I had a rewarding moment last Thursday, as I watched students from Stoke Damerel Community College getting a pleasant surprise as they walked into their English lesson. It was the first lesson to introduce to the concepts of Teen Second Life and the literacy project. The lesson got underway with few problems and the excitement around the room was unforgettable. I found the students were keen to explore, socialize and experiment with this new environment. Their feedback was extremely encouraging…! I was surprised at how quickly some of them discovered the different elements on the island.

One really interesting thing that happened was to see one student gathering all of the ‘dragon’ avatars up and telling them to meet at a certain point - which they all did. I think he then said they were going to have a ‘dragon club’ and go around the island together. It’s marvellous to see students investing immediately in their new environment, developing social structure, and discerning and engaging with the inherent concepts of both their island and Teen Second Life itself.

The atmosphere in the room was amazing. They were focused for the whole lesson and were very disappointed when the lesson had ended.

It’s hard to deny the sheer learning potential of Computer Game technologies when you see first hand such high levels of engagement. The key to using Teen Second Life in education is how the technology is used, delivered and understood. The Stoke Damerel students benefitted from all three.

Twofour Learning are really looking forward to the next ten weeks and seeing how this project develops. And so, I think, are the students.

Click here to view the news coverage of the lesson.

I’m on the delayed train home from the Serious Virtual Worlds conference at the Serious Games Institute at Coventry University. It’s times like this that I can’t help but contemplate how convenient teleportation would be. Oh to be an avatar…!

The fantastic two-day event was put on by the SGI, many recognisable faces attended (real not virtual) including; Aleks Krotoski (Guardian), Dr Jim Purbick (Linden Labs), Bernard Horan (Sun Microsystems), Norbert Richard Meinike (Metaversum CMO) and it also included many of the of the SGI residents, Daden Limited, Ambient Performances and Concepts Design & Virtualisation.

Twofour have actually just become part of the SGI family, taking up virtual tenancy at the institute. We are very excited to be part of this internationally renowned institute of applied research and the opportunity to work with such influential organisations within the UK Metaverse sphere.

It was a great event with some really passionate and intriguing keynotes by international speakers. However, the highlight of the conference was the dinner put on by David Wortley and Sara de Freitas at the Coombe Abbey. The entertainment to follow will forever be etched into my memory, David Wortley and Jim Purbrick (LL) jamming on Rock Band was truly inspirational.