Welcome

The text that follows, as well as all of the other existing text and activities in this Moodle course, are the result of a course that Dr. Deneka MacDonald ran in March 2005 for the University of Southern Denmark. The student contributions that are presented here have been anonymised with their permission to protect privacy.

You will encounter bold text throughout many of the resources and activities in this Module which has been added as emphasis for your benefit during the demonstration process.

Welcome to Out of the Digital Dungeon: Exploring Technology and Gender in SciFi, Horror and Fantasy. You will all be aware that this course is offered almost entirely online. You may not be aware that the virtual learning environment you now find yourself in here is called Moodle.

In order to help you familiarise yourself with the Moodle course environment, there is a section entitled "Learning Support Space" off of the Course homepage. Please work your way through it gently and post any queries you may have about anything to do with the course, course delivery and course support in the help forum that you will find within your Learning Support Space . You can also email me or message me me directly (you will find instructions on using messaging in the Learning Support Space).

At the moment, you are not able to see the entire course: the Getting Started and Learning Support Sections are viewable now and in two weeks' time the rest of the course will be made available to you. You may, however, see the details of the full Course content from the Course Breakdown section found off the Homepage.

Where do I start?

  1. Before browsing through the introductory materials outlined off the home page of this course, please scroll down the homepage and turn your attention to your Learning Support Space. You will note that the Learning Support Space provides you with a general familiarization with the software we are using for this course, and also offers information on information technology skills in general. You may return to the Learner Support Space regularly throughout the course, as and when you need it.
  2. Please be sure that you adjust your profile page so that we can all know a bit more about each other. (Don't worry, full instructions on how to do this are available in the Learning Support Space.) If you would like to know more about me, please view my profile by clicking on the participants link (instructions on this are also provided later).
  3. Browse through the material in the introductory section off the homepage and familiarize yourself with the Required Films and Readings, Course Overview and Approach, Assessment/Evaluation and the like. It is in your best interest to review this material as soon as possible so that you can obtain the relevant films and texts. You will notice that this section also houses a General Journal for your personal use and two glossaries: a Working Definitions Glossary and a Terms to Consider Glossary. Both Glossaries are ones we shall return to frequently in the course as we build definitions and concepts together.
  4. Finally, when you are ready, turn your attention back to the Getting Started section of the Course and the ice breaker activity. This activity will help all of us to get to know one another online before we begin our discussions and exchanges.

Remember: You have two full weeks to do the tasks listed above. Please take your time and do not hestitate to make postings or ask questions.

If you should have any difficulties with the course, you may post queries in the help forum and you may expect a response within 24 hours.

You are also welcome to email me directly if you have any questions or concerns. My email is d.macdonald@englang.arts.gla.ac.uk

I am very looking forward to working with you all and to meeting you in a few weeks.

Best wishes

Deneka

Dr Deneka MacDonald

Course Tutor

Last modified: Monday, October 11, 2010, 2:21 AM