The University of British Columbia Courses

Writing for Video Games

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Acquire the globally in-demand skills necessary to succeed as a writer in the fast-growing world of video games. As the gaming industry matures, excellence in writing and game narrative has become increasingly important to the success of both major studio titles and independent games. Through this interactive medium, writers and game developers are telling stories in new and exciting ways. To meet this need, studios are hiring increasing numbers of writers and narrative designers. In this Professional Certificate Program, you’ll learn the tools and techniques of writing for video games in a comprehensive program designed by successful, working game writers and teachers. From story and character development to worldbuilding and interactive narrative, this Certificate will help you excel in a business that requires creative, flexible team players. If you choose the verified track, you will gain additional access to interviews with game industry experts as well as targeted writing assignments that will help you build a portfolio of work suitable for applying to a wide variety of industry positions, or assist you in moving into a writing role in an existing video game company. In our final course, Working as a Game Writer, verified learners will receive direct feedback from our faculty on their final portfolios. UBC’s School of Creative Writing has been a global leader in writing education for more than 50 years. We are innovative pioneers of multi-genre writing instruction, both in-class and online, and have been offering courses in video game writing since 2017.

Online Teaching for Educators: Development and Delivery

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Online education has been growing and evolving for some time. COVID-19 has accelerated this shift, along with increasing recognition of the benefits of distributed learning, such as flexibility, accessibility, and scale.And yet globally, instructors and administrators continue to grapple with the transition to teaching online.Navigating the online environment can be daunting and difficult to do well, especially while catering to a variety of student needs.Many of us feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped to plan and create high-quality, effective online course content that maximizes student engagement.Designed for educators and administrators, this hands-on professional certificate program will help you harness and evaluate technology, and effectively plan, develop, implement and deliver engaging and enduring online programs. You will gain the knowledge to assess and implement pedagogical technologies, and contribute to strategic decisions around online course design, teaching and learning. Course One is directed at administrators and educational leaders required to make decisions around digital learning technologies and frameworks, including assessing learning management systems (LMS) and tools for creating both synchronous and asynchronous course materials. Courses Two and Three focus on content development,effective teaching and instructional design, equipping you to produce and deliver interactive learning experiences that boost student success. These courses contain specific resources and learning activities tailored to primary, secondary and adult/higher education. Taught by Dr. Donna Bonassisa, an online education expert with international experience in primary, secondary, adult and cultural education, this program offers a unique intercultural perspective. Through online discussion, become a part of a vibrant community of educators worldwide.

Working as a Game Writer

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What is it like to work as a video game writer? How do you even apply for game writing jobs? Is it true that you might have to take a writing test?This capstone course puts everything you’ve learned in the previous courses together. Each assignment has helped you produce writing samples that are suitable for a portfolio. Now we’ll show what to do with it.We’ll explore what it takes to get a position as a video game writer or narrative designer, including how to get experience that will make you stand out. We look at what the hiring process is like, what sort of writing tests you may be asked to perform, and how to connect with people in the industry.Verified learners who complete this course will receive feedback on their portfolio from the instructor. Verified learners will also access additional resources, including game industry interviews, assignments and discussion topics, connecting with a community of other writers and game enthusiasts.

Marketing5502x: Innovation and Problem Solving through Creativity

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Successful contemporary business practices rest upon the ability to see problems clearly and to develop solutions unseen and unimagined by others. To do so requires creativity. Current research in experimental psychology suggests that creativity can be developed and refined, albeit with effort and practice. The goal of this course is to provide a variety of experiences and activities with the specific focus of fostering each student’s own creative abilities. As valued work becomes less routine, the oft referred to “conceptual age” provides the opportunity for managers who can see, think and act differently on new challenges. Creativity is often misunderstood as being only for the few, or only when considering new products. This course will show how creative approaches can be learned and widely applied, beyond new products and services, to a wide range of managerial challenges.This course will make you more effective as an innovator in your organization by giving you practical tools for fostering effective problem solving and innovation efforts in an organization.You will earn a professional certificate from the University of British Columbia and edX upon successful completion of this course. Certificates can be uploaded directly to your LinkedIn profile.

