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Gender Differences in the Perception and Use of anInformal Science Learning Web Site

Final Report to NSF

March, 2003

Pamela R. Aschbacher, Principal InvestigatorCaltechs Pre-College Science Initiative (CAPSI)

CAPSIMail code 1-98

California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA 91125

626-395-3222

This study was conducted by the Research Group at Caltechs Pre-College

Science Initiative, including researchers Brian Foley, Melanie Jones, andCameron Baker McPhee, and consultant Sue Marshall of U.C. Irvine.

This study was funded by NSF (HRD-0086338). The opinions, findings,conclusions or recommendations expressed herein belong to the authors and do

not necessarily reflect those of NSF.


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Gender Differences in the Perception and Use of an Informal ScienceLearning Web Site

Introduction

In our rapidly changing and increasingly technological world, all citizens need tounderstand science and technology and to be able to think scientifically. But researchsuggests that girls interest and involvement in science and technology fails to last intoadulthood. Although boys and girls in the U.S. are equally interested in science in earlyelementary grades (Kahle & Meece, 1994), by sixth grade, girls have grown significantlyless interested in science than boys (Simpson & Oliver, 1990; Baker & Leary, 1995:Catsambis, 1995; and Jones, Howe, & Rua, 2000). The middle school years appear tobe a critical time for retaining girls interest in technology and science (Baker & Leary,1995), just as it is in math and for school in general (Linn & Hyde, 1989; Brown &Gilligan, 1992). Computer use among girls drops off dramatically after age 13, perhapsdue to a dearth of games and activities that involve something more than speed, fighting

and competition. By high school, girls confidence in studying science has droppedconsiderably while boys confidence has dropped only slightly (AAUW, 1995). Bycollege, fewer women enter degree programs in science and technology, and byadulthood there are far fewer women in science and technology-related positions (NSF,2000; Furger, 1998; Kahle & Meece, 1994). To address this condition, an array ofresearch, demonstration projects, and information dissemination projects has beeninitiated. Their purposes have been to increase awareness of interests, needs, andcapabilities of girls and women; to promote instructional materials and methods toincrease interest, retention and achievement of girls and women; and to increase theavailability of student enrichment resources (NSF, 2001).

In particular, research on increasing girls confidence and interest in science andtechnology has taken several paths. While many efforts have aimed at increasing girlsinterest in science by changing the classroom environment (e.g. Kahle, 1987) or thenature of classroom learning activities, another avenue has been to provideopportunities for girls to explore science and technology outside the classroom.Proponents hope that opportunities to interact with scientific ideas in a friendly socialenvironment may lead more girls to become more interested in science and technologycourses and careers.

The Internet appears to have great potential for providing new opportunities for sciencelearning outside of the classroom (Pea et al., 1999). For example, on-line sciencemuseums (e.g. the San Francisco Exploratorium: www.exploratorium.edu) can providestudents with opportunities to explore scientific ideas at their own pace and in topics theyselect. Educational experiences on the web can be designed to provide more feedback

and guidance than is often possible in a museum or certain other informal settings.Web-based educational experiences can allow students to be interactive and expresstheir ideas and understandings (Salomon, 1990; diSessa, 1986), in addition to providinglinks to a vast array of information for students with particular interests. Researchsuggests that web-based activities that support social interaction, community serviceand design have strong appeal among girls (Rubin et al., 1997; Honey et al., 1991).

One of the drawbacks of the traditional web site is that it is typically an individualexperience. Students explore their ideas on their own with little chance to interact withothers while they learn. This can be isolating and discouraging, especially to girls, who


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often report a preference for working in groups (Baker & Leary, 1995; Turkle & Papert,1990). Recently, some sites have attempted to become more interactive through theuse of chat rooms and other activities (Lempke, 1999). For example, Schlager, Fusco &Schank, (1998) have developed TAPPED-IN, a web site for teachers where they can talkto each other one-to-one and in groups to collaborate on projects.

