BP9_2010013_DiscoveringWeb20Tool3(Dizzywood)

In reading this week’s discussions on virtual worlds and how they may not be appropriate for the younger students I made it a mission to find one that was. I found several, one that is even open source. But the easiest one I found was Dizzywood. Dizzywood is specially designed for the 8-12 age group. It has earned the prestigious NAPPA Gold award.(
http://izzyneis.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/dizzywood-rocks-it/)

Dizzywood underwent a rigorous review process by independent expert judges and a team of children who selected the most entertaining, appealing, safe, educational and age-appropriate products. More information about the award can be found at http://www.parenthood.com/nappa.php.

The YMCA of San Francisco adopted Dizzywood for their technology curriculum. "Our goal at the YMCA is to provide children with educational activities that challenge them to learn new skills, develop self-confidence and to ultimately help them be successful in the world," Troy O’Leary, senior director of community programs at the YMCA of San Francisco, said in a statement. "Dizzywood’s unique virtual environment offers our kids a wonderful environment in which they can learn important lessons through activities that require thoughtful decision-making. We hope the success of this program offers a model for other youth programs to follow."(http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/07/san-francisco-y.html)

Reed Union School District (Marin County, CA) used Dizzywood in an elementary school program. The workshop used virtual activities to reinforce caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. Students also learned about important issues relating to virtual worlds, such as digital citizenship and online safety. They also used Dizzywood as a complete storytelling and team-building exercise to emphasize creativity, writing and reading skills, and promote working together to achieve goals. (http://www.dizzywood.com/parents-guide.html#classroom)



In researching Dizzywood I found they had devoted an entire page on links for doing good. (http://www.dizzywood.com/doing-good.html) I was very impressed by their commitment to not only a positive digital citizenship but also to provide ways for kids to help out in their local communities.