the learning-based virtual world get a job in whyville! education, career exploration, and building...
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The Learning-BasedVirtual World
Get a Job in Whyville!Education, Career Exploration, and Building Real
Career Pipelines with a Virtual World
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An intrinsically interesting environment to teach kids something.
Whyvillians Meet a VIP forDiscussion at the Greek Theatre
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WELCOME TO WHYVILLE!
Whyville.net is hard to describe but easy to show! Here are three slides that will give you a great feel for Whyville.
In this slide, each cartoon character is a user logged into Whyville. We call our users Whyvillians. This place in
Whyville is called the Greek Theatre. About once a week, we have a community forum in Whyville. Here, Whyvillians are asking questions of Bethany Dillon, a real-life singer &
songwriter and “VIP of the Day” in Whyville.
Ion Engine Design
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Whyville.net features activities in math, science, art, journalism, economics, government and entrepreneurship.
In this activity sponsored by NASA, users adjust the plate location and charge in an Ion Engine. If they are successful
in creating an Ion Engine, Whyvillians will increase their “clam” salary that they earn every day they login to
Whyville.
Whyvillians can buy lots of things with their clams, just like we do with our salaries in the real world. For example, all the “face parts” and clothes you saw in the prior slide had to be purchased by Whyvillians with clams, Whyville’s in-
world currency.
Whyville Beach©
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Whyville combines community with learning. The Beach is one of the most popular hang-outs in Whyville.
When Whyvillians get tired of the Beach, they can always summon their Toyota Scion and take a drive with their
friends. Of course, Scions aren’t free – in Whyville, clams make the world go ‘round. Whyvillians earn clams through educational activities and through starting businesses in
Whyville. See all those face parts and clothes? Whyvillians designed them all, and other Whyvillians
opened stores in Akbar’s Face Mall and made a virtual profit on selling face parts and virtual clothes to their
fellow citizens.
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Multiplayer virtual world for teens and tweens
100,000 unique users a month
Its own newspaper, economy, government
Educational games in math, science, journalism, art, government and economics
“This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education … whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, (and) distinguish good information from bad …”
Time Magazine, December 2006
Quoting the New Commission on the Skills of
the American Workforce
Since 1999, Numedeon has been committed to the kind of educational reform that prepares our children for the
global economy. Exploratory learning as seen in Whyville presents age-appropriate abstract problems, rewards team effort along with individual effort, and leaves it to the kids
to process what they see and find their way in Whyville.
The Workforce Ecosystem
Two-Year Colleges
Four-Year Colleges
Graduate ProgramsSummer
Programs
After SchoolPrograms
Assessment Services
Articulation Agreements
Policy
High Schools
Middle Schools
Magnet Schools
Academies
Cities
Counties
States
EconomicDevelopers
WorkforceBoards
INDUSTRY
Pressures on the Workforce Ecosystem
More Indian college graduates than U.S.
high school graduates
More English speakers in China than in the U.S.
“This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education … whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, (and) distinguish good information from bad …” Time Magazine, December 2006 Quoting the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce
Houston Community College organizing to graduate 500 bio-
technicians
Houston stands up Robotics Education Support Center
Arlington organizing to recover manufacturing base with state grants
San Antonio Greater Chamber Survey indicates corporations hire IT graduates from outside
San Antonio
It’s cooking! The workforce system is transforming as a result of global, national and regional pressures on local
economies.
STEM Education …1. Is a critical issue for academia,
governments and industries
2. Underlies regional, national, global competitiveness
3. Attracts industry to regions
4. Is a basis for innovation
5. Is the feeder system for cluster initiatives
6. Is not attracting sufficient numbers of students
Assertions
There are innovative STEM programs everywhere you turn over a rock.
Alignment is always a challenge.
In general, these programs are only loosely connected to industry support,
workforce pipelines, regional strategies and global best practices.
Pathway Continuous planning and assessment …
Pathway Continuous planning and assessment …
Pathway Continuous planning and assessment …
The New Education / Workforce Ecosystem
Middle SchoolHigh School,
Magnate, Academy(or is it College?)
College / Workplace
COUNSELING
COUNSELING
HolisticAssess-
ment
Innovative schools are moving to a career exploration and pathway model. Pathways become the mechanism by
which kids explore careers, and then they decide whether to continue or explore another pathway. Education is accompanied by teamwork, and industry players are
getting involved earlier to help seed talent pipelines that ensure their workforce into the future.
This model creates opportunity for career exploration in the late middle school and early high school years.
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© numedeon, inc. 2004
Great Balloon Drop
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Nutrition in Whyville
Healthy Diet
Not-So-Healthy Diet
“Hotwired Educational Site…Don't you wish thiskind of stuff was around when we were in school?”
