Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

8-21-06 - NYC

Today I feel so happy because I am going to Seattle. I am getting kind of scared though because I was never on a plane but I wish I could go through this because I have to face my fears. I did not go to sleep yesterday. I was so excited I left my sweater at my house. That a bummer, isn’t it? But I don’t really need it because I checked the weather and it looks nice. I hope I meet Bill Gates. He is like my cousin. I hope he can give P4K that X-Box 360. I would be so happy.

8-22-06 - Seattle, before meeting

Today I am feeling good. I had a good sleep last night. I felt like a king. I wish we can sleep more but that’s work for you. You can’t expect anything more than waking up early. My goals for today are to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday. Also just to get through today without sleeping in the meeting. Another personal goal is that I should write in my journal so I can be on point.

I also want Microsoft to think or know that our program is very good and people to take a look at our game so they can put it all over the Internet. I want them to see that it takes hard work to do what you have to do to make a game. We should tell them what goes on in our program and what we do in it. I should tell them what I did to make this game and show it to them and tell them what I am doing.

How will I know if I reached these goals? Some evidence is that if the people that I talk to say that this is very interesting. If they give me a card with their number then I know that they would want to learn more about the thing I am doing

8-22-06 - Seattle, notes during the meeting

I just spoke to a guy named Tim Perkins. He is a scientist for maple trees. He studies maple trees and is also part of the Odyssey of the Mind. When he was speaking I:
1. Paid attention
2. Asked questions
3. Smiled and talked about outside resources like news and things I saw.

It was very good to speak about our game in front of the room. Everyone paid attention. I think that lots of people will look at our game now. I realize that:
1. I had to discuss Ayiti the game to the people here.
2. It was very good to talk about it but I was afraid because there are a lot of people.
3. I explained everything well about the game.
4. I need to learn not to be shy because it shows that I am not that strong talking to people.

Barry asked me to listen and find one idea that could help the program. I choose Collaboration Community (Barry says I mean the world “partnerships”). I choose this because we could get people from all over the school and see if they can help us to do what ever we need to do. We could find people that know a lot about next year’s topic and make them write an essay to see what they know about the topic.

8-22-06 - Seattle, after the meeting

Today I achieved all of my goals because it feels really good inside. I feel so excited because a beautiful lady came and asked me a lot of questions, then she took me to the Microsoft store and bought me a cool X-Box 360 bag. The first goal I know I achieved was calling my mom and wishing her a happy birthday. She sounded very happy that I remembered. Another goal I know I achieved was to meet lots of people. I know this because I am special and because I got recognize by Allyson from Microsoft today in front of everyone. I was about to cry but I am a man and I held it back.

I got to play X-box 360 games even if Bill Gates did not make a special appearance.

8-23-06 - Seattle, before meeting

Today I guess that we are going to be doing group work. I hope everything goes well because we are the special group. I hope Allyson does not try to get me with a question off guard but I think Barry might tap me to make sure I am listening.

8-23-06 - Seattle, after meeting

Today was just like any day we went to Microsoft, but we were done early and got to go into town. We went to Pikes Market. That place is big. I bought my mom and me something but other than that I had a real good time in Seattle. I though I would at least see the basketball team but I did see the arena. That was kind of cool.

I am glad to go home tomorrow because I can go and see my family again. I am so happy but for now I am going to work out in the hotel and I am going to the pool.

I like everyone I met at Microsoft, even Allyson. She is very nice. I also like the lady who bought me the X-Box 360 bag. Awww, man, another plane ride tomorrow. I hope this one goes much faster than when we were coming.

8-24-06 - NYC, after the trip

I would like to thank the whole GK Staff for having my back when me and Barry and Jonah went to Seattle. I would really like to thank Barry for making me have a fun time, Jonah for talking to me to make sure I understood what the people (Microsoft staff) were talking about, and Shelly for all of her enthusiasm (even though she lost her clothes but got them back when she was leaving). I would also like to thank Carole for letting me do everything I am doing right now and Jill because when I am down she gets me back on my feet. Thank You.

When I was in the airport I saw the Knicks. I was eating and I looked up and I saw Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbary and Nate Robison. I was too surprised to get an autograph.

I learned on this trip that I should budget everything so I do not go over. I also learned that it is better to meet lots of new people and see what they do and why they do it. I also learned that I had to know how not to be shy when I talk to people.

Posted by Barry at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by joyce at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Global Kids Camp GK was touted in a recent blog post entitled, "A Gallery of Virtual 'Firsts' from Second Life." It was posted by Rohit Bhargava, a Vice President of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations, on his blog Influential Interactive Marketing.

He writes, " Second Life is becoming the new poster child for the rising popularity of avatars and virtual personalities that real people are taking on, and every day it seems there is a new development that causes those in marketing and media circles to issue another latest news bulletin, write a blog post, or move on the rise as del.icio.us tag candy... From my time observing over the last several months, here is a list of notable firsts from Second Life that may serve useful for others trying to keep up (or catch up) with the rapid evolution of Second Life."

Along with a list that includes:

• First Virtual Hotel: Starwood's Aloft


• First Virtual Concert: Suzanne Vega's Queen and the Soldier


• First Virtual Retailer: American Apparel, and


• First Virtual Sports Event: Baseball's All Star Game

• First Virtual NonProfit Campaign: Global Kids GK Island

We are neither the first non-profit nor the first campaign in SL. But we always love the attention. We DO say, however, that we are the first outside organization to run a public island in the teen grid - can we take the first for that?

