Let’s take a few moments to visit a cool place to learn English and have fun… Mingoville – A Virtual World

From the People at Mingoville

Like the Mingoville School you are familiar with, the new Mingoville World is also based on the belief that kids learn better when they have fun and when they decide when and where to learn.

In the Mingoville World, all activities and games are in English. We have developed a whole universe based on fun and exciting educational games and exercises that teach children English while they play online.

At Mingoville, we have been working hard to develop a virtual world where learning English is 100% integrated into all games and exercises. A virtual world allows kids to practice and learn English without even thinking about it. We hope you enjoy it and consider using this new teaching tool in your curriculum.

Good News

Mingoville is free. You have free access to the Mingoville School and the Mingoville World. However, it is also possible to buy extended access to the Mingoville World and become a SuperLearner. As a SuperLearner, the student will have access to more fun educational games and the possibility of buying clothes and other things for his flamingo.

Monstro City holds exciting alleys and ingenious shops. I dare you to traverse the land of Moshi Monsters. Change your monsters clothes to show off their personal style. Customize the different monsters colors, and give them a home. You can even decorate their room, and have your friends rate it. Find items to decororate your room and add the horror to your monsters house!

Go from Ooh La Lane, to Sludge Street, and from there to Gift Island. See what you cand discover in Monstro City! Start your very own garden by planting seeds to attract cute, atrocious, or terrifying Moshlings.

When all of that serious exploring has tired out your Moshi Monster, you can go home to your personal domain. Don’t forget to feed your monster! Visit the Puzzle Palace and Moshling Garden. You may visit the Port as well, and the Dress Up Room. Does your sassy pet want to see the DIY shop, or maybe Horrods. Explore all the Monstro streets. They are your gateway to games, and meeting new Monsters. Let’s not forget to say “Hi”!

Ages: 7-10 Fun for all ages, and younger kids.
Safety: Very safe Community for all Monsters.
Fun: Super, super fun for young Moshi’s
Navigate: Easy. Very easy site to navigate.
Price – Free

Adoption Monster Rules

Play Safe – Keep your personal information personal.
Respect the Moshi Community – Treat Moshi players with respect, and you will be respected.
No Bullying or Rudeness – Put your best behaviour foot forward.
No Cheating or Scamming – Scamming and cheating are stealing.. don’t do it!

This post is courtesy of my daughter, who shall remain unnamed, yet is a faithful and fearless Moshi Monster who enjoys having fun and trekking through the colorful lands of cyber space. Thank you dear…

The site can be a bit slow to load, but the different areas are colorful and imaginative. The games are standard fare and girls can view videos featuring their favorite Barbie™ movies. She can also enjoy an enhanced Barbie Girls® experience with a V.I.P. membership, which would grant her access to exclusive areas, allow her to adopt virtual pets, “spend” B Bucks®, and play a number of great members-only games.

Did someone say fashion and boys all the same sentence? Two of the hottest subjects of most girls, so this Virtual World just may have some kind of special appeal to those girls between the ages of 8 – 15.

Cost: Free for basic membership, $5.99/month for VIP (multi-month discounts available)

As always, our kids safety is top priority. Please always remember to visit a site with your child to decide if it’s the best site for your family rules and values. Although the best of safety measures have been incorporat

So I decided to find some great tools to help get us started. Of course, I am already a fan of LeapFrog, so it was an easy guess that I would find something quite simple to get us going. When I saw the LeapFrog Scribble and Write, I knew I was on the right track. Let me just post a couple of reviews to let people see how others have responded to this cool little gadget.

BoysMommy says…

This was an Amazon gift from the grandparents to my 4 year old. He LOVES this! It teaches your child the proper way to make their letters. (My 8 year old needs one LOL!)He loves tracing the dots and sliding the eraser. It cheers the kids on after they push the paw print. He will sneak to play with it when he is suppose to be sleeping. It is currently at show and tell at his pre-k, he loves it that much. One week of use and he is going all over the house writing the first letter of his name. He has shown off his letter writing skills at the Drs. office. He now writes his letters better than his big brother in 3rd grade!

