Whyville

Whyville is a virtual world for students to explore and play in a safe online environment.  The first task when you establish an account is to earn your chat license.  In order to do this you must learn the rules for the site,  what is acceptable, what is not, and what to do when you encounter something that is not.  There are many different educational games and learning activities on the site.  Some of the games require multiple participants in order to succeed.  I played the Dragon game where students learn about the genetics required to create a dragon with certain characteristics in order to complete a specific task.  One of the tasks was to create a dragon with wings and arms to collect a coconut from a tree.  Another game I played was diving and identifying fish and plants.  This was a fun game that took me back to snorkeling when I was little.  Two other games I explored involved safety around town and energy consumption.  These games provide some great learning objectives for students.  Once we explored  Whyville and discovered what was available, we created a lesson plan that incorporated an activity on Whyville.  I chose to create a lesson using genetics which used lesson reinforced in the Dragon game.  I believe students would be more engaged in lessons which allow them to play a game.  Even one that involves learning.  It helps to make the learning fun.