Posted by joyce at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Educating in virtual worlds is an interesting thing. It can be considered distance learning, though you and the teens' avatars might be standing a couple of (virtual) meters away. It's embodied, yet somehow disembodied as well. At Global Kids, as we worked with making education happen in Second Life through our virtual summer camp, Camp Global Kids, there were many small insights we came across. This is the first in a series of posts aimed at laying out some of the distinctive ways that the real world and the virtual world differ in terms of educating.

To start, take a look at the picture below:

This was our standard meeting space on Global Kids Island in Second Life. We used it to give instructions, hold activities and engage in discussions. It's not entirely unlike the space below that Global Kids, and certainly other educators, might encounter in the real world:

In both settings the educator is sharing a physical space with the learners, that space holds the same or similar meanings for all as being one of learning, and in both there is the capacity for communication.

That being said, there are clearly many differences between the two specific examples in terms of setup, resources and general appearance, but these are not what I'm looking to focus on, as these are things that can differ between any two spaces in the real world as well. What I'd like to focus in on is what the direct experience of both the educator and the learner is in each of the settings, real and virtual, and the critical ways in which they differ.

In the educational setting pictured above, which I'll refer to as 'real world', learners will be experiencing their basic sensory phenomena both as they relate to the focus of the educational setting (the sound of the educator's voice, the sight and cognition of reading materials or graphs, meta-analysis about the subject matter, etc.) as well as ones that aren't related to the focus (the sound of teens running and chatting in the hallway, the sight of a teen magazine they have tucked in their textbook, general daydreams and thoughts about everything but the subject of the class, etc.).

Now if you take a standard snapshot of a virtual world or 'VW' educational space, it might look something like our meeting space in Second Life, posted again to the right, though this can certainly vary into any kind of physical setting you can imagine. It has seats for all, some nice plants for decor and nice views of a volcano out the windows. Pretty straightforward. You come, sit, discuss, etc., right?

Well, no, not quite right. That image leaves out about 90% of what's being experienced in the space on a sensory level. The picture below is a bit more accurate. It includes what is generally refered to as 'user interface', or UI for short.

As mentioned, in the real world space, you experience many different types of sights, sounds and other sensory phenomena. Some can generally be considered universal like most sounds and visual prompts, others are specific to a learner such as a page in the text that no one else is looking at, or just the way that an individual processes certain peices of information.

In the virtual world space, while these experiences are present in one form or another, there is a whole other layer of processing and interaction that is happening in the UI. This might include the chat history, an inventory with documents, objects and many other things, buddy lists, spatial maps and instant messages (both from either other learners and educators in the same space or people that are signed into the VW though not 'present').

Each of these elements in and of themselves merits discussion, and we'll attempt to look at these further in later posts. The main introductory point is that virtual world and real world settings, while similar in some ways, diverge in some fundamental ways in terms of the direct experience of the learner and educator on an individual basis, and that divergence is usually invisible within the space. As an educator, the key is not to take for granted what you can't see.

Posted by Rafi at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

When last I reported, we had seen 750 teens visit the maze. Now, almost seven days after it first opened, we have had a total of 1300 teens visit. In addition, 315 teens have donated $32,000 Linden (around $110US).

Posted by Barry at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eliane Alhadeff, on her excellent blog Future-Making Serious Games was so inspired by our work she made not just one but a number of posts about out work.

This entry focuses on the creation by Global Kids' Playing 4 Keeps teen group.

Posted by joyce at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Eliane Alhadeff, on her excellent blog Future-Making Serious Games was so inspired by our work she made not just one but a number of posts about out work.

This entry focuses on Camp Global Kids and its implication for learning.

She writes, "Also evident throughout second life are members educating themselves or each other... Could we be seeing maths or English taught in small classes in a similar way?"

Posted by joyce at 1:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eliane Alhadeff, on her excellent blog Future-Making Serious Games was so inspired by our work she made not just one but a number of posts about out work.

This entry focuses on Global Kids Digital Media Initiative and our work in Second Life.

Posted by joyce at 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eliane Alhadeff, on her excellent blog Future-Making Serious Games was so inspired by our work she made not just one but a number of posts about out work.

This entry focuses on Global Kids using games to bring a global youth development approach to teens.

She writes, "Acknowledging GK's work is a most rewarding experience. I've spent more time enjoying it than gathering content for further posting."

Posted by joyce at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The gaming focused blog, Wonderland, has a recent post that mentions Global Kids, the work being done in the teen grid and our game Ayiti.

To read the full post, click here.

Posted by joyce at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tom Watson, posting in his July 26th article on the site On Philanthropy, writes about the rise of non-profit and philanthropic work going on within Second Life.

"Philanthropy, it turns out, is sweeping the world's largest virtual 3D community and big-name organizations like the American Cancer Society, TechSoup, Global Kids, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are getting involved, creating virtual "chapters" and holding online fundraising events...

As several people noted, fundraising is almost secondary at this point. In the ACS event, attention was the key, as well as participation... That spirit of participation is evident in... the experiments of high school students in creating an alternative world for themselves working in a program of Global Kids, which aims to 'transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich
learning experiences.'"

