form of additional workshops, office
hours, and how-to booklets.
One of DIDI’s most impressive accomplishments was working with
16- to 17-year-old males who participated from a juvenile detention
center. Though their world was limited
by their incarceration, their ability to
learn within a virtual environment
opened up opportunities for collaboration and gaining awareness of world
problems, which would have been
impossible in the brick-and-mortar
world.
“The Dream It. Do It. Initiative allows young people around the world
to not only identify collective issues
in their societies that they care about,
but to also think deeply about ways
in which they can harness their own
interests in a way that catalyzes positive change,” explains Amira Fouad, a
program manager with Global Kids’
Online Leadership Program. “They
learn very quickly that they are capable, empowered citizens now and
can make a very real difference in the
communities they are a part of.”
Science through Second Life
Another Global Kids project, the Science through Second Life (StSL) class
at the High School for Global Citizenship in New York City, was very
popular with students, according to
Elizabeth Wellman, a science consultant for Global Kids. This high school
freshman interdisciplinary life and
physical science curriculum blended
classroom activities with activities on
the Teen Grid of Second Life. Students
entered the virtual world every day
to learn about science from a global
perspective. They studied sustainable
building and energy alternatives, such
as photovoltaic solar cells, hybrid cars,
and energy conservation techniques,
then presented their findings with interactive Second Life demonstrations
and billboards.
Students could not get enough
of this class. After the school day
ended, many continued to participate,
sometimes late into the evening. One
student logged in each day to participate despite having been suspended.
Another student wrote, “I always
thought, ‘I can’t do this,’ but now I
have learned so much, like about sus-tainability and how I can help to make
our earth better. I never knew I was
this smart.”
“Our student scientists never take
a break!” wrote one teacher about
her students’ work on the Teen Grid.
“Recently they have been spotted exploring a coal mine, measuring levels
of water pollution, interviewing researchers, investigating the effects of
oil spills, and taking samples of arctic
greenhouse gases.”
Preliminary analysis of the outcomes shows that the StSL students
have an increased interest in science
and a new appreciation of the importance of science in real life. They also
need less advanced preparation, as
they are good at learning as they go
and with “just in time” skill building.
The adaptability of the StSL curriculum was critical to its success,
as teachers could tailor activities to
the needs of advanced students as
well as to those of low-performing
students. The open-endedness of the
virtual world promoted creativity in
students’ expression of their interests
and identities.
Help for Educators
In my opinion, Global Kids’ greatest contribution to educators so far
is RezEd, the Hub for Learning and
Virtual Worlds, which is funded by
the Humanities, Arts, Science, and
Technology Advanced Collabora-tory (HASTAC) for the MacArthur
Foundation. Whether you are new to
MUVEs, want to learn more about
how you can use them in your classrooms, or wish to discuss related issues with other teachers, you can find
what you are looking for at this comprehensive, ever evolving website.
FYI Need more background? Here are
a few more links to help you make the leap into
using;MUVEs;in;your;classroom:
DIDI blog: www.holymeatballs.org/second_life/
didi_initiative
eSchool News article about the Dream It Do It
Initiative: www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/
news-by-subject/community/ index.cfm?i>=54719
Global Kids blog: http://olp.globalkids.org
Global Kids Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/
Holymeatballs
I Dig Tanzania blog: www.holymeatballs.org/
second_life/i_dig_tanzania/
Interview with the Science in Second
Life teacher: www.rezed.org/page/page/
show?id=2047896%3APage%3A10671
Teens’ comments about the Science through
Second Life class: www.holymeatballs.
org/2008/06/sisl_teens_comment_on_their_
si.html#more
One of its best resources is the
Global Kids’ Second Life Curriculum,
a nine-level curriculum with modules
that include 163 “missions.” Teachers can use all of the activities, which
were planned and implemented by
experienced virtual-world designers,
for free.
Global Kids also offers consulting
and professional development opportunities to assist teachers who are
interested in developing online games
to promote “global awareness, engaged
citizenship, and 21st-century skills.”
And don’t forget ISTE Island, which
extends ISTE’s support for educators
into the virtual world with an in-world group, weekly networking socials and topical events, and the ISTE
Eduverse Talks television series.
If you have been skeptical about
virtual worlds, it might take some
courage to explore a radically different approach to teaching that will be
unfamiliar and possibly frightening at
first. But many educators find that it
is worth the effort because the educational opportunities available through
MUVEs are enriching their classrooms
in new and previously unimagined
