Online Virtual Environment Game Used to Teach Information Literacy & Technology Instruction

IL

Kowalsky, M. (2009). A quest for information literacy skills. School Librarian's Workshop, 30(1), 16-17.

This article relays the details of a program created by researchers at Indiana University for youth, ages nine to fifteen.  The program, an online virtual environment called Atlantis Quest, invites students to conduct a variety of educational and research-related tasks in order to provide useful information and assistance to the fictional residents of Atlantis.  There are 500 quests from which youth can choose, all of which are based on skills driven by the curriculum and real-life situations.  Their purpose is to promote research, information literacy, writing skills and mathematics.  Additionally, the games emphasize safe online navigation, compassion, cultural sensitivity, cooperation and more.  Participation in the games requires critical thinking skills and thoughtful responses, rather than simple one-word answers or quiz formats.  Students use online role-playing to interact with both the game’s fictional characters as well as other participants, such as teachers.  Teachers participate by assisting students with the quests and assigning quests that are suited to the current curriculum.  Online assistance is also available to students in the form of the Council and the Elders, two participant groups in the game that are comprised of teachers and volunteers, respectively, and which are meant to provide feedback on the students’ performance.  The article relays that this form of information literacy instruction is becoming increasingly popular.  Currently, over 10,000 people internationally have begun using the program and the Atlantis Quest researchers and developers have been awarded a 1.8 million dollar grant to expand the project.
This program's creative approach toward information literacy instruction is worth the read, though I was disappointed that the author didn't share any actual findings about Atlantis Quest's actual efficacy.