Comments on: Merging virtual and real world learning gets younger!

By: Frances Manning

Frances Manning — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:15:08 +0000

Dean an interesting post! Having boys a little older than those targeted for webkinz or Freaky Creatures I was not aware of the marketing ploys that drew younger kids in through these online, commercial tactics.
I always think of the money research & effort that commercial industries put into finding out what appeals to kids. They get it right because they take the time to find out exactly what it is that will ’sell their product’- they KNOW their customers, they KNOW what appeals & works. Sometimes I’m amazed that the education sector simply does not put in the same effort!

By: dskmag

dskmag — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:58:54 +0000

Ah, Free Online games. Thanks for the post. As an educator k-12, we could not use your site in school. Any reference to drugs or violence negates t’’s use. Perhaps if you had a G rated version – or even an educational portal. If teachers could sign up and put together a portfolio of games and have kids sign into that, it would be great. Right now the site would be blocked by 99% of Network Managers in schools – sites like Addicting Games, Mini Clip etc., while having some games that could be used – cannot be – mostly due to the drug/gangster themed games.

By: Free Online Games

Free Online Games — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:06:30 +0000

I agree 100% with you Judy!

By: Judy O'Connell

Judy O'Connell — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:13:42 +0000

Ah yes, this post should be compulsory ready for School Principals and Education Faculty leaders responsible for training new teachers. No matter how hard teachers push their heads into the sand, the tide is coming in and nothing in the world can stop it. Playing and learning will never be the same!

By: dskmag

dskmag — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:01:17 +0000

no, thank you – it’s a very important aspect of the current media age our kids are in, look forward to checking out kidscom.com. Sounds like a fantastic idea. There is no doubt in my mind that kids do not see computers as exciting or challenging as perhaps teachers do. Multi-modal learning is something that they say the want. In a recent interview with kids – they were very clear, that being on a computer all the time is boring. Giving them a good reason to go to a museum or library is fantastic

By: Jori Clarke

Jori Clarke — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:12:11 +0000

Excellent observations Dean. Understanding the power of digital play to change behavior, we have focused on teaching children about “going green”. At our virtual world of kidscom.com we have invited librarians and school librarians into the experience where Idea Seeker Training Mission game play gets children offline and sends them to libraries and museums to look up facts on global climate change, endangered animals and energy efficiency. The Chicao Field Museum has a biodiversity game that ties into exhibits in the Museum. Families can download a guide book to the National Zoo and geocache their way to different endangered animals. Linking online and offline learning play together makes for a richer experience for children and the adults who love to learn as well. Thank you for your great blog.

By: dskmag

dskmag — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:13:42 +0000

Thanks Beth, you’ve filled in the missing social-class elements I missed so well. I find it difficult to reconcile that administrators and governments do not see mobile devices as effective as more expensive hardware such as laptops. I can’t agree more, the divide is now much deeper, not only wider – between have and have not – able and unable. Unlike the debate of ’should we use ICT as well as books’ – the current one is not should we be using immersive tools – but how fast and how well we can get this to all students, not just the tech-savvy ‘yuppies’.

By: Beth Holmes

Beth Holmes — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:29:04 +0000

Hi, Dean,

You’ve done your homework. I agree that “immersive worlds are here to stay.” Young children of privilege are equipped by tech-savvy parents to navigate, socialize, communicate and trade in Webkinz from very early ages. I’ve listened to yuppie parents discuss teaching cyber-responsibility/security to children as young as four years old. You are correct in noting that the “plush toys” are the initial draw. The Webkinz toy collections are the rage among offspring of upward-mobile parents. This phenomenon is viral.

While I could argue the pros and the cons of virtual “play” in the life of the young child, I won’t in this forum. I’m more concerned right now about education’s obliviousness to the inevitable growth of sophisticated immersive environments. These powerful learning tools are creating a NEW 3-D digital divide that further separates the privileged from the unfortunate. I see one more layer of separation emerging. Children of poverty are excluded from early online social learning by lack of connectivity, hardware and informed parenting. If schools do not UNBLOCK these early education opportunities to enable ALL children equal opportunities to participate, learn and navigate the world that they will live in – we fail them. We fail them.

Thank you, Dean for a forward thinking post. I appreciate the opportunity to add thoughts that deeply concern me.