Version 1.01
TAKE THE ORIENTATION TRAIL
If you haven’t already done so please take the orientation trail. It will teach you many of the basics that you need to take part in the event.
For orientation trail click here and select teleport:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/UK%20Virtual%20Hospital/128/128/0/?title=Orientation%20Trail
To get to the auditorium click here and select teleport: http://slurl.com/secondlife/National%20Health%20Service/132/127/26/?title=Our%20NHS%20Our%20Future
LOOKING AROUND WHILE SITTING STILL
To sit at one of the tables, right-click on a chair and select ‘Sit here’.
First you need to be able to look around while remaining stationary yourself. If you wish to look directly at something, for example one of the screens at the front of the auditorium, simply hold down the ALT key and left-click your mouse on the screen.
If the object you want to see is behind you, then ALT click on the extreme right of your view and repeat this until the object comes into view.
To zoom in or out hold down the ALT key and the left mouse button and move your mouse forwards or back.
If you get lost click the Escape key twice. Your point of view will return to normal.
GETTING HELP DURING THE EVENT
We will give you some instructions via text chat or private instant messages. If you need help at any time then please use instant messaging as it is private and will not distract the others.
The helpers here are Davee Commerce and Minna Runo. To send a private message right-click on one of our avatars and then click Send IM…
HEARING THE PRESENTER
During the event we will speak to you from the front of the auditorium. You will need voice enabled to be able to hear us. You also need to know how to adjust the volume of individual speakers. This always starts at a low volume for new speakers so its important to know how to adjust it.
First check that you can hear the repetitive announcement at the auditorium. If you can’t hear Dave Taylor’s announcement, then audio may be muted. Can you hear footsteps or the wind? If not press CTRL P to bring up the preference window. Click the Audio and Video tab and unmute Volume. Set the other sliders as in the figure below.
Here’s how you do it. First Press Ctrl-P to bring up the preferences window. Click the Audio and Video tab then use the following settings as shown below.
Audio and Video Preferences
Master, Music, Media and Voice should be set high.
Ambient (e.g. the wind) should be set low or off.
UI (e.g. footsteps and typing sounds) should be set low or off.
Streaming Preferences should both be checked so as to play streaming audio or music and streaming video or movies.
Next click the Voice Chat tab.
Voice chat should be enabled.
Selecting the option to ‘Hear Voice Chat from camera position’ will allow you to ALT Select and zoom in on the presenter to make them louder. This will work best for the deliberative event.
Voice Chat Preferences
As a visual check a white dot appears above any avatar’s head when they have voice enabled. While they speak green waves will emanate from the white dot. If you are near an avatar who is speaking you may find that you can barely hear them at first.
To adjust their volume. first alt-click on them so your camera is picking them up directly. Then choose the View menu from the top of your screen and scroll down to ‘Active Speakers’. Alternatively click the two small speech bubbles just to the left of the Talk button at the bottom of your screen.
Active Speakers window
This brings up the Active Speakers window that shows you all the avatars around you who have speech enabled.
Adjusting individual volumes of Active Speakers
Click on the name of the avatar you want to hear and a volume control will appear. You can then adjust that avatars volume. In this window the current speaker’s name jumps to the top of the list automatically.
BREAKOUT GROUPS
When you are in breakout groups you will need to speak to the facilitator and other avatars in your group. There are two options. If you have a microphone you can participate in a private group call. When you are in a such a call you will only hear the other avatars in your group, and you will be able to speak to them. The alternative is a conference call using an ordinary telephone. Please sit at the Blue table if you intend to use the phone and we will give you the number to call when we begin the first breakout session. You will be charged for this call at the national rate.
Microphone users:
Those who will use Microphones should run the Voice Setup Wizard if they have not already done so. This will check your own microphone and allow you set your transmitted volume. It can be found in the Voice Chat Preferences window and is self-explanatory. Use the Talk button at the bottom of your screen to talk. Hold the button down while you are speaking (push to talk mode). You may find it more convenient to use ‘push to talk in toggle mode’ [illustrated in the figure]. In this case simply click the talk button to switch it on, and click it again to switch it off.
