New York, N.Y. – (December 9, 2011) – What started as a pilot project to test teaching news literacy alongside civics through game making is getting ready to be scaled as an integrated curricular unit in middle and high schools across West Virginia. With grant support from Knight Foundation, the World Wide Workshop is ramping up its efforts to transition Globaloria into a state-supported program aligned with content standards.
Globaloria teaches young people to design and build game systems, conduct Internet research and use social networking tools through making games about educational, social and civic topics. In the process, students build digital literacies that help them participate as active members of their community.
“In West Virginia, Globaloria showed that by enabling students to learn by creating content in the form of games, they furthered their learning goals and digital knowledge,” said Amy Starlight Lawrence, program associate at Knight Foundation. “So we are pleased to support the transition of a small successful pilot into a larger, sustainable, state-run program.”
“We work hard to educate young citizens in fun ways. To be an engaged and informed citizen in today’s rapidly-changing connected world, you need to be digitally fluent in reading (playing) and writing (coding) of digital media, simulations, and games,” said Idit Caperton, Founder and President of the World Wide Workshop. “Through Globaloria, young people master the new 21st-century languages and gain a deep sense of what it means to be a civically-minded digital participant in today’s ideas economy.”
In 2011-12, Globaloria is in its fifth operational year in 50 schools in West Virginia. The World Wide Workshop continues to collaborate with the West Virginia Department of Education, as well as with business, policy and education leaders to establish Globaloria as a formal education initiative. California, Florida, New York and Texas have already replicated the Globaloria model, demonstrating the imminent and scalable potential for technology-driven innovation in our schools nationwide.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (www.knightfoundation.org) supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.
The World Wide Workshop (www.WorldWideWorkshop.org) is a global educational non-profit, developing social media technology applications to help students and teachers participate as leaders in the global knowledge economy. Our programs enhance STEM and Civics learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship in economically-disadvantaged and technologically-underserved communities. Committed to improving education opportunities for all, we work with forward-thinking leaders of corporations, foundations, school systems, universities, and research centers to enrich existing formal and non-formal education systems with Globaloria.
Press contacts:
Knight Foundation: Marc Fest, 305-908-2677, [email protected]
World Wide Workshop: Amber Oliver, 646-895-9167, [email protected]
CONTACT:
AMBER OLIVER, 646-895-9167