Daddy B Me writes…

My 3 year old is starting to write and draw and this is really helping with her learning to write her ABC’s and shapes. She really loves the dog Scout and the cute audio. The size of it is right on the money and is easy to take along in the car. Every letter brings out some cute responses too.

Mother of 2 Boys tells us…

My 3 1/2 year old son got this scribble and write for Christmas. He loves following the dots to draw, does great with the letters, still a little slow with the picture part but is so proud when he writes the letter properly. And the best thing of all, he enjoys using it (and he’s learning without even knowing!!)

Well then, I am definately of a mind that this is a great gift, as well as a sweet little learning toy. For the price, it is worth checking out… what a wonderful addition to our travel toys to keep those little ones occupied on the road as well!

How is Virtual Villagers different from Village Sim?

Virtual Villagers is basically the desktop version of Village Sim. Since Virtual Villagers was developed after Village Sim, it has some additional features: 4 addtional puzzles, naming of villagers, more island events, likes and dislikes of villagers, mushroom hunt for children, new original music.

What is the difference between Virtual Villagers 1, Virtual Villagers 2 and Virtual Villagers 3?

Virtual Villagers is a chapter based game. The story is about a group of islanders that flee their island and land on the shores of a new mysterious island called Isola. Chapter 1 is the story of their new life on the southern shores of the island. Chapter 2 continues the story on the western shores and Chapter 3 will take place on the nothern part of the island. In all the chapters the villagers need to find ways to survive and slowly unravel the mysteries of this island. Virtual Villagers 1, Virtual Villagers 2 and Virtual Villagers 3 are all independent games (can be played without having played the other ones. They are though, connected by a common storyline.

Is there anything to do after all the puzzles are solved?

Virtual Villagers, like all of our real-time games, is designed to be open-ended. Each game has clear goals, but the games continue to go on and allow you to play as long as you like. The Island Events will continue to happen, which can dramatically change the way things are going for your villagers. Many people start over to try some new strategies, set some new challenges for themselves (like finishing the game without any villagers dying), or play the game on a different setting.

This game is rated E for everyone, and does cost a fee to play. Lost children and Secret cities? I like the look of it, and it should be quite entertaining for children who love to create and develop. The world play actually looks pretty funny, and there is a bit of humour to add to the game fun. It is quite colourful and the storyline seems interesting enough to keep people happy in their adventures through the island life of Virtual Villagers.

The creators of Chobots, Vayersoft, is already involved in creating and visual solutions for businesses in marketing and operations, but Lazor says its B2C entry in Chobots is its main investment with a dedicated full-time team and managed directly by CEO Vadim Yeremeychuk. One reason for the emphasis is its new territory. “Our main markets are North-American and Russian,” said Lazor. “North-America is the biggest market for virtual worlds where we can compete successfully and Russia is not opened market for kids worlds yet, but it gives a lot of opportunities of becoming number one.”

I would say this is definately interesting to me, and the level of entertainment is worth taking the time to look into Chobots. As always, use your own good judgement. I know some parents do not like the idea of their children spending too much time in front of the computer or television, yet I believe they learn essential problem solving skills if they are allowed a set amount of time to accomplish this. We are in an age where these skills are paramount to our techonological evolution, and those who do not stimulate their brain power will be behind the times to survive in this Age. As an advocate of regular outdoor activities, even I understand the need to learn how to act and react in situations where advancing technologies require a quick mind.

I truly love to hear feedback from other Virtual travelers, so please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on this and other Virtual Worlds. I am always looking for new places to visit and explore!

SecretBuilders, the educational kids world that launched earlier this month, announced a partnership today with the Huffington Post to encourage kids to sound off to President-Elect Obama. SecretBuilders emphasizes activities like creating drawings or artwork and writing essays, and the new contest asks kids to submit a letter and picture to Obama. The winning entry will be featured on the Huffington Post on Presidents Day with runners up featured on Slate and Gamezebo and added to CNN’s iReport. The winner will also receive $500 cash and $500 to donate to charity or a school.

Kids can visit a themed environment for interaction and click on an avatar of Arianna Huffington to visit her virtual home, which features contest-related activities. The contest is also supported by KidZui, Art in Action, Wild Planet Toy Company, Naseeb Networks, and Stone Soup magazine.