As a visual check a white dot appears above your head when voice is enabled. This sometimes takes a little while to appear after you have enabled voice, and you will note that the talk button is initially dimmed, then brightens up and can be clicked as soon as the voice server becomes available to you. While you speak green waves will emanate from the white dot. If they turn red you may be speaking too loudly.
If you have an active microphone please be sure to switch the Talk button off for the main event. As a visual check the white dot should still be above your head but there should not be any green waves.
When the first breakout session begins the facilitator will initiate a private group call. This will send you an invitation the first time. However you will not receive a further invitation for the second session, so you will need some further instructions.
To take part in a group call, click the Communicate button at the bottom of your screen. The Communicate window will open. Next click the ‘Contact’s tab and then the side tab marked ‘Groups’.
Initiating Group Call
You will have been invited to the Red, Blue or Green Group, so select the appropriate one then press the IM/Call button on the right.
Join the Call
When the ‘Join Call’ button brightens, press it.
There may be a slight delay while you join the private chat.
Adjust individual volumes
You should now see a list of other members. Note that the white dot has disappeared from above your avatar’s head but the list will show dots against the other members who have joined the private discussion. You will need to click on each one to adjust their volumes individually. Please take care not to ‘mute’ anyone accidentally by turning their volume right down as they will remain muted and you may not notice that they are speaking!
You can also type messages to your group in this window.
When the breakout session ends press the button marked ‘End Call’ so that you can hear the presenter again. Note the tab is called by the group name. It should remain open for the rest of the event so you can leave and rejoin the private group discussion when there is a further breakout session.
HANDOUTSDuring the breakout sessions the facilitator will give you handouts to read. These come from a special notecard giver near your table. Wait until the facilitator scrolls to the correct image and then click to receive the notecard. The image will show headings and the notecard will provide the detail. You can close a notecard when you are finished with it by clicking the close (x) button. However it will remain in your inventory so you can always fetch it back and read it again later.
Notecard Giver VOTING
The presenter will periodically ask questions, for you to answer using an audience response system.
Voting Board
Voting is simple, using the special voting board. The presenter will explain each question then ask you to select a response. Please wait until your table is asked to respond as Second Life will not allow too many simultaneous responses (note: this is a safeguard against spamming). When it is your turn to vote just press the answer you have chosen and wait for a response window to appear on your screen. If you do not get a response after 10 seconds please try again. Some questions permit multiple answers. In this case please wait 10 seconds before selecting your next answer.
When everyone has voted the presenter will close the vote and show you the results.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU CRASH
If you crash, simply restart Second Life and you should be back where you were. You will need to sit down again as sitting is cancelled whenever you start Second Life.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes you may become disconnected from the Second Life server but it may not be apparent to you that anything is wrong. Everyone is still there sitting round the table. Someone may appear to be about to speak or is typing, or you might even be walking around. However things might appear to be earily quiet or someone appears to be typing for a long long time. To check if you are in fact disconnected simply call up the map. If there are large red coloured zones on the map instead of the usual green then you are disconnected. Simply Quit Second Life and restart it.
OPTIMISING GRAPHICS SETTINGS
These instructions will enable you to get the best experience from your equipment no matter how good or bad it is.
First ensure that you have the latest driver for your video card and operating system.
If your graphics performance is sluggish you can speed things up with the following settings. However you will not be able to see so far into the distance and the ground will not appear as highly textured: In your Second Life application, press CTRL + P to bring up the Preferences screen. On the graphics tab, choose Run in a window and reduce the screen resolution and draw distance (e.g. 64). On the graphics detail tab, select Normal for avatar rendering, select Low for terrain detail, and drag the detail sliding bars to the left.
Graphic Detail Settings for a PC with good graphics performance
If your graphics performance is good (for example if your PC is optimised for playing computer games) you can use the following settings to improve overall appearance:
In your Second Life application, press CTRL + P to bring up the Preferences screen. On the graphics tab, choose Run in a window and increase the screen resolution and draw distance (e.g.128 or 256). On the graphics detail tab, select Bump mapped for avatar rendering, select High for terrain detail, and drag the detail sliding bars to the right. Select Nearby local lights for lighting detail and Enable all the Shader options (e.g. Enable Vertex Shaders) Ensure you have the latest driver for your video card and operating system.
Second Health 