VP-ARC has made a new type of classroom in Amiais, using one of the peripheric houses and its large grounds.
Classes are already going on! The new classroom space will be used for the Virtual Worlds subject at the TeSP Gaming & e-Sports course of the School of Higher Education at Rio Maior, Santarém Polytechnical, Portugal. Gwyneth Llewelyn from Beta Technologies, the creators of the Amiais sims, is the Chair.
The chance to hold classes in the Amiais space has led us to consider what is the purpose of a classroom in Second Life. The TeSP Gaming & e-Sports students are learning what is the virtual world, its possibilities and challenges, and being asked to develop an understanding about the implications of the increased usage of the Metaverse for entertainment and e-sports in the foreseeable future.
Taking all this into consideration, the usual solution of the sandbox classroom seemed counter-productive. Placing the students fully into the SL environment will allow them to understand the virtual world better, and this will lead to a fuller engagement by the students, enhancing outcomes.
Classes will be taught till January 2024, and it’s foreseen they will soon be followed by other seminars (to be announced).