To read the full article, click here.

Posted by joyce at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our very own Lori Feldman/aka Lori Gkid presented today at the Second Life Conference in San Francisco. She did a great job sharing best practices from the summer camp. The day was organized by the amazing education program committee.

You can read her abstract here.

Below are some photos I took during her talk from the location in the main grid where the event was being simulcast.

Posted by Barry at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following are photosets on Flickr arranged for reporters who wish to cover the work of Global Kids. To use a photo, either:

1) Click on any photo to enter the photoset
2) Click on the right on the name of the photoset
3) Click on the photo you want to use
4) Above the photo, select "All Sizes"
5) Select "original"
6) Select "Download the original"
7) Credit the photo to "Global Kids, inc. www.GlobalKids.org"
8) Let info@globalkids.org know when the article/blog is available.

This will provide a high resolution .jpg. If you require higher resolution, please post a comment to this blog entry with the exact name of the image desired. We have images that are around 5 megs (flickr would provide those, unfortunately).

The following are photos from Global Kids' 2006 Camp GK in Second Life:

Posted by Barry at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When last I reported, we have seen almost 200 teens visit the maze, plus the 200 who came during the beta test. Now, just two days later, we have had a total of 760 teens visit, almost double the number. Even more impressive, Second Life reports our traffic as 6566, which is a combination of people AND time spent. That's a lot!

Also, 235 teens have donated $26,541 Linden (around $89US).

Posted by Barry at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To help Global Kids effort in raising awareness of slavery, Rik Panganiban will be distributing armbands and ball & chains in the Second Life Main Grid.

Read his blog to find out further details and where you can pick them up in SL.

Posted by joyce at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Camp Global Kids 2006 comes to a close, we asked some campers to share reflections they had on the experience. Here's our first! Go Nate!

Camp Global Kids = An Amazing Adventure!
By: Nate Kongo

Global Kids has been the only organization to have an influence on the Teen Grid in Second Life. During the summer, Global Kids had a camp; the camp took place Monday-Friday, 10am EST-1pm SLT for a total of 4 weeks.

How was GK supposed to get around 25 campers to participate in the camp 3 hours a day for 20 days? A
stipend of 100USD was the answer. I am sure the main reason most of the campers came was for the stipend. I am not saying that we are bad people because of that, but it was a great idea for GK to provide a reward.

The first week of camp was vigorous journey as there was much to learn about the rules. The rules guided us in every way possible. Getting to know each other was probably one of the best parts of camp. We all became close because we were able to learn about each other. We were a group of SL veterans; we have seen the ups and downs of the teen grid, from the tsunami of malls, to the waves of trigger-happy noobs. (For some of you who don't play SL, noob in this case means somebody new to Second Life).

The activities in Camp GK can be compared to a rollercoaster. You first have the giant huge hill, which represents meeting each other, and completing the first week project. The best part of week one would probably be either the frozen photo activity, or the hippo crashing the sim. That one hippo became the mascot of Camp GK.

The second week of camp would be the the second largest hill in a coaster, which usually comes right after the first hill. This hill is smaller, but still big. In camp week 2, we started to see the global issues in the world. We played games to represent them, to show how it feels, to see how we can help. The second week project probably wasn't favored by some campers, we had to make a newspaper about various
topics that included Second Life.

Week three of camp was pretty difficult. This was a tough week because we had to pick a topic, and convince the rest of the campers to choose this topic to use as our action project. The bunny hills in a rollercoaster would be week three because the hills are small, but you go very fast over them, thus creating the feeling you are about to fly off the rollercoaster car.

The last week of camp was probably the hardest; we had to do many things. First, we had to learn about the topic that was picked, which was child trafficking. The next step was to decide what we will actually do to show the rest of the Teen Grid about the global issue. The idea came pretty quickly, we were to make a maze, and at the end of the maze you would go to the monument. When you are in the maze, you were to answer questions about trafficking, and you would see pictures and people's stories. We originally
had 6 mazes, all the same, but we decided to cut it down to 3 mazes, which are 3 different mazes. The last week was difficult, so I would compare week 4 to the sharp turns on a rollercoaster.

Camp is over, but has not been forgotten. All of us campers will remember camp, and we will still be involved at the GK islands. I hope GK does more camps and programs because I really enjoyed the summer camp. It made me realize what REALLY is happening in third world countries and even the rest
of the world. Hippo! =)

Posted by Rafi at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, after lots of hard work; the Camp GK Maze opened for everyone! Mercury and all the campers worked very hard to make this work, and now it's up and running! The maze turned out great, and I think many teens were impressed. One of the teens that came to visit was Jackson Widget. He said the following about the maze;

"The Maze was an amazing experience. I learned SOO much by just taking a simple, yet fun stroll through. Camp Global Kids definitely delivered, delivered above all expectations." (Yes, He gave me permission to post this quote).

We had a visit from Claudia Linden when we first opened, and she helped us resolve some issues =). Below is a pic of Claudia, me, Jackson and Mashew Cheeky:

I was given a nice idea for the blog by, none other than (drumroll): Rafi. I followed two teens through the maze and then asked them a few questions. First one to complete the maze was Ming Chen (Then followed by Heather Quasimodo a few seconds later!!)

