How to Set Up and Use Voice Chat

At today's "Second Life and Lunch" meeting we talked about how to set up and use voice. Sometimes when you attend an event or a class in Second Life the main speakers will use voice to communicate to the audience. It's worth setting up voice chat on your computer in order to hear the voices of others even if you don't plan to speak a word.

Set Up Voice Chat:
First, be sure to check to be sure that your headset is plugged into the correct ports on your computer. (A microphone and speaker combination will work also.) Make sure your headset/microphone is in the "on" position.

In Second Life, go to EDIT > PREFERENCES > VOICE CHAT TAB
Check the box to Enable Voice Chat

Hear from your avatar OR Hear from your camera position?
"Hear from your avatar position" is a good way to start with voice chat. It works best when you want to talk to nearby avatars. If you use your camera controls a lot, or if you attend a lot of live events in-world, "Hear from your camera position" is useful. If you’re at an event and you're sitting in the cheap seats, a long distance away from the speaker, just use camera controls to get closer and hear the presentation.

Push-to-talk?
I suggest selecting both "Start Viewer in Push-to-Talk mode" and "Use Push-to-Talk in Toggle mode." Push-to-Talk is a handy feature that allows you to press your middle mouse button when you speak (or a different button if you choose) - sort of like a walkie-talkie. Push the button to talk and when you're done push it again. That way people in-world don't hear the background noises where you are when you're not speaking.

Now click the VOICE CHAT SETUP button to start the voice chat set-up wizard. Select the "Yes, continue using voice chat" radio button and then click the NEXT button.

Click the NEXT button again.

You should see five boxes next to a slider with the left-most boxes filled with green. If you don't, change the "Input" and "Output" device settings until you do. Select the name of your audio card or "default." When you see green in the boxes, speak into your microphone at a normal volume level and adjust the slider bar so that 3-4 of the boxes fill.

Now click the FINISH button, and then the OK button. You should now see a white dot above your avatar which means you have successfully set up voice chat - Yay!


Start Using Voice Chat:
Try speaking into your microphone. If you see green lines surrounding the white dot above your head, you're speaking in-world and others should be able to hear you. If you don't hear anything, click your middle mouse button and try again. When you finish speaking, click the middle mouse button again to turn off your microphone.

Adjust Your Master Volume Controls:
You can adjust all of the sounds you hear in Second Life. Click on the round blue button with the "up" arrow in the lower right-hand corner of your screen above the blue "map" button. This will open the Master Volume Controls. Slide the sliders to adjust the volume of music, media, voice chat, sounds, ambient sounds (birds, waterfalls, wind) and UI (user interface - the clicking of your mouse) that you hear. If you're having a hard time hearing someone using voice, try turning the Ambient and UI sounds all the way off.

Have a Private Chat with a Friend or Group:
This is a great way to chat with other members of our group outside of meetings. Click the blue "Communicate" button at the bottom left of your screen, this will open your "Contacts." Select the "Friends" tab to have a chat with a friend, or the "Groups" tab start a chat with a group. Select a friend/group from the list and click the IM/Call button, then click the "Join Call" button. This will send a pop-up notice to the friend/group asking them to join the call. When they do, start talking. When you're finished, click the "End Call" button. If you want to see who has joined a group chat, click on the small blue button in the upper right hand corner of the group chat window you just opened with the double arrows on it. This will open a list of members who have joined the call. They can choose to speak or use text chat during the call. A green icon will appear next to the name of the avatar who is speaking. (The white dot above your avatar's head will disappear when you are in a private chat.)

This information and more is available on the J:/Shared drive. Just look for the "Second Life Group" folder and inside that you'll find a "How to do stuff" folder. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Torley Linden has created a series of videos on this topic:
Voice Chat: Getting Started
Voice Chat: Etiquette
Voice Chat: Who’s Speaking?
Voice Chat: Improving Your Hearing
Voice Chat: Private Calls
Voice Chat: Speech Gestures
Voice Chat: Disabling it for yourself and on land

Voice Chat in Second Life

"Second Life and Lunch" meeting this Thursday, March 27, Noon - 11-11:50 a.m. in KCELT 153 Computer Classroom

This week Alan Peterka and Kit Umscheid will show you How to Set Up and Use Voice Chat in Second Life. Computers are limited--so please sign up on the KCELT Web site, but you don't have to be signed up for Second Life to attend. Feel free to stop by and watch the presentation on the big screen. Bring your lunch, bring your sign-in information (including your password) and bring a friend. See you Thursday!

~ Meetings in April ~

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 12-1:00 p.m.
Tour of HealthInfo Island

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 12-1:00 p.m.
How to Make Money in Second Life

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12-1:00 p.m.
How to Join a Group / How to Start a Group

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12-1:00 p.m.
Tour of Play2Train with Moriz Gupte

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12-1:00 p.m.
How to Deal With Griefers

Group Chat and Friend Chat and IMs...Oh My!

If you missed today's "Second Life and Lunch" meeting, you might want to check out the Second Life Group folder on the J:\Shared drive. Look in the "How to do stuff" folder and you'll find a document there titled "Text Chat and Group Chat."

