Press Release from James Corbett

NEWCASTLEWEST, CO. LIMERICK – MAY 4, 2009: Brian Crowley M.E.P.
visited Gaelscoil O’Doghair in Newcastlewest last Friday to launch
the Virtual Europe project developed in the school to celebrate
Europe Day 2009. Virtual Europe is an online learning environment
where students express and simulate their own vision of Europe and
the European Union.
“We’re immensely honoured that for the second year running
Gaelscoil O’Doghair has been awarded assistance from the Department
of Foreign Affairs to develop an EU themed project”, said principal
Daithi O’Murchu. “Virtual Europe is unique in that our students are
constructing their own encultured model of what Europe is and can
be”.
The online simulation was developed for the school by Virtual Worlds
specialist Daynuv.com, also based in Newcastlewest. “What sets the
project apart”, said Keith Kennedy, Daynuv co-founder, “is that the
children are the architects, designers and knowledge managers of their
own, ever evolving Virtual Europe.
Kennedy’s business partner James Corbett remarked, “What delighted
me most was the response of the kids to what was, initially, a blank
slate. They just jumped right in and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating
in the construction of their own model of Europe. A model perhaps in
more ways than one!”
Senator Crowley marked the launch by planting a virtual tree beside
an in-world model of the school itself, before planting a real tree
outside the real school. Next Friday 8th will see the students
formally engage in a full range of educational activities within
their new online virtual world in commemoration of Europe Day.
About Daynuv:
Daynuv was formed in 2008 by Keith Kennedy and James Corbett who have
20 years experience between them in the IT industry. Keith comes from
an artistic web development background and James from a network
administration and training background. Daynuv was a first mover in
Ireland in spotting Opensimulator as the emerging de facto platform
for the 3D web, the next generation of the internet. Keith and James
setup an online lab on the widely regarded ReactionGrid and were
among the first to establish an education outpost in this new
frontier. Combining their varied experience in IT, design and
training they established an innovative educational platform
providing templates for sophisticated curriculum building blocks. The
Daynuv website is at www.Daynuv.com
About Gaelscoil O’Doghair:
Gaelscoil O Doghair was founded in 1985 having been sanctioned by the
Department of Education and Science as all-Irish, Primary school. In
2006 Gaelscoil Ó Doghair moved to istate of the art building. Our
new school is designed to provide a 21st Century mix of free play and
structured learning environment for children, of all abilities,
cultures, natiEmphasnsins pdrcdet nigned int ao the quality holistic
lifelong learning environment to provide every child with a safe,
physical and educational milieu which recognises and nurtures the
soulfulness, authenticity, uniqueness and needs of each citizen as
defined by all EUs policies. The Gaelscoil O’Doghair website is at
www.Gaelscoil.com