Chinese Thought: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science - Part 1

4.8

This course is designed to give students a thorough introduction to early (pre-221 BCE) Chinese thought, its contemporary implications, and the role of religion in human well-being. Important themes to be discussed include the ideal of wu-wei or “effortless action,” the paradox of how one can consciously try not to try, mindfulness techniques and self-cultivation, models of the self and society, rationality versus emotions, trust and human cooperation, and the structure and impact of different spiritual and political ideals.This period of Chinese history witnessed the formation of all of the major indigenous schools of Chinese thought (Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism and Legalism), which in turn had an impact on the development of East Asian cultural history that is still felt today. We will also explore parallels with Western philosophical and religious traditions, the relevance of early Chinese thought for contemporary debates in ethics, moral education, and political philosophy, and the manner in which early Chinese models of the self-anticipate recent developments in the evolutionary and cognitive sciences.This course provides a full university semester’s worth of material broken into two parts. Each part of the course will last 5 weeks, with a week-long break in between. For each part, there will be four weeks worth of new material. The fifth week will be reserved for review and completion of the final exam.Part 1 introduces the basic philosophical, religious and scientific concepts that will be drawn upon throughout the course, and then goes on to cover early Shang and Zhou religious thought, the Analects of Confucius, the Daodejing (a Daoist text attributed to Laozi), the utilitarian thinker Mozi, the newly discovered and very exciting Guodian texts, and the momentous philosophical changes that occurred in the mid Warring States period.See also: Chinese Thought: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science - Part 2

AI for Teachers

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Technology and computers are becoming more and more capable every day. Moving forward, computers will become increasingly good at solving problems. That means humans will become the problem finders and definers , translating the world into terms a computer can understand. This course is designed to teach you how to "speak" to computers, preparing you for a future in which computers are increasingly powerful and prevalent.

Forests and Livelihoods in Developing Countries

5

This interdisciplinary course explores the complex interactions between poverty, rural livelihoods, and forest resources in developing countries. We will consider some of the dynamics that occur when impoverished people use forests in their daily lives. We will talk about the role of forests for medicines and wild foods, as sources of fuelwood and charcoal for energy, and other pressing topics that confront sustainable forest management such as the impacts of human health and diseases on forests. The course consists of modules on forests and livelihoods in developing countries, agroforestry, human health in forested environments, protected areas and their sustainability, small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs), and community forestry. Three cross-cutting themes (gender, tenure and forest rights, and climate change) will span all of the modules.This course will engage you in developing a deeper understanding of the fundamental importance of forest resources in the lives and livelihoods of people in developing countries. Participants from tropical and developing countries may have lived much of what we will talk about in this course, and your experiences will deepen our understanding of the course material. Participants not from a developing country will gain a much better appreciation for the multitude of ways that people in developing countries use forest resources. Weekly videos will be complemented by readings, quizzes, and links to online resources to help you explore current scholarship in this domain. A discussion forum will enable you to delve more deeply into these issues with other participants and the course staff. The themes covered in this MOOC are important to anyone working in international forestry.

Organizational Behaviour

5

This is an introductory course in organizational behaviour. The primary objective of this course, part of the Business Fundamentals MicroMasters program, is to teach learners about the effects of organizational structures and interpersonal processes on the behaviour of employees in organizations. You will also learn about the wider implications organizational behaviour has on the effectiveness, efficiency and overall business success of organizations.This course will teach you to think about the entire organization and examine how it behaves. Throughout the course, the emphasis is placed on how you, as an employee, a leader or consultant, might experience, interpret, and manage employees, structures,processes and culture in organizations.

Useful Genetics Part 1: How Our Genes Shape Us

5

Genetics permeates every aspect of the 21st century, from our doctors' offices to our judicial systems. By the end of this course, you’ll be well prepared to deal with both today’s genetic issues and new questions that are sure to arise in the future.This challenging but very rewarding course focuses on the genetics issues that impact our health and well-being, while providing the same rigorous examination of genetics principles as a college genetics course.The course is taught in two parts. Part 1 consists of 6 modules followed by a final exam. You’ll learn how genes work and how the different versions we inherit affect our daily lives and our society. You’ll learn to evaluate predictions about health risk, why DNA fingerprinting is so powerful, and what analysis of your DNA does and doesn’t reveal.

Video Game Writing Essentials

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Writing for video games is truly a new frontier, a place where writers and game designers are still learning, innovating and pioneering bold approaches to telling stories. This course is your introduction to this frontier. We'll explore interactive storytelling as well as touch on the history of video games and the kinds of games that have been developed since the medium was born.We'll discuss the complex, collaborative process of game development and hear from working game writers about their jobs in the game industry. Then we'll dig into the way game narratives are built, where they come from, and how they are changing.Verified learners will access additional game industry interviews, assignments and discussion topics, connecting with a community of other writers and game enthusiasts.