A great deal of research and effort has been directed towards creating computersoftware that appeals to girls (AAUW, 2000). The small number of girls who takeprogramming classes and the small number of women in high technology positionsunderscore this need for girl-friendly software. (Kahle & Meece, 1994). The recentAAUW report (2000) points out that the majority of computer games are based onviolence and conflict, which many girls find unappealing. Since it is often noted thatgaming is one of the ways boys seem to comfortably enter the technology pipeline,providing more games of the type that girls enjoy is seen as a way to encourage girls tostudy and consider careers in technology. Girls are more interested in games thatrequire strategy, interaction and constructionist design. When asked to design their idealcomputer games, many girls focused on the themes of identity play and simulation(Kafai, 1995).

Our study examined a unique interactive web site (www.Whyville.net) that was designedto engage students in socially interactive, entertaining and educational activities thatinclude inquiry science. After some time, the site developers noted that most users weregirls, contrary to what might be expected from a science-oriented program. Our studywas designed to examine why this was happening. Our research questions were asfollows:1. To document who uses this web site, including what type of girls and boys are drawn

to it;2. To explore what they do on the site and what seems to attract them;3. To analyze key opportunities to learn about science on the site;4. To examine what young girls and boys might be learning about science and

technology on the site; and5. To discuss implications for future efforts to increase girls knowledge and interest in

science and technology.

Brief Overview ofWWW.Whyville.net

Whyville is a free and informal learning web site created in 1999, to help studentsexplore science and social science concepts in an interactive learning environment. Theguiding force behind Whyvilles development has been Jim Bower, a neurobiologist fromCaltech, now at the University of Texas, who has had many years experience in hands-on inquiry science education. Co-founders include Jen Sun, who did graduate work atCaltech in biology and a post-doctoral fellowship in the usage of the internet in theclassroom; Mark Dinan, a Caltech graduate in physics with extensive programming

experience at Knowledge Adventure and IdeaLab!; and Ann Pickard, a graduate of thePasadena Art Center College of Design. They formed a company named Numedeon toprovide an Internet-based alternative to didactic classroom-style education. They try toengage students in meaningful yet entertaining learning experiences through humor,curiosity, relevance, and scientific inquiry. According to Bower, Knowledge attainedthrough an active process of sorting through data and connecting that to what youalready know is knowledge that sticks.


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When users, known as Whyvillians, enter the site, they can engage in a wide range ofactivities including science and math games, chatting with one another, and buildingtheir own virtual homes in Whyville. Participation in science activities earns players asalary (clams), which they accrue in a bank account each time they visit the site. Asthey improve their performance on the science games, their salary increases. Users canalso earn clams through creative activities such as writing articles for the site newsletter

(The Whyville Times). Some entrepreneurial users have earned large virtual bankaccounts from creating and selling face parts and accessories (e.g. glasses, jewelry, andhats) beyond the standard parts offered free by the site. Unofficial businesses, such asusers offering makeovers, also add to the sites economy. Users can spend their clams,for example, on new face parts or buy a plot of land, build a house, and furnish it so theycan have friends over for chat fests.

Most science activities on the site are interactive simulations that are done individuallyby the users. In the Spin Lab activity, for example, users are challenged to position thearms and legs of an ice skater in such a way as to make the skater spin as fast aspossible. At the time of the study there were eleven science games available to users.

Figure 2. Spin Lab

From time to time, the sites designers create new science games, activities or events forWhyville. For example, at one point mysterious spots suddenly began to infect theWhyville faces of a handful of the most frequent users. Whypox grew from benignlooking freckles to red welts over time. When infected users tried to chat, an electronic


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ah-choo wiped out their words. The site designers posted a memo on the sites bulletinboard suggesting that users check out whats new at the Whyville version of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. At the sites virtual CDC web page, usersfound a simulation of how diseases spread, a real-time graph of how many Whyvillianshad been infected, and links to an actual newspaper article about a wave of real,unexplained rashes affecting students in East Coast schools at the time. The plague was

designed to trigger user interest in learning more about epidemiology and the spread ofdiseases, and this edu-tainment approach to learning proved to be a terrific motivator.

The web site has grown and evolved over time through the efforts of the users as well asthe sites creators and managers. Users behavior, interactions, and values affect thenorms for the site and make it a reflection of real society, from the serious to thefrivolous. For example, users have created beauty pageants, parties, and weddingswhile they also discuss serious issues on bulletin boards and in articles in the WhyvilleTimes. They have also helped design the sites justice system, in which those whoswear or annoy others are warned and can be made invisible. Some users even set up acharity, Grandmas, to distribute free unwanted face parts to users with few clams.

