Trace Effects, Kaneva, and vSide

Today's Worlds

Today I looked at Trace Effects, Kaneva, and vSide. These environments and are quite different from each other, not only in their overall feel but also the purpose of each site. Let's get started.

Trace Effects

Trace Effects was developed by the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The home page states that Trace Effects is "a collaborative English language video game experience for students ages 12-16. Learn English and explore American culture through puzzles, games, and adventures in an interactive world." This sounded pretty cool to me, and I love that they are specifically targeting English language learners. Here's the homepage:

Again, I couldn't enter without becoming a member, but I was able to watch this trailer, which I highly recommend watching. It gives you a pretty idea of what gameplay looks like and what the game is all about.

I also found out that that educational themes of the game are " entrepreneurship, community activism, empowering women, science and innovation, environmental conservation, and conflict resolution." I'm not sure how they incorporate collaboration, since it seems that everyone plays at the main character Trace, but maybe I'm missing something about how it becomes more interactive.

A big plus for me was that the website came with a teacher's manual! This tells me that the creators designed this for use in the classroom. I can see teachers using this environment in their own classroom, using the manual as a guide.

Overall, the learning goals are there, they are clearly stated, and the trailer made this environment look very appealing. I can see lots of students joining this world and improving their English in the process. I think it helps that it's a game with an ultimate goal, and not just shopping and socializing.

Kaneva

The second stop on my journey was the virtual world Kaneva. Here's a look at their homepage:

It looks pretty enticing, but already the sign up form requires a lot of personal information, including birth date, full name, and zip code. I went over to their blog to find a bit more information about this virtual environment.

Like most virtual worlds, users create an avatar. But the interesting thing about Kaneva is that they are blurring the line between 3D and 2D environments. It seems that there is a focus on sharing content, as you would on a 2D social network such as Facebook. According to that Kaneva blog, users can share videos, photos, and music into this virtual world and share them with others. I like the teaching implication for this, because it gives users the ability to share content based on what they are learning.

Kaneva also has a strict age limit (users must be over 13 years of age) and safety policy. Also, their focus on teamwork is good for group learning. I could see this being used in an educational setting. One drawback I saw was that some of the avatars were dressed rather provocatively or embodied near-impossible beauty standards. I have a feeling that this won't be the last time I see avatars like this, though.

vSide

The last stop on the tour today was to vSide. I'm was already a bit skeptical when I read the tagline - "vSide is your place to party online." I'm not sure much learning would happen in an environment such as this one.

I explored as much as I could. By clicking on the 'your place', 'your style', and 'your friends' tabs, I was able to watch some introductory videos. Basically... a lot of dancing happens, as well as a lot of shopping for clothes and accessories. vSide seems like a place for avatars to go and rock out on the dance floor.

Here's a selection of female avatars that I was able to create. Of course there were more conservative outfits, but there was no shortage of sexy outfits for these avatars.
I wanted to find out more about this virtual environment, but the homepage made it difficult to do so. There was very little in the 'about us' section, but I did manage to find a helpful link to the "House Rules".

These seem to be pretty standard rules, I'm learning. I wish I were able to find out more about vSide, but without a membership, details about this environment are rather lacking. I imagine that, like Kaneva, you can interact with others via chat, build your own personal space, and shop. That being said, I feel like this particular environment isn't really conducive to online learning. There are better, less party-centric environments out there.

Final Thoughts

I think the three worlds I checked out today covered a full range, from very education-focused to very party-focused. If I could choose only one environment from the three today, it would be Trace Effects, hands down. It had the best values and learning goals of the three worlds. In fact, it was the only environment that had learning goals. 

I'm worried that the worlds I'll be looking at tomorrow will be more like vSide. I'm hoping I can find a good balance of virtual reality mixed with learning potential.

See you tomorrow!