1. Educational benefits of Virtual Words Benefits of Educational Virtual Worlds

2. Are virtual worlds the new classroom or just the new playground? June 6 th 2008 Get Game Bronwyn Stuckey

3. What do they look like?

4. Where are virtual worlds? List Virtual Worlds by Category Casual Immersive Worlds The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual WorldsThe Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds

5. Whyville http://www.whyville.net/ http://www.whyville.net/

6. River City http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/ http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/ In River City MUVE, students take on a virtual identity and go back in time to "River City." By interacting with virtual citizens and interpreting evidence, students form hypotheses about an ecological problem in the City.

7. Zon http://zondev.educ.msu.edu/WebFront/Game.aspx http://zondev.educ.msu.edu/WebFront/Game.aspx

8. Quest Atlantis http://www.QuestAtlantis.org http://www.QuestAtlantis.org

9. Skoolaborate http://www.skoolaborate.com/ http://www.skoolaborate.com/

10. Skoolaborate http://www.skoolaborate.com/ http://www.skoolaborate.com/

11. Where are they used? Mainstream classrooms and most areas of learning Gifted and talented programs Special needs students Kids clubs Literacy programs Language programs

12. What pedagogies & principles apply? Immersive play spaces Social learning theory Constuctivism Constuctionism Inquiry learning Cased-based learning Situated cognition Embodied cognition

13. How do learners benefit? LIBERATING LEARNING From the school confines From school hours From personal issues of esteem and social isolation From discipline boundaries To allow learners to be self-directed and self-managed Knowledge and lust for learning

14. How are teachers benefiting? Systems are recognizing their roles Education Queensland virtual world trial – three world environments Teachers are taking up the design challenge Email to oz-teachers network “ Hi All, I'm currently assisting a colleague to develop a SOSE unit where it would be great to create some 3D virtual worlds. Just wondering what software people are using to do this sort of thing and how successful it has been. ” Enough worlds and environments out there to offer a developmental sequence. MLC - Quest Atlantis  Skoolaborate

15. What are the pitfalls and problems? Duty of care Consumerism Imperialism Bandwidth Pedagogies Addiction Firewalls and security

16. Who to watch out for? Sasha Barab Yasmin Kafai Ted Castranova Jim Gee Constance Steinkhueler Alan Levine Westley Field Jo Kay

17. Where to learn more? Games in Learning Community New Media Consortium RezEd Secondlife Educators Jokaydia Global kids Digital Media Initiative

18. So the answer is? Are virtual worlds the new classroom or just the new playground?

19. Many thanks for listening Quest Atlantis: SecondLife: Email: Website: Bron Bron Bloxome bestucke@indiana.edu bestucke@indiana.edu http://www.bronwyn.ws Bronwyn Stuckey