Here's Ming Chen's Interview:

Ming Chen: Neat maze xD
Lucky Figtree: Thanks! What did you like the most?
Ming Chen: I liked the signs. it shows the emotion of how it is a real problem
Lucky Figtree: =) Was there anything you didn't like?
Ming Chen: the trick blocks >_<
Lucky Figtree: Haha!
Ming Chen: where you answer it to find a dead end
Lucky Figtree: What do you think the TG can do, to help this cause?
Ming Chen: can invest into the cause to express that we want the problem solved even if we dont have to endure the torture they must go through everyday
Lucky Figtree: How important is this cause in today's world?
Ming Chen: it is a good foundation to gain more support in the future.. it will take time for the organization against sex trafficking to gain enough support... but sooner or later it will make a huge difference
Lucky Figtree: Thanks =) Do you give me permission to use this in my blog for www.holymeatballs.org?
Ming Chen: sure

--

Heather Quasimodo's Interview

Lucky Figtree: Hi Heather!
Heather Quasimodo: hi!
Lucky Figtree: What did you think of the maze overall?
Heather Quasimodo: i thought it was a great idea, =]
Heather Quasimodo: i found it amusing
Lucky Figtree: Was there anything you liked/didn't like about the maze?
Heather Quasimodo: nope i think that it was a pretty good maze
Lucky Figtree: Thats great!
Lucky Figtree: What else would you suggest the TG can do to help this cause?
Heather Quasimodo: well i know if you keep this up more people will know about it and want to donate
Lucky Figtree: And how important do you think this cause is; In today's world?
Heather Quasimodo: i've seen the donation box around but i didn't know if it was a scam or not, but now that i see global kids is supporting it, and they are an organization, i know they won't scam so i'm not scared to donate =]
Heather Quasimodo: i think it's really important. because these kids are the next generation, and the world can't survive when they are forced to do these things
Lucky Figtree: Great! Thanks ! And do you give me permission to use this in my blog for www.holymeatballs.org?
Heather Quasimodo: sure

As you can see, the teens had a lot to say and were really thoughtful about the issue. That's what we were going for, yay!

Posted by Lucky - SL Intern at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Below is the "The Monument to those affected by Child Sex Trafficking," written by Camp GK, which teens receive when they arrive at the end of the maze, at the monument in the sky:

Congratulations and Welcome to the Monument for those affected by Child Sex Trafficking!

If you've made it this far it means that you've shown grit, determination and perseverance in the face of challenges that are not easy to overcome.

Now that you're here, you can help others that are faced with real world challenges that are almost impossible for them to overcome.

There are THREE ways right here in this monument that you can help those affected by what many call the 21st Century's Slavery:

- SIGN A PETITION! - Touch the book on the table and with just a few clicks of a button you can show your support to end this global problem. By gathering thousands upon thousands of signatures and sending them to the people in power, we can show that this is an issue governments and other powerful bodies should work to address,

- GIVE A DONATION! - Click the donation kiosk to contribute to the Polaris Project, an organization that works to end Child Trafficking and modern day slavery. Even a couple of Lindens help! Check out more about the organization at www.polarisproject.org

- SEND IN A PHOTO! - While wearing your 'Slavery Still Exists' T-shirt as well as the other freebies you've acquired through the maze take a photo of your avatar and send it to Rafi Gkid. We'll send it in to a real life campaign that gathers photos of people wearing shirt and holdig signs that say 'Slavery Still Exists'.

Yours will be the first photos of teens from a virtual world that are showing their support to take action on this issue, and when you send your photo to Rafi Gkid, we'll put up your photos on a 'Wall of Support' on the outside of the maze!

* Be sure to include your avatar name in the title of the picture (eg: Slavery Still Exists - Your avatar name) and we'll reimburse you the 10L of the picture. Limit on pic per person!

Posted by Barry at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Below is the "Sex Trafficking Action project Welcome NoteCard," written by Camp GK, which teens receive when they first arrive at the maze:

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Camp Global Kids action project to raise awareness about Child Sex Trafficking.

Throughout the Camp Global Kids summer program, we explored a variety of global issues. Child Sex Trafficking is a particularly horrific issue that has struck us as profoundly worrisome, so we chose to take action here in the Teen Grid. This is why we're here - to inform YOU about Child Sex Trafficking and how you can help end this global crisis.

Using children for sexual exploitation is a high-profit, low-risk industry very often run by organized crime units throughout the world.

It is a global problem not reserved for third world countries but is also growing in countries such as Canada and the United States.

Our project starts out with a maze. Children are often lured into slavery by promise of food, shelter or money. As they are drawn deeper into the nightmare of sexual exploitation, their will to escape must feel like a maze - confused, hopeless and their world becoming a dead end.

We hope as you progress through the maze you will take the opportunity to look at the photographs, read the testimonies and become aware of the facts about this crime against children.

Posted by Barry at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the last few hours since it opened, we have seen almost 200 teens visit the maze, plus the 200 who came during the beta test. Between today and the beta testing, 146 teens have donated $21,300 Linden.

Siege191 Swayne had this to say, which he/she said I could shre here: "I really like what you guys are doing here bringing awareness in the virtial world to issues in the real world where it mattters." And here is the photo submitted of in his/her new Slavery Still Exists t-shirt:

Here are a few photos of the traffic around 10pm EST.

