Virtual Worlds = Real Learning
Does real learning happen in virtual worlds? 
Cable in the Classroom Magazine published an article I wrote on this topic in their March issue.
The premise is:
"There have always been scientific concepts our children should experience that are too dangerous, too expensive, or too time-consuming for school. For these activities - some of the most thought provoking in science - we have had to settle for lectures and reading.The article goes on to describe how the Texas Workforce Commission is using Whyville as an outreach vehicle for biotechnology. It also addresses why virtual worlds are particularly attractive to tweens because of where they are developmentally.Virtual worlds change this equation. In a virtual world, students can use million dollar apparatus, experiment with lethal substances, and compress years of activity into a few weeks...."
If you have thoughts on what I wrote leave a comment here and I'll respond.
Download the complete article (PDF) by clicking on the image to the right.
All the links referenced in the article are below the fold - continue reading to see them.
Links that were in the article.
"Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning!" (Marc Prensky)
Educational Games Research Blog
"Everything Bad is Good for You" (Steven Johnson)
Games + Learning + Society Conference
"How Computer Games Help Children Learn" (David Williamson Shaffer)
Remission (HopeLab)
Soda Constructor
Teen Second Life
Yasmin B. Kafai: Research on Classroom Use of Whyville
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Lee Wilson is President & CEO of PCI Education in San Antonio. He has spent two decades in the education business at Apple, Chancery, Pearson, Harcourt, and Headway Strategies.
This blog covers strategy, products, marketing, and sales issues for technology and print publishers.
Comments
The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is a transdisciplinary journal that enagages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research.
Posted by: Joann | March 24, 2008 1:57 AM