Comments on: What kids learn in virtual worlds

They're getting an early intro to tech--and also treading on an uneasy middle ground between being consumers and being citizens.

[Len Bullard]

Moondoggie to the Rescue

And the difference between this and the Mickey Mouse Club or the Howdy Doody Club or the Bozo Club is?

It can work but it will soon be regulated. Then it will become boring and it will quit working. By that time, the kids will be building and hosting their own worlds.

Remember the Mouseketeers became the Beach Party Bingo crew who became the Haight-Ashbury scene who became the Inventors of the Web.

Be careful what you wish for, Annette.

[bjoseph2]

More about the presentations

Thank you for the excellent coverage. I was one of the four presenters. You can watch my video blog of the event, watch the original live video, and read more about what was shared at the event at:

http://www.holymeatballs.org/2007/11/conf_coverage_of_the_what_are.html

[arts&crafts]

Academics don't quite reflect parents I talk to

I'm a fan of Club Penguin, so am trying to get more parents to let their children play online with mine. But we're facing lots of resistance. In my most recent blog post, I note several of the reasons why parents may be reluctant to let young tweens into virtual reality. Not saying that I agree with them, but I think the issues are more complicated than perhaps the panelists were willing to admit.
hightechparent.blogspot.com

[mclarkr]

I don't think most parents know much about these worlds...

My child plays on Club Penguin, and I have noticed a real reluctance
amongst many parents to pay for subsciptions when their children
can play for free on other sites. I think most parents haven't
thought about how much advertising their children are exposed to
on those sites (it worries me now that ClubPenguin is owned by
Disney that we will get inundated with Disney propaganda). They
also naively think their children will stay on the page, not click
through to advertisers, and end up somewhere distasteful.

[cube3]

Its not the KIDs who need to LEARN.....

Each "media generation" of the last 70 years has encapsuled its younger next in increasingly tighter and less responable bubbles that continue to move each generation further from any sence of value based on the reality of the other or the physical world.

c3

[MSFanBoy]

Bad For Children!

I think you should have them concentrate more on this world. Too
much tv and games for me.
http://****************.blogspot.com
I agree with Steve.

[PzkwVIb]

Nonsense

Children play, children pretend and imagine. Escapism is as old as the spoken word, and children playing even older. Do some children overindulge on the web? Yes. That doesn't mean it is rampant. And I would far rather see ineractive pursuits like virtual worlds where people socialize then purely passive ones like the boob tube.