There are many virtual worlds, and most are free and open to the public. See this post for an overview of the “metaverse.” To enter these worlds you need to register as a member and download a special viewer, which looks much like your Firefox or Internet Explorer browser.
SECOND LIFE
- First, check to see your computer can run Second Life.
- Then, get a free membership Second Life membership and download the viewer. (Other viewers are available)
A premium (paid) account is not necessary. - Open the viewer, enter your login and password, and you will find yourself in a welcome area. These are sometimes crowded; if you’d rather start in a quiet place that is built for educators, try the New Media Consortium’s welcome area, which can be reached by copying this link into the viewer window (at the top of the screen):
http://slurl.com/secondlife/NMC%20Campus/128/121/23 - If you would like to explore sites for feminist teaching, use the list of locations on this page.
OPEN SIMULATOR
A large number of independent virtual worlds are run through Open Simulator. If you have checked to see your computer can run Second Life (see above) it should be able to run in Open Simulator.
The many virtual worlds found through Open Simulator are listed here. To register in one of these worlds, you must click on the name of the world; an information page opens, giving the web address for the registration page. Notice that it also gives you the URI numbers, the address of the
The Second Life viewer will not work with Open Simulator. Most people recommend the Imprudence or Firestorm viewers. I demonstrate this below, using my favourite grid, Jokaydia.
- Clicking on “JokaydiaGrid” brings up the information page. I use the web address to sign up as a Jokaydia resident: http://jokaydia.metaverseworlds.com/welcome/
- I open the Imprudence viewer that I’ve just downloaded, and find Jokaydia in the Grid Manager. If there are any problems, I can check the URI and other information on the Open Simulator page.
- Then I log in. The map tab at the bottom of the screen opens a world map to explore Jokaydia; I can just double-click to go somewhere. However, on this first trip, I’ll just stay close to the orientation area until I get my sealegs. Open the map and enter the coordinates to find all kinds of free virtual goods (Scooter 109, 163, 22).
OTHER VIRTUAL WORLDS
Under construction.
