MAIN > SPOTLIGHT ARCHIVE > Jen_Humke (Nov 08)

Thursday 8th November 2007 11:00 am

Public Forum to Explore Kids’ Learning in Virtual Worlds

At a public forum in Los Angeles on November 14th experts in media and education will explore what kids are doing in virtual worlds and what it means for their values, identity and sense of community. Hosted by Common Sense Media and the MacArthur Foundation, the event will be simulcast in Teen Second Life. 

Join us on November 14th for a physical world and in-world discussion about what kids are learning in virtual worlds (update: the physical event is now full, however it will be possible to watch a simulcast or in-world viewing of the event). Four leading thinkers on virtual worlds will talk about what kids are doing in these new digital spaces - including Second Life, Whyville, There.com, The Sims and others - and how they are influencing kids’ values, identity and sense of community.

Panelists include:

Anastasia Goodstein, journalist/editor and author of Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online, will describe the virtual world landscape for kids and teens;

Doug Thomas, associate professor of the Annenberg School of Communication at USC and founding editor of Games & Culture: a Journal of Interactive Media, will demonstrate his latest project, an immersive online world designed to teach students ethical decision making;

Yasmin B. Kafai, associate professor of the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, will discuss her research in tweens’ learning about science, race, and beauty in Whyville.net, a virtual world for tweens;

Barry Joseph, director of the Global Kids, Inc., Online Leadership Program, will share his experience using virtual worlds such as Teen Second Life to develop youth leadership skills around world issues;

There will be an introduction by Julia Stasch, vice president for domestic grantmaking at MacArthur; Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, will moderate the panel. 

The event will take place at 6pm at the Davidson Conference Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It will also be simulcast onto the Teen Grid in Second Life. Check out updated information about the webcast and simulcast in Second Life.

The event is hosted by Common Sense Media and the MacArthur Foundation. It is one of a series of public programs on issues related to digital media and learning supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

Category: Civic-Engagement, Credibility, Identity

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Like this post?

  • Email this page using tell-a-friend, or
  • Save it with one of these social bookmarking tools: , or
  • View author profile for Jen_Humke.

Comments

Submit Thoughts

We would love to have you add in the discussion. Please submit your content to our editorial review board:

Name (public):

Email (required but private, only used if our editors need to contact you):

Upload your photo (recommended: this helps bridge online/offline worlds)

Affiliation (public):

URL of your website or institution (public):

Comments:
(We will automatically remove html codes.)

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image:

(Warning: You will NOT be warned if our spam filters delete your comment. Cutting and pasting tends to confuse our spam filters, so always keep a copy. If your comment passes the spam test, you will be shown a brief "Thank You" message after hitting the Submit button, otherwise you will be returned to this page with your comment gone and no warning. Only comments that pass the spam test will be emailed to our editors for approval and posting. Contact our editors using the link in the footer if you have a problem.)

Produced by Games for Change. | TOP