Virtual Worlds for My Classroom

My assignment was to examine virtual worlds for use in my classroom. I found that some virtual worlds had more of an educational value than others. While there are some educational value in the virtual worlds that I visited, it seems like the worlds are more recreationally motivated. There are more games and fun activities than anything in the virtual worlds that I visited. The five virtual worlds that I explored were Voyager Ticket to Read, Woogi World, Whyville, Puzzle Pirates, and Mokitown. I found that Voyager Ticket to Read to be the most beneficial and educationally appropriate. I am lucky enough to work in a school district that has a paid subscription, so my students can truly benefit from this awesome virtual world.

Here is my summary of what I discovered:

Virtual World: Voyager Ticket to Read

Audience: K-6

Objective: The students will increase fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary skills.

Curriculum: It ties in with the Sunshine State Standards because it covers adaptive instruction in phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Description: Ticket to Read is a fun and motivating online reading program. The students work independently on leveled fluency and reading skills. It sparks interest by using high-interest reading passages and activities. Ticket to Read provides instant feedback and positive reinforcement. Students earn points for prizes and can decorate a virtual clubhouse. I use Ticket to Read during literacy stations. During the computer station, the students go onto to Ticket to Read to practice all of these awesome reading skills.

Virtual World: Puzzle Pirates

Audience: 3-5

Objective: The students will increase spatial thinking skills. The students will use strategy and logic to solve puzzles.

Curriculum: This doesn’t specifically tie into a subject area under the Sunshine State Standards. I do some value to Puzzle Pirates however. The students can have fun while using logical reasoning skills.

Description: With Puzzle Pirates you earn “loot” by playing puzzles. You can play Puzzles alone or against other Pirates. You can run the Pirate economy by playing puzzles. You can build your own Pirate empire. The puzzles require the use of strategy and logic. I would use Puzzle Pirates as a free time activity. Since it does not use any specific reading skills, I would not use it during literacy stations. If a student finishes an assignment early, that would be a good time to send them to the computer.

Virtual World: Woogi World
Audience: K-6

Objective: The students will increase skills in various areas across the curriculum.

Curriculum: It ties in with the Sunshine State Standards for multiple subject areas.

Description: Woogi World is a character-building, educational, and social networking website. Students can learn about Internet safety and improve Math, Science, Music, Reading, Social Studies, Finance skills, and much more. I would use Woogi World more during Science and Social Studies than for Reading. The reason being that I find that Ticket to Read would be more effective for increasing reading comprehension than Woogi World. I would use Woogi World as a fun way to increase Science and Social Studies comprehension. I would designate a few minutes at the end of class where I would let students explore Woogi World.

Virtual World: Whyville

Audience: K-6

Objective: In Whyville, it is important to earn clams. You can use clams to buy face parts, houses, and cars. You can earn a salary of clams by playing games, participating in chats, and spending time exploring the virtual world.

Curriculum: It doesn’t really have much of a correlation to the Sunshine State Standards. There was a really great activity that was about food chains which is something I teach in Science.

Description: The students can interact with other students, play games, follow directions, and earn clams in Whyville. There is a bank where the students can learn about checking accounts, saving accounts, CDs, and transferring money. I would use Whyville as a free time activity. Since it does not use any specific reading skills, I would not use it during literacy stations. If a student finishes an assignment early, that would be a good time to send them to the computer.

Virtual World: Mokitown

Audience: 3-5

Objective: The will learn about safety in road traffic.

Curriculum: This doesn’t specifically tie into a subject area under the Sunshine State Standards.
Description: Mokitown allows the students (aka Mokis) to explore the city, chat with other Mokis, and learn about safety in road traffic. I would use Mokitown as a free time activity. Since it does not use any specific academic skills, I would not use it during literacy stations. If a student finishes an assignment early, that would be a good time to send them to the computer.

Webkinz Follow-Up

Every Friday in our school is considered Spirit Day. The students are supposed to dress up in our school colors to show "Panda Pride." Each grade-level has winner determined by which class shows the most spirit. Last week, my students won. Our wonderful prize is a trophy with a panda stuffed animal attached to it. To my surprise, I noticed a Webkinz emblem on the foot. It made me laugh because as of a few weeks ago I had never heard of Webkinz, now it's all around me. One of my students asked me for my Webkinz password the other day. I asked him why and he said that he wanted to play with my Webkinz. I told him that instead of sharing passwords, maybe we could adopt each other.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to spend much time on Webkinz in school. However, I can see how it is a valuable and fun resource. Webkinz is fun, but also provides some educational opportunities. You have to be able to budget your KinzCash and then make decisions on how to spend that many. The games are fun and some require some higher-level thinking skills. Also, the quizzes do ask some tough questions. I'm definitely enjoying my time in Webkinz and I know my students are too.

