Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
In the following sections, we present four different case studies in which Zora
was used since 1999: with a diverse group of children in a multicultural sum-
mer camp, with incoming freshman at a northeastern university, with transplant
patients at Children's Hospital Boston, and with children in after school programs
all over the world. By presenting each of the case studies, we focus on eight differ-
ent dimensions of intervention programs that use virtual worlds specifically aimed
for children's development and education: (1) curriculum, (2) mentoring model,
(3) diversity, (4) project scale, (5) type of contact with participants, (6) type of
assessment and evaluation, (7) access environment, and (8) institutional context of
usage.
Case Study 1: Multicultural Summer Camp
This summer camp was held in a university lab during 3 weeks in 1999. Participants
in the Zora summer camp were recruited through postings in different e-mailing
lists. Interested candidates had to complete an application. The goal was to obtain
a self-selected highly motivated group. It was made explicit to them that the goals
of the workshop were
“
learning about computers as well as exploring issues about
youth identity.”
The selection process favored diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, gen-
der balance, as well as the quality of the submitted biographies. Previous computer
experience was not a factor for selection, but participants were required to have
access to e-mail. There was a diverse group of 11 kids between ages of 11- and 15-
years-old to participate in the summer camp, which was offered for free. Selecting a
diverse population served two purposes. First, the educational goal of conveying to
participants that to explore issues of identity and values, different voices need to be
represented. Second, to observe if diversity would generate interesting discussions
when conflict would surface, and how motivated participants would navigate those
conflicts.
Eight of the participants came to the university lab and three of them worked
remotely from their homes and met face-to-face only on the first and last days of
the summer camp. An older child, Elisa, served as a mentor and helped to infor-
mally coordinate the activities. Elisa was only 1 year older than the oldest of the
participants, but she had good social and technical skills and had had previous expe-
rience with Zora. Her role in the workshop was to mediate between the kids and the
researcher and act as a peer mentor.
The workshop followed a flexible syllabus that helped Elisa guide the online
activities. Kids worked on their virtual city at their own pace regardless of the activi-
ties planned in the syllabus. As the workshop evolved, kids proposed new activities.
For example, they discussed and voted on rules to organize community life. Kids
working remotely were able to connect during any other day and time, as well as
during the workshop hours.
Overall, kids created a total of 33 virtual places divided into 12 personal homes
and 19 public temples, such as the Jewish temple, the Sports arena, the Video game
