Virtual+Worlds

=Virtual Worlds=

Minyanland.com

[]

Virtual Worlds for kids are abundant. In my search I found that MinyanLand caught my attention. In this virtual community, children are encouraged to interact with other users in an entertaining way while learning about earning, saving, spending, and giving. Users start our with $50000 and as they go through the virtual world, they learn have opportunities to find out what is happening in the community and participate in the virtual economy of Minyanland. In exploring this virtual wolrd, I found several games like coin recognition, quiz games that help children find the difference between an investment, loan, charity, etc. There was a bank where students can make investments and track their statements. There are even fancier neighborhoods they can move to and lots of things to buy but the point being that money has to be earned. Additionaly, members can interact with one another. All in all, this virtual world adheres to Gee's Discovery Principle. It allows for icremental improvement. Membership is free.

As far as library uses, I think about when our school library holds a book fair. a lot of times there is a disconnect between what the students want to buy and how much money they actually have to spend. This would be a great tool prior to the book fair to introduce/reinforce the value of money.

Lucrecia Camacho

Second Life

[]

Intended use is everyone, but warning, there is an "adult's only section to the site." (Luckily this portion of the site is something you must pay for). They also have [|http://teen.secondlife.com]. SL is a free place for anyone to create an entire new persona. They can be anyone they want to be, with any job, live any place, any type of house, and the best part is they can either create everything themselves or they can simply choose from one of the many options that Linden offers. Linden is the company that runs SL and therefore you can acquire any item on the website with Linden dollars (L$) or real US dollars. You can blog and visit any place in SL with a free membership, but to truly start creating your own real virtual world, there is an "upgrade" fee. It is $9.99 a month or you can choose to pay quartley or yearly, and both come with discounts. SL itself is a place for the over 18 crowd and TSL is for 13 - 17. I checked out both sites. At first SL was difficult to navigate because it kept leading me to the "upgrade now" portions and kept wanting me to add money. For every US dollar you add to your account you get a certain amount of L$s. Once I figured out how to get to the blogs and visit all of the other places on the site I actually discovered that I had spent WAY more time on the site than I planned.

This type of environment would be great for a library (use the teen second life) setting. As librarians and teachers we are always pushing books because they allow you to be anyone that you want to be. SL affords the same opporunity. Students can create SL accounts and they can then become their favorite character in a book. The blog section of SL has the most activity and because of this I realize that students can use this portion of SL to discuss with other students about the awesomeness of a book they are reading, to get help with understanding a more challenging book, and just to talk about books in general without any fear of people making fun of you or knowing who you really are. Students can form connections with other students about topics that interest them both (or topics that interest many). I think this site would be valuable to high and middle schools. My daughter saw what I was doing and wanted to create her own character in TSL. According to her, TSL and SL are just like the computer game //Sims//, only for adults, and you can actually interact with real life people. Pretty cool huh?

Heather Jackson

[] After reading pg. 112 from the //Library 2.0 and Beyond// textbook I decided to look into the virtual world, “Whyville.” Immediately after visiting the site I became intrigued. The section that describes what kids, parents, and teachers had to say about the website all have very positive reviews. The teacher’s link gave information on how “Whyville” can be incorporated into classrooms to spark interest in math and science. The purpose of the virtual city is to engage “young people in constructive education activities while promoting socially responsible behavior.”
 * Whyville **

The “Whyville” citizens earn money, or “clams,” by playing the educational games. //Library 2.0 and Beyond// gave some background on one of the lessons called “Whypox.” In this activity, children learn about the spread of infectious disease. “WhyReef” is another game that is found on the website would be fantastic to use in a school setting. “WhyReef” is a virtual beach that gives students a chance to explore the life and species that live there. One activity has the students identify 3 unknown species in the reef. Once the species have been identified the game gives information to read about on each one on the habitat, food it eats, and adaptations. Other games included: “The Skater and Spin Game,” “Hot Air Balloon Race,” “The Getty Museum,” “Dance Studio,” and “WASA.” I was extremely impressed by this virtual world and plan on introducing it to my class very soon! - Melissa Barnes =Club Penguin= []

[|Club Penguin], found at offers early elementary students an opportunity to create a virtual world of penguins and friends while learning computer skills such as how to cut and paste links, update a community calendar to share with friends, upload pictures, download coloring book pages and recipes. This website also includes outdoor activity ideas, and a place to display artwork, among other activities.

Since much of the penguins' activites involve social causes and helping others, I would use this website to introduce students to the importance of service learning and giving to charitable causes. The site is also beneficial for building confidence in young computer user, with "label" and "hints" regarding steps students should take to complete a particular computer skill.

