Introduction

What Schome is about

(This is just a short piece to say what schome is about. Feel free to edit it and make improvements. :) )

Schome is an education innovation that aims to change the way we are taught. In an age where even small children are very much aware and know how to use the latest technology, the education system is sorely outdated. Schome teaches students vital skills necessary in the information age that we live in. Students learn important life skills, such as communication, teamwork etc, something which modern education sometimes fails to address as it is a system that is geared towards achievement in exams. Schome has no set syllabus, so it offers an almost limitless scope for students to design their own education so that it fits with what they want to get out of it.

Schome uses a virtual environment, Second Life, and the private island on the teen grid is used in conjunction with the forum. Using a virtual world is an important part of Schome, as it allows us to do things that would be impossible in real life, such as building a replica of an ancient city instead of just looking at pictures of its ruins. To build something like this in real life would be time consuming and expensive, but in second life it is very easy to create and then get rid of once finished. Also, using this virtual world means we can have a cultural diversity that no school in England could ever achieve. Students in Schome come from all over the country (some from the USA also) and all have different backgrounds, culture, education etc. A virtual world allows anyone, anywhere to be in the same environment. As none of the students or staff have ever met in real life, communication is a key aspect of Schome.

Unlike other entrants, our team cannot just sit down in real life and discuss our entry. Every member brings their own personality and ideas to the team and we are unique in that we are at opposite ends of the country, and have different schedules to fit our meetings into. We can’t physically show the other team members our ideas in real life, and so have to find a way to show it to them virtually. We are not all from one school or even from the same part of the country like other teams.