I have tried to encourage my ‘system’ colleagues to take 3D virtual worlds seriously – at least to run some pilot projects or join in some 3D initiatives.
Absolutely no success on that for me (blank looks 😦 ), but I am glad to see that not only Australians (e-Leadership team within Learnscope projects), but also educators in the UK ARE taking the future seriously.
The Guardian reports on a pilot project during which around 200 members of NAGTY (The National Association of Gifted and Talented Youth) aged between 13 and 17 will be exploring Teen Second Life.
Plenty of information is available at the Schome Wiki.
Schome (the education system for the information age) is going to be a new form of educational system designed to overcome the problems within current education systems in order to meet the needs of society and individuals in the 21st century.
Explore Schome and their Second Life Project.
Better still, view Schome Park on Youtube.
Addition from Kerrie Smith: Sites of Interest for Educators in SecondLife .
Also Lindy McKeown, ACCE and ISTE ICT Leader of the Year 2006, is ‘doing’ her PhD on use of 3D learning environments. She has set up Terra Incognita in Second Life as an island for educators. Read more about this from Kerrie in her post Thinking about Second Life, VLEs and other 3D environments.
judyoconnell.com 
Can you please tell me how to find out more about these projects and possibly involving my school in future work?
I will be visiting your forums and wiki over the next weeks but would welcome some personal contact and advice.
I’m looking at developing a project that would provide for the Learning Transition between Keystage 4 into 5, Years11 into12.
Hi Judy, thanks for your coverage of SchomePark. Currently the Teen Second Life space we have is closed to outsiders – just the current group of students and the staff can get in. But we’d really encourage anybody who’s interested in the project to visit our wiki and forum. You’re more than welcome to join these sites and join in the discussions we’re having about what it means to have a learning environment in TSL and what we’ve learnt so far from welcoming 147 students aged 13-17 into the space. We’re hoping to continue and expand the project so your thoughts are welcomed!
http://schome.open.ac.uk/forum/
http://schome.open.ac.uk/wikiworks/index.php/The_schome-NAGTY_Teen_Second_Life_Pilot
Hi Jude!
Jo Kay’s WikiSpaces site has a wealth of education-related SL links. http://jokay.wikispaces.com/sae_sl
I’ve already interviewed Lindy McKeown and will be interviewing Jo for an upcoming podcasting for edna’s E-learning Insights podcast.
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Hello Jude
I have been part of a team put together by Lindy McKeown to investigate use of 3D learning environments in Action Learning.
Her SL space is Terra Incognita
Also did you know about an SL conference happening in May
http://slbestpractices2007.wikispaces.com/
Lindy pointed us to a newsletter for educators in Second Life. You can subscribe for your own copies by joining the group Picayune SLEDheads.
Another link: http://edumuve.com/tour/
Just a point – I found it hard to find the right RSS link to subscribe to your feed – newbie ignorance perhaps, but I have found it now