September 2006 — Features
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Educational Gaming :: All the Right MUVEs
Making an Impact
So what effect does River City have on students? In “Students’ Motivation and Learning of Science in a Multi-User Virtual Environment” (available at the River City website), the Harvard team, led by Principal Investigator Chris Dede, a Harvard professor of learning technologies, presents its findings. Laying out their intentions, the authors state that “a major goal for education in the 21st century is to create scientifically literate citizens who are able to think critically, make sense of complex data, and solve problems,” and that the “River City curriculum focuses on skills of hypothesis formation and experimental design.”
NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES
Test data showing increased learning and enhanced student engagement should do much to address the natural skepticism parents and administrators have about the use of MUVEs in school, but there are other barriers to overcome.
For example, Whyville allows young people to chat about educational projects with their peers throughout the world, which is a powerful advantage for Whyvillians, but can be a concern for their parents. “I had two parents who asked that their children not be able to chat or use Whymail,” says educational consultant Cathleen Galas, a former sixth-grade teacher who used Whyville at the University Elementary School, which is attached to the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. She adds that the parents soon changed their minds.
Whyville has strict controls built into its chat and Whymail functions: Giving out passwords, direct e-mail or instant message addresses, or personal information such as school names is strictly forbidden. Most profanity is automatically filtered out by the system, and a warning is sent to those who attempt to enter it in chat windows.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and energy on that,” says Jen Sun, president of Numedeon, the creator of Whyville. “In eight years of operation, we’ve never had a real problem.” Children under the age of 13 must have their parents fax or mail in a signed permission form in order to be able to chat in Whyville.
Access to technology can also be a challenge. “Not every kid has a computer at home,” Galas acknowledges. “It’s very important for teachers to help those students find their way to the public libraries or the school computer lab.” Elizabeth Perry, technology integrations specialist at The Ellis School, an all-girls school in Pittsburgh, cites professional development as another factor. Perry says that training teachers on integrating MUVEs into the curriculum and helping them adapt their teaching style is vital. “Faculty development time,” she says, “is at least as important as equipment, if not more so.”