Webkinz

For an assignment for my class CED551: Virtual Worlds in Education, I was asked to explore the world of Webkinz. To begin with, I had never heard of Webkinz before. I have had very little experience when it comes to virtual worlds. I have had the opportunity to briefly explore some other virtual worlds out there, and it is very exciting. However, this blog is going to stick to Webkinz.

I adopted an American Cocker Spaniel named Zucke. Some cool things happened when I adopted Zucke. I got an Adoption Certificate. I also got a pet biography so I could learn about some things that Zucke likes - like foods and hobbies. I also thought that Webkinz did a nice job of introducing me to its world. I was able to watch a help video by Ms. Birdy to explain how to get started on Webkinz. It was very easy to understand. Children would have no problem figuring out what to do on Webkinz.

I wanted to spend some time exploring Webkinz myself before introducing Zucke to my 5th grade students. Even though I'm an adult, I have to admit that I enjoy my time spent in Webkinz. There is so much to do. I didn't want to spend any money right away. So, I spent most of my time having fun and playing games. By playing the games, I earned KinzCash. KinzCash is necessary to be able to buy things in Webkinz. I have to admit some of the games were a little tricky, but fun nonetheless.

Some other neat little features in Webkinz are being able to visit Dr. Quack's Clinic for a checkup or heading to the Employment Office for a job. I think the most educational place in Webkinz has to be Quizzy's Corner. You can earn KinzCash for answering questions in different subject areas based on certain age groups.

So, after spending time exploring Webkinz it was time to introduce Zucke to my students. This is where the difficulties set in. My students were excited to learn that I adopted a class pet. I few them even told me that they have pets of their own. However, I was not able to share Zucke with my students. I have a SMART Board in my classroom with mounted projector. Due to the screen resolution or some other reason, the entire screen of the Webkinz website did not show up on the SMART Board and there was no scroll bar or any way for me to navigate around the website. I know this may not make sense because I am having a hard time explaining it. Just know that I spent a lot of time trying to get it to work, and I could not do it. For this reason, I could not show off Zucke to my students. After school on Friday, a fellow teacher came it to help me figure out my problem and I think I figured it out. So, I do plan to share Zucke with my students in the very near future.

Since some of my students were familiar with Webkinz, I asked them what they thought of it. They all said that they like Webkinz because it is fun, you can take care of your own pet, and you can play games. They also mentioned that they also enjoy another website called Club Penguin. I think I might have to look into that.

Finally, after all of my exploring I decided it was time to spend some money. So, I went shopping at the W Shop to decorate Zucke's room. As a teacher, I decided to make Zucke's room a classroom. As I make more money, I plan to add more desks and keep on decorating. Here is a picture:

More to come as I keep exploring in Webkinz!!

Simple Machines Video

Review of In Another Place Blog

I found this blog to make me reflect more on me as a teacher. There was a post entitled One Thousand Miles. I enjoyed reading the views and ideas presented here. I felt like it made me think more about why I am a teacher. Many times it seems like it is easy to focus on the negative aspects of teaching. Whether it be budget issues, time constraints, too much paperwork, or even behavior problems, it is important to not let those issues weigh me down. When I focus on the positive, teaching can be a very enjoyable thing.

Review of The Teaching Tips Machine Blog

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Review of Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog

This is my first time blogging. I chose to review Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog because in my opinion it is an amazing blog. She seems like an awesome teacher. There are so many neat features on her blog. I like that it isn't just writing and words on her blog. There are pictures, examples, links, student work, and videos. I really loved clicking on the student names and seeing posts actually from the students. I would imagine that they love being on the Internet. I know my students would get a kick out of posting things on a blog. What a neat way to get more technology into their lives! I wonder how that works. Did she have to get parental permission to allow the students to do that? Hopefully, most parents would see the value in allowing their children to be a part of this wonderful use of technology. Another awesome part of her blog was a YouTube video of her students reading a book with students in another classroom. How exciting?! I believe her class is in Canada and they were reading with students in Alabama. Mrs. Cassidy seems like an innovative teacher and I truly enjoyed her blog.