<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>