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Helpful terms

Students are gathered in a dimly lit museum showroom, where several artifacts from world religions are displayed. A young male teacher with fair hair is speaking, and several students have their hands raised.

Overview​

If you're new to the Sinewave Campus platform (or to virtual worlds in general), you'll need to master some new tech jargon. Here are some key terms that will help you understand the concepts detailed in our Getting Started section, as well as communicate with our Customer Success Team and other Sinewave Campus users.

Virtual experience terms​

World​

When Sinewave Campus World Owners purchase a subscription, we provide access to a standalone instance of Sinewave Campus, which we call a World. Client Worlds are completely disconnected from one another, and users can't enter your World unless you invite them or otherwise grant access. Sinewave Campus Worlds can contain multiple Regions.

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In our older technical documentation, you may see Worlds referred to as Grids.

Region​

Sinewave Campus Worlds can contain multiple Regions. It may be helpful to think of Regions as separate "rooms" within a World. Regions are generally disconnected from one another, but you can enable ways for users to travel between them (such as activating the Explore window or setting up Teleport Portals).

Sinewave Campus offers a wide selection of Region templates, which are plug-and-play areas designed to host different kinds of events—everything from conference halls to neon-lit music venues. Clients with access to 3D assets can also design custom Regions and upload them to their World.

Avatar​

When you log in to Sinewave Campus, you are given control over a graphical representation of yourself called an avatar. Avatars can be used to explore the virtual World and interact with other people. You can customize the way your avatar looks by selecting a starter avatar or by using the tools available in the Outfit window.

UI​

This abbreviation stands for user interface, and refers to all of the menus, maps, buttons, and windows that appear on your screen. World Owners can use the Dashboard to enable or disable specific UI elements for end users. A key part of the UI consists of Sinewave Campus's conference system, which allows users to access voice chat, webcam and screen share, emojis, and other communication tools.

Sinewave Shop​

The Sinewave Shop allows users to browse through a content library full of avatar accessories, gestures, animations, and virtual furniture, much of it provided by community creators or by Sinewave. World Owners and World Administrators can filter the Shop contents for end users, or disable access to the Shop entirely.

Inventory​

Your Inventory contains all of your virtual belongings, such as any clothing or other accessories you've purchased to use on your avatar. Any virtual assets you upload to Sinewave Campus will also appear in your Inventory.

Gestures​

Gestures are animations that can be acted out by one or more avatars. By dancing, laughing, and interacting with other users, you can enrich your virtual experience and forge connections.

Administrative terms​

Dashboard​

The Dashboard is a web portal that allows World Owners and World Administrators to customize their Sinewave Campus World, prepare for events, and manage user accounts. Our Dashboard tour offers a concise overview of the available options.

Seats​

Seats are otherwise known as user licenses, and represent the number of active user accounts that a Sinewave Campus World can accommodate. In addition to the persistent seats included with each Sinewave Campus subscription, World Owners and World Administrators can add temporary seats through the use of Daily Passes.

Each seat is assigned a specific type. Seat types include Administrators, Developers, etc., and correspond to different World-level user permission levels.

Concurrency​

Concurrency refers to the number of simultaneous users a Sinewave Campus World can accommodate. Please note that a Sinewave Campus account's concurrency cap may be different than its total seat count.

Desktop applications or desktop viewers​

Sinewave Campus provides desktop applications for both Windows and macOS. When using a desktop viewer, there are no additional fees for user access. However, users will need to install the Sinewave Campus app on a computer equipped with hardware that can effectively render 3D worlds.

World Stream​

World Stream is a cloud-based streaming solution for users who might not have access to advanced graphics processing hardware. World Stream can be run on any supported Internet browser, so users can access Sinewave Campus from both desktop and mobile devices. World Stream access must be purchased on a per user/per time basis using a digital currency known as World Credits.

Sinewave Campus Toolkit​

The Sinewave Campus Toolkit consists of plug-and-play items designed to help World Owners, Administrators, and Developers add branding, media, and functional engagement to Regions. The Toolkit includes media displays, collaborative tools, interactive effects, and no-code gamification.

Conference system​

Sinewave Campus's conference system consists of voice chat, webcam streaming, and screen sharing, as well as navigation, moderation, interaction, and scheduling tools. The conference system come pre-installed in most Region templates, and can be added to any Region.

Moderator tools​

Key event coordinators and stakeholders will have access to moderator tools, which allow Moderators to broadcast messages, teleport single users or crowds, manage audience questions, control the audio stream, and assist with presentations.

Sinewave Campus for Training​

Sinewave Campus for Training is a comprehensive learning management system that allows World Owners and World Administrators to facilitate online learning. Course designers can create touchback points and track student progress via the Dashboard, as well as manage instructor access to in-world tools.