RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USING THE 3D VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR TEACHING: Why, How and Use cases

The AVATAR project included a global course for teachers, which was delivered remotely over a period of four months. The course had nine modules, distributed via e-learning and v-learning platforms. One module supports creation of new teaching material by course participants and its piloting with their students. The course was created in English language, however to support the learning curve of multilingual and international groups, several modules were moderated in national groups. This paper details the rational behind the course, documents two case studies of completed projects within a virtual world, highlights the challenges and notes the successes, and culminates with conclusions and recommendations of running courses and lessons within an online 3D virtual world.