Chapter 6: SecretBuilders

In chapter 6 virtual worlds was the topic of interest. When I was reading this chapter it seemed like a slightly controversial topic. Personally, I saw that there were valid points for both support and disagreement on the issue. In regards to virtual worlds I explored a site called SecretBuilders. This is a virtual world website designed for children ages 5-14. On this website students can do a variety of activities, such as: children will explore virtual lands, undertake quests, play games, maintain a home, nurture a pet, and interact with their friends. The site offers many games and quests that focus on specific literature that is often used in classrooms, and the idea is that students will learn the literature better by fully immersing themselves in it via the website. There are also sections of this website that are available for use of parents and teachers. I like that this site allows parents and teachers to connect with the student, so the site is being constantly monitored, so thing such as cyber bullying are less likely to occur and the majority of the focus can remain on the tasks at hand.  In the chapter cyber bullying and privacy and safety were the main opposition to virtual world, so the fact that this site is so secure is quite reassuring and supportive of student learning.