Globaloria

Globaloria is a social network for learning web-game design and simulation production. Invented by the World Wide Workshop Foundation in the spring of 2006, it seeks to create technology-based educational opportunities through a flexible set of virtual learning networks for students in developing nations, economically disadvantaged and technologically-underserved communities. Using a network of educational web 2.0 platforms, students develop 21st-century digital literacy, master social media technology, and gain a deeper understanding of curricular areas, such as science, mathematics and health. Its activities help students sharpen their communication and critical-thinking skills for leadership online and offline, bringing them closer to the participatory and collaborative nature of work in the 21st century. [West Virginia Department of Education (2008). [http://wvde.state.wv.us/tt/2008/21stChronicle082008.pdf/ A Chronicle of West Virginia's 21st Century Learning Initiative ] ]

quote| [Globaloria] ... aims to teach youth how to take control of their new-media world.|Idit Harel Caperton| [cite web
url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/technology/games_change.fortune/?postversion=2008060606
title=Teaching kids to make video games
accessdate=2008-06-10]

GOAL

The World Wide Workshop Foundation seeks to achieve the following goals for individuals participating in the Globaloria program:

#"Develop participant’s 21st century skills such as digital creativity and innovation, virtual collaboration and team work, media technology and computer fluency.
#"Increase participants digital literacy and engagement in open source communities such as Wikis and Blogs: read/write, pull/push, surf/post, and receive/contribute.
#"Enhance participant’s cross-cultural understanding, self-determination and self-reliance.
#"Encourage participant’s design and production of educational, socially-conscious interactive games and simulations.
#"Build and raise participant’s awareness and knowledge of curricular areas and issues of importance to their community (local, national and global) through choice and expression of game themes and narratives.

Philosophy

The Globaloria program uses a Constructionist Learning approach to achieve its goals. Using Globaloria’s virtual network of educational tools and resources, students are encouraged to construct, interact and play to assist in their learning. Students conceptualize their ideas, construct their games and simulations, interact with peers for feedback and assistance, and play with their games and simulations to continue learning or to implement improvements.

Globaloria Platforms

The Globaloria Program is comprised of multiple platforms, each of which has its own network, themes, and active communities. There are three operational network platforms that are being tested in the beta version: MyHLife, MySLife, and MyGLife. There are also three other social platforms that are under construction: MyRLife (MyHumanRightsLife), MyALife (MyArtLife), and MyMLife (MyMathLife).

MyHLife

[http://www.myhlife.org/ MyHLife] (MyHealthLife) is an online platform within the Globaloria network that allow students to become the makers of interactive web games and simulations that focus on important health issues such as nutrition, exercise, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. In the process of game and simulation making, students are able to dive into these issues that affect them and their communities while improving their 21st century skills. In the summer of 2008, the World Wide Workshop Foundation worked with 10 students (ranging from 10-17 years old) from the Rethink Camp of New Orleans. With MyHLife, the students worked together to create web games and simulations that advocated for a healthier cafeteria and healthier lifestyles in New Orleans Public Schools. [cite press release
title = In a City Famous for Food, Kids Say No Thanks To Cafeteria Fare;Youth Design 21st Century “Green” Cafeteria; Computer Game, “Ultimate Lunch Tray,” Unveiled
publisher = ReThinkers Camp
date = July 24, 2008
format =
language =
url = http://www.therethinkers.com/pressmaterials/Release.pdf
accessdate = October 06, 2008
archiveurl =
archivedate =
quote = ]

MySLife

[http://www.myslife.org/ MySLife] (MyScienceLife) is an online platform within the Globaloria network that allows participants to become the makers of interactive web games and simulations that focuses on science. In the 2008 pilot year and in partnership with Schlumberger-Seed, the Foundation directed participants from around the world to focus on two topics – global climate and energy. While participating in the process of game and simulation creation, participants learn 21st century learning skills as well as climate and energy topics such as greenhouse gases and wave energy science.

