Overcoming Objections to MUVEs in Education - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 8

is better than transmitting less information less
quickly. There are, after all, curricular standards
that teachers must meet. With a limited amount of
time in each school year, that requirement dictates
that topics must be covered at a certain minimum
rate in order to reach the target.
The assumptions underlying this common
approach to education were challenged in the
National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008)
report Foundations for Success: The Final Report
of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel .
Among the recommendation of the panel is the
streamlining of mathematics education to cover
fewer topics in greater depth. The affordances of
MUVEs support the goal of providing deeper un-
derstanding of concept by allowing manipulation
and exploration of applications of principles in a
virtual environment (Clarke et al., 2006). Students
work in a structured space that allows them to test
their understanding of mathematical concepts and
enhance the sophistication of the mental models
resulting in increased retention and recall of origi-
nal concepts (Johnson-Laird, 1983). Of course,
unless and until the recommendations of National
Mathematics Advisory Panel are implemented by
state, school districts and textbook publishers,
teachers will still be held accountable for cover-
ing all of the current curricular material. Under
those conditions, no matter what the subject area,
it may be a productive approach to first explore
the use of MUVEs as an enhancement to current
practices rather than a replacement.

predators. Reports of online sex crimes frequently
appear in the media (Potter and Potter, 2001).
While there are incidents of these kinds online,
the perception of the frequency, likelihood and
character of these events is out of line with real-
ity. According to the Final Report of the Internet
Safety Technical Taskforce (2008), the perception
of online threats to children is both significantly
exaggerated and generally misunderstood. De-
spite fears, young people are more likely to be
the victim of sex crimes initiated through local
contact with a family member or friend than by
a stranger online (Wolak, Mitchell, & Finkelhor,
2003). Contrary to the impression given by me-
dia reports, the rate of sex crimes against young
people, like other crime, decreased by more than
50% between 1992 and 2006 (Wolak, Mitchell, &
Finkelhor, 2006). Rather than fueling an increase
in sexual predation, the growth of the Internet
has coincided with a dramatic decrease. Wolak,
Mitchell, & Finkelhor (2003) calculate that online
incidents account for only 7% of all sex crimes
against minors. Of course, any exploitation of a
minor is tragic, but the statistics do not support the
level of worry commonly felt by concerned adults.
The tendency of adults to believe that adolescents
and teens are vulnerable to exploitation because
they are naïve is itself naïve. Research shows that
by age 12 or 13, young Internet users understand
the social realities of the Internet at the same level
as adults (Yan, 2006). Research indicates that
almost all teens and adolescents who had sexual
encounters with adults through the Internet did
so after seeking such contact (Internet Safety
Technical Taskforce, 2008). While that fact may
not be any less disturbing to parents, it certainly
should make them reconsider the nature of the
danger they are on guard for. Despite a tendency
to use the term children when referring to all
sexual activities relating to minors, instances of
online solicitation of pre-adolescent children are
virtually non-existent (Wolak et al., 2008).
It is unlikely that the information in this section
of the chapter will keep concerned parents, teach-

Objection: Being Online
Puts Youth at Risk

Concerns about the safety and privacy of students
are bound closely together. There is a common
fear that the Internet exposes young people to risks
of victimization by predators and provides access
to inappropriate or harmful content. The drive to
protect students' privacy is usually based on a
sense that privacy will protect them from sexual