Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Avatar - Identity With Intent, John O'Connor, James Neville

Conference Papers

We don’t often think of identity as a choice, but rather something we are born into by circumstance of birth and inheritance. This paper addresses identity by assertion. Virtual worlds afford the opportunity for a more fluid concept of self: identity with intent. Understanding this approach can empower our actions and results in the virtual and natural worlds. The authors draw on fifteen years teaching this topic in the virtual world of Second Life as part of a class on collaborative online engagement. The term avatar, representing the concrete embodiment of something abstract, originated in Hinduism in the 6th century …

Inter-University International Collaboration For An Online Course: A Case Study, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude, Dudley Turner

Conference papers

This paper is a practical account of the experience of collaboration between two international partners – one in Europe and the other in the United States. This collaboration experience is a lens through which the authors outline the origin, design and implementation of an inter-university teaching experience. The processes, strengths and difficulties are outlined and the rationale for utilising a virtual world is given, along with the participants’ perspectives of the experience. No institutional changes or formal agreements were needed.

The same course was validated and accredited by each institution and designed to address the requirements of each with the …

Is One Life Enough? Delivering A Module In Second Life, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude

Conference Papers

The potential of online virtual environments, such as Second Life for delivering remote learning continues to be debated by academics. It would appear to offer particular opportunities to support remote learning in art & design, where there is a particular requirement for live visual interaction.

The School of Art, Design & Printing at the Technological University Dublin (DIT) received funding to develop a module for undergraduate students to test this theory. A five-credit module (under the European Credit Transfer System) received formal approval from the Institute in 2009 and was delivered as a pilot to academic staff who were interested …