Blog has moved!

 Because I don't know exactly where my worlds will be, I have moved to a new blog, Clowey's Worlds. Currently my regions are being built/rebuilt on the virtual world Kitely. 

Please click and visit the new blog. If you are new to virtual worlds, there's a nifty slide show to walk you through the basics. 

CLOSED? Well sort of but maybe not or we will see...

 Biome4Kids and all the VIBE grids are, at least temporarily, closed. I am moving some of them to the Kitely grid. The others may move there or they may move to a separate server. For now there will be a security change. Here's how that goes:

I will no longer be maintaining security to the same extent as before. I may lock down some of the areas so only people who are allowed can enter - similar to 

Anyone 16 or over can make an account for free. Under 16 they must be able to demonstrate they are supervised by an adult (parent or teacher).

As always, supervision is up to the teacher, the school and the parents. 

There is an option for me to purchase an organization from Kitely. That would provide much more security and our own domain name. But it would cost a minimum of $250 a month and I would have to charge people. So I'm not going to do that unless I have enough schools committed to working with me and paying $20 to $40 a month each. 

😢😢😢😢

EEEK - Coronavirus stuck in home - time to visit B4K

So you are quarantined? So you are stuck at home? Don't stay home. Visit B4K! Log in, make an avatar and wait for me to let you off the main island. I am logging in daily according to the posted schedule. Be there!

New Office Hours

I took the summer off most of the time but I'm restarting office hours. I will be "inworld" in Biome4kids regularly. Check the calendar to the right for times. Otherwise send me an email at drclowe@gmail.com and I will meet you there.

Latest and Greatest Updates! Guinea Pigs Read On!

ADULTS (including parents) can join us at VWBPE (Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education) conference in the virtual world Second Life where the Biome4Kids folks (Clowey Greenwood and Elsie Ocello) will be presenting "If They Build It, They Will Come!" The presentation is about how kids can learn science by creating in a virtual world (i.e., Biome4Kids). For information on how ADULTS (ages 18 and up) can log in to the conference, email me at drclowe@gmail.com or go to http://secondlife.com, create an account, download the program, search for VWBPE Lecture Area A and choose <teleport>.  Be sure to get there a little early because there are a lot of folks there. Warning: Some of them may look really strange like dragons, robots or really crazy women. No problem. They are almost all educators and are all dressed (no adult only type content).

KIDS! I need some guinea pigs (maybe I need to make a guinea pig avatar) to log into Biome4Kids and do some building for the presentation. I will take snapshots of you building your first creations to use on my slide show. How fun is that! But to get you into the Biome4Kids virtual world, you can either follow the directions or I will walk you through step by step in a live presentation using the zoom app on your phone or tablet, or http://zoom.us on your browser. I will post the times and code in the calendar. I will also record it for you to look at later and post it in a blog post here.

On another note, Clowey was part of a virtual world talk show where Biome4Kids is discussed. See it here:

I had really awesome platinum hair updo and a purple pants suit but they wouldn't teleport to the show. I ended up bald with an invisible body. So I had to change at the last minute. I really hate my hair! I'm the one with the short red hair. Vanity, vanity. In Biome4Kids I'm usually a panda.

Biocaching!

There's a new fun activity for kids of all ages (differential assignments for different ages). I call it Biocaching. You get a set of coordinates and you have to find the animal. For example there's an animal on the Biome4Kids Island with coordinates 233.5, 99.5, 30.2. Once you find that animal (pictured below) you would list either a) the name, or b) the name and basic classification, or c) the name and complete classification or d) all of the above plus the scientific name (if you can figure it out).

So the answer to this one would be:

a) Frog

b) Frog, amphibian

c) Frog: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata, Class Amphibia

d) All of the above plus the scientific name and I'm not sure what kind of frog this is. Good luck with this one (some of the others are much easier)

Get Ready for Some FUN!!! PARTY!!!!

Put this on your calendar! On Saturday November 7 from 4pm to 7pm EST* we will have a Biome4Kids party. There will be meeting others, learning, a building exhibit (kind of like a competition but not), and other fun activities. I plan on having some new avatars available then - it's a secret - not telling you what. If you are a teacher in B4K find some kids to bring in! Make sure to fill out an application so I know who is who.

* be sure to convert to your timezone.

Kids Learning about Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

Amy Pihlainen's (Elsie Ocello) 8th graders of the Au Train-Onota school built demonstrations of renewable and non-renewable resources on Imaginaria the did live presentations. Laura Briggs (Cyndyl Enyo) and I were able to be online just at the right time and watch the presentations. The building was impressive and the students' knowledge even more so.

I gave a Webinar yesterday for the ISTE (International Society for Technology Education) Mobile Learning Network Mondays Mini-Conference about Biome4Kids. It went well and there are more people interested now from across the US. I am hoping to get more people involved so kids can meet kids and the collaboration can lead to more learning and interaction. You can see the recording HERE.

I am changing the subtitle from "Learning Science..." to "Learning..." since we now have a social studies island (Werowocomoco) and hope to soon have a literacy island created by a teacher in Wisconsin with help from any other teachers interested (and kids of course).

