Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

This content relates to the module for 2018/19 academic year and is subject to change.

1. Welcome to Second Life
In Class 1 we will get an overview of the module and the topics to be covered during the semester. In advance of the class you must join Second Life. You can find instructions and links in the Introduction section.

2. Blogging to the World
Class 2 will consider the conventions of working in an online environment. We will also talk about designing your Website Blogs and discuss the appropriate writing style for them.

3. Teamwork and Collaboration
In Class 3 we will discuss team work and collaboration. The dynamics of forming and developing a team that can deliver on a project will be considered and you will be introduced to useful virtual collaborative tools.

4. Team Project – Future Work
Class 4 will consider the brief for the Team Project – Future Work, and answer your questions about it.

5. From Hammer to Pixel
Class 5 explores the thinking of Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) whose work is central to an understanding of media theory and provides a useful framework for examining digital social media and online collaborative tools.

6. My Avatar and Me – virtual identities
In Class 6 we explore the nature of ‘self’ and consider our online presence – whether through an avatar in a virtual world such as Second Life, or through our engagement with social media.

7. Online Communities and Relationships
For Class 7 we will visit Virtual Ability Island in Second Life to meet the residents of this vibrant and engaging community.

8. Walking away…?
Class 8 looks at the nature of human society and individual responsibility through the lens of science-fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin’s short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.

9. Presenting your Team Project
In Class 9 we will look at some of the approaches that can be taken to presenting the project and the tools that can be used to present supporting content.

10. Content Produser
Class 10 considers content creation. What does it mean to be a ‘produser’ and does virtual content have any intrinsic value?

11. Warning!
Class 11 will start with the Scientists Warning to Humanity referenced in your Team Project brief and consider it in the context of French philosopher Bernard Stiegler’s call to action.

12. Presenting your Project
In Class 12 each team will present its project.