Students worked in groups to create the debut issue of an online sci-fi magazine. They had to name their magazine and create a cohesive look. The inaugural issue had to include an essay analyzing one of the themes covered during the semester, such as consciousness, race, cybernetic enhancement, or artificial intelligence, a review of a novel, film, or video game, and an informative piece describing recent scientific discoveries in a specific area. Their websites had to be visually pleasing and easy to navigate.
Sci-Finale by Ramon Xie, Devin Wade, Kayla Rose, Catherine Shanks, James Wilt
Cosmic Chronicles by Kamili Chambers, Tyler Watson, Velin Kojouharov, and Pauline Yakubovich
The Science Journal by Abigail Jacobs, Neil Barry, Nicholas Gaug, John Williams, and Xinyan Li
New Frontier by Chris Cherono, Katherine Earwood, Tristan Autry, and Myles Collins
I asked students to imagine that they had been invited to write a feature for a popular sci-fi magazine. They could discuss how a recent development in scientific research relates to science fiction representations of technology, artificial intelligence, or alien life, or contrast how different authors approach the same theme, such as consciousness, race, or cybernetic enhancement. The goal was to show the audience a slice or cross-section of the literature on their topic. Their multimodal essay had to include images and links to sources.
