Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Golden Age of Childhood (Online)
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There’s no doubt about it: our children are playing in a brave new world - or rather brave new worlds, since the Internet provides them countless virtual play-spaces.
And as more and more entertainment brands produce educational playspaces, parents can use all the help they can get figuring out where this trend is taking them — and their kids.
Who better to ask than Scott Traylor, CEO of 360KID, the Newton-based development house that produces educational games and websites for the likes of Sesame Workshop, LeapFrog, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, PBSKids and Pokémon.
A designer, programmer and former professor of computer science at Harvard, Traylor heads a company of animators, producers, writers, subject experts, and even a parent expert. Traylor started producing educational CD-ROMS in the early 90s, a full decade before what he identifies as a paradigm shift in the industry. In 2000, “the whole notion of learning and education broadened to include more playful approaches,” he says, “like the kind of learning that takes place on a playground.”
Around that time, Traylor’s company began a relationship with Sesame Workshop to develop web-based games. Since then, 360KID has produced over 40 different interactive products using Sesame characters.
“The goal is to get kids fired up about learning,” Traylor says, adding that the educational media field has gained a level of creativity and innovation that might just make this a golden age for childhood when it comes to learning online.
One of the programs bolstering Traylor’s theory is the Pokemon Learning League, a suite of interactive, lessons in core curriculum topics for grades 3-6. What sets Pokemon Learning League apart is the way it applies educational research to entertaining animated stories. Pokemon recruited some heavyweight educational talent to this initiative: professors of education from Harvard and NYU serve on the advisory board. Correlated to each state’s standards, this program may in fact help your child improve his or her MCAS scores. 360 KID produces all of the animated lessons on the site. Traylor says, “Pokemon is spearheading teaching through a brand that kids know and love.” The program has already won one industry award and is up for a distinguished achievement award from the industry’s pre-eminent association, AEP. With the site a commercial and critical success less than a year after its launch, we can expect to see other entertainment brands following Pokemon’s lead.
The phenomenal success of the social networking sites Webkinz and Club Penguin suggests another online educational opportunity for youth. Traylor especially likes Whyville, a virtual town with 1.7 million citizens. Whyville has an array of impressive educational partners, including NASA, the Getty, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Traylor admires its emphasis on constructivist learning, social responsibility and entrepreneurialism. In Whyville kids write for the town newspaper, build things for the town, vote for the town’s leaders, and even visit the virtual Getty museum. Whyville has its own economy; players can start businesses, selling things they have made on the site.
“Social networking is just one new technology that has captured the interest of kids, as well as businesses,” says Traylor. “Other areas where you will see change include alternative input technologies, like interacting with technology through a wave of your hand or through a gesture of your body. A bike can be considered a different input device than that of a keyboard and mouse. Look for a stationary bike that will control a video game about learning later this year. Technology is changing rapidly in our day-to-day lives creating new ways to communicate, interact, play and learn. These changes are not just influencing adults, but kids as well. It’s important that parents be aware of what digital media their kids consume. There is good and there is bad with every new tech product, and what is right for one child may not be for another.”
Even Traylor cautions parents against solely taking his word for it; all parents should check out what their kids want to play whether the game is online, on a console or a handheld. Parents might be surprised to learn how many online play-spaces marketed to under-12s are open-chat and non-monitored; or how many gaming devices come bundled with games that, if rated, would earn a teen or mature rating. “Get familiar with the rating system and spend some time researching a product (including playing it) before getting it for your child.”
On Sunday, June 10, at the Assocation for Educational Publisher’s Summit in Washington DC, Traylor will share his thoughts on how the world of social networking can be harnessed for delivering educational content with educational media industry leaders. He’ll also discuss the potentials of open source for teachers wishing to share resources. And, he’ll touch on the use of iTunes and iPods for delivering educational content. Stay tuned for a full report on Traylor’s AEP talk on Misstropolis in mid-June.
Overall, Traylor says “it’s a very exciting time right now. So many new opportunities are available to help create a love of learning. And as exciting as it is right now to develop technology products for kids, I can’t wait until next year when even more new technologies will appear. And as they appear, 360KID will be right there to figure out how to use them for the benefit of all children.”
Comments
WARNING: Lots of text and my citing skills have vanished long ago
It is so exciting to hear a more thoughtful conversation around computer games. As many parents, I have been tentative about my children’s exposure to gaming (previously comparing it to TV and junk food and letting it trigger my fear around loss of control). My problem comes with two of my children who are, by nature, gaming crack addicts. I recently read a very comprehensive and concise article (By Steven Johnson) that explains, “Gaming can sharpen thinking, hone social skills and fine-tune perception. This is done by rewarding patience, developing a willingness to delay gratification and prioritize scarce resources.” Through the earliest studies, scientist have tracked, “cerebral glucose metabolic rates (how much energy the brain is consuming and therefore, how much work the brain is doing)” On the basis of “modeling simulations and externalizing how the brain works” (i.e. setting up a situation for processing all the information needed to respond), research has coupled this data to see how it applies to the real world: “On standard tests that measure attention span and information processing time, gamers consistently outperformed nongamers. Applied to white-collared professionals, the gamers were more social, more confident, more comfortable solving problems creatively. They were more strategic, more competitive and exhibited strong social and leadership skills.” (See the Harvard Business School Press, November 2006, by John Beck) I see an implied application for children with certain learning profiles; this may be THE answer (or at least one part of the puzzle). Children (and adults) whose social skills do not come naturally, and those with weak attention spans, can use these games as an avenue to learn important skills (“exploring, reconceptualizing goals, thinking nonlaterally, and navigating complex systems”). The article further explains the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine (“without which you are unable to learn properly”). If people who are lacking in dopamine can trigger its production through gaming, the need to put so many children on drugs has the possibility of subsiding. (my conclusion, not the author’s) Truly, what a brave new world it could be!!
P.S. This morning I was reading the Boston Globe’s adapted essay of Cullen Murphy’s “Are we Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America” and I asked my son to name what and when was Rome’s most humiliating defeat. His response was quick: “The battle of Teutoburg Forest in the earliest part of the Common Era.” He was in the computer room playing “Rome Total War” and was “in” the battle of Teutoburg Forest. The rote Social Studies lessons @ our middle school just aren’t as big of a turn on!
For additional observations about kids and social networking products like Club Penguin and Webkinz, I’ve posted a new blog article that may be of interest to the Misstropolis community. It’s available at http://www.360kid.com/blog/?p=18.
delightful topic.very nice to hear about the games.thanks for sharing the link.
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