Students taking this course through the Harvard Extension School will be using Second Life frequently throughout the course.  Students at Harvard Law School will also periodically be using Second Life. 

Second Life is a 3D virtual world that is both inhabited and created by its users.  What this means for students of this class is that you will create a character for yourself in Second Life (called an “avatar”) that you will use to move through the world and interact with other users.  In Second Life, our class has an island and a classroom building on that island that we will be using throughout the semester.  Your avatar will come to the island to meet your instructors and the other students in the class and to participate in class-related activities. 

It will take a little while to get used to using Second Life, but once you become comfortable with it, we are confident that it will greatly enhance your experience in this class.  Instead of participating in this class by watching videos and submitting homework by email, you’ll be able to actually attend classes in a classroom with the other students.  You’ll meet other students and do group work with them, be able to ask questions in real time, and do many other exciting things, everything from flying to making animated movies.

Because we expect that Second Life will be new to many of you, we will be spending a lot of time and energy at the beginning of the course helping you to get comfortable in the Second Life environment.  NO EXPERIENCE WITH SECOND LIFE IS NECESSARY TO TAKE THIS COURSE.  All we ask of you, in terms of computer skills, is that you feel comfortable using computers and learning to use new applications.

Below is a link to a video tutorial that is intended to help you get started using Second Life. It will take you through the process of downloading and installing Second Life and entering the world for the first time.  Second Life is free to download and it is free to create and use your avatar.  You can get started at secondlife.com.  

20 Minute Second Life Tutorial Video

The above link will take you to a page where you will be able to select the “First Hour” video. This video is only 20 minutes long, but it is labeled in the standard way that the Extension School labels course videos.

Getting to Berkman Island

Once you’ve got Second Life installed and you have created an avatar for yourself, you can always go directly to Berkman Island via this link.