Real teaching in a virtual world 

Many universities use online virtual worlds as a teaching tool, but Wellington's Victoria University is the first to take the plunge in New Zealand, allowing a pHd student to teach a design class in virtual reality.

The class is held twice weekly in a virtual world called Second Life.

"The Digital Design School has an island called Mediazone and on that island all the students congregate there, they come there and they meet me, i've got an office there," says lecturer Pete Rive.

The class teaches 'machinima' or machine made cinema, where storyboards, sets and scenes all drawn on computer instead of paper.

Transformed from the person behind the computer to their online persona students are unhindered by normal classroom etiquette.

"In a classroom environment you might be embarrassed or you might be shy or you might have a social personality that doesn't necessarily get your creativity across," says Marcia Lyons from the univerirty's Digital Design School.

They are also not limited by geographical barriers. One student who was in Sydney on holiday was able to go online and attend class.

Although the class is the first of its kind in New Zealand, internationally there is growing recognition for virtual teaching. Currently more than 250 universities around the world use Second Life as a teaching tool among them top US universities Harvard and Stanford.

"If this stuff is happening out there on the internet then universities have to sit up and pay attention," says Rive.

Victoria university is planning a more advanced class for next year.