EDUCEDGE,

(transferred blog. Original post date 11/09/08)

About first steps in SL, as i just replied in the forum, I am a true believer of touching to everything. Click on all that you see on your screen, collect all the freebies you can find (Yadni’s Junkyard is well known, but it’s not the only one), try all those buttons on the UI (bottom and top) -especially since the SL client is new every so often, there are usually some new added affordances), and join a few groups (for beginning educators, i highly recommend ISTE and NMC (NMC even offers free spaces for educators to use for teaching + tools + events) also everyone should at least visit the ICT Library on Info Island to get an idea of tools used in inworld classes –most are free to copy.

Also add the SLED event calendar to your google calendar, then you can see quickly what events or classes are being offered (there is a SL 101 class for example every Tuesday I think. ISTE also posted their weekly meetings there).
And go through the Global Kids curriculum –free when you join the RezEd community (free to join too). It provides some absolutely awesome tips, tricks and activities for all (the curriculum is based on skills not age, so it is quite appropriate for educators learning SL skills)

Incidentally, touching to everything achieves a few things for ‘noobs’: it gives them reassurance that they can’t break anything (both inworld and on their computer), it provides familiarity with the location of tools on the UI –which will eventually lead to learning personal shortcuts–(my favorite is to do inventory > Files > Close all Folders. My current inventory has over 8700 items in it (not much in SL terms, but still a lot to go through when you try to locate something), so when i need to see my ‘root directory’ I clear the window by closing all the folders. Also, I recommend Torley’s Tutorials. Great short tutorials for everyone.

My orientation island experiences are limited. My first Orientation Island experience was 2 years ago…so many things have probably changed, starting with new orientation islands and orientation programs. I think I would recommend educators to head straight to the NMC website. It will help them go through an account and avatar set up, to skills build up, and freebies. A lot easier and more friendly than the LL Orientation Island I did a while back (and left rather quickly.) I then built my skills by attending events, observing, listening and playing around in sandboxes with my UI.