Teaching in Second Life

I will be teaching a course in Computer Graphics at Saint Paul College. We will use Second Life as the studio. Not that I know anything about Computer Graphics. I am hoping that my students will teach ME. Hopefully the course will allow me to explore the possibilities of using SL as a studio environment for teaching team-based courses.

Course Description: This course introduces the student to the theory and practice of computer graphics. Our approach will be to utilize the popular virtual world, Second Life, as a studio and teaching platform. The aim of the course is to equip the student with the basic skills to become a Second Life Developer. Some students will gravitate more towards the design aspects of computer graphics while others will choose to focus on developing their programming skills. Computer graphics design will be introduced using tools such as GIMP, Photoshop, and Blender. Computer graphics programming will be introduced in the Java programming language but mostly we will use the Linden Scripting Language in SL. Students in this course should have a solid understanding of college algebra and trigonometry and also have familiarity with an Object-Oriented programming language (e.g. Java). In addition to class time, we will also schedule periodic meetings in Second Life.  Course grading will be based on primarily on team-based projects conducted in the studio environment of SL.