Here I am on our newly acquired Second Life island, so island life begins for SUNY Cortland. Fortunately, I have colleagues in Information Resources who have some experience with building, b/c I know nada. However I am hoping that I’ll get a little experience in the next couple weeks.
So what will we be doing here? A good question. I’m sure we’ll find out. This much I do know…
- I plan to meet with students from my online course, Writing in Cyberspace, and have them use this space for synchronous meetings.
- The hybrid FYC course I’m teaching as part of a learning community will also meet here. I’m hoping we’ll meet with all the faculty.
- My plan is to do some online presentations, perhaps students presentations (e.g., video, powerpoint), and have a chance for synchronous discussion.
- I’d like the students to have a little experience playing around with building, perhaps contributing to a student space on the island.
- We’re going to curate some student productions here.
- Most importantly, I want to use the island as a kind of home base to have the students go out into the world and explore. I’m interested in the possibility of doing some machinima reporting on their journeys.
Ultimately, for my purposes, we’re studying SL in order to investigate virtual world discursive/rhetorical practices and consider the possibilities for professional, creative, and civic purposes.
Alex Reid 