Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Well done to everyone who made it to the first class meeting in Second Life (SL). It always takes a little time for everyone to get settled in and find out how things work in this virtual world. Activating your voice is usually the most tricky part (but some avatars can find it takes a while to learn how to sit down!). John suggested that everyone meet in SL before the next class to iron out any technical difficulties and Glenn agreed to meet participants there on Tuesday evening.

As we got settled some basic housekeeping was done. Everyone added each other to our ‘friends’ list which enables us to see when participants log in and to send instant messages (IM) to each other, even when you are in different locations. This can be useful if you cannot find the DIT campus or get lost somewhere in SL. Everyone should also have been added to the DIT Module group. It is important to activate this before joining the class: think of it as your student card. It will give you access to the DIT campus and allow group conversations.

This class will be interactive and discursive. Each week we will look at a different topic, introduced by a set text that you are asked to read before the class so as to inform the debate. It is important that everyone participates fully and engages to get full benefit from attending. You will also need to visit SL between class times to complete activities that will be set to encourage exploration. Specific activities will be set for the first few classes to get you started.

You were all asked to create a new blog for the duration of the course. You will be expected to write a weekly post describing your experience of the class and the discussions and activities in which you engage. If you keep this habit and post weekly you will avoid the burden of having to write a complete paper at the end of the module. John also explained that you will divided into groups next week to work on a project which will be presented at the final class of the semester. You are encouraged to read through the pages listed in the right hand column of this website to get full details of the project, see examples of previous student blogs and get an idea of what to expect in the rest of the course.

We discussed what communication platform we should use to support the class. It should be one that most people use already so you are not having to introduce something new. It also means that as you are using it regularly messages about the class are less likely to be missed. Previous groups set up private Facebook groups and used twitter and LinkedIN. Other options include WhatsApp or Tinder. Think about it and we will decide next week.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS:

1. Set up your blog: using blogger, wordpress, tumblr or any other blog site. Complete the ‘About Me’ page (read some of those pages on other blogs first) and remember it is different from the first post on your blog. Write from the perspective of your avatar: the persona you will be using to explore in this module. Email a link to your blog to John.
2. Write the first post: to your blog about your expectations for this module – what you hope to get out of it, what you think you might contribute, etc. Address the relevance of  module objectives from your perspective, ie, justify why you think they are important to you.
3. Look at: John O’Connor’s blog and Dreamscape Diary bearing in mind what you learned today compare your own blog writing to this.
4. Visit the following: Dolce Merda, Brain Pickings, Illustration Friday, Chris Brogan. Think about how you would identify these blog authors…what impression do you get of the person behind the blog?
5. Read: some of Utopia. Thomas More. 1516. which will be the topic for discussion in next week’s class.