Virtual worlds surface in schools for free

 

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By Steve Malone

Posted on 22 Sep 2006 at 10:33

A new teaching aid will allow teachers and students to create and explore their own virtual worlds. Using a PC and PDAs, schoolchildren aged 10 and above can create and explore their own maps containing zones that will trigger the display of new information.

The free software from FutureLab comes with a player and an editor that allows the teacher and pupils to create their own worlds with pictures and sounds overlaid on a map. The 'world' can then be downloaded onto a PDA where is can be used in the classroom.

By attaching the PDAs to a GPS system, it is possible to overlay the map onto a real world area so, for example, it might be possible to superimpose the Battle of Hastings onto the school football pitch. Pupils could then wander around the 'battlefield' to discover the lines of Normans and Saxons, find out about the tactics and weapons and where Harold made his final stand.

The software was developed by the HP Labs in Bristol and has already been downloaded by around 800 people worldwide. HP Laboratories has rebuilt the mediascape toolkit and a version of this is available for use by schools.

The software comes with its own media development kit that allows the programmer to set the exploration area. It is then possible to create hot spots where the pictures and sounds on the PDA change to provide some fresh information. Directions and positions of hotspots can be keyed-in through an interface tied to a GPS system.

Create-a-Scape requires a Windows PC running Windows XP or 2000, Macromedia Flash MX or above (if Flash is to be used as the graphical user interface) and Pocket PC Dock with Microsoft's ActiveSync 3.7 or above software.

The system also requires handheld computers (the PDAs) with support for a GPS unit. It should run on any Pocket PC 2003-based device with 32MB RAM and 6MB of free disk space, with a 400 MHz processor recommended. The GPS device is optional, but useful if the content is to trigger automatically as the pupil roams around.

The software is freely available from www.createascape.org.uk.