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.
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:
- Teach digital citizenship first. Make sure students understand netiquette, how to communicate, and internet safety rules. There are many resources available on these topics.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Although we did not get as far into the project as I had hoped, we at least finished the basic foundation. Students in grades 1-4 made line drawings in Tux Paint of their own, original monsters. Since I don’t have a color printer for them to use, they printed and colored in the line drawings on their own. Then, students used word processing software to type a description of their monsters.
The students really enjoyed making their monsters, and even more, getting a look at what everyone else had done.
I had hoped to do more, but school has ended. Instead I will mention the further scope of the project as possible extentions:
Reading/writing: Students type a detailed set of directions for drawing the monster in Tux Paint. Then, students exchange directions and try to recreate each other’s monsters.
Digital communication: Similar to above, students use some form of digital communication (voice, video or text chat) to give detailed directions while the other student follows them in Tux Paint, with the goal of recreating the monster.
Even more: Guide the students in signing up for Moshi Monsters where students can apply knowledge of digital citizenship and etiquette as they navigate their adopted monsters in a well-monitored virtual world.
Wow, super busy here, but I just wanted to update so you know that I haven’t forgotten about my blog!
Currently, kindergarten classes are working on autobiography projects involving Tux Paint and iMovie. I will import their artwork into iMovie and they will voice over explaining things about themselves (what they like to do, favorite thing about school, who’s in their family). This is on hold while we finish voice overs and editing for their inventor projects they worked on for the Student Exhibition next week.
First through fourth grade students are working on our Monster Project. They are designing monsters in Tux Paint. If things work out technically, they will then chat with a person somewhere else in the lab using a chat program (most likely Skype). The purpose of the chat will be for the students to describe their monsters to each other to see if they can draw by direction only. Monsters will then be compared and time-willing, each class will make a short documentary video about the project.
Fifth and sixth grade students are working on their Scratch projects. Oh boy! This is a doozie, but already I am seeing some very cool and creative games, animations, and stories getting in the works. Most are using online tutorials and remixing Scratch projects, though some are starting from…well…scratch!
I will also be doing school equipment inventory and documenting all the student projects for the Student Exhibition, so blog posts may be sparse between here and May. *wipes brow* Back to work!
Grades 2-4 have been using this wonderful resource this week as we try to hit some skills that address areas of need for our upcoming standardized test.
These map games have proved across all grade levels to be engaging and educational. Some of the map skills these games require students to apply are:
- reading grids
- understanding symbols and reading map keys
- following directions
- plotting routes on a grid map
- reading a gradiometer map
- identifying countries, states, and capital cities on a map
- generally using maps for game specific information.
Games include Explore a Pyramid, Explore Mars, Find the Sunken Treasure, Adventure Island, and GIS in Action. The Family Adventure game allows students to choose trips that go by land or sea, and allow students to take a briefly informative trip around various parts of the world, such as the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., Marco Polo’s Route, and Arctic to Amazon, among other trips. Games include sound effects, excellent graphics, and even some very realistic CG videos. It’s definitely a great social studies/geography resource.
If you’re not, you should be!
LearnScratch.org is a site dedicated to students and teachers who want to learn Scratch and is maintained by academics from the LaSalle Schools and Universities. The site contains video courses, lesson plans, and other resources for students and teachers.
If you are a teacher planning on introducing your students to Scratch, LearnScratch.org is a good place to start. It allows you to get a good idea of what Scratch is all about, and provides the depth necessary to help you dig in to all aspects of the program.
In the classroom, the video tutorials are a lesson unto themselves. I have my students open Scratch and one of the tutorial videos and follow along, just to get the basics down before trying out their own scripts. One of my students, who I will mention has several learning disabilities, told me at the end of class today that Scratch is easy once you really pay attention and learn how to use it.
The resources provided on LearnScratch.org help make it possible for all sorts of learners to have a chance at initial success, which motivates students to keep challenging themselves with more difficult scripts. A great resource to teachers, LearnScratch.org can also place all of their lessons and videos onto a DVD for you and send it to your school–for FREE. I just cannot say enough good things about this free resource. If you’re using Scratch in your classroom or thinking about it, visit LearnScratch.org.