Below is a video from my favorite Linden, Torley Linden, about today's topic.

How to Start Conference IMs with Friends

New Stuff on the Blog

I've added a few things to the blog I'd like to tell you about.

Meeting Poll:
I've tried scheduling "Second Life and Lunch" meetings on various days. Instead of guessing what day and time work best for everyone's schedule, I thought I would just ask. Please take the time to tell everyone what time(s) work for you. I'll use this information to schedule meetings for May.

How to Join Our Group:
Search no more for how to join our group in Second Life, the information is right here.

Tips from Torley Linden:
Only Linden Lab employees have "Linden" for a last name. Torley Linden creates video tutorials with tips and tricks about everything from "What is a Prim?" to "How do I adjust the hair on my head?" These are great videos from a Second Life enthusiast. He's even more excited about Second Life than I am! When I see a video that relates to what we're talking about I'll post it on the blog. Otherwise, to watch his latest videos, just scroll to the bottom of this page and left-click on one you're interested in. It will open up right on this page. When you're done watching, just close the pop up window by clicking the "I'm done watching this" link. If you want to find out more about Torley, click here.

Thanks Alan!

A big thanks to Alan for showing the group how to pass notecards. Sorry I missed this one - our department had a seminar off campus to attend. I'll see you all next week as we continue the "Communicating With Others" series.

"Communicating With Others" series for March:
Wednesday, March 19, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Text Chat and Group Chat

Thursday, March 27, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
How to Use Voice Chat

Communicating with Others Series: How to Create and Pass Notecards

"Second Life and Lunch" meeting this Friday, March 14, 12-12:50 p.m. in KCELT 153 Computer Classroom

This week we begin the "Communicating With Others" series. Passing notes in school was always fun and educational. Come to Second Life and Lunch this week and Alan Peterka will show you how to create and pass notecards to other avatars. It's a great way to communicate, share landmarks and other objects in world.

Computers are limited--so please sign up on the KCELT Web site, but you don't have to be signed up for Second Life to attend. Feel free to stop by and watch the presentation on the big screen. Bring your lunch, bring your sign-in information (including your password) and bring a friend. See you Friday!

...and here's the rest of the "Communicating With Others" series for March:

Wednesday, March 19, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Text Chat and Group Chat

Thursday, March 27, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
How to Use Voice Chat

"Second Life and Lunch" Dates for March

Stop by KCELT 153 Computer Classroom this March to learn more about Second Life. You don't need an account to attend. Feel free to stop by and watch the big screen. Bring your lunch, bring a friend, and if you have a Second Life account don't forget to bring your sign-in information.

Second Life and Lunch meetings for March:
Friday, March 14, 12:00-12:50 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Thursday, March 27, 11:00-11:50 a.m.

Second Life and Lunch this week is a "Rerun"

Thursday, March 6
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
KCELT 153 Computer Classroom

Last week we had a few computer glitches and didn't get through all of the material, so we're going to do it again! Kit Umscheid will show you how to change your appearance and where to find business clothing in Second Life.

Computers are limited, but you don't have to be signed up for Second Life to attend. Feel free to stop by and watch the presentation on the big screen. Bring your lunch, bring your sign-in information (including your password) and bring a friend. See you Friday!

Exploring Second Life Basics for Educators Web Conference

Join us online to build a foundation for further exploration of virtual worlds. You will gain a broad understanding of the educational potential of Second Life and be offered a streamlined approach for gaining sufficient mastery of virtual worlds to begin designing effective learning experiences. Program includes getting started in Second Life, learning experience possibilities with Second Life as a platform, where to start to deliver learning in Second Life, case studies of successes, recommendations and takeaways.

You do not need a Second Life account to attend. Sign up on the KCELT Web site. Room is limited to 30.

Date: March 20 in KCELT, Room 151 Conference Room
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. (audio conference) 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (discussion)
Note: For those interested, we've extended the room reservation so that participants may stay an additional hour to de-brief about what they learned.


About the presenters:

Ken Hudson, Managing Director, Virtual World Design Centre, Loyalist College

Ken is an artist, a new media observer, and a specialist in the analysis and implementation of social media. He is responsible for bringing Loyalist College into Second Life. He works directly with educators and institutions to create environments and experiences that leverage the strengths of emerging platforms to augment and enhance communication and learning. His leadership in virtual worlds for education has earned Loyalist College the Colleges Ontario Innovation Award for 2008. His personal achievements in Second Life include participation in Harvard Law's CyberOne, a successful speaker series, Media Ecology, and an upcoming book collaboration on Second Life with author Robert K. Logan, Second Lives: Real Autobiographies from a Virtual World.


Christopher Keesey, Project Manager, Ohio University Without Boundaries & Chief Technology Officer, PAKRA

Christopher has been building and managing the development of technologically mediated learning experiences for nearly a decade. He specializes in integrating highly engaging, animated simulations, virtual environments, and games into educational experiences that can either stand alone or support blended delivery formats. Christopher consults nationally on restructuring development teams to effectively manage larger-scoped simulation requirements for institutional and enterprise training. He also recently joined PAKRA, a company that develops web-hosted, games-based learning and assessment analytics software, as chief technology officer.