Since its inception in early 1999, the web site has grown considerably. It has accrued

more than 350,000 registered participants, with about 5,000 users logging in daily.Because of its large size, Whyville is an exception among the growing number ofeducational multi-player environments such as Moose Crossing (Bruckman, 2000) orAtlantis (Barab, 2002). The managers of the site estimate that about 70% of site visitorscome back at least 5 times, and perhaps 30% come 10 times or more per month forseveral months. On average, registered users visit the site three times a week andspend about 45 minutes per day. The site has no advertising or commercial productplacement and can be accessed for free. However, within its first couple of years it grewso popular that it became difficult for students to access the site during peak hours. InNovember 2001, the site developers introduced Why-Passes, which give pass-ownerspriority access to the site at any time of day for a cost of $4.95/month. Currently, about80% of users who try to log on for free are successful.

Research Activities

This study employed a variety of methods, using both quantitative and qualitative data,to study the Whyville web site and its users. We interviewed the sites developers;analyzed the educational aspects of the sites science activities; analyzed a sample ofchat on the site; explored the site as a typical user would; and participated on the site asresearchers. Known as Whyologists on the site, we chatted informally with users,conducted an online survey, and facilitated an online focus group. We also recruited acomparison group of public school students, introduced them to the web site, andconducted a survey and focus groups with them about their experiences after a couplemonths of access. Details about our methods are presented below.

Interview of Site Developers

From the time of the original proposal throughout the course of the study we had manyconversations with the sites developers at Numedeon Inc. We also formally interviewedtwo of the four original design team members. We addressed their goals and motivationin developing the site, the history and evolution of certain site features and events, thechallenges they faced over time, and their knowledge of user characteristics andbehavior.


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Researcher Exploration of the Site

Our researchers participated as site users for many hours over the course of severalmonths to examine the site from the perspective of young people who visit it. Wefocused primarily on activities related to science and technology learning and ondifferences in the behavior of boys and girls on the site. We played all the science

games, visited various chat locations to observe and chat with other users, visited usershouses, and exchanged y-mail with users. We also read examples of user articlesfrom the site newspaper.

Given the ease with which people can misrepresent themselves on the Internet, we felt itwas important to be honest with the other users about who we were. We identifiedourselves as researchers studying the web site, and with the aid of Numedeon, ouravatars wore special hats that identified us as Whyologists. The young people on thesite were interested in our study and seemed quite willing to interact and share theirviews and experiences with us. They even provided us help in deciphering their chatslang and abbreviations so that we could code it accurately. Several times during thestudy we discussed our findings with colleagues at UCLAs Graduate School ofEducation and Information Studies, and EDCs Center for Children and Technology,

particularly to compare the features of Whyville with those of other web sites andsoftware for girls.

Analysis of Science Games on the Site

To understand the opportunities that the site affords users to learn about science, wegathered data in three ways. We played all the science games on the site anddiscussed their development and features with the designers. We also analyzed thegames and supplementary materials for science and math content, the level ofunderstanding and inquiry that is called for, and the individual versus collaborativenature of the activities, with reference to the National Science Standards. We also notedthe incentives for playing games and engaging with supplementary instructionalmaterials as well as the relationship between the games and the rest of the site.

Online Survey of Whyville Users

We conducted an online survey of Whyville users over the period of August toDecember, 2001. The 3-part 86 itemsurvey was designed to obtain information aboutthe backgrounds and attitudes of the users as well as their opinions about andexperiences with the site. We incorporated three items on science knowledge from theTIMSS and some attitude and experience items from a survey developed and used byCAPSI for an earlier study, and we developed new items to tap students experiencesand attitudes especially for this study. We discussed over 100 draft items with DorothyBennett, Margaret Honey, and colleagues, and then selected and refined the best of theitems. Survey item formats included multiple choice, Likert scale and free response.

