For many children, virtual worlds are their learning system for discovering what social behaviors are appropriate. For this reason, children should be informed about virtual world safety and behavior before playing. Children who navigate these complex virtual learning systems face
Many game worlds are springing up that bind interaction in the virtual world to the purchase of a toy. Webkinz, Funkeys, TyGirls and BarbieGirls are just a few virtual worlds created and run by toy makers. But do children really
A decade ago, there were just 182 million people using the internet globally. By the end of this month, there will be over 1.5 billion internet users worldwide. With more children using the internet as a learning system and social
While virtual worlds offer vast potential as a learning system and collaborative space for adults as well as children, they also have a long way to go before that ideal is a reality. Especially for children, virtual worlds continue to
Like gesturing, sketching is also lacking in 3D web learning systems. Sketching could involve actually drawing on a whiteboard or a piece of paper. But in today’s online learning system community, “sketching” often refers to doing calculations on a spreadsheet,
Remy Malan uses the three-point communication model (speech-gesture-sketch) to illustrate the capabilities as well as shortcomings of 3D web as a collaborative space. It’s generally agreed that in most collaborative settings or online learning systems, speech is preferable to text.
