LIBR 246-11
Information Technology Tools and Applications - Advanced (Multi-User Virtual Environment Workshop)
Summer 2007 Greensheet
Jeremy W. Kemp, M.S.J., M.Ed.
E-mail
Phone (Cell): 408-393-5270
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Course Links
Class Web Site |
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This class does not use Blackboard! The class Web site is found at: http://www.sloodle.com/course/view.php?id=16
Course Description
This class is about the intersection of Multi-User Virtual Environments and the new social web. It is a survey course in that it will review milestones in MUVEs and examine historical trends that led to the current rapid expansion of non-game 3D environments. Students may tour several other virtual worlds but will delve deeply into the Second Life platform.
The class is a project-based learning experiment. SJSU SLIS is building a new campus and students will participate in that effort. It is complete with buildings, a stadium, classrooms, parks, vehicles, etc. See the SLIS wiki on the school’s Second Life island here: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/sl
The class is highly experimental – the first of its kind in the nation. Please assume the posture of an active course co-facilitator rather than a passive consumer of training.
Prerequisites:
- Completion of LIBR 202
- A broadband connection and relatively new hardware. See the tech requirements for these platforms here: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/sl/index.php/Techreqs
- Comfort using Web 2.0 tools and new media settings. Experience with some form of social web is highly recommended.
- Willingness to tackle very complex interfaces. The tools are still very game-like and rough around the edges.
- Have a can-do attitude for solving computing issues including the inevitable snags and hiccups that come with cutting a new path
Course Objectives
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- navigate immersive environments using an avatar;
- communicate in various modes using chat and messaging;
- demonstrate proper etiquette in a synchronous chat environment and convey an emotional affect or “personality”;
- understand and address current issues in the use of MUVEs for library service and information delivery tasks;
- use a variety of information retrieval systems being offered in experimental immersive settings;
- use 3D building and scripting tools to organize and represent knowledge in simple structures and interactive objects;
- demonstrate communication skills in synchronous and asynchronous modes to build and present projects;
- demonstrate commitment to service through projects that benefit the LIS community in this setting.
LIBR 246 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems;
- demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities;
- understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge.
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.
See the SLIS Statement of Core Competencies at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm
Textbooks and Readings
Required Text
Rymaszewski, M. (2006) Second Life: The Official Guide. New Jersey: Sybex. ISBN: 047009608X
All additional readings will be available online in the Moodle site.
Course Requirements
Course Calendar
The class starts June 6th and ends August 8th. A detailed course outline is posted on Moodle. It contains a list of readings and project due dates for each week. All dates are subject to change with fair notice.
Assignments
There are 100 points divided into the following graded activities:
- Survey paper (10 pts)
Students will write a 1500-word paper (about 8 pages) outlining literature on the origin and present state of Multi-User Virtual Environments for teaching, learning and information retrieval. It should touch on current development of MUVEs as tools for information providing entities. Students should use APA style. - Participation (20 pts)
Students interact with each other in a learning community using the Moodle message board and synchronous meetings in Second Life. The ratio of synchronous to asynchronous participation may be shifted by students to suit their personal schedules. - Weekly reflection (10 pts)
“Making learning visible” is an important goal here. Students will reflect on their learning process and share insights through public blogging and eportfolios. - Projects (60 pts total)
This is a project-based learning class. Students will complete a total of three projects: in teams working jointly, working individually and assisting a community client. Example projects include coordinating events, delivering training sessions, creating buildings that house information or learning content, designing learning objects, doing web-based projects outside the environment, assisting SLIS faculty with their own Second Life projects, etc- Projects have three key deliverables:
- a project outline delivered to the faculty member;
- a completed project artifact;
- a project debrief presentation to the class (synchronous or asynchronous).
- Team project (20 Pts)
Teams of three to five students gather, formulate a project outline, create the artifact and report back to the class. Student work will be evaluated by the professor and teammates. - Campus project (20 pts)
Students work individually on campus projects such as 3D building, events, writing tutorials, etc. - Service learning project (20 pts)
Students assist on projects outside the SJSU SLIS campus for our neighbors on other campus and libraries. Project options are very flexible.
Synchronous Meetings
I will be formally available for synchronous activities during weekdays between 9am and 5pm and informally in the evenings. So the class will need to negotiate daytime gatherings and maintain some flexibility.
During the class students will be expected to:
- Download and install virtual world clients such as Active Worlds, Second Life, There.com;
- Log into the course Moodle site and participate in a threaded messaging board;
- Work with teammates and accommodate their schedules as much as possible.
Moodle
Because Blackboard is not connected to the Second Life platform, this course uses the Moodle platform. Students create their own accounts and enter the class on or after the first day of the term (June 4th). The system has good documentation, and the instructor will provide support for technical issues related to using Moodle.
Dates And Time Requirements
Due dates for all assignments will be announced on the Moodle site, and ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE DIGITAL -- anything else is unacceptable. Points/final grades are adjusted for not following these guidelines.
Late, Make-Up, and In-Class Assignments
Late assignments will not be accepted. Get your work in on time! All assignments are due Wednesdays at noon.
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses:
| 97-100 | A |
| 94-96 | A- |
| 91-93 | B+ |
| 88-90 | B |
| 85-87 | B- |
| 82-84 | C+ |
| 79-81 | C |
| 76-78 | C- |
| 73-75 | D+ |
| 70-72 | D |
| 67-69 | D- |
| Below 67 | F |
Academic Integrity
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University's Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability,
please e-mail me as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires
that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center
(DRC) to establish record of their disability.
No matter where students reside, they should contact the SJSU DRC to register. The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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