Survey items addressed issues about science, technology, and Whyville itself, a sampleof which are illustrated in Figure 3. The science questions asked users about their pastexperiences in science and their attitudes towards science and school in general. A fewscience content questions were included to provide a very rough estimate of usersscience literacy. Similarly, the technology questions assessed the users experienceswith and attitudes about computers and the internet. Questions about home computerequipment provided an indication of the economic status of users. Questions aboutWhyville asked users about science activities, chatting, face design and other siteexperiences.


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Figure 3. Sample questions used in the survey of Whyville usersScience Questions:

A. How much do you like science in general (not just in school)?a. A lotb. A little bitc. Not very muchd. Not at all

B. What is a lightyear?

Technology Questions

C. Which of these things do you know how to do on a computer: (check anythingyou can do all by yourself)

a. Turn the computer onb. Get online and log on to Whyvillec. Find a file on the computer that someone else savedd. Install free software (for example Real Player)e. Make a web pagef. Write a computer programg. Fix problems on the computerh. Build a computer from parts

D. How much do you learn about computers from the following sources: (a lot, alittle, hardly anything)

a. School computer classes/lessonsb. Talking to friends and familyc. Trying things myselfd. Reading books or magazinese. Whyvillef. Other web sites

Whyville Questions

E. Do you and your friends make plans to log in at about the same time?a. Yes, all the timeb. Yes, some of the timec. No, I log in whenever I have the time

F. What is your favorite thing about Whyville?

To recruit young people on the site to take this relatively long survey, we arranged withNumedeon to post the survey on the site and offer a substantial incentive, 250 clams,to users who completed it. (To put this in context, the average salary users make perday based on their game skill is about 20 clams; the typical face part designed by userscosts about 20 clams; and the range of compensation for an article users might write forthe sites newsletter is about 50-150 clams, depending on length and quality)


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Three of our researchers created identities for themselves on the site as Whyologistswho wanted to study the Whyville community. A special room in Whyville called theWhyology Center was created by Numedeon to provide an access point for users totake the survey. Researchers explained to users that the survey was part of a study ofthe site by a group who was independent of the site managers. We also explained that

information provided by the users would be kept anonymous but might be utilized byNumedeon to improve the site.

Since we expected most users to be minors, we required that they print out a permissionform provided on the site and have their parents read, sign and fax it back to us. Theform required that parents include a phone number and stated that we would call toverify a portion of the forms. We called parents for about 10% of the forms we received in most cases because we suspected that the signatures on the form were notauthentic (e.g. a signature looked more like a childs writing than a parents). We alsoasked for the users age and gender so that we could compare this to the data that thesite managers had for those users. To maintain confidentiality, the form specifically didnot ask for the real name of the user and only used their Whyville log-in name.

The survey was introduced to the Whyville community via an article in the sitenewsletter, the Whyville Times, in which the Whyologists explained the purpose of thesurvey, the procedures for parental consent, and the rewards for survey completion.Users received 50 clams for the permission form, 50 for each of the three parts of thesurvey and 50 additional clams for completing the entire survey. They also received avirtual hat for their avatar that looked like the hat worn by the Whyologists. We hopedthat the hat would start conversations among users on the site, thus promoting thesurvey by word of mouth. However, very few of the users chose to wear the special hat,so its effectiveness was limited. After the article in the Times, users were able to beginsubmitting permission forms. Twelve days later we made the survey available to userswho had turned in valid permission forms. The survey was divided into three parts sousers would not have to complete it all in one sitting. When users completed a part ofthe survey, a researcher would check to see that it was complete and give theappropriate clams or send a message to the student that their submission wasinadequate. We continued to accept permission forms and surveys for about fourmonths (134 days). During this time, two follow-up articles where published in theTimes, and the survey was highlighted in the sites weekly management email to users.

