EYOGII project wins National Infocomm Club Awards  
ConvergenceAsia staff
12/01/2010

Victoria School’s (VS) Infocomm Club has won the National Infocomm Club Awards, Secondary/Junior College Level Category, awarded by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore.

This year’s theme was “The Youth Olympic Games & Me”, and teams of infocomm club students from Singapore set out to create relevant projects that benefit their schools, society, community or the nation for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Victoria School’s project, titled “Experience YOG for Interaction and Information (EYOGII)” came out tops from a total of 12 short-listed projects in the Primary School Category and the Secondary & Junior College Category.
Powered by Sun Microsystems Project Wonderland technology, the VS team created a 3D virtual world with interactive chat, local information and news updates for YOG delegates from abroad. Project Wonderland is an open source toolkit based on Java technology for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. Within those worlds, users can communicate with high-fidelity audio, share live desktop applications and documents.

In the months prior to the National Infocomm Club Awards, VS conducted an introductory course on 3D virtual world technology and modeling software courses for its Infocomm Club members to equip them with knowledge of new technologies and skills to develop the project:

-Understanding of Java technology functionalities and Solaris Operating System through the development of 3D virtual world technology;
-Learning animation and 3D concepts like lighting, texture and dimensions;
-Using 3D modeling to construct 3D buildings, sculptures and others within the virtual space.

The EYOGII project delivered a greater level of interaction for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) 2010 by providing a fun and interactive platform to welcome foreign delegates. The interactive 3D virtual space provides an environment for athletes to interact and make new friends in a convenient and interesting setting.

“The students were very excited and receptive to their projects. They acquired many important technology skills and learnt to work as a team from the experience,” said Low Eng Teong, Principal of Victoria School “The roles within the team such as researchers, modelers, and builders were allocated according to their interest and skills. The end result was also enjoyable for the team. The user interface was similar to games and the students had an easy time interacting with each other in the virtual world.”

Engaging developers and infocomm talent from a young age is the key to building a strong foundation for innovation and IT expertise in any country. Students should take the opportunity to pick up the right skills and traits that will serve them well to establish successful careers in IT, said Ong Chee Beng, Director, Asia South Systems Line of Business, Managing Director, Singapore, Sun Microsystems.

“Open source platforms such Project Wonderland, Java technology and the Solaris Operating System are ideal tools to help students build their knowledge and skills in IT due to their free or low cost nature and the large community contributing to their development,” he added.

VS Infocomm Club’s 3D virtual world introductory course has since received positive feedback and reception from students, and VS has extended the introductory course to Secondary Two students. The school also plans to extend the 3D Virtual World introductory course to students from other schools in the future.

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