Virtual Worlds Course Starts Monday

The semester is in full swing here in Cambridge, but for those in, around, or no where near campus, there are still opportunities to participate in Berkman courses.  Rebecca Nesson will be teaching a new course through the Harvard Extension School this Fall titled: Introduction to Virtual Worlds.  Class instruction, like CyberOne before it, will be given on Berkman Island in Second Life.

Rebecca describes the course by saying, "Today virtual worlds like Second Life are an exciting new frontier. Second Life has a flourishing economy and millions of users doing everything from teaching and taking Harvard courses to shopping at virtual American Apparel and Nike to running a night club. In the future, virtual environments promise to become a substantial part of our online existence. This course is your chance to get on the inside track. We will use Second Life as our classroom and laboratory. After an initial segment of the course where we introduce you to your second life, we'll examine models for virtual world law and government, economics and business, cultural norms, art, education and activism. Work for the course will be largely project-based. In the first half of the class a group project will be done in collaboration with the Harvard Law School class 'Trials in Second Life'. In the second half of the course students will individually do either an original research paper or an individual hands-on development project of their own choosing."

Instruction begins on Monday, so be sure to register soon!  For more information, or to see the complete syllabus you can always visit the course website.