| ACS 300 |
Women in Sci-Fi |
| Cassandra Jones |
Ph.D. Student |
American Culture Studies |
| Spring and Summer 2008 |
| This class used Second Life to demonstrate how science fiction fan groups expressed their fandom visually, paying particular
attention to ways in which gender and sexuality were (re)constructed in the digital realm. Each class was conducted in Second
Life, using a classroom on the BGSU virtual campus as their 'home base'.
|
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| ACS 780 |
Gaming Cultures and Globalization |
| Radhika Gajjala |
Associate Professor |
Interpersonal Communication |
| Spring 2008 |
| Not Available |
|
| ART 102 |
2D Foundations |
| Anthony Fontana |
Instructor |
School of Art |
| Fall 2007, Spring, Summer and Fall 2008 |
| This class uses Second life as a means of interviewing multimedia artists working with Second Life. Students are able to interact
with and learn from international artist. The virtual world has also been used to teach the students about symbolism and context.
The assignment asks the students to explore the interface we have with symbols in the real world compared to the virtual world.
The final project consists of the construction of a symbol or sign that directly relates to the environment and experiences
on the BGSU Virtual Campus in Second Life.
|
|
| ART 101 |
Introduction to Art |
| Anthony Fontana |
Instructor |
School of Art |
| Summer 2009 |
| This course will use Second Life and other online tools to introduce historical and aesthetic components of art with laboratory
experiences and basic elements of creative expression.
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| ARTC 423 |
Advanced Digital Imaging |
| Dr. Dena Eber |
Associate Professor |
Digital Arts |
| Spring 2008 |
| The use of SL in advanced digital imaging was twofold, first as fodder for artistic response and second as an exhibition,
dissemination, and critique venue. Students were asked to familiarize themselves with SL by creating an avatar and exploring
the SL culture through art galleries or art related venues. They were asked to report on their findings and then create art
that was a direct response to their experience. Finally, students installed their work in world where we held a public event
and opening. In it, students had their avatars stand next to their works while visitors approached and talked to them them
about it. In this setting, students got feedback about their art from other artists and educators. Students also got tips
on how to better navigate SL and use the platform for their art. In the end we were looking for cultural influences and implications
for artistic response and for dissemination and critique of the art. In doing this we inadvertently explored ways to use SL
as the art tool, which will be the next thing to study.
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| ARTC 533 |
Interactive Art Studio |
| Bonnie Mitchell |
Associate Professor |
Digital Arts |
| Fall 2008 |
| The goal is to use Second Life as a platform to create interactive art installations. The modeling, scripting and animation
capabilities of Second Life will be used to create environments that avatars can enter and become fully immersed in the art
experience. The work produced must be grounded in a strong artistic concept and take into consideration the conceptual aspects
of virtual identities, projected and shared experiences, immersion, and interactivity.
|
|
| C&TE 682 |
Adaptive Hypermedia and Immersive Learning Environments |
| Dr. Terry L. Herman |
Assistant Professor |
Visual Communication Technology |
| Spring 2008 |
| This course is an inquiry into the systematic development of personal and adaptive learning environments through the integration
of immersive learning environments (such as SecondLife) and other Web 2.0 applications. They discussed new and emerging learning
styles, instructional design models, and teaching strategies for a new population of students (the Digital Natives and beyond)
and ways to personalize and energize learning.
|
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| CSP 603 |
Theory and Assessment of Educational Environments |
| C. Carney Strange, Ph.D. |
Professor |
Higher Education and Student Affairs |
| Spring 2008 |
| This course devotes one week to exploring how virtual environments can be created to include, secure, engage, and invite students
into the learning community we call higher education. In the class that features SL, the teacher offers an overview and then
invites students to "show up" at a particular spot with their avatar to have a discussion of the learning potential of SL.
In the future Dr. Strange may incorporate SL into a teaching technique he created, called "Voice Project," wherein students
take on a voice other than their own (defined by gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, religion, age, disability, or
socio-economic status), explore its dimensions throughout the semester, and integrate it with the content of the course. His
thinking is that the creation of an avatar would be a helpful tool in expressing their selected voices. The class could probably
meet in SL as our respective avatars and engage in some discussion of various topics on the matter.
|
|
| ECT349 |
Digital Computer Analysis |
| William Scott Lehman |
Instructor |
Technology Systems |
| Fall 2008 |
| A couple of ECT students will be building a Mixed Reality device that will allow them to communicate information to their
Avatar in Second Life and allow the Avatar to communicate with the Mxed Reality real life device. The real life device initially
at least will consist of some switches and LEDs connected to the PC through a micro-controller and serial interface. We want
to make the switch settings visible to Second Life avatars via a control (Sphere) and give the avatar tha ability to set the
LEDs on the real life device via the Sphere.
|
|
| EDIS 231 |
Teaching Students with Exceptional Learning Needs |
| Linda Higbee Mandlebaum, Ph.D. |
Associate Professor |
School of Intervention Services |
| Spring & Fall 2008 |
| Second Life was incorporated in the following ways: (1) interview Simon Walsh, the founder of Wheelies, who has cerebral palsy
in real life, (2) students were given the option to complete an activity in SL such as researching the resources available
for a person with a particular disorder or for someone who might want to learn about that disorder; participate in a race
between a person walking and a person in a wheelchair as each person tries to reach a school library and retrieve a copy of
a specific book, followed by a discussion of the fairness of the activity, what they learned, how they might redesign the
activity to make it fair, and how they might apply what they learned in their future classrooms; and spend several hours with
people with disabilities at Wheelies or the region around Wheelies and blog about what they learned during the experience.
|
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| IPC 404 |
Communication and Conflict |
| Ellen W. Gorsevski, Ph.D. |
Assistant Professor |
Department of Interpersonal Communication |
| Fall 2008 |
| Students form groups and work together to decorate the Secondlife IPC Department office space in a manner that is professional,
inviting, and attractive. Students explore what conflicts or disagreements arise in the process of working together to assemble
the furnishings, layout, wall coverings, and other items needed for this space. Students assess their communication processes
in such conflicts and come to understand the role that communication plays in preventing, escalating, deescalating, and resolving
conflict in an interpersonal context.
|
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| IPC 411 |
Performing Digitally Mediated Identities |
| Radhika Gajjala |
Associate Professor |
Interpersonal Communication |
| Fall 2008 |
| Students use Second Life to do ethnography studies to understand the theory and practice of identity production in online
3D environments. Such work provides insight into how globalization functions through such online spaces.
|
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| MIS 200 |
Introduction to MIS |
| Earl McKinney |
Associate Professor |
Accounting/MIS |
| Spring 2008 |
| Entrepreneur business minors in their Introduction to Management Information Systems class used Second Life to simulate entrepreneurship.
To accomplish a couple of learning outcomes, they started a "business" in Second Life.
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| POPC 460/POPC 680 |
Internet Communities |
| Dr. Montana Miller |
Assistant Professor |
Department of Popular Culture |
| Spring 2008 |
| The goal in these courses was to familiarize students with what Second Life looks like, who is using it and in what ways,
and why people might be motivated to spend their time there. My students generally have not been users of Second Life, so
the course tries to give them exposure to various issues that arise in Second Life: virtual violence, romantic relationships,
educational initiatives, possibilities for people with disabilities, ethics of doing ethnographic research in-world, and so
forth.
|