A total of 349 users turned in permission forms. Of these, 219 young people completedthe survey (160 girls and 59 boys).1 The response rate is about 5% of the frequentusers, based on estimates from Numedeon. Over 15,000 different users logged on tothe site while the survey was available2. Of these, Numedeon estimates that about 30%visited the site at least 10 times, so our response rate was about 5% of these frequentusers (those who might know and care enough about the site and earning clams tobother to complete the survey).3 While we had hoped for a significantly higher response

rate, it is perhaps not surprising that a relatively small percentage of young peopleobtained parental permission and completed all three parts of the survey. We believe theneed for parental permission to complete the survey was an important reason for the lowresponse. We observed many posts on the sites bulletin board commenting that users

1

Five adults also completed the survey but their responses are not included in this report.2

This represents 15000 different user names. Many young people have more than one identity on the site(about 60% of girls and 40% of boy users surveyed said they do), so it is not known exactly how manyseparate individuals were actually on the site, but 10,000 seems a reasonable estimate.3

At the time of the online survey, Numedeon had not instituted Why-Passes.


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did not want to ask their parents for permission, could not obtain permission, orboycotted the survey because they did not think they should have to get parentalpermission. Some users complained about the need to provide a parent phone number.It is also possible that some users did not want to reveal to parents that they were usingthe Internet. All in all, it seems likely that the requirement for parent permission led to alimited sample size and may have skewed our sample of the Whyville population toward

users whose parents are aware of and supportive of their participation in such web sites.

We analyzed the data for gender differences and group differences between the regularusers and the recruited users. We used t-tests of group means for numerical responsesand Chi-squared tests for comparing groups on categorical data.

Survey of Recruited Users

To put the regular Whyville users in context, we introduced some public school students(recruited users) to Whyville and collected both survey and focus group data from themafter they had had a couple of months to explore the web site. The recruited studentsalso provided us information about how new users react to their first experiences withWhyville. Recruited users came from 5 classrooms (2 classes each of 6 th and 8th graders

and one class of 10th graders) in three local public schools (N = 140). Students werefrom diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds, including African American, Asian,Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Caucasian.

Students in the public school classes who returned parental consent forms (82% of thestudents) completed a written form of the survey that the Whyville users took online. Afew questions were omitted as not relevant or were revised slightly for the classroomrespondents. Students completed the questions on background and experience withscience and technology before they began to explore Whyville. Then they wereintroduced to the Whyville web site and asked to explore it over the next couple ofmonths. We arranged with Numedeon to provide free Why-passes for them to facilitatetheir access to the site. Two months later we returned to the classrooms andadministered the rest of the survey.

Focus Group of Regular UsersIn order to give users a chance to elaborate on their survey responses, we conducted anonline focus group with some of the regular users who had completed the online survey.We invited all those who had completed the survey to join us in the Whyology Center fora discussion at a given time. Nine users came to the discussion and spoke for twohours about their experiences on the site and some of their motivations for participating.The transcript for the far ranging discussion filled 27 pages. The users commentsadded to our understanding of the survey data and the Whyville experience in general.

Focus Group of Recruited Users

After surveying the recruited students, we conducted 3 focus groups with 6th and 8

th

graders during their lunch break and discussed their thoughts about the site. Since weasked for volunteers, the majority of the focus group participants had been active on theweb site. Their opinions and experiences provided insight into the features of the sitethat attract new users and encourage sustained participation.

Analysis of Site Chat

We analyzed a sample of anonymous chat transcripts from the site on two different days one in the summer and one in the fall, one a weekend day and one a week day, of


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2001. The sample was drawn from all the chat locations on the site taken at severaldifferent times of the day. We coded 6000 individual comments to identify the type ofdiscussions the users were having.

Research Findings

Our findings are presented below, for each major research question we posed:

1. Who visits Whyville? What kind of girls visit the site? What kind of boys? Howdo regular users compare to a more general public school population (recruitedusers)?

2. What do young people like to do on Whyville, especially girls? Are thereimportant gender differences in users interests and activities? What hasattracted girls to the site?

3. What opportunities to learn science do users have? What aspects of thescience games seem to appeal to girls?

4. What are users learning about science? How does the experience affectusers understanding and attitudes about science and technology?