Putting The Arts in STEM Education

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The course will provide teachers with an understanding of how to incorporate art topics into their existing STEM curriculum. The focus of this course is to provide skills that can be learned through the arts, that are transferable to all other STEM fields. The course will feature engaging activities on a limited budget so as to be accessible for every classroom. Each activity uses an inquiry lens to allow students to focus on aspects of art that are important to them and to build student agency and ownership around these topics.

Introduction: Emerging Technologies in an Enterprise Environment

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Professionals operating at the intersection of IT and business face unique challenges, amplified by data proliferation and ever-evolving technology. To add business value and remain competitive, it is crucial to understand how to successfully leverage emerging technologies within a broader enterprise context.Designed for leaders responsible for making technology-related business decisions, this course provides an overview of business architecture and applications, considering internal business aspects such as value streams and business goals, as well as external factors including markets, customers, and competitors.Through real-world case studies and application exercises, uncover best practices for business application development, building a technology architecture and implementing new technologies. Discussions will focus on cutting-edge technologies such as big data, cloud computing, Quantum, Edge computing, IOT and 5G, AI and machine learning, and how they can be strategically implemented within specific enterprise environments. This is the first of three courses that make up the edX Professional Certificate AI and Cloud Computing: Implementation Strategies for Business.

Audio Production for Virtual Media Creators: Advanced Loop Creation and Underscoring

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This course offers:Weekly video tutorials2 interactive online classes live sessions (1.5h each)Access to a sound library with over 100 audio clips for non-commercial useAccess to additional resourcesInstructions on Ableton Live software with 90-day free full feature accessYou will learn advanced looping techniques and underscoring within a digital audio workstation (DAW), and uncover a number of editing techniques to maximise the quality of your audio production. You’ll also learn to apply Equalization, Reverb and other audio effects to improve your sound.In this course, you will participate in interactive class sessions (offered live online) with lectures and activities, alongside access to weekly video materials and other resources. You will also receive personalised feedback on your audio projects with weekly submissions.Upon successful completion of Audio Production for Virtual Media Creators: Signal Flow & Introduction to Looping and Audio Production for Virtual Media Creators: Advanced Loop Creation and Underscoring, you will gain knowledge and skills to:Develop proficient use of a digital audio workstation (DAW), signal flow, mic recording techniques and audio file management.Maximize the quality and originality of your recorded content and add effect plug-ins, denoise, edit, manipulate, re-mix and render audio files and use advanced looping techniques to create your own original sounds and music.Create your unique soundtrack that works to complete and improve your video-making or media production project.Whether you are a beginner or advanced content creator, you will benefit from these two courses, especially if you are:Podcasters looking to improve the quality of their voice recordings;Media producers who want to create music to support your creations (podcasts, vidcasts, TikTok, Reels, YouTube, Vimeo, etc..);Marketing professionals wanting to improve their audio effects;DJ’s wanting to create their own backing tracks;Video and filmmakers who want to better understand the sound creation process;Voiceover artists and audiobook actors who need to record and produce their own tracks to collaborators;Creators of sound and music for your own passion project.

AP® Psychology - Course 5: Health and Behavior

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This psychology course is all about the relationship between health and behavior. We will examine stress as a concept and learn about its relation to health and psychological adjustment. We will discuss abnormal behavior and how psychologists assess it as well as a wide range of psychological disorders and approaches to their treatment.This course includes video-based lectures and demonstrations, interviews with real research psychologists and a plethora of practice questions to help prepare you for the AP® Psychology exam.This is the fifth in a six-course AP® Psychology sequencethat is designed to prepare you for the AP® Psychology exam.Additional Courses:AP® Psychology - Course 1: What is Psychology?AP® Psychology - Course 2: How the Brain WorksAP® Psychology - Course 3: How the Mind WorksAP® Psychology - Course 4: How Behavior WorksAP® Psychology - Course 6: Exam Preparation & Review

Writing Video Game Scenes and Dialogue

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Increasingly, game designers are realizing that cutscenes, cinematics and character interactions through dialogue are not just breaks from gameplay, or ways of providing exposition. They are integral to the player’s experience of a game. Talking is action. Dialogue is gameplay.In this course we will explore how to create compelling, vital scenes, and how to use dialogue to support gameplay, deepen character, and advance the game’s story.Early career game writers will often get their first experience writing dialogue for NPCs, especially the infamous barks and taunts. We’ll show you how to make this dialogue work, when it should sing and when it should be invisible.Verified learners will access additional game industry interviews, assignments and discussion topics, connecting with a community of other writers and game enthusiasts.