Week+2

=Week 2: May 10 - May 16=

Avatars & Identity
Taking on a digital identity is an increasingly complex matter. There are a number of factors that may influence our decisions about how we represent ourselves online generally, but these issues can be compounded by the addition of a "physical" avatar that goes beyond the traditional online screen name and web profile. Instructors must consider these questions for themselves, and also from the perspective of their learners, when determining how the avatar and identity component in virtual environments might be useful for teaching and learning (i.e. roleplaying, taking on alternate identities such as skin color, ability, gender, etc.) or potentially detrimental (i.e. inability to create representative avatars, distracting, offensive, or lewd decorations). Common issues worth considering include:
 * Privacy concerns
 * Public vs. Private Self (and the question of Alts)
 * Real identity vs. Anonymity
 * Physical self vs Idealized self vs Exploratory Self

In this week's discussion, we'll explore aspects of avatar identity in general and in the virtual classroom. In the second hour, we'll explore different themed communities and locations in Second Life that use avatar identity as community markers, to create more immersive experiences, or for educational purposes. We'll also practice changing and customizing our avatars.

__**Second Life Locations**__

START LOCATION:
 * [|University of Manitoba Campus in SL>]

SIMS TO VISIT:
 * Historical Roleplay & Community - [|ROMA]
 * Historical Roleplay - [|San Diego State University]
 * *Political/Sociology/History - [|Global Kinds - CONSENT Game]
 * *Political/Legal/Contemporary Events - [|Gone Gitmo]
 * *Art/Culture/History - [|Tribute to Isadora Duncan]
 * Fantasy/Dragons - [|Isle of Wyrms]
 * Fantasy/Nature/Hobbits - [|Hobbit Land Habitat Trust for Wildlife]
 * Furries - [|Luskwood]
 * Furries/Tinies -[|Loco Pocos]
 * Furries/Tinies - [|Raglan Shire]
 * Cyberpunk/Dystopian - [|INSILICO]
 * Science Fiction/Futuristic - [|Extropia]
 * *Avatars of all sorts - [|Grendel's Children]


 * Starred locations are NOT suitable for Forum 4 assignment, choose one of the non-starred locations.

__**Assignments**__


 * Second Life Skills**
 * Complete the Global Kids Avatars lesson series: [|Level 2 Avatars: Clothing], [|Level 5 Avatars: Attachments], [|Level 6 Avatars: Profile]
 * Create two completely different avatars by assembling the components into two separate folders in your inventory. One avatar should represent the "inside you" (whatever that may be), and the other avatar should represent someone/something "not like you" (whatever that may be). Come to class on May 17th in whichever avatar you prefer, but be ready to show us the other one too!

NOTE: SHOPPING FOR SKINS AND AVATARS MAY NOT BE WORK APPROPRIATE! Surely this is self explanatory, but just in case.. There are a number of folks designing realistic and accurate representations of the human body. Some of them are truly works of art, many are not. Just be aware before you teleport to a skin/avatar shop that you may see full nudity and/or explicit images. Remember, if you feel uncomfortable with a location, you can always teleport to your Home immediately by going to the World menu > Teleport Home (or CTRL+SHIFT+H).


 * Reflection**
 * Forum Post 3: If this is your first time creating an avatar in a virtual environment, what was the experience like for you? Did any aspect of changing your identity make you uncomfortable or did you find the process enjoyable? If you have had other avatars before, or already have experience modifying avatars in Second Life, what motivated you to choose the avatar that you picked? What are the positive and negative implications of mutable avatars in a virtual classroom?


 * Forum Post 4: Explore one of the sims from the class list more fully, try to immerse yourself in the experience and get "in character". Were you successful at immersion? Did you meet other people who were in character? What did you learn about the community or ethos of the location? Did changing your avatar change your perception of the experience? Tell us about your journey.

__**Readings for Week 2 Discussion**__
 * //Ducheneaut//, //N//.; //Wen//, //M//.; //Yee//, //N//.; //Wadley//, //G//. [|Body and mind: a study of avatar personalization in three virtual worlds.] //27th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems// (//CHI 2009//); //2009 April 4-9//; //Boston//, //MA//.
 * Yee, N. & Bailenson, J.N. (2007). [|The Proteus Effect: The Effect of Transformed Self-Representation on Behavior.] //Human Communication Research//, 33, 271-290

Supplemental readings:
 * Turkle, S.: [|Life on the screen: identity in the age of the Internet] . Touchstone Books (1997)
 * [|"Let me get my alt:" Digital identities in multiplayer games] N Ducheneaut, RJ Moore Position paper for the CSCW 2004 Workshop on Representation of Digital Identities; 2004 November 6; Chicago IL

__**Projects**__ Well discuss the first project in class this week, with more information to be posted shortly.