interaction with others. OpenSimulator is “open source” software and so it’s not nearly as advanced as its commercial cousins, but organizations such as Dreamland Metaverse, Peterson’s host company, contend it will ultimately become the MMOG of choice for schools, primarily because of its ability to create and maintain a completely private virtual learning environment.
Both Second Life and OpenSimulator offer sophisticated Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for programming, etc. But it’s the communal characteristics of the potential work that matter most: students not only practice project management on a local scale, but they’ll soon also be communicating and collaborating with learners around the (real, or is it virtual?) world. Imagine our students hosting and visiting learners from other schools, other countries, even continents. Both Second Life and OpenSimulator have been utilized for “cross-‐curricular” efforts, meaning that recent projects involved Art and Music classes as well as Technology. Soon all Peterson campuses will be using one or both of these platforms, for student courses as well as teacher professional development. Peterson Schools’ cybercampuses are open and available to all our teachers and students. ITGS learners will soon, as part of their final project, be training people, starting at the Cuajimalpa campus and then extending to the others. “Others” includes everyone around the globe!
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