Lesson plan
Second Life
Second Life is a multi-user virtual world that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users (known as 'Residents') and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for personal computers by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab, it publicly launched on June 23, 2003, and saw rapid growth for some years; in 2013, it had approximately one million regular users. Growth eventually stabilized, and by the end of 2017, the active user count had fallen to "between 800,000 and 900,000". In many ways, Second Life is similar to massively multiplayer online role-playing video games; nevertheless, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective." The virtual world can be accessed freely via Linden Lab's own client software or via alternative third-party viewers. Second Life users, also called 'residents', create virtual representations of themselves, called avatars, and are able to interact with places, objects and other avatars. They can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in both individual and group activities, build, create, shop, and trade virtual property and services with one another. The platform principally features 3D-based user-generated content.…
Article summary
Second Life is a multi-user virtual world that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users (known as 'Residents') and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for personal computers by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab, it publicly launched on June 23, 2003, and saw rapid growth for some years; in 2013, it had approximately one million regular users. Growth eventually stabilized, and by the end of 2017, the active user count had fallen to "between 800,000 and 900,000". In many ways, Second Life is similar to massively multiplayer online role-playing video games; nevertheless, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective." The virtual world can be accessed freely via Linden Lab's own client software or via alternative third-party viewers. Second Life users, also called 'residents', create virtual representations of themselves, called avatars, and are able to interact with places, objects and other avatars. They can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in both individual and group activities, build, create, shop, and trade virtual property and services with one another. The platform principally features 3D-based user-generated content.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.