Wizard 101
First impressions: During my gap year before university, I worked as a live-in nanny for four kids, ages ten, seven, five, and three. The three eldest children, the two oldest girls in particular, were big fans of Wizard 101. They enjoyed going on quests and interacting with others in the game.
Age range: Designed for users ages 10 and up.
Pros: Engagement is the first thing that springs to mind. The world is immersive, fun, and exciting for young users. It is also clearly a safe environment, designed for young people; nothing sexual, no references to drugs or drinking, etc.
Cons: There is definitely an agenda to get kids interested in the game via the free content, then convince them to open a premium account and pay for enhanced gameplay. I'm also not sure of how customisable it might be for classroom use.
Overall rating: 6 out of 10
Webkinz
First impressions: This is another one that was used by a charge of mine. During a summer nannying job, the seven-year-old I worked with used Webkinz.
Age range: Intended for users ages 8 and up, although there is also a junior version for children as young as 4 years old.
Pros: Again, clearly highly engaging. There are also tools that teach real-world responsibility; care for the virtual pet, money management, and so on. The chat options are mostly pre-scripted, making it a very safe environment for users who are still learning digital citizenship.
Cons: Consumerism at its finest - needing to buy real-world goods to enhance virtual gameplay. It's a genius marketing move, but doubtless a nightmare for the parents who have to endure the wheedling and begging. The games also seem to have limited educational application.
Overall rating: 3.5 out of 10
First impressions: This one was familiar to me from my youth! I remember playing JumpStart games on CD-ROM. My friends and I absolutely loved them.
Age range: JumpStart is meant for children ages 3 to 10.
Pros: Age appropriateness is the first thing I note! For someone who teaches elementary school, an educational website for young children is a great find. This seems like one of the best for making learning truly fun, and covers a variety of disciplines. Users cannot interact with one another, which means no inappropriate content generated by other users.
Cons: The only negative I could find was related to slow loading and occasional lag time. The lack of interaction can be a con, as it cannot be a platform for an online classroom. Otherwise, seems to be a safe and fun world to explore.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10
Reflections
While some of these sites were much more geared toward the age group I primarily work with, they are still fairly consumer-driven and ad-based. JumpStart is the first avatar-based 3D virtual world I have come across that I think would be appropriate for elementary school students, my current teaching population. We'll see what my last day of blogging holds...
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Currently reading: still indulging my Mad Men addiction
Current high: planning my first presentation to colleagues...nerve-wracking!
Current low: working on the weekend, much to the chagrin of my friend SV...
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