The Deerton kids have been building projects concerning on renewable and non-renewable resources on Imaginaria. I was trying to move the food web to Biosphere but kind of messed it up. I have to work on it.

On another note I am converting Seaborgia to an additional building island since that seems to be what we need.

I am also updating my times online so you can count on me being there. I hope to see you soon. Clowey :)

I'm at NSTA in Chicago. There have been quite a few teachers visiting Biome4Kids. I realized I have to do something to make getting an avatar easier. So I made "Magical Invisible Eyes" to put on first. Then you can just put on the avatar folder. There's instructions in the log cabin.

Also, I am scheduling some welcoming tutorials for people who might be hesitant to try it on your own. Check the calendar for dates and time. The tutorials include a How-to-get-started one-on-one session and a tour (if so desired). Be sure to contact me via email or fill out the application in here so I can meet you and invite you to the group. Remember, Biome4Kids is for kids (in or out of school) and teachers only.

Finally I need some kids to volunteer to meet me after school or on a Saturday as part of a "Think Tank". I want a variety of ages, a variety of geographic areas, and a variety of interests to create ideas for teaching science (or other topics) in Biome4Kids. Have the kids email me at clowe@nmu.edu if they are interested.

The Deerton kids (7th and 8th graders) are building a food web! Below are some pictures of the animals they have built so far. The red cones are parts of arrows that will show the flow within the food web. For now it is on Imaginaria but will eventually be moved to Biosphere to be shared. The open-sided building it is in is called the Life Science Museum and was the idea of one of the students.

Wow, great presentation at the Michigan Science Teachers Association conference in Grand Rapids on Saturday! There was standing room only for Real Kids, Virtual Critters & Amazing Science. I am excited to see some of you teachers come visit! Also, get your own kids in and let them tell you what they think.

If you are here from the conference, please contact me or just log in. I am in Biome4Kids now and have several times scheduled this week while I am on break. The calendar is on this page. You can contact me via email clowe@nmu.edu, twitter CloweyGreenwood, or post a comment here.

You can also find me on Facebook as Carolyn Crouse Lowe and/or join our Facebook VIBE group of virtual world educators.

I'm working on updating the instructional Prezi - the link will work the same. It is very simple to get started. There are three steps - make an account, fill out an application on this website, download and setup the program interface (Singularity Viewer) and log in. Then you get to play with it. You can't break it and it won't break your computer. And it is fun AND educational. NOTE: it works on PCs, Linux or Mac but does not run on iPads or Android. There is an Android app (Lumiya) that works for a low-tech approach - no real interaction with the environment or building - but you can chat and see somewhat. It works great for meetings when you cannot get to a computer.

Finally I will be in Chicago for the National Science Teachers Association next week. Let me know and we can meet up there.

Lots of news right now. Lots of new teachers and preservice teachers (people just finishing up their college education to be certified as teachers). Lots of new kids too. Lots of building going on.

I have set up some times when I will be logged in and you can come visit with me. If you haven't been invited to the group you will need to be sure I do that.

The volcano has been enlarged and upgraded - must be some very strong plate tectonics going on.

Hope to see you soon!

New and improved avatars! Always check back though because Clowey is a building improvement expert. In other words - she updates really well - things generally need updating when she makes them :)

Come visit soon! Watch the calendar for events. we will be having all kinds of introductory events in a week or two!

Welcome

Welcome to Biome4Kids!

While Biome4Kids has been around for a little while, we are just getting started again with updated programming and on a new server named Hedwig. Biome4Kids has a lot of different places to explore and things to learn. Biome4Kids is just that - a world just for kids whether on their own or with their school classes. There are many good ways to learn using virtual worlds and we plan on having all sorts of ways here in our world. Besides that, it's just fun.

Some of the things we have right now are islands dedicated to various exciting environments:

Biome4Kids is the home island is the island where you first land and where you make your avatar after making an account (see the instructions page).

Biome is the home island for the Biome4Kids Mainland. It has places just to hang out, gather, meet in a bigger group and it also has more avatars.

We have four educational islands all built around the idea of Earth Systems Science. This idea stresses that you can learn about the Earth best when you look at different aspects or "spheres" that all interact.

• Biosphere is a place where you can learn about the forests of the earth. You can visit the treehouse. It makes a great classroom too.
• Geosphere is an island with a volcano and other fun geology-based areas and activities.You can even have class in the bottom of the ocean.
• Atmosphere is where you can learn about the weather. Check out the huge weather map you can walk on.   Put in a pin for your place. There's a flying saucer classroom there. You'll have to use the teleporter and let the aliens "beam you up".
• Hydrosphere is where the water is represented. There is a giant microscope with common pond critters for you to study, a wetlands, a river, and a very fun coral reef where you can explore (you can't drown here) or meet in the submarine.

On top of all that, there are two more islands just for fun:

• Seaborgia is a place with an underground maze and above ground places to explore. A pyramid, a castle, a hobbit house and a crystal cave are some of the places you can visit.
• Imaginaria is where you can learn to build and practice all your building skills. Be sure to pick up your items. Oh, and give them a name so if they end up back in your inventory you can find them again.

I will be scheduling regular activities and online "office hours" but, of course, you can visit anytime. Come learn, play, and have fun.