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Whyvillians make “money” (clams) and then they spend money, sometimes on businesses they run in Whyville …
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Senator OrEoBaBy
“Digital Kids…researchhas shown that kidsengage deeply invirtual environments”
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Getty Museum
100 articles submitted each week
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Career exploration funded by the Texas Workforce Commission
through the Governor’s Industry Cluster Initiative …
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Whyville Biotech
Do you have WhyPox? First seen in Whyville in 2003, WhyPox strikes yearly
and spreads through the population.
But the Texas Workforce Commission has saved the day. With funding from
the Governor’s Industry Cluster Initiative, Whyvillians will be learning
about immunology and finding a vaccine for WhyPox, all the while earning clams
from Whyville Biotech.
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Whyville Biotech
Whyvillians are learning about immunology by working together in a multiplayer game to keeps cells from getting
infected by viruses.
WhyvillePlaneworks
People in manufacturing know that manufacturing jobs are high wage and high tech. Whyvillians will know this after running CAD simulators and managing supply chains in
Whyville Advanced Manufacturing. Besides, they will be able to fly the airplanes they build off Whyville Island, or open a flying business and add clams to their Whyville
bank account.
OUTREACH
OUTREACH
CAREERSIMULATION
Career
Pipelines
JOBS
Texas users are referred to the web sites of educational opportunities in the region they live in. We ENGAGE kids in
STEM education and we START THE PIPELINE by showing them where to continue their education.
20,000 Engaged
1,000 Referred
We will engage 20,000 Texas 14 and 15 year olds (and more kids of all ages) and refer 1,000 to the web sites of
educational opportunities in their region.
&Numedeon is pleased to partner with the Texas Business
and Education Coalition in the Texas Workforce Commission grants. TBEC is building a platform for career exploration and academic planning that will be available to
schools throughout Texas.
TBEC is a major voice of business in Texas on the topic of education. In the 1990s, TBEC led the way in raising the
minimum curiculum standard for Texas high school students.
© numedeon, inc. 2006
Evaluator Cathleen Galas in Why WhyvilleStudying WhyPox Epidemiology
• a meaningful problem• collaborative • think critically about the spread• gathering data … making
hypotheses• many hours outside school• deep questions, researched
answers• took responsibility for their own
open-ended learning• productive citizens
Whyville has been studied for its successes in exploratory learning. This National Science Foundation-funded study
explored how the lessons of disease spread (epidemiology) were learned in Whyville.
Attractive & Busy
Rewarding
Fun & Challenging
Impactful
Exploratory
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Levels of Engagement
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Welcome to Whyville’s first live concert! Singer Stacie Orrico was our featured guest for over 3,000 Whyvillians
online in the Greek “Ampitheatre!”
But there’s more here than fun and games. Whyvillians are being polled about the questions being asked of Stacie. Before this question, the prior one was “Stacie, what was your favorite subject in high school?” She said “Science!” Can you find the Whyvillian who also likes science? By the
way, can you find the Whyvillian with WhyPox?
Our partners.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
Visit Whyville today! www.whyville.net
TWC-funded activities online starting May 2007
All access is free and permanent
We’ll expose 20,000 to careers
And refer 1,000 to local education programs
Workshops coming to your region
Email [email protected]
Subject: TWC Sign-up
Whyville Biotech
Whyville PlaneWorks
Produced by Dancemimi – a Whyville citizen for Whyville Times,
August 28, 2005
Get a Job in Whyville!Education, Career Exploration, and Building Real Career
Pipelines with a Virtual World
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Whyville’s kids are engaged in…
• Nutrition education (obesity & type II
diabetes)• Music (and dancing, of course)• Science – from astronomy & physics to
rocket science & marine biology• Global warming• Art• History• Entrepreneurship• Film & tv• Economics• Fashion & design• Work force development (robotics,
advanced manufacturing, biotechnology)
• Mathematics• Hearing loss education• Learning about disabilities –
physical & learning• Infectious disease• Civics & governance• Journalism• Reading• Recycling• Finance & credit• Philanthropy• Automobile engineering• Internet safety• Games
What sets Whyville apart is not what it teaches kids about the world, but how it teaches them.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
There’s room for more!
From eyeballs to something else.
What Whyville does is the something else.
Historically, media is ruled by counting eyeballs (CPM).
We measure “eyeballs connected to brains.”
CPM mindset being replaced with CP(M*E2).
In other words, all Ms are not created equal
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
How the safety works.
“Report Decision: You are muted for 3 days due to inappropriate behavior.”
