MMOG

= MMOG = An MMOG is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game. Now you can log in and play games, compete and interact with other players around the world. You don’t even need a computer, most game consoles, like Wii, can now access the internet for such games. While the image that comes to mind is not typically educational, some of thee gaming site do have some limited use in the classroom. Second Life is a very well-known MMOG that has tried to incorporate educational content and locations such as Discovery Education Network and museums of all sorts. A teacher can create an account and guide the students to the areas s/he would like them to view. It s important for the teacher to have viewed the content in advance and not have students log in as themselves due to the prevalence of mature content on the site.

Some MMOG Sites:
Second Life: http://secondlife.com/ - must download the program to your computer. Has a link specifically to help educators: http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world Club Penguin: http://www.clubpenguin.com/ - geared for children ages 6-14 years. Use of vulgar language gets a user banned. Features a “safe chat mode” where users use pre-selected comments from a menu.

Reading about MMOGs:
Briggs, Linda, (2007) A Second Life for Middle School Science. http://www.thejournal.com/articles/20363 Foreman, Joel. (2004). Game-Based Learning: How to Delight and Instruct in the 21st Century. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/GameBasedLearningHowtoDel/40500 Foreman, Joel. (unknown) Is Gaming the Future of Education? http://www.convergemag.com/story.php?catid=231&storyid=97420 Kuckera, Ben. (2008). Disney wants your child online: MMOs for tweens. http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/disney-pirates-overview.ars

Preston, Jon, et. al. (2007). Improving Learning and Creating Community in Online Courses via MMOG Technology. http://www.scribd.com/doc/210290/MMOG-in-Onlinel-Education