A major IT company has teamed up with a Canadian open university to establish a research centre that will create bespoke three-dimensional virtual learning environments.


Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc has announced the creation of a new education centre for excellence at Athabasca University, Canada's Alberta-based open university.

Athabasca delivers the bulk of its courses online and the centre will be charged with enabling academics, students, schools and communities to develop virtual world-style online learning platforms. The university will integrate this three-dimensional immersive technology research into its curricula.

A university statement said that teachers could create dynamic 3D learning environments and share experiences with colleagues while graduate students could acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for real-world applications.

Rory McGreal, associate vice-president for research at Athabasca, said the centre would enable "our researchers... to do things that were impossible before," adding: "Their research will extend beyond the boundaries of formal education, from corporate uses of the technology to broader community initiatives that will make education accessible to everyone."

Kevin Roebuck, Sun's e-learning market development manager, added: "Immersive education combines 3D and virtual reality technology with digital media to immerse and engage students in the same way that today's best video games grab and keep the attention of players."

Roebuck said the new centre would also widen access to education for disadvantaged students, particularly those living in remote and rural communities, and the disabled.

The digital environments will be built on Sun's Project Wonderland, an open-source toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds, and on Sun's Project Darkstar platform. Within those worlds, users can communicate with high-fidelity audio and share live applications such as web browsers, open office documents, social applications and games.

Sun will support and coordinate collaboration with its researchers in areas of high performance and grid technologies, security and software-environment design.

keith.nuthall@uw-news.com

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