created satisfied me. In the midst of my struggle the avatar that
was ‘away’ came near me and gave me a shirt.
Of course I accepted it! I was
able to put it on without much trouble and I made sure I thanked her. Her name was Mentor Madeline or something
similar. Then she started to give me
more items of clothing, some different skin types, some personal light
attachment, about twenty different hair styles which I LOVE, and a new pair of
custom eyes :) I am very happy. I can’t believe how much stuff she gave me …
I have so many ways to customize my avatar that I don’t have enough time to go
through everything. Then she showed me
what pose balls are like and I got a taste of how to interact with other
people. I stayed awake until six in the
morning talking with her and trying on the many items she gave me. I knew I should have gone to bed but she was
in such a giving mood that I couldn’t tear myself away.
Sunday May 31, 2009
5 PM
I decided that I should venture around
the island because on my last visit I never had the chance to see anything
except the landing area. I began my
adventure by riding in a hot air balloon for a nice scenic tour around the
island. Then I saw an inner tube nearby
and decided to ride that around. After an hour or so exploring freely, I
wanted to get down to business and read the signs on how to do many of the functions
available in SL. I read about walking
and flying which I already had little experience with. I learned about social norms and that I do
not want to be considered a griefer because I don’t want to get kicked out of
places. I enjoyed the dancing area and
the butterfly house. Also, I stocked up
on a bunch of freebies and thought how lucky I was that there are so many
freebies around because I only have 1 linden dollar.
Then I ventured over to Infotainment
Island. I had trouble making that area
my home. I entered into one of the
houses near the landing area and it wouldn’t allow me to save that as my
home. So I thought maybe I’m in the
wrong house and tried to enter the other larger house nearby but it was locked L So I tried other
buildings around the island but found that I joined as a member of the Atlantis
group and they had freebies there too.
So I grabbed more freebies and then teleported to a place where it was
similar to a freebie village. Funny
though because many things in the freebie village were not free! This was misleading so I went back to the
island to continue to explore.
I never added this place as my home, so
some help would be nice. Maybe I missed
something.
Self
Report 2:
Monday, June 1,
2009: 12:15 PM
How likely is it
that you will become good at this particular task?
Doubtful 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 Almost Certain
Type your number here: 8
Briefly explain your rating: I think I will become good at these
tasks because it is learning to teleport and visit different sites. Also, after reading information about
griefers and what to do if it happens, I know that I can always leave if I feel
uncomfortable.
How likely is it that the skills you are learning in this task
will be useful in your career?
Doubtful 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 Almost Certain
Type your number here: 8
Briefly explain your rating: These skills are useful because it is
teaching me new skills and to apply them in a technological setting.
To what extent are you feeling frustrated doing this particular
task?
Not Frustrated 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 Extremely Frustrated
Type your number here: 2
Briefly explain your rating: I feel capable of doing these tasks
and what is expected of me. Therefore my
frustration is low.
To what extent are you feeling irritated doing this particular
task?
Not Irritated 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 Extremely Irritated
Type your number here: 2
Briefly explain your rating: I am looking forward to visiting
these places but worry that they may be boring.
I loved going to http://nikadreamscape.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/destination-station/. It wasn’t very busy but I found a skydiving pad and tried that. After reading the directions it said that I need a parachute … I didn’t have one and couldn’t find one so I decided not to use it. It was EXCITING. If you can figure out how to put your mouse right behind your avatar, you can get a great view of free falling from thousands of miles! My heart actually started racing as I was watching my avatar descend. Then I found a little door and wondered what that did. If you decide to take the door instead of the chairs, the door will drop you off immediately whereas the chairs go through the process of helping you ascend.