A useful and fun tool for the very young, novice technie in the making!

Ronda Murray


 * Wiglington and Wenks** www.wiglingtonandwenks.com


 * Wiglington and Wenks** was originally a children story book series written by Johan Bittleston. The online virtual adventure is designed for ages 7-14.

The game allows students to travel the world and solve mysteries. Students are dropped into the story and invited to participate, learning through exploration, problem solving, and critical thinking. Players obtain a passport and encounter famous historical people as they travel. Players search for hidden items to help restore memories of people such as Einstein and Newton. It includes real-world landmarks and inventions. Beethoven introduces students to clasical music and there is a character that is always getting lost that players provide direction for. They also have the opportunity to design culture-themed homes and adopt pets.

There are 100 educational real-world and imaginary places for students to visit from the past, present, and the future. Students will learn geography, cultural differences, and history. You could give students a world map having them record the date they visited that area. Students could research the historical people they meet and create character cards. You could have students journal about the clues they find and make predictions. And of course it is a great way to encourage reading with the series tie in.

Rhonda Pinter

=Whyville= http://tsfl.wordpress.com/2007/11/19/whyville-and-numedon-now-working-with-libraries/

Whyville is a very interesting virtual world meant for elementary aged students. I think this site provides great escapism and gives students who tend to be timid in class a chance to discuss and share their opinions. This website discuss how libraries are setting up book discussions at certain times and meeting places in Whyville. Whyville also has many activities such as games, virtual habitats, and opportunities to explore different species. I think it's a fantastic way for students to shine without fear of embarrassment. What a great learning environment!

Melissa Alvarez

= = Ecobuddies [|http://www.ecobuddies.com] If you have been looking for a safe place to play for your little one, this is it! Ecobuddies is a virtual world for kids ages 6-13. Ecobuddies was developed to be a safe virtual world where kids can learn about science, nature and animals. Through their buddy, children can learn and discover in a child-friendly environment. Ecobuddies is determined to keep children safe and does not require substantial information on each child. This site also has word filters and live moderators to ensure that children are not exposed to any inappropriate behavior from others. Depending on the age of your child, you can select to permit them to participate in “free chat” or in “safe chat”. The “safe chat” option provides children a list of phrases to use when chatting with other buddies. Ecobuddies is green oriented and also introduces kids to conserving and protecting the environment. Children can play for free or buy a membership which allows them to purchase items in their world.

As a teacher, this is definitely a virtual world I am willing to share with my students. As a parent, I am excited that my son can play and learn on his own safely. This is a valuable resource that can be used by children to gain a deeper understanding of science and nature. In a library setting, children visit their virtual world to reinforce the material they have learned in the classroom. - Rosa Quintela

Camp Pete
www.camppete.com

Pete Carrol's Online Football World is a fun place to play games and have safe chats online. The site is recommended for ages 5-12, and both girls and boys are welcome to the sporty arena. There are two options for chat: Safe Chat, where students can type in messages, or Safe Chat Max, where students choose from a list of messages to send. Fuel Up Island is a neat place to watch videos, examples of videos "Start with a Good Breakfast" and "Stretch you lower body." After watching the one-minute video, kids can take a quiz to earn coins to use on the site. Kids will also like the games on the site. I particularly liked playing Surf the Turf. Give it a try! I like the book shelf, where students can type in a book title and author and their local library name to earn points once a week. It is nice that a sports focussed site would also value reading. One of the other great features is the Sports Trivia Theater. It is right up my nephew's alley, though I don't think I got a single question right. The Rookie Matchup game is your typical memory game, but it also gives beginners pictures and words of basic football gear.

Membership is free, but you can pay to join and MPV version of the game.

As a librarian, I think this would be a safe game to let the kids play if they were online before or after school. My daughters and nephew are thrilled that i had this assignment and they got a new computer game to play. --Jeana Chetty


 * Moshi Monsters **

[] This is a free site for kids where they can join the virtual world, adopt a monster (like a Pokemon) and look after its needs by playing games/ solving puzzles. Kids can also make friends with other co-owners and post messages. The children earn Rox to spend on virtual items to take care of their pet. The better the child does at the puzzles, the more Rox they earn to buy things for their monster.Parents must give approval to join the site and access is gained by clicking a link sent via email.

The site can be used for a variety of educational advantages. Puzzles can be solved involving vocabulary, arithmetic, logic, and spatial skills. Also the children are enabled to collaborate with friends on the site and with that and speech bubbles that encourage reading, this site has definite merit to be used in a school library or class setting for enrichment purposes.

Karen Myers