Fab+Tales+from+the+Classroom

==Classroom have lots of wonderful tales to tell about their Questers and the or implementation of Quest Atlantis. Let's collect those fab and fun stories here. (be thoughtful if you include images ;-) )==


 * Janine McGrath**
 * Seminole Country Schools, Florida USA**

While working on a collaborative project with students during our summer camp, one of the students came to me very concerned about the part of the build that the other school was putting together as he didn't understand the purpose of some of the structures. I explained that we would be doing a walk through tomorrow and giving each other feedback so maybe he should hold off on his comments until we meet. The students from the other campus worked on their area that afternoon and into the evening. The student on my campus kept an eye on things over night and came to me in the morning and said "Now I get it. They finished their build and I can see the purpose for choosing the things they chose." I explained that it was a good lesson for me to remember to sit back and let people work through the creative process before jumping in and criticizing their work.

Our summer camp started at 8.30 each morning. We explained how QA camp was not like school, gave the students some guidelines and set them to work. On the second day, students began arriving at 8 - 8.15am as they quickly worked out that the teachers were in the room at 8am. When they arrived we said good morning and told them to collect their laptops from the cart and to start work. On the third day students started arriving at 8am sharp, collected their laptops and got to work. It suddenly dawned on me that by 8.30am all the students had arrived and we quietly working on their part of the project with no direction from us at all. The students worked through until 11.30am without a break, took biobreaks, snacked, talked about the project, meet using video conferencing tools, collaborated using Web 2.0 tools, and nobody complained. We had small group and individual discussions about science, 3D building, and environmental awareness. There were no fights; there were calm and heated discussions. There was a lot of asking for help from each other, and a lot of offers to help. If only my classroom could be like this every day.


 * Lucy Barrow**
 * Ballarat Grammar, Australia**

//Moments in Quest Atlantis I will not forget… //

We started our Quest Atlantis journey at the end of 2008. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience for our teachers and opened our eyes to the wonderful opportunities that virtual worlds can offer our students.

Part of my role involves assisting teachers with the implementation of new ICT related projects. This is my 20th year working in education (I only just realised that now whilst writing this!) and, I have been fortunate enough to be involved in many wonderful projects but, I have to say, none have been more rewarding that my involvement with QA and virtual worlds.

When I first joined QA, virtual worlds were still so new to me. I was nervous, excited and, most of the time, completely lost! I will never forget the wonderful students I met from around the world who “took me under their wing” and happily shared their thoughts about how much they loved QA. As we introduced our first group of students to QA they were mesmerised by this new way of learning. Their gratitude was so touching. When I visited their classes they would thank me for QA – they realised that they were part of something very special, an opportunity that most students would never have in their time at school.



When the very first student, Cleo, luminated for the first time, it was like someone had found a rare and priceless treasure. The entire class gathered around Cleo’s computer and did a countdown before she clicked the “LUMINATE” button! They waited with baited breath whilst Cleo followed the instructions and watched as the huge shard flower rose out of the water. Cleo wrote about her experience, “I pulled down the lever and a massive shard flower full of colour, with all the petals luminated and shining, came out of the water. It was amazing and beautiful. I got down from the ledge and refreshed by page and then…the moment I had waited for…my shard flower appeared behind my head with the social responsibility petal lit up!”

There have also been some sad moments during our QA journey. I will never forget one of our youngest Questers coming to me quite distressed. I wondered what had upset her so much, not thinking for one moment that it had anything to do with QA. “I lost my house…” she said, through her tears. The student had not been in QA for some time and, when she returned, found that she could no longer access her plot of land as she had not paid her rent. For me, this was the moment when I realised just how important QA is to our students. Tess had worked hard to complete the building course in QA, ensured that she could pay her rent by doing in-world jobs to earn extra lumins and painstakingly built and furnished her buildings.

I wonder if our students would speak so passionately and feel so deeply about a workbook containing their answers to questions from a textbook?

You can read more about our school's QA journey at []


 * Janette Eade**
 * MACICT Innovations Centre (Macquarie University), Australia**

Although I am no longer at a school working with students I do have some lasting memories of my experience with QA in a school situation and why I am currently promoting and conducting workshops on this fantastic program.

