Education Resources

The educational value of 3D worlds is becoming a buzzword for certain educationalists. It is now possible to access user-friendly and free websites that allow the user to create their own 3D world, a 3D world that others can then enter and interact with them in. The possibilities for education seem fairly limitless, but as yet it seems that the majority of FE colleges have neither the time, funding or inclination to really experiment as to what educational benefits can be achieved through virtual worlds.

However, the construction of a 3D world as a class project or as an interesting educational resource is not beyond the average teacher or school IT technician should they think of a relevant use for it. Most schools and colleges now have a fairly content rich online environment for students, part of the whole of this could easily be incorporated into a 3D world to give the student a new and exciting way of browsing that information.

The links provided in this section are to the current crop of online 3D world creation websites, they are all free - although some are limited based on how many visitors you get - and the majority are fairly easy to learn. There are also demo sites that you can visit so you can get a feel for just what these programs can do, and whether they would be useful for your students.

What is clear is that 3D virtual environments are becoming faster, more advanced and much cheaper to create. It is surely only a matter of time before they offer a feasible alternative to the traditional classroom environment - it is not beyond imagining that one day colleges could become virtual and accessed by any student in the world from the comfort of their own home.

Further information

Case Study: Teen Second Life at Suffern Intermediate School with Peggy Sheehy
Leicester University study educational benefits of 3D environments
Value of Educational Games (PowerPoint)