Posted by Barry at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This afternoon the post-beta tested maze created by Camp GK launched, dedicated to educating and inspiring teens in Second Life to take action around the issue of Child Sex Trafficking around the world.

The Lindens helped us out by promoting the launch in the welcome message to TSL:

And a little closer so you can read it:

Here is the place teens arrive after finishing the maze:

One of the various actions teens can take at the end point of the maze is to participate in the Slavery Still Exists campaign, in which people take photos of themselves with the phrase. Teens in SL can do the same, where they will be added to the official web site and to the Camp GK Maze:

Posted by Barry at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by joyce at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fellow Second Lifer and real world global issues advocate, Ric Panganiban, in his blog "The Click Heard Round the World", writes about the recent exhibit on child sex trafficking that took place on Global Kids island.

To read the article, click here.

Posted by joyce at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was delighted yesterday to reconnect with a GK Island regular who been gone all summer. This is a bright and thoughtful teen who has contributed a lot to the culture of the island and, it seems to me, has learned a lot in the process.

However, I was disappointed to learn he might not be back next year. Below, with his permission, you can see in my chat with him why:

TSL Resident: hey
Barry GKid: hey!
TSL Resident: long time no see.
Barry GKid: Same! How's summer been?
TSL Resident: it was good, I got back from camp a week ago
Barry GKid: how was it?
TSL Resident: awesome
TSL Resident: although I wish I was able to attend the gk camp
Barry GKid: Us too. But we have plans for programs during the year and hopefully you can participate then
TSL Resident: yeah, my dad is making me shut down my account during the school year because he thinks it will effect my grades and stuff
Barry GKid: Oh really? How do you feel about that?
TSL Resident: I don’t want my account to close, and I've told him I wont play weekdays and stuff
TSL Resident: be he wants to change my password so he is assured I cant play
Barry GKid: Has it affected your grades, you think?
TSL Resident: this past year, yeah probably, but I did good in school, but I could do much better I think
TSL Resident: its only freshman year
Barry GKid: Sure. Also, not everything you learned you learned in school - SL is teaching you a lot
TSL Resident: I know
TSL Resident: I never learn about Darfur, or sex trafficking in school
TSL Resident: the global issues are very important that you teach
Barry GKid: Are there other things you think you learn from being in SL?
TSL Resident: well, creativity, economics
Barry GKid: Anything else you tried to do to convinced your dad to let you keep your SL account?
TSL Resident: not really
Barry GKid: Good luck! Let me know how it goes. I am sure he just wants the best for you, but like most parents don't know how important things like time in SL can be for the development of today's teens
TSL Resident: yeah
TSL Resident: I understand

On one hand, Global Kids' online programs are doing all we can to ensure that those most targeted by the digital divide are not once again left out from receiving the benefits being offered by today's digital media. We work with teens developing online dialogues, and games, and such. Yet here is a youth with enough privilege to have a broadband connection at home, and a powerful enough computer to get into Second Life, being told by his father that his time in Second Life is hurting his education.

The idea that games can be a source of learning is certainly far from the dominant perspective. But it is slowly growing as a valid perspective amongst educators, inspired by the works of the folks at the University of Wisconsin like James Paul Gee, writers like Steven Johnson, and folks like Henry Jenkins. The teen resident above pointed to two types of learning: 1) content (the global/social issues that Global Kids provides) and 2) form (learning through the form itself, e.g. economics).

It strikes me as ironic that a thoughtful father who cares about his son's education would work to remove his son from such a rich source of learning, rather than seek to find a balance between the two. And, unfortunately, I imagine this a struggle not unique to this one teen but common amongst youth and the education-oriented adults around them.

Posted by Barry at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From a teen member of Second Life, comes a first person report after experiencing the Camp GK maze on sexual trafficking of children. The writer. Lee Stone, first tells about his experience in the maze and then analyzes it from the perspective of Second Life as an educational environment.

Second Life Educates About Trafficking
By Lee Stone

Many people see second life as a place to chat and earn money. As a member of the teen grid, this is more evident, however, recently over at Global Kids island they've been creating some awareness about Child Sex Trafficking.

Throughout the summer, one of the islands in Teen Grid (Global Kids Island) is running a summer camp. The event was organised by those participating on the summer camp, passing on what they've learnt to their friends and other kids on Second Life.

Throughout the Camp Global Kids summer program, we explored a variety of global issues. Child Sex Trafficking is a particularly horrific issue that has struck us as profoundly worrisome, so we chose to take action here in the Teen Grid. This is why we're here - to inform YOU about Child Sex Trafficking and how you can help end this global crisis.

The event was centred a maze which as you went round gave you fact cards about different types of slavery such as human trafficking. The aim of this was to educate the users of second life. As each person completed the maze they were asked a quiz question, which if they got right were given a free item, generally containing information such as stop Slavery, or a dove of peace.

At the end second life members were also given the chance to donate some of their Linden dollars. The money raised through this is going to the Polaris Project, an organization that works to end Child Trafficking and modern day slavery. If requested, people could also put donation boxes in their own shops to help raise money.

People were also taking screenshots of their avatars, which would be used in a real life campaign, mixed in with photos of people wearing shirt and holding signs that say 'Slavery Still Exists'.

A Different Route of Education

The thing I found interesting about this was how, by trying to address teenagers from a route which many are more comfortable in, and spend quite a bit of time in, they're also managing to educate them, quite willingly in most places. As I went round the maze I saw many people stopping at each of the case studies and fact cards and reading them.