Firstly, as a teacher-librarian at my former primary school I worked with all students and their teachers usually in collaborative situations, but I didn't really know the students as well as their class teacher. However, once I began working with three classes in QA this quickly changed with many of these students as I not only worked with them at school, but soon was also meeting them socially in-world after school. One of my most moving moments was when a student said to me, "You know Mrs Eade I love QA!"

I found the students always excited to talk to me in these situations and would frequently ask my avatar to follow them so that they could show me some new place they had found and often I found myself becoming the learner as they explained how some specific feature worked. In fact, that is how I first learned how to build on my block of land in Qville when a student showed me how to copy and post model names from the junkyard and send them in a telegram to be opened when I returned to my land.

Another memorable moment came when I was chatting in-world with a student who usually was not very motivated and rarely finished his work at school. I had been helping him with a quest, but as it got later and he was obviously tired I told him to go to bed and we would have another look at it at school the next day. To my surprise he agreed and after wishing me a good night he left. I wonder what his parents may have thought if he told them that he had to go to bed because his teacher had just told him to.

Finally, I remember one student who was an isolate in class, rarely contributing to class discussions, slow to hand in work and unable to relate to his peers, who became empowered within the virtual world. Not only did he complete his missions and quests in record time, but then actually went out of his way to help other students when needed. This highlights the importance of QA in engaging and immersing students in a virtual environment where they are not only motivated to learn, but also enjoy their learning journey.

**Christine Haynes** **Immanuel Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia**

Last year some of our Year 5 students piloted using the Mesa Verde as part of their inquiry into civilisations. In this unit, students travel back in time meeting the Ancestral Puelbloans and learning about how the people shape the land and how the land shapes the people. The students were "trying out" Quest Atlantis to see if they thought it would be beneficial for future Year 5 students as a way of learning. Here are some of their comments directed to teachers who are thinking about using QA:

//"Really do it ! It is really fun and interesting. It teaches you so much while you are having so much fun! It makes you think and reflect on things." //

//"i would say definitely because it gives the children a chance to learn in a fun way and to chat to people online. If you tell them that they are actually learning they would won't believe you because it is so fun!!!"//

//"I say to all those teachers who are considering to use QA to go for it because it is a great learning experience and your students will enjoy some chill time and will learn a lot."//

//"I like that it is a different culture and that we have to investigate on their civilisation and how they live it. I also like that you must be an individual and try to work out the missions by yourself!"//

You can see from the children's comments that QA is very engaging. Students are not only motivated by the technology - but also the sense of taking action and making a difference. From a teacher's perspective the inherent motivation builds confidence. Everyone is successful in QA and the outcomes are open-ended enough to extend all learners.

*

QA was introduced as a pilot from August to November for a group of 10 Year 5 (age 9-10) students. To accommodate QA we had to hold it before school on a Wednesday. The early start certainly didn’t put the children off and I was often tracked down at lunchtimes to open up the ICT lab as well. We used the starter Quests to begin with and then the Online Safety missions as we were doing a school wide Keeping Ourselves Safe programme at the time. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The boys seemed to take to it quite readily with two of them Luminating quickly. Once the other boys saw the potential rewards from persevering with QA their competitive nature took over and they became more involved in the Quests rather than just the gaming aspect. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A factor that affected the children’s involvement was parental support. While all the children had access to QA at home some parents were either not confident enough with the concept or there were competing priorities for computer use. Unfortunately, these were also the parents that didn’t turn up to the information session prior to the start. We did receive great feedback from other parents though. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It was interesting to note the improvement in the standard of writing. One boy in particular made a marked improvement during the pilot. While this may not all be due to QA I am sure that wanting to progress in QA is a great incentive to improve one’s literacy skills. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At the end of the pilot the children briefed the school at an assembly. While two of the children spoke about QA others used their Avatars to show what they had been doing. This was a great way for the children to promote their involvement in QA and there was a lot of interest during and after the assembly. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The evaluation from the children was, needless to say, very positive. They were motivated during the programme and really related to QA. Next year we are looking forward to using QA in the Gifted and Talented programme.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Greg White **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Windy Ridge Primary School, Auckland, New Zealand **