Virtual_Worlds

=Woogi World= []

Woogi World is a place where K-6 students can get online (after a short internet safety training and parent approval) and talk to others, play educational games, and design their own "woogi world". A few things about this sight are beneficial besides the educational element. Parents can see a log of all chat messages involving their children, allowing them to monitor, while still giving their kids responsibility and independence. Many of the educational games are geared at online education, teaching them to guard passwords, watch what they say to other woogis (bad language is blocked), and manage their time so as to learn how to balance online and offline activities.

In the world today, many children are making the wrong choices while online. This site helps to instill early on in students' lives the need to protect themselves and their information. It demonstrates that one can still have a good time while being safe. This could definitely be used for elementary school students when first introducing them to the school's computers. By playing many of these games, the students would get the information in a new and fun way. Rather than having the students just sit and listen to a teacher or librarian emphasize why and how to be safe online, they can learn through much more fun, educational games.

Alison Cash = = =Active Worlds= [|http://www.activeworlds.com]

Active Worlds claims to be the world's largest 3D virtual world platform. It was developed to create collaborative multiuser online applications amongst thousands of users. It is a little bit older, when compared to some of the other virtual worlds, but also more cost-effective if budget is an issue. Many educational institutions, teachers, and students use Active Worlds in a focused setting. Educators can create a virtual world for their students to become members of and interactively learn in. Some of the ways educators use it is for: collaboration projects, meetings, classroom instruction, and there is a site just for teens.

In an effort to keep up with the growing demand from educators, Active Worlds has launched the "Active Worlds Educational Universe". It is a special community that helps educators explore new concepts, learning theories, creative curriculum design, and social learning trends. There are over 80 educational worlds available in the AWEDU, as well as many educational worlds in the main Active Worlds Universe, where classes are taught and experiments are performed.

One special education project already set up is called the River City Project. It was started with funding from the National Science Foundation and is a computer simulation for middle grades science students. Students travel back in time to problem solve situations and test hypotheses. They interactively learn scientific inquiry and 21st century skills with the look and feel of a video game, while meeting the national standards. It is so popular that they have prices based on how many student licenses are needed to purchase.

Librarians could use this to visit virtual libraries or even create their own and have students practice library skills. They could also have students enter virtual worlds in order to research specific topics or subjects. Collaborating with teachers would also be a great way to use this virtual world, no matter the subject.

Kelly Lowder
=Whyville=

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Whyville, a virtual world geared toward middle school aged children, is a science and technology based site striving to be a reference tool for students as well as a platform to keep this age group interested in math and science. Whyville has been used in a library setting because of its reference-based focus. Users can go to certain areas to inquire about different subjects. This article briefly describes the use of Whyville at Shenandoah Public Library in Iowa: []

Since Whyville is already organized to be an educational tool, incorporating it into an educational setting could be very beneficial. Students could join the community and use the reference area for help and extension. They can also play the educational games that offer enrichment in a fun and entertaining way. For example, Whyville offers its own version of NASA (WASA) which has games and information about space other related technologies. It could also be used as an economics lesson as Whyville offers its own currency “clams”, that can be earned by playing the educational games. The community boasts a city hall, senators, and other entities commonly found in a city.

Jenell Rosol

**Second Life**
Second Life, a virtual world that can be geared towards older teens (on the teen grid) or adults (adult grid) can enhance learning and self-discovery through real time interaction with other people using "avatars." As stated on the website above, students can participate in group events, discussions, forums, classes, and roleplaying activities as well as market their creations for commerce activities. This website offers its LIS students a "sim" or land for them to practice their job interviewing skills, games, and activities all related to the library field. Second Life also offers a multitude of libraries and reading sources which are linked to this site/wiki for students to explore and utilize.
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I would love to use this program in an upper level classroom/library to help students create their own virtual library. Using the building tools and other programs like Photoshop to create textures, to use on their library. Students could then collaborate on what texts could be linked and used in their library; they could create in-world links to personal YouTube tutorials for their library as well. This could enable students to understand the uses and needs of their own school library, by seeing them within the virtual world.

Malissa Mobley