The borough council of Barnsley, England, is using ActiveWorlds' software to use 3D environments for education. The environment includes reading and writing exercises against the backdrop of a story, which asks students to follow clues to determine what has happened to the residents.

Each child participating gets an avatar and they can interact with one another. The students can share the information they learn and then discuss in class, as the overall objective is to strengthen reading, writing and comprehension skills.

According to Computer Weekly, which reported on the school's program, 10 schools in total are currently using ActiveWorlds, and these schools say that it's been a success so far, with the borough council considering deploying the program at additional schools.

The council's ICT consultant, Paul Reese, told Computer Weekly, "We thought we could use it to raise boys' attainment, because we thought the computer environment would appeal to them. But the whole class has been more engaged and motivated and the teachers say the quality of their work has been better."

[Schools using virtual world to teach reading and writing skills | Computer Weekly]