<quote> from ACM's news service,
Chronicle of Higher Education (12/10/07); Foster, Andrea L.
Boston College instructor Aaron E. Walsh is leading a multimillion-dollar
project backed by the Federation of American Scientists and the Kauffman
Foundation to develop virtual-reality software that can be used for
educational purposes.
Researchers are working with an international consortium of colleges,
research institutes, and companies to develop standards and best practices
for the virtual-reality platform. The project, called Immersive
Education, will build on Walsh's experience teaching Boston College
students online in virtual spaces.
Immersive Education includes plans to create mini-games and interactive
lessons within virtual spaces, including Second Life, Croquet, and Project
Wonderland.
At a conference announcing Immersive Education, Walsh demonstrated how
virtual worlds can be used to teach students about real-world places,
events, and ideas. During the demonstration, the virtual avatar of a
student, standing in front of a digital jackal, explained that to the
ancient Egyptians the jackal helped transport the dead to the underworld.
Three-dimensional models of archaeological sites and tombs in Egypt,
developed by the Theban Mapping Project, provided a virtual tour of an
otherwise inaccessible site. Meanwhile, Gene Koo, a fellow at the Berkman
Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, described how
students at Emerson College and Boston residents are using Second Life to
foster civic engagement, and how virtual worlds are being used to design
real-world spaces.
http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/12/925n.htm(Web Link May Require Paid Subscription)
</quote>
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