I think an important element to consider is the age and educational background of the students involved in this project. These are older students who may be living independently, who need much greater motivation to engage and stay engaged with an educational program than just being told to do so.

I find the use of “loremasters” to be a brilliant way of connecting the educational to the game, so the whole is a seamless experience that does not give the participants an element that is easy to single out and ignore. The loremasters also make it possible to provide specifically targeted tasks and information to increase the effectiveness of the program, and also to differentiate tasks for specific students.

I am looking forward to seeing how this project plays out.

It’s funny that you would include that video link. It’s a classic WoW-related meme, though it has nothing to do with this project at all. Our students aren’t playing at home, nor can they access the accounts outside of the program.

In this project, we’re not “training the children to play WoW.” What we ARE doing, rather, is taking students, most of whom were referred to us by the principal, teachers, and counselors, who need something to keep them motivated in school, and placing them in a media-rich virtual environment that’s building their interpersonal skills, teamwork, leadership, problem solving, etc. And of course, they’ll have fun doing it. If we can engage them, our kids will be more successful.

Regarding the “in-game” interaction and “player-generated content…” Just as a coach would take to the field to teach his soccer players certain skills or a basketball coach might demonstrate a certain technique on the courts, what I and my fellow educators are doing in this project is modeling the project’s goals with them, in game. If I can do this in an immersive way, such as by taking on the role of a character in the story, then I think that’s a benefit to them. And do I enjoy interacting with them this way? Of course.

You ask, “Is this a normal student/teacher relationship?” Well, yes and no. Yes in the sense that I am guiding their learning, but no, and thankfully no if what you mean by “normal” is “traditional.” Could I lecture to them about 21st-Century leadership, online interactions, and team dynamics? Sure. Would it work? Absolutely not. But, when I come alongside the students in this project and model for them these qualities and skills, it’s more authentic, and that is the goal.

You ask, “Are students there to fulfill your personal desires?” Yes! It is my desire to help these kids who are struggling, who might otherwise be “on the streets,” who need something school-related that they can identify with. And, if, by this project, I can impact even one of them, it is all worth it.

Please, if you haven’t done so, and I suspect that you haven’t based on this comment, please investigate what we’re doing a bit more and then come back and ask more questions. I’ll be more than happy to address them.

-Lucas

I think this is very disturbing and creepy.

I would never let my children play wow with you, why are you doing these bizarre experiments?

Are you deceiving the children for your experiments?

Here’s what happens when they go home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgASIJMalgM&NR

Whats the point of training the children to play wow, you don’t appear to be a professional gamer yourself, do you have any pro gaming experience?

“These characters fill my own personal desire to have some in-character interaction with the kids while creating some “player-generated content” so to speak.”

What on earth does this mean, is this a normal student/teacher relationship?

Are students there to fulfill your personal desires?

The only front-loading we did prior to this interaction was to do a mini-lesson on how to send private messages and about in-game chat etiquette. The students didn’t know they’d be contacted and never knew it was me. This was because I wanted to see how they’d react.

These characters fill my own personal desire to have some in-character interaction with the kids while creating some “player-generated content” so to speak.

It won’t be long before the students realize that the Lore Keepers are their teachers, however, for now, I’ll keep up the ruse to observe how they react.

Really, this is just a fun, creative way for me to interact with them.

-Lucas

It’s a fascinating and wonderful project. I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

~Mike

I, do, think the visual nature of the 3D environment draws their attention more than the chat window. What will be interesting, is how that changes once communication becomes a more critical component of their activities.

As it turns out, yesterday, I did place them in seats, randomly, but I didn’t go with silent play. Interestingly enough our female players and a couple of the guys were at the basketball game instead, and it completely changed the chemistry of the room. They were much more focused on their game play… Imagine that… in Middle School!

-Lucas

Yes – the accepted language forms in online gaming via console are challenging to say the least!!

I wonder if some students were so caught up in the 3D environment that they did not even have chat displaying? I have a student who was so caught up in the environment in Quest Atlantis that he had closed all peripheral windows, and so was unreachable until I visited f2f.

A question – will Deadmines be a scaffolded experience, or throwing them in the deep end?

-Lucas

Excellent observations. I think your interventions will help – seating chart, silent play, etc. Remember to stay flexible and keep tinkering.

And keep posting!