The Benefits and Unanticipated Challenges in the Use of 3D Virtual Learning Environments in the Undergraduate Media Arts Curriculum - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 239

Digital Media Techniques , Design for Interactive
Media and Electronic Publishing on the Internet .
A description of the supports in place for students
in all three courses, as well as an overview of the
aims of each course and the way in which Second
Life was incorporated into the curriculum of each
course follows.

island with signs inviting students to call on them
if they needed help. A mentor shack was created
for one-on-one sessions to support students who
wanted more personal assistance (Figure 3). These
mentoring sessions were complemented with
scheduled tutorials and a range of comprehensive
tutorial materials available to students from the
course website.
Students participating in all three courses were
introduced to Second Life using this same orien-
tation and training approach. The activities un-
dertaken by students in Second Life following
their orientation are described in the following
sections.

Supports for Students

Several supports were put in place both within
Second Life and on campus to aid students in
the transition to undertaking study in the 3D
virtual environment. These supports included:
a) customised login and orientation for students
joining Second Life for the first time; b) in-world
mentoring by former students skilled in the use
of Second Life ; c) scheduled help sessions both
on-campus and in world and d) comprehensive
written tutorial guides on the basics of Second
Life as well as more specific guidelines relevant
to the tasks students were taking in Second Life .
A custom PHP script (beta version) supplied by
Linden Labs (the company that owns and manages
Second Life ) was installed on a University server
enabling students to sign-up to Second Life via
a University Website and to then be teleported
directly to the UniSA island orientation area
(Figure 1). The orientation section of the UniSA
island includes several customised orientation
tutorials introducing students to basic skills in
Second Life such as moving, chatting, using IM
and customising appearance. Click-on posters in
the orientation area provided students with free
items for their inventories including clothing,
scripts and landmarks of interest. Students could
experiment with their building skills in a public
sandbox located in the orientation area of the
island (Figure 2).
Graduate students who were experienced in
Second Life were contracted to provide individu-
alized mentoring on-campus and in-world at
scheduled times. Mentors were clearly identified
with blue UniSA mentor t-shirts and roamed the

Digital media Techniques

Digital Media Techniques is a first year course
introducing students to all forms of digital media
through a combination of theory, practice and
research based project. At the completion of the
course students are expected to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the role

and function of design in a range of digital
media formats

• Competently create media pieces using a

range of software

• Understand and undertake all the stages of

the design process from conceptualisation
to creation

• Demonstrate the design knowledge and

media techniques required to construct and
use a variety of media forms and elements;

• Demonstrate a practical understanding of

the World Wide Web

There were 148 students enrolled in the first
semester offering of the course. Students were
introduced to Second Life in a practical session
and encouraged to explore the environment; they
also attended a formal presentation conducted in
Second Life by Starr Sonic, the Executive Pro-
ducer of SLCN-TV Broadcast (Figure 4), who