1. Who Visits Whyville?

Regular Whyville users (WU) who answered our survey ranged from 8 to 19 years old,

and are in 3

rd

to 12

th

grade. Most are between 10-15 years old, and 73% are girls.Among these Whyville users, girls and boys share many traits, including theirapproximate age (about 12 years old), background (affluent), and school experience(successful). They are quite similar in their easy access to, facility with, and avid interestin computers. Both girls and boys are somewhat interested in science and do well in it,but are not strongly interested in a career in the sciences. Girl users differ from boys intheir interests in some school subjects, career fields, favorite web sites, and confidencein their computer ability. Profiles of the typical girl and boy WU are presented below, andhighlights are summarized in Table 1. Note that the left half of the table refers to WU,and the table as a whole permits comparisons of WU with recruited users from publicschools (RU).


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Table 1. Summary of regular and recruited users background and attitudes

Whyville Users (WU) (n=219) Recruited Users (RU) (n=140)

Girls (n=160) Boys (n=59) Girls (n=63) Boys (n=77)BackgroundAverage age (mean & sd) 12.9 years (2.0) 12.3 (2.0) 13.7 (1.4) 13.4 (1.3)Average grade 7.8 (1.8) 7.7 (2.0) 7.7. (1.4) 7.4 (1.3)

% public school 78% 83% 100% 100%% attend mostly white school 58% 68% 65% 58%% computers at home 100% 98% 78% 71%% internet access at home 98% 93% 68% 66%Do very well in school 50% 44% 3% 12%Like school a lot 41% 25% 29% 25%Hobbies most common Sports 53%

Tech 18%Reading- 13%

54%20%2%

32%3%30%

40%21%12%

Career Intereststop 3 &bottom-most choice:(mean & sd on 1-5 scale

4)

Web design -3.2 (1.5)Art/music-3.2 (1.5)Lawyer -3.0 (1.5)Engineer -2.0 (1.5)

Programmer -3.5 (1.5))Web Design -2.9 (1.5)Engineer -2.8 (1.5)Teacher 2.3 (1.3)

Web design 3.6 (1.5)Art/music 3.5 (1.3)Doctor 3.4 (1.5)Engineer 2.0 (1.1)

Programmer 3.4 (1.5)Web design 3.2 (1.4)Engineer 3.0 (1.5)Teacher 2.1 (1.3)

Science AttitudesSome science interest in general(rated 3 or 4 on 1-4 scale

5)

70%(27% say a lot)

85%(36% say a lot)

56%(19% say a lot)

53%(25% say a lot)

Some interest in school science(rated 4 or 5 on 1-5 scale)

649%(26% say a lot)

59%(30% say a lot)

27%(10% say a lot)

24%(14% say a lot)

How hard is science?

(mean & sd on 1-5 scale)

73.7 (.92) 3.9 (.95) 3.0 (.79) 3.0 (.80)

4

Scale: 1=not interested at all; 5=very interested5

Scale: 1=not at all; 4=a lot6

Scale: 1=dont like at all; 5=like it a lot7

Scale: 1=very hard; 5=very easy


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What kind of girl regularly visits Whyville?

According to our survey of regular Whyvillians, the average WU is a girl, 12.9 years old,in 7th grade , who attends a public school with a mostly white student population. Herfavorite extracurricular activity is sports, with some interest in technology-related

activities, such as graphics or games, and reading.

She likes school and says she does very well in it. She likes all the school subjectsqueried, but likes computers best, followed by English, science, PE, math and history indescending order.

Asked specifically about science (in general, not just in school), she says she likes it alittle and finds it easy. She believes studying hard is the most important thing one cando to become good at science. She feels the school science she has had so far hasbeen generally positive and says that her family and teachers have encouraged her tolearn science. She has had a number of science-related experiences such as trips to thezoo, science museum, planetarium, and aquarium. She identified school as the placewhere she learns the most about science, but also feels she learns a little about science

from other sources such as Whyville, TV, and trying things for herself. She says shelearns hardly anything about science from web sites other than Whyville.

She got 2 out of 3 TIMSS 8th grade science items correct on the survey. She knows whatphotosynthesis is and why the sun is actually larger than the moon even though theyappear the same size in the sky, but she gives an incorrect definition of the termlightyear.