Could we be seeing maths or English taught in small classes in a similar way? An extra class in an environment the pupil is more comfortable in may be beneficial. Just chatting to others within the environment will help improve their English and perhaps confidence in talking to other people.

Also evident throughout second life are members educating themselves or each other. For example, a lot of items are created by the members, who have had to learn how to build them, then learn programming for more interactive elements. Many of the kids on Teen grid didn't know how to programme when they first arrived, however, through tutorials and people willing to help each other, they have learnt enough to complete items they are building, or have learnt where to go to find out more so they can continue to educate themselves.

Raising money was also another part of the event that seemed to be working quite well. It can often be hard to get teenagers to donate money, however, within the virtual world they were a lot more willing. The one donation box had raised about L$6500 within a few hours, which is about $22. Although it does not seem that much, If the same people had passed a donation box in the street for the same cause, would so much have been donated?

We've already seen Second Life plan live virtual gigs and link ups with events held by Radio 1. How long will it be until we start seeing some more charity fund raisers on there, or more events like those we attend in real life.

To read the article in it's full context click here.

Posted by joyce at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Time Magazine published the article "Do-Gooder Games," which covered a number of other games which were also visible at the Games For Change conference last June.

The article begins:

Activist video games--which use whiz-bang formats to address real-world issues--are scoring high with both kids and teachers. Given the success of the U.N.'s aid-relief game Food Force (with more than 4 million downloads in 15 months) and the MTV-affiliated Darfur Is Dying (more than 800,000 players since April), techno do-gooders are proliferating, and gamers are saving the world.

Ayiti was going to be covered but, due to space limitations, was cut the day before printing. But due to a very suportive reporter, the article on the Web site includes the section on Ayiti as it was planned to run. It reads:

AYITI
Talk about extracurricular activity. As part of their after-school program, 24 students at New York City's South Shore High came up with-and designed-this game, which is named after the way Haiti is pronounced in Creole. The free game, which looks at poverty in the island nation, and will be available for download at thecostoflife.org in September, almost makes going back to school seem fun.

Posted by Barry at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sound off! Our promotional event about Child Sex Trafficking Awareness and Activism was such a success! I'm extremely proud that it went so well because of all the hard work and effort that was put into it. I wrote up all the infomative dialogue for the event as well as the questions for trivia. Many of the campers were there to lend a helping hand. Lucky and I presented the information, Ryan Mauriac took snapshots, Brooke Barmy handed out freebies to those participating, and Malarthi Behemoth, Nate Kongo, and TheCoolLeader Boyer were there for moral support and input.

The turn out was amazing! We had a little over 25 teens participate in the event and raised over L$6,000 within the hour for the Polaris Project (www.polarisproject.org). I was especially suprised by the participation rate and how interested they became as we progressed. An interesting pheonomena occured too! As we were giving L$50 to the first person who answered a trivia question correctly, we noticed that most were just donating them back to the donation boxes we had out. I guess this proves just how effective our presentation really was!

Check out a pic of the event below:

Posted by Mercury at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just before it was launched, the Camp GK campers were thrilled to have a visit by Mr. Second Life himself, Philip Linden. We believe it was his first visit to Global Kids and were delighted to have him get introduced to the important work being done by the residents.

After walking the maze and learning about sex trafficking of teens, he had the following to say (and gave us permission to quote him):

[13:29] Philip Linden: I hope a lot of people see it.
[13:30] Philip Linden: And it certainly is great that SL can be of some use in communicating info about this BIG problem.
[13:30] Philip Linden: As you guys know, one of the reasons i love coming to work is the hope that SL will be able to have a bigger and bigger impact as a tool for this sort of communication.
[13:31] Philip Linden: Make it harder for people to ignore bad things by making it easy to see and communicate about them.

Below is a photo of Philip while still in the maze, just about to click on an info ball to learn more about the issue and what can be done about it.

Posted by Barry at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In our series of camper reflections, here's one from Tin about the process of coming up with and executing the teen action project. Thanks Tin!

Global Kids Camper Action Project: Child Sex Trafficking
by Tin Bling

The Global Kids group spent countless hours preparing and organizing an event for the entire Teen Grid. The group built 6 mazes, one right after another. Before moving on to the next maze, the resident would have to answer one of 25 different Child Sex Trafficking questions. If a question was answered correctly, the user was given a free "Stop Child Sex Trafficking" article of clothing. There were 6 different items to receive, one for each maze completion. Along the way, there were Sex Trafficking pictures and quotes with in the maze walls. Check it out below:

Once the 6 mazes were completed, the user could teleport to a far off monument building. In the monument was a donation jar, to help stop Slavery, and a petition against it. This is what the monument 'action area' looks like:

The event started at 1pm SLT and ended at about 5pm SLT. On average there were at least 30 residents here at a time. There were well over 75 unique visitors. With the donation box's in world and on Global Kids, almost L$20,000 was raised, WOW!

