Platforms of Choice

摘要

The three platforms originally selected to be part of the Immersive Education Initiative's Platform Ecosystem are all open source and cross-platform. Croquet is a software development environment for creating and deploying collaborative, multiuser online applications and 3D environments across different operating systems and devices. The platform began as a working prototype in 1994. Many of Croquet's principal architects are based in universities. What's unique about Croquet in terms of the Immersive Education Initiative are its roots in education. "Croquet was built from the ground up as an educational environment," says Aaron Walsh, founder of the Initiative. The platform also features superior ease of use: "I've seen it used by three-, four-, and five-year-olds," he says. Its ability to integrate Webcams, its usability, and its peer-to-peer architecture are also in its favor.