In this eighth episode, we look back at the evolution of the ‘Technology and Society’ class over the last decade. John O’Connor, the course leader – known as Acuppa Tae in Second Life – introduced students to the ideas of Marshall McLuhan and Bernard Stiegler to promote discussion and inform their project work. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

In this seventh episode, we reflect on the evolution of the ‘Metaliteracy and Digital Citizenship’ class over the years. Our guest speaker, Dr. Valerie Hill – known in Second Life as Valibrarian Gregg and author of Metamodernism and Changing Literacy: Emerging Research and Opportunities (2020) – examines how the post-Gutenberg Parenthesis reality is shaping contemporary life and education. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

The sixth episode of The Deep Dive podcast looks back on how team building and collaboration has been taught over the years. Guest speaker Sitearm Madonna has taken the class since 2011 and developed a unique approach to teaching in a virtual world, bringing students from Ireland and Turkey together on mixed teams to deliver projects. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

The fifth episode of The Deep Dive podcast is about how the professors and students took on the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (VWEC) Student Challenge. Each Project Team had Irish, Turkish and Romanian students working together, mentored by a professor who supported them. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

The fourth episode reflects on the class based aound Ursula K Le Guin’s short story ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’. The discussion follows the lecturers’ breakdown of the text and the reaction from students. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

The third episode of The Deep Dive podcast looks at a community in Second Life known as Virtual Ability Island. Developed by former academic Gentle Heron for people with diabilities, their families, carers and friends, VAI has become an essential, and very real, place for its members. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

The second episode of The Deep Dive podcast explores virtual identities and the philosophical nature of self. The guest speakers on the module share the nature of their avatar’s identities while exploring how identification with online presence can influence real life personalities in the ‘natural world’. The conversation, generated by Google NotebookLM from content on www.virtualenvironmentsmodule.com, is produced by Acuppa Tae in 2025.

This first episode of The Deep Dive podcast gives an overview of the award-winning university module offered at Technological University Dublin since 2009. “Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?” introduces undergrads to the art of working collaboratively online. All classes are taken in the virtual world Second Life so that participants are immersed in practice from the begining as they explore topics ranging from the development of online communities and relationships to virtual identities.