As always, I am happy to hear peoples thoughts on this and other great Virtual Worlds you have experienced or wish to check out. Have a virtually great moment!

So of course, when I hear the news, I love to pass the information along to my fellow Virtual travelers. Here is what I discovered today…

Good Egg Studio announced today the open beta of Elf Island, a  virtual world designed to teach good social and environmental values to tweens. The world offers the typical games, customization, and social elements of virtual worlds but is setting itself apart through “Mirrored Gaming,” or quests that ask users to complete activities in the virtual world that are mirrored in the real world. The first, a project with Habitat for Humanity International, lets users build virtual houses that mirror the construction of houses in Honduras.

The Founders of Elf Island

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and with good reason. Elf Island is the brainchild of a dynamic husband and wife team, Craig and Liz Kronenberger, who decided to blend their entrepreneurial spirit with their philanthropic passions.

As the parents of twin boys, Craig and Liz noticed a glaring lack of redeeming and socially responsible games in a virtual environment for kids. Prompted to act, in June 2007 the Kronenbergers created the first virtual world dedicated to harnessing the power of fun to help kids develop positive values and empower them to make a difference. The couple coined the phrase “Gaming for Good, TM” connecting the online world to the real world.

As pioneers in the virtual and communications worlds, Craig and Liz previously co-founded Spunky Productions, a consumer kids and family entertainment digital media company. At Spunky they worked on several campaigns including “Harry Potter,” the online music release of Ê”The Wiggles,” the exclusive launch of the online campaign for the home video release of Universal Studio’s “The Grinch,” starring Jim Carrey, and the online game launch of “CapComÕs MegaMan” and “Viewtiful Joe.” It was there that Liz and Craig co-created “Claus.com,” which they sold in 2000. “Claus.com” was the number one kid’s Christmas site when it was under their direction.

Armed with the creativity, the tremendous knowledge of the dynamic virtual worlds that captivate youth, the extensive advertising and marketing experience, and the proven business acumen, this dynamic duo is now channeling their passions into Elf Island. Craig, as the President of operations, is lead visionary for bringing this youth-oriented web site to life, while Liz spearheads the marketing and non-profit arm of the company. Of course, all the while, their young sons have been their inspiration.

What is SecretBuilders?

SecretBuilders is a virtual world for children 5 to 14 years old (children of all ages are most welcome) powered by a web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers. On SecretBuilders, children will explore virtual lands, undertake quests, play games, maintain a home, nurture a pet, and interact with their friends. Children will also be able to publish and share their writings and artwork with each other and have tons of fun doing it all!

Here are Three unique features which distinguish Secret Builders from other online children’s sites and gaming places:

Children will be the creators and not just consumers. They will help build this world with their ideas, critiques and contributions. We will directly solicit their input on building out lands, contests, activities, games and features, and in many cases, they will see an immediate implementation of their ideas and suggestions. This world, which is for them, will be created by them.

Children will be exposed to concepts in science, math and the humanities through games, quests, contests and “conversations” with the historical figures that populate this online world. They will be introduced in fun, subtle ways such that they won’t even know they’ve learned a piece of history, a famous line from literature or something about philosophy. SecretBuilders is not meant to be an educational site but through immersion in activities, quests and games their school education will be enriched.

Children will exercise the creative spirit present in each child through many art- and writing-based activities, all of which will be maintained in an online library to be visited again and again. They will be able to participate in a variety of writing contests, maintain blogs and diaries, create artwork, produce photo/video items as well as discuss and interact on works published by someone else. This ability to publish their own works as well as see and comment on that of others creates a vibrant, dynamic community that will enhance other creative classroom activities.

Final Notes – Wow, it seems to me that SecretBuilders carries all the criteria for a fun AND educational Virtual World for children. Of course, I love to play too, so I am certain my daughter and I will have many hours of enjoyment with this one. We have not yet ventured forth into this Magical land, yet you can be certain that we will be most happy to update our findings and pass them along.

If you would like to venture forth into a fantastic place, visit SecretBuilders and let me know what you think! If you are already an avid builder, I would love to hear from you as well. What is your favourite aspect of this world? Do you have some good stories to share about your exciting quests and gameplay? Who are your favourite famous people in whom you have discovered? Please feel free to share!