As an ITF/Media Specialist, I could begin this piece with a long explanation of the journey I have taken the past five years in the multi-user virtual world of Second Life. I could explain how I struggled to get my administrators and teachers to “buy-in” to this new 3-D online frontier, and then I might pontificate upon the majestic learning that happens there every day. I could continue with a treatise on digital learners and how their needs are different and finally provide a long list of recommended readings that say it all over again, with more syllables. But no– let’s start simple — let’s keep it simple.
Virtual Worlds (also known as multi-user virtual environments or muves) have been around long enough now to become mainstream in our children’s online culture. Whether it is your 6 year-old playing in Webkins or Club Penguin, your 9 year-old in Disney’s Toon Town or your teen in Teen Second Life, Habbo Hotel, or There.com, kids are in these worlds – and they are not leaving!
So what’s the appeal? Why have muves become the new playground for scores of kids as well as adults? Because they are visually rich, engaging, and most of all, social! Kids do not want to be isolated; they want to belong. They prefer a certain level of anonymity because of all the uncertainty and insecurity that accompanies the road to adulthood. Muves allow for this. Proprietors of these worlds encourage safety and security measures for kids. In fact, they usually outline rules and requirements about privacy quite clearly in their terms of service.
Concerns I often hear voiced from parents and teachers who are faced with trying to compete with muves for their child’s attention are often fear-based and misdirected. The press has taken a sensational slant to nurture the dark side of the Internet and now they have extended that focus to virtual worlds, convincing uninitiated caregivers that there is a pedophile lurking around every virtual corner and a bully behind every keystroke!
Teachers worry that this time spent at the computer has preempted reading and writing (i.e. literacy), and that muves are denying kids the socialization that real world exchanges provide. I would counter that argument with the fact the media literacy is a primary factor to success in the 21st century, and that virtual worlds are providing the context in which to learn.
Parents are befuddled with the level of engagement and focus their kids can devote to the virtual world, when they can’t seem to extract a complete sentence from them at the dinner table. Based upon my personal experience, and that I have had with 1400 middle school students, as well as their teachers, let me venture to offer a few basic suggestions to help guide your understanding.
1. Start out with a bank of unbiased information, — do your homework! Read about the different worlds and their specific capabilities. Find out which age group is the primary target audience and how much security (or lack of) the platform enforces. Look to see if the interface is well supported and whether or not the content is creative, interactive, and engaging. Look for the learning that occurs within the context of play.
2. Provide choices! Have your child try a few different worlds. Let your child direct their own experience but keep an eye out for any inordinate level of frustration or, conversely, of the dreaded plague of boredom.
3. Involvement with your child’s online activity is key! Muves, just like any other online activity require PARENTAL SUPERVISION! Set a timer if you are concerned about over use. Sit down with your child and have them explain what they are doing and why they like it. Play with them! (What a novel idea!)
4. Join list-serves and websites that surround the virtual world, in order to stay educated and share your ideas and questions with a like-minded group. Encourage your child to contribute to wikis and in-world postings (they’ll practice reading, writing, and socialization).
5. Model healthy habits. Let your child see you get up from the computer and take a bike ride, go to a park (bring the dog), plant a garden, read a book, paint, play music, dance, sing, build a birdhouse, bake a pie, build a sandcastle, walk in the woods, build a snowman, throw a party, throw a ball…you get it?
Schools are just not able to provide your kids the degree of instruction in literacy skills demanded by the media-rich, abundant information landscape that is available to them. They are trying — and a few are on their way — but for the most part they are strangled in systemic demands for compliance with standardized testing which breeds standardized teaching. You have a golden opportunity here to bond, to have fun, and to guide your child’s experience with the technology tools and skills that will serve them well in their future that is under construction.
Peggy Sheehy serves as ITF/ Media Specialist at Suffern Middle School, Suffern, NY. She is a fierce advocate for the meaningful infusion of technology in education and has presented her work with education in Teen Second Life at the Tech Expo, NYSCATE, NECC, EdNet, and the Tech Forum NY. As a true pioneer in virtual world education, she is sought out for advice, curriculum direction and professional development. Her vision encompasses a globally collaborative 3-D virtual world campus where learning is student-centered, product-based, playful, and creative. See her blog here: http://ramapoislands.edublogs.org
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