How do I think it turned out? I knew it was going to be good, but never expected such a high number of people to always be here. I personally could not believe that almost L$20,000 was raised. The event turned out great, and visitors seemed to have liked it and learned something too. I am glad I was a part of this event. :)

Posted by Rafi at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The campers in Camp GK have decided to focus on the issue of Sex Trafficking of Children. To promote the event that will launch next week to educator others and inspire them to take action, they had a sort of info fair. Here is one photo below (taken by camper Ryan Mauriac):

At the event, they introduced their project to 25 other teens, educated them about the issue, and provided numberous ways they could take action. At the event itself, which was only designed to promote the main project, the campers already raised $6,000L ($24US).

Click below to read the raw, unedited log to get a sense of how the campers did getting others in TSL to learn about and focus on such a challenging and sensitive topic.

[13:00] Lucky Figtree: Merc, ready to start?
[13:00] Lieutenant Arrow: fur.text off
[13:00] Mercury Metropolitan: Yep :)Everyone take your seats :)
[13:00] Lucky Figtree: Shelly, please have a seat on a chair
[13:00] Lucky Figtree: thank you =)
[13:01] Kaito Ikura: O.o
[13:01] Lieutenant Arrow: flyleaf
[13:01] Object: Money Recevied Teleporting In 10 Seconds
[13:01] Shelly Soothsayer: what is going on here?
[13:01] Lucky Figtree: ;D
[13:01] Object: Money Teleported
[13:01] Shelly Soothsayer: hurry
[13:01] Jackson Widget: : )
[13:01] Shelly Soothsayer: cause i have to go soon
[13:01] Mercury Metropolitan: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Global Kids youth awareness event about Child Sex Trafficking.
[13:01] Anna Normandy: Hi:)
[13:01] Mercury Metropolitan: Please read closely and hold your questions until we ask for them.
[13:01] Shelly Soothsayer: nice bunny shoes
[13:02] Object: Money Recevied Teleporting In 10 Seconds
[13:02] Mercury Metropolitan: We will also be asking some questions throughout and holding trivia at the end.
[13:02] Object: Money Teleported
[13:02] Mercury Metropolitan: You will receive prizes for participation, so make sure you follow along.
[13:02] Shelly Soothsayer: great hurry up
[13:02] Lucky Figtree: Shelly, please keep your comments to yourself
[13:02] Malarthi Behemoth: Shelly, this isn't something that can be rushed.
[13:02] Mercury Metropolitan: I also want to remind you that this isn't a topic to be taken lightly.
[13:02] Object: Money Recevied Teleporting In 10 Seconds
[13:03] Shelly Soothsayer is offline
[13:03] Object: Money Teleported
[13:03] Mercury Metropolitan: I'm asking that you all be mature and composed throughout the presentation.
[13:03] Owyen Chikuwa: hi am i late
[13:03] Maria Ringo: Hey Luck. I may not be able to stay the whole time. We just got home today so I may be running down the street to see my bff.
[13:03] Lucky Figtree: We are representitives of the Camp Global Kids summer program in Second Life, and we are here to inform you about a VERY serious issue that is taking place in the present day.
[13:04] Jeff Peck is online
[13:04] Lucky Figtree: What is this issue you may ask? SLAVERY! yes, thats right folks.
[13:04] Lucky Figtree: Slavery still exists today, even in the wealthiest countries of the world.
[13:05] Yleri Tokhes: set status Babyfur
[13:05] Yleri Tokhes: Yip!
[13:05] Yleri Tokhes: afk
[13:05] Mercury Metropolitan: Now, think about this and get ready to answer a question. (Remember, you will receive prizes for participating.) Please say "/me raises hand" if you want to answer.DO NOT CALL OUT PLEASE
[13:05] mikki Heavy is offline
[13:05] Malarthi Behemoth: Yleri, if you could refrain from commenting and/or using scripts until the presentation is over, that'd be super.
[13:06] Mercury Metropolitan: What do you think we mean by using the term 'Slavery' to address this issue? How is it relevant in your understanding?
[13:06] Jackson Widget raises hand
[13:06] Mercury Metropolitan: Jackson?
[13:06] Jackson Widget: I think you are talking about Sex Trafficking
[13:06] Jackson Widget: as in Using Children for sex
[13:06] Mercury Metropolitan: Good - so that may represent slavery to you.
[13:06] Phoenix Rich is offline
[13:06] Mercury Metropolitan: Brooke, give Jackson a freebie :)
[13:06] Phoenix Rich is online
[13:07] Jackson Widget: sweet
[13:07] Mercury Metropolitan: Anyone else have a response?
[13:07] Kane Gable raises hand
[13:07] Mercury Metropolitan: Kane?
[13:07] Anna Normandy raises hand
[13:07] Lucky Figtree: Kane?
[13:07] Alpha Zaius raises hand, as well
[13:08] Kane Gable: Perhaps the people who do child sex trafficking are people who are mentally ill and it happens all the time when you dont even know it
[13:08] Owyen Chikuwa: /Me raises hand
[13:08] Kane Gable: I would know a person at my old school was abducted
[13:08] Owyen Chikuwa: hehe
[13:08] Mercury Metropolitan: Okay, so you're saying that they're being held against their will
[13:08] Lucky Figtree: Anna, I believe you were next =)
[13:08] Kane Gable: exactly
