The Learning-Based Virtual World Get a Job in Whyville! Education, Career Exploration, and Building...

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 …



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

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.


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


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.


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


45% of WhyEat participants indicated that the online activity

changed the way they think about nutritional choices in their real lives.


A few more examples

The Myspace Invaders.


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.


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


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.


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.


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.


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


Whyville, the place girls love to go for science.

The Learning-Based Virtual World Get a Job in Whyville! Education, Career Exploration, and Building...

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