Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Over the semester, each class will address a specific topic. You will have some activities to do to prepare for classes by reading and viewing the short texts and videos a few days before so that you can engage in discussion and engage actively with the topic. This ensures classes are more interesting and enjoyable.

Many of the classes are given by guest speakers and will involve site visits to different locations around Second Life. The speakers are based across the globe in the physical world so the order of topics may not be exactly as given here, depending on availability.

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Teamwork and Collaboration – Sitearm Madonna

In this class we will consider the dynamics of forming and developing a team that can deliver on a project and you will be introduced to useful virtual collaborative tools. Working on a team is an important skill in the contemporary professional world. To be an effective team member you need to understand the range of individual roles that you may be required to play for a team to function. It is also necessary to be aware of team dynamics – to know when your team needs to diverge and converge and to understand the iterative nature of teamwork.
Click here for full details for this class.

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From Hammer to Pixel: society and technology – Acuppa Tae

This class explores our relationship with technology through to writing 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. We will also consider the ideas of Bernard Stiegler (1952–2020) who argued that technology and society are intimately interconnected. McLuhan urged us to try and be aware that the tools we use repeatedly are having an impact on our understanding and perception of our world. This becomes increasingly important once we realise that our way of living is bringing about the demise of the planet’s ability to sustain our civilisation.
Click here for full details of this class.

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Where Ecosystems Crash: site visit to Abyss Observatory – Delia Lake

The field trip to the Abyss Observatory is hosted by Delia Lake who will bring us on a tour of this science museum / aquarium of the Earth, marine life, and undersea technology that inspires a sense of wonder for the deepsea world. We will see various ecosystems recreated accurately with appropriate flora and fauna. Delia will explain the impact of human intervention on these environments and how they are changing due to the heating of the oceans.
Click here for full details fo this class.

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Online Communities and Relationships: site visit to Virtual Ability – Gentle Heron

The field trip to Virtual Ability Island in Second Life is hosted by Gentle Heron and we will meet the residents of this vibrant and engaging community. The world of online communities provides endless opportunities to those with vision who are prepared to commit their time and ability. Whether through choice (or perhaps, lack of choice), the web – and virtual worlds in particular – supports a range of global ‘villages’ that require neither mobility nor geographical proximity. We will get an insight into the individual and group responsibilities that are important when engaging with virtual communities. The importance of an ethical framework for guiding behaviour, and a knowledge of the rules, regulations, conventions, and etiquette that underpin the spaces we visit or inhabit, is essential to productive and peaceful collaboration and cohabitation – just as in natural world.

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Metaliteracy and Digital Citizenship: site visit to Community Library – Valibrarian

Valibrarian gives an interactive presention that explores the end of the print era and the increasing need for metaliteracy in the digital age. Following our visit to Virtual Ability Island, where we explored online communities and relationships, we now consider what digital citizenship means. We will gain a greater understanding of the breadth and diversity of online virtual collaboration and how it is becoming an ever increasing factor in our professional (and social) lives; and learn something about coping with the overload of information. There will be a site visit to the Digital Citizen Outpost and the Community Virtual Library.

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Identity with Intent – Sitearm Madonna / Acuppa Tae

In this class 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. Who we are in the physical world is a philosophical question that doesn’t have any clear answers. What we do know is that the development of our ‘self’ is a lifelong and ever-changing process. Thus, the idea of developing and maintaining a virtual online self, a personal online brand, is a more complex task than it might at first appear. However, managing our professional persona is of fundamental importance.

‘It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.’
—Will Rogers (1879–1935), American actor.