Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

MM271 Course Information

Welcome to MM271 Interactive Storytelling, everyone!

Your Instructor

Before we begin with the course details, I would like to introduce myself and let you know I’m here for you throughout the term. My name is Mary Anne Funk. You are welcome to call me Mary, Mary Anne, or Mrs. Funk, whichever you prefer. My areas of expertise include Photography, Photojournalism, Visual Anthropology, Video Production, Audio Storytelling, Interactive Design, and Digital Storytelling. 

I am committed to creating a student-centric learning environment with an understanding that students enter a shared classroom with diverse experiences, unique perspectives, individual interests, and various learning needs and styles. Please let me know at any point in the class if there is anything more that I can do to make my course content and lessons more accessible and meaningful for you.

Course Modality

This is an in-person class that meets every Saturday from 10:00-2:50 pm.

All of our in-person classes will be built around the model of an interactive learning workshop and working on the project you want to create.

Throughout the quarter:

• We will explore different forms of interactive storytelling, designs, and experiences across multiple platforms.
• We will explore what is possible in interactive storytelling and interactive design.
• We will research and examine different software used to create interactive and immersive experiences so you can find the method that is best suited for you and what you want to do.
• We will venture into Computer-based VR platforms to experience interactive stories and interactive and immersive experiences.

Our weekly classes will be structured as a collaborative community space in which we are there to support one another through learning activities and toward our projects. We will use our in-person time together for:

• Hands-on learning activities.
• Individual and group learning activities.
• Reviewing what you learned during the weekly D2L lesson.
• Interactive discussions
• Planning for and working on your projects
• Planning together to host an in-person exhibition of our projects
• Guest speakers/guest instructors
• In-person and virtual field trips

For a project in the class, you will have the following options:

• Create an interactive project of your choosing that can be demonstrated and experienced in the platform that the project is intended for. 
• Work on a proof of concept project to explore an idea or concept that you want to test out.
• Do a research project focused on an aspect of interactive and immersive media.

Let yourself be open to your imagination and let it guide you and take you where you want to go with your interactive experiences.

To learn more about this class, I've created a website with more details: Interactive Storytelling Webpage

To learn more about me as an instructor, here is my PCC instructor page: https://www.pcc.edu/staff/mary-funk/

Software you will be introduced to in this class

• Twine 

• Agisoft Metashape

• Renpy

Platforms we will explore and use

• Second Life for creating interactive objects in a 3D computer-based virtual world. We have a certain way we are going to sign up for Second Life as a class and a location we will start in for learning how to use Second Life.

• Itch.io

• Sketchfab

• Interactive Gallery Spaces online

Browsers we will use

• Firestorm 

• Google Chrome

Additional  Software and Platforms

• Digital media software specific to your needs to finalize any assets and project goals that are specific to your project.

• If you need Adobe software, all students in the class will be provided with a PCC Adobe License.

• I'm looking at additional software we might try for in-class activities

• Is there an interactive storytelling platform or software you would like to introduce the class to or want to try? Let's discuss it on day one in class.