[13:08] Anna Normandy: I think slavery is being forced to do something. and inthis case, its causing children to have sex with adults. for sexual pleasure. also known as child abuse, and/or rape:O
[13:08] Mercury Metropolitan: Kane gets a freebie :)
[13:09] Mercury Metropolitan: That's an excellent response, Anna! You're right on the money there - Lucky will explain
[13:09] David Gall is online
[13:09] Mercury Metropolitan: Brooke, hand Anna a freebie :)
[13:09] Alpha Zaius: /yea, thats what I was gonna say ;P
[13:09] Anna Normandy: :)
[13:10] Owyen Chikuwa raises hand
[13:10] Lucky Figtree: The iKids and Teens the same ages as you and I are being sold like pieces of meat in an underground industry called the Child Sex Trade.
[13:10] Malarthi Behemoth: Younger sometimes even.
[13:11] Lucky Figtree: These teens and children are smuggled and sold through a process called 'Child Sex Trafficking'
[13:11] Owyen Chikuwa raises hand
[13:11] Mercury Metropolitan: The issue of Child Sex Trafficking is a horrific one that has struck us as profoundly worrisome, so we chose to take action her eon the Teen Grid.
[13:11] Jeff Peck is offline
[13:11] Object: Money Recevied Teleporting In 10 Seconds
[13:11] Lucky Figtree: Owyen, we will have more time for answers soon =)
[13:12] Owyen Chikuwa: OK
[13:12] Object: Money Teleported
[13:12] Lucky Figtree: Thank you Anna!
[13:12] Mercury Metropolitan: This is why we're here - to inform YOU about Child Sex Trafficking and how you can help put an end to this Global crisis.
[13:12] Anna Normandy: Welcome:)
[13:13] Lucky Figtree: Each year an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold, or forced across the world's borders [2003 U.S. State Department estimate]
[13:13] Lucky Figtree: Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as five, who fall victim to the sex trade.
[13:14] Lucky Figtree: Human Trafficking is the second-largest organized crime in the world.
[13:14] Phoenix Rich is offline
[13:14] Alpha Zaius: /woa
[13:14] Phoenix Rich is online
[13:14] Mercury Metropolitan: Many of the Children affected are bron into poverty and sold for sex.
[13:15] Mercury Metropolitan: Sexual predators often travel to places like Southeast Asia, where poverty is prominent and the prey is easy.
[13:15] Mercury Metropolitan: People are so desperate for money in these poor areas that they sell and prostitute children to the grown men who fly in from wealthier countries, such as America.
[13:15] Owyen Chikuwa: Holland
[13:16] Mercury Metropolitan: The perverted act of traveling to different countries for sex with minors is called 'Child Sex Tourism.'
[13:16] Jeff Peck is online
[13:16] Lucky Figtree: Child sex tourists are individuals that travel to foreign countries to engage in sexual activity with children.
[13:17] Jessi Czervik: ao on
[13:17] Lucky Figtree: The non-profit organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and the Trafficking of Children(ECPAT) estimates that more then one million children worldwide are drawn into the sex trade each year.
[13:17] Malarthi Behemoth: No sound please.
[13:18] Malarthi Behemoth: And that's in addition to the children who are ALREADY being trafficked.
[13:18] Mercury Metropolitan: Okay, now everyone get ready to think about a question I'm going to ask. Again, I ask that you raise your hands and do not call out.
[13:18] Malarthi Behemoth: And this has been going on for a LONG, LONG time.
[13:18] Phoenix Rich is offline
[13:18] Mercury Metropolitan: Imagine yourself in the shoes of one of these kids being sold off for sex with adults.
[13:19] Yleri Tokhes: set status Quiet
[13:19] Mercury Metropolitan: How would you feel to be in their shoes?
[13:19] Mercury Metropolitan: Please reaise hands
[13:19] Phoenix Rich is online
[13:19] Anna Normandy raises hand
[13:19] Mercury Metropolitan: raise*
[13:19] Jackson Widget raises hand
[13:19] Kaito Ikura raises hand
[13:19] Mercury Metropolitan: Anna?
[13:19] Anna Normandy: I'd feel like an object, or someone that is only good for one thing
[13:19] Owyen Chikuwa: sex
[13:19] Anna Normandy: I wouldnt feel like i was living a life. if just feel like, a toy
[13:20] Anna Normandy: *id
[13:20] Lucky Figtree: Oywen, please raise you hand =)
[13:20] Mercury Metropolitan: That sounds like a truthful point of view, Anna, and I'm sure these children do feel that way.
[13:20] Owyen Chikuwa: what ok
[13:20] Mercury Metropolitan: Anna gets a free bie :)
[13:20] Anna Normandy: :)
[13:20] Owyen Chikuwa raises hand
[13:20] Mercury Metropolitan: Jackson?
[13:20] Jackson Widget: As anna pointed out, i would feel used
[13:20] Jackson Widget: but also
[13:21] Jackson Widget: i would be depressed, and worried
[13:21] Phoenix Rich is offline
[13:21] Phoenix Rich is online
[13:21] Jackson Widget: and unsure of what to do
[13:21] Mercury Metropolitan: Yep , I'm sure that's a pretty good example of how these kids feel.
[13:21] Flibx Blackflag raises hand
[13:21] Mercury Metropolitan: Send Jackson a freebie
[13:21] Owyen Chikuwa: they should feel anything
[13:21] Yleri Tokhes: -.-
[13:21] Jackson Widget: sweet
[13:21] Mercury Metropolitan: Kaito, you're next
[13:22] Yleri Tokhes: fur.hide
[13