Underage “newbies” cannot chat until….• Visit the site a certain number of times• Submit signed parental permission slip• Pass ‘Chat License’ test (100% required)
Whyville Safety
White Paper –
available upon request
Whyville Safety
White Paper –
available upon request
Whyville’s safety orientation is best in class and also offers kids and teenagers a secure environment to socialize and play.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
How the education works.
Healthy Diet
Not-So-Healthy Diet
Pedagogy
• Hands-On• Inquiry Based• Constructivist• Fun!
Hotwired Education Site…Don’t you wish this kind of stuff was around when we were in school?
Whyville’s Grocery Store – 496 Foods
Whyville’s Cafeteria
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
45% of WhyEat participants indicated that the online activity
changed the way they think about nutritional choices in their real lives.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
A few more examples
The Myspace Invaders.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
A Virtual Museum, Complete with Art & Activities
The Curator
Kids Use Clams to Buy Mermaid Tails
Scuba Diving Game
Games that Teach Art
What it means to be a tween.
• Starting to build their self-confidence
• Personality experimentation
• Influences: pop culture, friends/peers, family, school
• Straddling worlds of childhood ‘innocence’ and teenage ‘independence’
• Tech savvy, having never known life without Internet
• Enjoy collecting things
• Want to belong to something that’s exclusively for them
• Word-of-mouth is primary source for discovering new things
• Want to exert control by creating their own product
• Between the remote control and the car keys
Whyville taps into tweens unique social/cognitive developmental issues.
Research has shown that kids engage deeply in virtual environments.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
Hey, our teachers like it too.
Whyville is the leading web-based educational community for children…”
Learning Landscapes
Introduce this site to your students for months of science fun! My sixth graders love it! Whyville supports the use of computers by kids the way that scientists use computers: for data collection, data visualization, simulation and modeling, and scientific communication. The site also reflects what we know about learning communities and the kinds of interaction kids seek while learning and having fun.”
Wendy Li, sixth grade teacher
We are including a Whyville experience in the pilot distance education piece of our science elementary methods curriculum. After visiting Whyville, I am convinced that it would be great for pre-service teachers to experience Whyville over the course of several weeks to see what excellence in electronic learning for kids really can be.”
Dr. Maureen McMahon, Dept. Chair, Cal State Long Beach
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
Remember that “E” word…what we report on.Engagement
• How many cars were built
• How many mermaid dives were done
• How many book clubs were formed
• How many times the word “kajeet” was used in chat
• How many flu-shots were administered
• How many kids got scurvy
• Did awareness of artist change during campaign (pre/post surveys)
What do you really want to measure?
The popular virtual world designed by Caltech scientists to give children 8 to 15 years of age a safe online spot to interact, play and learn, has caught fire. virtual world for teens and preteens allows kids to buy cool cyber-gear.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
How Whyville grows.
Rational word of mouth…plus a whole lot more:
Email – , magazine lists
Kids Magazines –
Online – Miss O & Friends, Call for Ally, Gorilla Nation +
In School – Whyville Dispatch (school mag), school cafeteria poster program
Home Grown, Proactive Viral Programs -
Aggressive PR Program -
Clearly focused on introducing kids and preteens to many important social, financialand other situations that they will face.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
The kids.
• Nearly 3 Million Users Served Since 1999
• 100,000 unique users per month
• Avg. Monthly Time Spent/User: 3.1 hours
• Avg. Monthly Page-views/User: 355
• More Girls, But Lots of Boy (70%-30%)
• United States & Canada
• Core Age Composition: 8 To 15Toyota also gets feedback about the car accessories Whyville-ites buy.
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
Behind Whyville.Dr. James Bower - CEO, Founder Professor of Biology at Caltech 1985-2002 Founder and Director of Caltech Pre-College Science Initiative Authored 100+ scientific publications and edited or authored 15+ books
Ph.D. in Neurophysiology – University of Wisconsin
Dr. Jennifer Sun - President, Co-founder Founding member of Idealab’s Learning.net Director Educational Development – Electric Schoolhouse Ph.D. in Neuroscience – Caltech
Mark Dinan - Chief Technology Officer, Co-founder B.S. Physics – Caltech
Ann Pickard - Senior Art Director, Co-founder Pasadena Art Center College of Design
Jay Goss - Chief Operating Officer Built and ran businesses for Execusurv, Reed Elsevier, ClickOf Time Technologies (founder; sold company to SBC/Idealab), Disney/ESPN, UCLA, Gary’s Leather Creations
MBA – USC Marshall School of Business
Eric Greenwald - Executive Vice President, Advertising Sales Neopets, Paramount, DIC Entertainment
© 2007 Numedeon, Inc.
Whyville, the place girls love to go for science.