Walk, Fly, or Teleport to Learning Virtual Worlds in the Classroom, by Maureen Brown Yoder
In her article she talks about two new computer program called MUVEs and Global Kids. MUVEs teaches kids, teens, and adults about different life experiences around the world and it has realistic-looking cities to imaginative fantasy lands. They can travel to different places in the world and learn about the way of life and help people along the way to their destiny. This is all done by playing games, socializing and shopping. They get to talk to other people and see their points of view. In Global Kids their mission is "to educate and inspire urban youth to become successful”. The way they do this is by having them do a variety of projects that teach and promote global understanding. One example that they gave was the game Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City. In this game the student learns about real life situation in which they take the part of a child looking for their mother after the hurricane. They have to travel across New Orleans and along the way the student talks to others and might even have the chance to help others along the way. I think that these two games are a great new way to keep kids, teens and adults captivated in learning. They get to play and learn all at the same time. It teaches them about things that have happened in the past and life long skills.
One way that we as teacher could use these programs to their benefits is by relating the computer game to history and building there own character in the game. If the school has laptops that you can check out for the class you could make a lesson plan out of it or you could also reserve a day at the computer lab.
MUVE's and Global Kids are two computer programs that I was completely unaware of. I think they can be very beneficial for students who are more visual and hands on learners like myself. Not only does it help students understand history along with current events, it also opens up opportunity for students to work with technology. Rather than reading from a book or getting a candid shot from a textbook, you can visually get a real life image or video with vivid detail. Are these computer programs free or do you have to purchase or subscribe to them?
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that someone in our group posted from a different article (even if it wasn't planed) it gives us a broader range of information, that we might not have learned about. And to say the least, your article sounds intriguing and very useful. Prior to your post I never heard of either of these programs. Both programs seem to be of beneficial use for students as well as any life long learner. I would love to find out more information on these programs and see how useful they could be in a classroom setting. I'm quite interested in find out more about the shopping aspect (wink wink), and how that is used in education. otherwise great job, and I look forward to working with you this semester in 422!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your insight on this article. I agree that having the students become active on this sight is a great way for the students to explore global issues. By introducing them to different problems and places throughout the world, they will have a better understanding and outlook on the entire world. I definitely would be interested in using this tool in my future classroom!
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