THATcamp Columbus » gender studies http://thatcampcolumbus.org The Humanities and Technology Camp in Ohio Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:55:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 WMS 200 in SL or Gender in the Metaverse http://thatcampcolumbus.org/2009/12/31/wms-200-in-sl-or-gender-in-the-metaverse/ http://thatcampcolumbus.org/2009/12/31/wms-200-in-sl-or-gender-in-the-metaverse/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:43:48 +0000 Victoria Chadbourne http://thatcampcolumbus.org/?p=411 I am developing an introductory Women’s Studies class to be held in the metaverse of Second Life. The primary focus of the class will be gender identity and gender expression. I chose SL as the platform for several reasons.

weatherwax1-300x237

  • First is the immersion component; students can experiment with gender expressions in a safe and secure environment.
  • Second is what I call the mask or actor affect: if a student can pretend to be someone he or she is not, he or she might be more willing to express an unpopular opinion or position.
  • Last, there is a very pragmatic reason for choosing an online environment: our university, like many others, has a lack of classroom space and a lack of funds to create more. Meeting in a virtual classroom helps alleviate the space crunch while providing a more personal interaction between student and teacher then many other online platforms, i.e. WebCT.

What are the positives and negatives of teaching in SL? I would like to discuss several issues which relate to teaching in SL:

  • Are the benefits of immersing oneself in an alternative world offset by the isolation some critics fear increases in SL.?
  • When teaching in SL, how do you get over the learning curve of using the platform?
  • Is it ethical for students to perform a gender with which they do not normally identify or, in other words, pretend to be something they are not?
  • Also, any other issues which pertain to teaching in Second Life.
]]> http://thatcampcolumbus.org/2009/12/31/wms-200-in-sl-or-gender-in-the-metaverse/feed/ 2