If you are familiar with the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, then you might see how participating in a massive, multiplayer online game (MMO) could help students learn and practice the skills necessary to be a responsible digital citizen.

Digital etiquette (”netiquette”), digital communication, digital security…knowing how to be responsible in these areas is important when participating in an MMO.  Plus, with the two that I am going to mention, it’s possible to get better at these skills while playing the game.

Woogi World:

Unfortunately blocked for Tennessee schools, most likely because of the chat feature, Woogi World’s mission is:

In our safe and engaging virtual school at www.woogiworld.com, elementary-age children worldwide learn age-appropriate core educational content, essential 21st century skills, cyber safety and security, and responsible and ethical behavior that will yield academic success and the leaders of the future.

Another great online community is Secret Builders:

Not yet blocked for Tennessee schools, the vision of Secret Builders is:

Founded by a former teacher and developed by a core staff, the majority of who are parents themselves, our uncompromising vision for SecretBuilders is a positive, wholesome online outlet for children where they are actively engaged.  Internet engagement is inevitable for this generation; turning into passive zombies is not.  SecretBuilders will stimulate, educate and entertain through subtle immersion in cultural literacy.

Both games operate in similar fashion.  Students choose or create a character that represents themselves, have a home or homepage within the community, and become citizens of the community.  Both are academically focused, providing mini-games within that are core subject content focused.  Both communities also provide opportunities to publish student writing.  While the focus of Woogi World is more character-education driven, Secret Builders has more of a humanities drive.  In the latter, students can interact with real-life science and humanities figures like Shakespeare and Albert Einstein, or can play games or go on quests with fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Lewis Carroll’s Alice.  Both games are visually fantastic, engaging, and super safe for kids.  For example, Secret Builders has a Citizen Patrol button, allowing players to quickly report any wrong-doing within the site, plus an online safety quiz, and a safe-chat feature.

My suggestions for using these games at school:

1. Teach digital citizenship first.  Make sure students understand netiquette, how to communicate, and internet safety rules.  There are many resources available on these topics.
2. Give an introduction to MMOs in general, and make sure students understand they are going to be the new kids in an already established digital community.
3. Have students sign up with a teacher email.  This way, you will be able to approve accounts and look up lost passwords.  To avoid the whole “forgot my username/password” deal, provide pencils and slips of paper (preferably with spaces ready to fill in) for students to write down their account information.
4. Create a Powerpoint, PDF, or even a handout that details some of the basic rules and gameplay directions so that you can review this with students; however, be sure they know how to locate the in-game FAQs or tutorials.  Emphasize that if they want to figure out how to do something, they need to read the directions themselves.

Although I didn’t get far into Woogi World, their staff is very prompt with responding to inquiries, and I hope that perhaps my students will be able to use Woogi World in the future.  One student decided to go ahead and get on it at home, with his grandma, and they came in to tell me that they really enjoyed playing it together.  Secret Builders, likewise, is a good parent/child game.  Also, this MMO has a feature called “One for All” which allows your students to help raise money for a good cause, or raise money for your school.

I teach in a computer lab and can have up to eight classes some days.  If I want to assess my students with a test or quiz, using paper just wouldn’t work.  Using Google Docs form/spreadsheet combo works great for this.  Simply create the test by making a form, select a theme, save it, and create a link for the students.  Once they submit their completed forms, Google Docs creates a spreadsheet of their answers.  Once printed, I can go through and mark incorrect answers, and I’ve got some tangible evidence of data thanks to the option to view graph summaries.

This is an example test of mine on digital citizenship.

This is a great example of teacher collaboration.  Third grade teacher at Downtown Elementary, Debra Johnson, worked with our art teacher, Martha Berge, to create animal sculptures from recyclable materials.  Of course, this was done in conjunction with environmental science education in the classroom.  Students were learning about animals and their habitats, impact of humans on ecosystems, and what popular terms like “global warming” and “going green” actually mean.

I had nothing to do with the project, but I did interview the students and put the video together, and I think it’s pretty clear that students grasped many of the ecological concepts, created some fantastic art, and really enjoyed the project.  I feel that it’s a great example of teacher collaboration becoming a source for a great learning experience.

Also, this was my first Teacher Tube upload. 

We got some nice new headphones for the lab.  One of the first graders, however, had the headphones on above his ears while working on Dance Mat Typing.  I asked him, “Don’t you want to put those on your ears so you can hear your typing directions?”  His reply: “No.  When I have them like this, I can hear it in my brain.”

*squee* I love the way kids think.

Yeah yeah yeah.

So, who wants to go with me to ISTE’s Conference 2010, Denver?  June 27-30.  I went to NECC by my lonesome this past summer, so I hope some of us tech campers and otherwise tech-savvy teachers can form a Memphis gang and head out west this coming summer.  I’ll even volunteer to organize all our arrangements.  Let’s do it!  Mark your calendars.

Such a voyage should prove to enlighten us, and hopefully make us stronger leaders for ed tech in our district.  Think about it…