LIBR 287-16
Seminar in Information Science
Topic: Virtual Worlds: Traveling Through Time and Space: Revolutionary France
Fall 2014 Greensheet

Lori Bell
E-mail
Other contact information: (309)338-5115 cell
Office Hours: Arranged as needed

This course will be available on Canvas beginning August 25, 2014. You will be enrolled into the site automatically.

Course Description

This course will immerse students in pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary France (18th century France from Louis XV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (1710-1799). Students will meet or become one of the fascinating characters of this period or a fictional character living in the period.

Based on research conducted into the events taking place during this period, students will create and participate in an immersive role-playing experience. The experience will prepare the students to demonstrate the ways in which librarians, and archivists, and museum curators can create community and serve as teachers and leaders in portraying knowledge, history and documents in creative and educational ways using virtual world technologies

Course Requirements

Course Format
The course will meet in the virtual world of Second Life on Monday evenings from 6-8 pm pacific time. Attendance is helpful but not required. We will use spruz.com for course communication outside of Second Life:

Assignments

• Assignment 1 - Introductory post and picture on spruz - 10 points - SLO3
• Assignment 2 - Identify character - 10 points - SLO3
• Assignment 3 - Visit library or archive; describe visit on spruz - SLO3
• Assignment 4 - Introduction to French Revolution characteron spruz and in class -20 points - SLO4
• Assignment 5 - Short French Revolution topic paper - 25 points - SLO1
• Assignment 6 - Furnish/outfit home- 25 points; critique of another student's home - 10 points - SLO1
• Assignment 7 - Visit to 1 immersive/simulation sites, discussion - 10 points - SLO3
• Assignment 8 - Plan./script for machinima - 10 points - SLO4
• Assignment 9 - Machinima - 50 points - SLO4
• Assignment 10 - Visit to 1 historical roleplaying sim - disdussion - 10 points - SLO3
• Assignment 11 - Attend event; discussion - 10 points - SLO3
• Assignment 12 -Option 1: Display or exhibit for Faire andPresentation at Renaissance Faire - 50 points - Exhibit -50 points SLO4
  Option 2:replacement for Assignment exhibit/presentation – Prepare a 30 minute teaching plan and present it in Second Life on an immersive learning/virtual world/French Revolution topic. Create 5 artifacts to use in class. Turn in your teaching plan after giving the lesson. – 100 points.

Late assignments
If you have a conflict which will cause you to need additional time on assignments, please contact me to arrange an alternate due date. Otherwise, there is a minimum 10 percent deduction for late assignments.

Course Calendar
Topics subject to change due to speaker availability

• Week 1- Monday August 25
  • Class meeting 6-8 pm pacific in SL
  • Course overview
  • Introduction to course mentors
  • Second life skills review
  • Tour of French village
  • Intro to and tour of learning resource center – Snow Scarmon
  • Introductions on Canvas or spruz
• Week 2 – September 2
  • Since Monday is a holiday we will meet on Tuesday this week.
  • Course meeting 6-8 pm pacific in SL
  • Avatar enhancement – Puglet Dancer
  • Identifying with your avatar – Snow Scarmon
  • The Old Regime: Louis XIV– Part 1
  • Identification of key characters throughout period
  • Discussions of characters and choice of characters
  • Discussion of tours and field trips
• Week 3 – September 8
  • Course meeting 6-8 pm pacific in SL
  • Introduction to Libraries in SL
  • Tour of CVL Library
  • The old Regime; France Under Louis XV - part 2
• Week 4 – September 15
  • Course meeting 6- 8 pm sl
  • France under Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
  • Discussion on historical dress for the period
  • Choice of homes
  • Field trips to furniture stores
• Week 5 – September 22
  • Course meeting 6-8 pm pacific in sl
  • Immersive Learning and Education in SL
  • Introduction to Roleplay
  • Tour of Sorentina
  • Tour of Renaissance Island
• Week 6 – September 29
  • Course meeting 6-8 pm pacific in sl
  • The French Revolution part 1
  • Character introductions
  • Introduction to Building – Snow Scarmon
• Week 7 – October 6
  • Class meets 6-8 pm sl in Second Life
  • Preservation and Documentation of Virtual Worlds – Dr. Pat Franks
  • Introduction to Machinima
• Week 8 – October 13
  • Class meets 6-8 pm sl in Second Life
  • French Revolution Part 2
  • Historical Roleplay in SL
  • Field trips to 1 roleplay site
• Week 9 – October 20
  • Class will meet 6-8 pm sl in Second Life
  • Revolutionary Reunion – roleplay event – come as your character
  • How to create a simple exhibit, display, ideas and examples – Snow Scarmon
• Week 10 – October 27
  • Discussion of faire at end of semester
  • Participation in another roleplaying event on island or another venue – details to be provided later
• Week 11- November 3
  • Class will meet from 6-8 pm sl in Second Life
  • After the Revolution in France
  • Event Planning in Second Life
  • Brainstorming for Revolutionary Faire
• Week 12 – November 10
  • Class will meet 6-8 pm sl in Second Life
  • Guest speaker or Panel of speakers on French Revolution
  • Possible topic: Educational builds in other virtual worlds
  • Planning for Revolutionary Faire
  • Instructors and mentors available to help with exhibit set up
• Week 13 – November 17
  • Class will meet 6-8 pm sl in Second Life.
  • Visit homes
  • Set up for faire
  • the critique style will be provided.
• Week 14 – November 27- Thanksgiving no class
• Week 15 – December 1
  • All assignments due
  • Meet in sl 6-8 pm for course evaluation.
• Week 15 – Renaissance Faire – December 5, 6, 7

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 200, Other prerequisites may be added depending on content. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify, understand, and explain significant events taking place during the French Revolution period that changed the way information was created and disseminated.
2. Utilize the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, and organization of digital items and collections (e.g., selection of artifacts that represent period costumes, architecture, and style).
3. Demonstrate communication and collaboration skills necessary to build create community in an immersive environment reflective of the era (e.g.,French Revolution).
4. Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary to develop and deliver professional presentations and exhibits in a virtual environment.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 287 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Doyle, W. (2001). Old Regime France: 1648-1788. Oxford University Press. Available through Amazon: 0198731299

• Doyle, W. (2003). The Oxford history of the French revolution. Oxford University Press. Available through Amazon: 019925298X

• Hinrichs, R., & Wankel, C. (Eds.). (2012). Engaging the avatar: New frontiers in immersive education (research in management education and development). Information Age Publishing. Available through Amazon: 1617357510

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

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