MyGLife

[http://www.myglife.org/ MyGLife] (MyGlobalLife) is an online platform within the Globaloria network that allows participants to become makers of interactive web games and simulations that focuses on subject areas regarding math, science, history and social issues. In partnership with the Governor of West Virginia, Benedum Foundation, Center for Professional Development for the State of West Virginia (CPD) and other supporting organizations, the World Wide Workshop Foundation implemented a statewide pilot program that brought the Globaloria program into classrooms throughout West Virginia. With a customized curriculum, training, and support programs developed by the World Wide Workshop Foundation, Globaloria game and simulation production classes were introduced to seven groups, representing middle schools, high schools, vocational schools and community colleges for grade and credit in June 2007.

How Globaloria Works

Globaloria is the platform. On it are multiple social networks across which students learn to build games in a collaborative virtual community. Each network focuses on a theme — health, science, math, human rights, global issues — and the game the students build is created around that theme. An individual class or after-school group can form its own small community within a network, and can connect with other communities in that network. Each community receives a wiki that serves as the community’s virtual classroom or clubhouse; there, the learners create profile pages and project pages, as well as use a step-by-step curriculum to learn to design and build a game to be published on the web. Each community also receives a starter-kit website with four learning channels, filled with such learning resources as sample games with downloadable codes and custom tutorials. Every participant in a community creates a blog and reflects regularly on his or her game-making experience and learning accomplishments.

Through this immersive process of digital design and creation, young learners are able to master the new fundamental abilities to originate digital content, to write as well as read digitally, to express themselves in a networked community, to innovate and collaborate at once using social networks and social media technology. The World Wide Workshop Foundation asserts that these are the very skills needed to be productive, successful 21st-century citizens.

Globaloria West Virginia

In July 2007, the governor and first lady of West Virginia were looking for an innovative technology program that would transform education throughout the state by using the latest Web technology and innovative content. [Citation
last = Spangler
first = Allie
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Video game pilotingMCTC program allows students to design games
newspaper = The Parthenon
pages = 2
year = 2008
date = 24-April
url =http://media.www.marshallparthenon.com/media/storage/paper534/news/2008/04/24/News/Video.Game.Piloting-3345970.shtml ] Having heard of the World Wide Workshop Foundation, Governor Joe Manchin believed that the Globaloria Program can help in this educational endeavor.

In August 2007, the World Wide Workshop Foundation began to implement the Globaloria Program statewide to West Virginia stimulate economic and social development, foster job creation, and position the state as a leader in 21st Century education. In its first pilot year, 89 students and 18 educators from seven learning institutions became the first participants to use the Globaloria-WV Program’s [http://www.myglife.org/ My Global Life] network for learning to design educational web-games. [cite press release
title = West Virginia Center for Professional Development Partners with World Wide Workshop to Help Educators and Students Gain 21st Century Learning, Life and Technology Skills
publisher = West Virginia Center for Professional Development
date =
format =
language = English
url = http://www.globaloria.org/wiki/images/Globaloria_july_2008_-_CPD_Press_Release_-_Final.pdf
accessdate = 2 October 2008
archiveurl =
archivedate =
quote = ] In the second pilot year, which started in August 2008, Globaloria-WV more than doubled in size to over 250 participants. With the support of the State of West Virginia, Benedum Foundation, and Verizon West Virginia, the World Wide Workshop plans to continue its growth and impact throughout West Virginia.

World Wide Workshop Foundation

The World Wide Workshop Foundation is a global, non-profit educational organization that seeks to address the challenges of global education through technology. Their programs are dedicated to developing open-source applications of social media technology and game production, to enhance learning, innovation, entrepreneurship, and an understanding of the world in economically-disadvantaged and technologically-underserved communities. The World Wide Workshop works in collaboration with corporations, foundations, educational institutions, and research centers worldwide. [World Wide Workshop(2008). http://www.worldwideworkshop.org Retrieved 1 October 2008]

External Links

* [http://www.wordlwideworkshop.org/ World Wide Workshop Main Page]
* [http://www.myglife.org/ My Global Life]
* [http://www.mySlife.org/ My Science Life]
* [http://www.myHlife.org/ My Health Life]
* [http://www.Globaloria.org/ Globaloria Main Page]

References