Trial news story--- (A friend of mine already wrote a news story on this event for the Towerlight a week ago. This is just a sample.)
The TU Second Life team along with some assistants from University Marketing, held an event at Paws in the University Union last Thursday, offering a free demonstration of a new software program, Second Life.
Second Life is a free software internet program that is still currently under construction. It gives a 3D virtual environment where people can network and communicate online, according to Mike Moore, a Graduate Assistant of Towson's Interactive Media Design program. Moore said that people using Second Life can also go to lectures, classes, and meetings electronically.
The TU Second Life team includes Center for Interactive Media Design program director Bridget Sullivan, lecturer James Braman, and a couple other collegues who plan to introduce Second Life to students and get them interested in it. "If someone has an interest in technologies, they should try it," Sullivan said.
Many students came by to play with the program to test it out. The Second Life team spread out computers, each one showing a demonstration of the software program, over one section of the entrance to Paws.
Juan Rodas, another Graduate Assistant, displayed a demo of the program on a projector against a screen. "It's supposed to be the next step for the internet," he said, explaining what Second Life was. "You can go to Google and explore it with an artificial character." Not only was this just an artificial character that could explore, it could walk around, jump, and fly to different areas across the screen.
Second Life can also be used in careers. Braman said that Second Life newspapers and magazines were up and coming and the team was looking for journalists to write for those publications. In the demonstration, the Graduate Assistants and the rest of TU Second Life showed the student audience one of the art galleries that graduate students showcased in the program. There was also a "sandbox" where users could build different things. Sullivan said that the sandbox application of Second Life is used in hospitals to build molecules. In addition, one of the graduate assistants showed that any special interest to a student could be found on the program's search engine.
But the program is not for everyone. "Not everyone accepts new technologies," Sullivan says. "(Students) may have other important things." She also said that there would be problems for those who have accessibility issues with the latest technology.
The new website also has some downsides. People who wish to use Second Life must be at least eighteen years old to participate, according to Sullivan. Though, the team is currently working on a program for younger users called "Team Grid".
Sullivan adds that Second Life can only be accessed with a "robust" graphics card and good internet access such as DSL. It cannot be accessed on a laptop. Other requirements to download the online program can be found on the website.
Other than that, it could be an open window for students to be more involved with campus without leaving the computer.
More information about Second Life can be found on the website secondlife.com or on the blog at tusecondlife.blogspot.com.
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