Previous by Date | Next by Date | Date Index
Previous by Thread | Next by Thread
| Thread Index
| LM_NET
Archive
| |
VIRTUAL WORLD LIBRARY BOOK DISCUSSIONS FOR TWEENS Join us for a library book discussion of Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Clive Staples Lewis for tweens ages 9-13. The book discussions will be held on Wed. Dec. 5 at 2:00 p.m. central and Thurs. Dec. 6 at 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. central in the Greek Theater in Whyville. The discussions are being held as a kickoff activity to offer library services for children at a Whybrary which is currently under construction. There is no cost to participate in the discussion.. All that is needed to participate is to go to http://www.whyville.net, set up an account and then go to the Greek Theater for the discussion of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Interested librarians may also join a google group for ongoing discussion of Whyville at http://groups.google.com/group/whybrary . WHAT IS WHYVILLE? Since its inception in 1999, Whyville has grown to a population of almost 3 million registrants and a run rate of 35 million page views per month. Every day, tens of thousands of children from around the world visit to interact, have, and explore topics in science, economics, citizenship, and more. They become Whyville citizens by creating avatar-base personas and earning virtual "clam" salaries by participating in educational activities. They design rocket engines, fly hot air balloons, start their own virtual businesses, and even campaign for a seat in the Whyville Senate. The Whyville Times, the town newspaper, is filled with articles written by the citizens on town issues as well as world events. Whyville's activities are interactive, open ended, and foster creativity. Whyville has also been rated "Best on the Internet" for child safety by iParenting for two years in a row. A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT "We hope this will be the beginning of a collaborative effort between libraries of all kinds to promote books in all formats, information and fun for kids and young adults spending their time online," said Dr. James Bower, Founder and CEO of Numedeon Inc., the company that runs Whyville. "This is where many of our next generation and future tax payers are, on the net in social networking sites with their friends," state Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. "We have worked with librarians from all over the world to pioneer library services in virtual worlds for teens and adults. It's now time to reach out to kids." "Whyville is a perfect fit for libraries since it's such a safe and educational platform. Adapting library services to where youth are is a win-win for all!" said Kelly Czarnecki, Teen Education Librarian at PLCMC. JUST IMAGINE-THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS Imagine a virtual world filled with library materials in all formats (print, audio, video) and programs of all types, from story hours and book discussions to natural history to art to science and technology. Children from around the world visit regularly, exploring materials and participating in activities together. The education in Whyville is designed to be hands-on, inquiry based and constructivist. They can attend a live or video story hour, browse stories in many formats, and look at exhibits. They can meet other children from all over the world. They go on a virtual dig as archaeologists in a museum of natural history. They attend a live discussion session on carbon dating at a virtual open air theater. They can create their own stories and share them in whatever format they choose. Libraries are about books, stories, and community-books and stories in a variety of formats be it print, a movie, a video, a cd-rom, DVD, or storytelling. This favorite web destination for children serves as a virtual space where experiences from a recent library visit can be shared and extended. It supports a "between-visit" experience that strengthens the relationship between libraries and the communities they serve. Sound far fetched? Not all! Whybrary is an extension of Whyville.net, the premier educational virtual community for children. ABOUT NUMEDON AND WHYVILLE Numedeon specializes in the design and operation of virtual worlds. It is the parent company of Whyville.com which remains the only learning-based virtual world for today's digital kids. Whyville is about to surpass 3 million registered users, and is an environment that engages its vested "citizens" to learn about life, while having fun. Numedeon's technology enables organizations to be on the inside of virtual worlds, and in the case of Whyville, providing them with the means to truly interact with the hard-to-reach demographic of 8 to 15 year olds. Sponsored programs in Whyville include: Reading programs (supported by Scholastic); pop music concerts (EMI, Virgin records, Hollywood Records, Radio Disney); investigations of important issues like global warming (An Inconvenient Truth/Penguin Books), and immersive activities involving automobile engineering (Toyota), human disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and biotechnology (Texas Workforce Commission), to name only a few. Numedeon was created by scientists from Caltech to invent innovative new ways to harness the engagement power of the Internet. Numedeon already supports a number of "private label" virtual worlds using its proprietary technology and will soon be launching several new virtual worlds of its own. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES For more information about the project, contact Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------