Her family has a computer and internet connection at home, along with a printer,scanner, and fax machine (suggesting her family is reasonably affluent). She has used acomputer for over four years and spends between 5 to 15 hours a week on the internet.At least once a month she visits sites involving games, chat, and her friends own sites,but she seldom visits other educational web sites besides Whyville. She likes computers

a lot and feels they are very easy to use. She learned to use computers by trying thingsherself and asking friends. She feels the best ways to learn to use computers are atschool and from friends or family. She can do many of the functions we asked about:find electronic files made by others, log on to the internet, download and install freesoftware from the web, trouble shoot, and make her own web page. However, shecannot write a computer program or build a computer from parts by herself. She feelsshe knows more about computers than some in her family but less than others, and thusis somewhat less confident in her knowledge than the typical boy user.

Of the career possibilities we inquired about, she is most interested in a career in webdesign, art, music, law or teaching. She is least interested in becoming an engineer orastronomer. She is slightly uninterested in the remaining four career choices we asked

about, three of which are science or technology-oriented fields (doctor, biologist,computer programmer, and business executive).

What kind of boy regularly visits Whyville and how is he different from the girl?

The typical WU boy is like the average WU girl in many respects. He is also in 7th gradebut is slightly younger (12.3 years old), and also attends a mostly white public school.Like the girl, his favorite extracurricular activity is sports, with some interest intechnology-related activities but, unlike the girl, he has virtually no interest in reading.


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Like the WU girl, he likes school, although a little less than the typical girl user, and hesays he does fairly well in school. He likes all the school subjects queried, withcomputers best, followed by PE, science, and math. He likes English and history lessthan the girl user.

The typical WU boy is much like the WU girl in terms of science attitudes and

experiences. He also likes science (in general) a little, finds it easy, and believes thatstudying hard is the most important thing one can do to become good at science.Healso feels the school science he has had so far has been generally positive. He has hadthe same science-related experiences as the girl, such as trips to the zoo, sciencemuseum, and so forth.And he got the same 2 out of 3 TIMSS 8 th grade science itemscorrect as the girl did.

However, unlike the girl, the typical WU boy says he does not feel that people encourageor discourage him from learning science. He identified school as the place where helearns the most about science, as did the girl. However, the boy is slightly more likelythan the girl to learn a little about science from a variety of other sources includingfriends and family, TV and movies, Whyville and other web sites, and trying thingshimself.

Like the girl, the boys family has a computer and internet connection at home, alongwith other technology.Like her, he also has used a computer for over four years andspends 5-15 hours a week on the Internet.At least once a month he visits sites involvinggames and chat, as does the girl. However, the boy is much more likely to visit gamesites than the girl. He is also more likely than she to visit sports sites and TV or movierelated sites, whereas she is far more likely than the boy to visit friends sites andfashion or shopping sites.

The boys attitudes and experiences with computers are also very much like the girls.He says he likes computers a lot, and also feels they are very easy to use. He learnedto use computers by trying things himself and asking friends. However, he is slightlymore likely than the girl to have learned a little about computers by reading about them.

Similarly, both the girl and boy feel that trying things for oneself and asking friends arethe best ways to learn about computers. But the boy is slightly more likely to viewreading about computers as a good learning strategy, whereas the girl is slightly morelikely than the boy to see taking a class as a useful method.

The boy reports that he can do the same functions with the computer as the girl.However, of these functions, he is slightly more likely than the girl to feel able to make aweb site, and she is slightly more likely to feel able to fix problems on the computer.While the average WU boy, like the average girl, cannot program or build a computerfrom parts, there are more boys who have these skills than girls. When asked how hisknowledge of computers compares to that of his family members, he is more confident inhis knowledge than the girl. He is more likely to believe that he knows more about

computers than anyone else in the family, whereas she is more likely to believe that sheknows more than some people but less than others.

The boy, like the girl, is quite interested in a career as a web designer, but his othercareer interests are rather different from the girls. He is very interested in a career incomputer programming, followed by engineering. He is somewhat uninterested in theremaining career choices we asked about, with teacher and biologist at the bottom of hislist.


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How do regular Whyville users compare to a more general public schoolpopulation (our recruited users)?

In general, the longtime users of Whyville are slightly more affluent, like school, science,and computers better, and spend more time on the internet than the public schoolstudents of the same grade we recruited to try Whyville for the first time. The groups

were roughly equivalent in the length of time they said they had used computers, theirinterest in sports and careers, and their knowledge of TIMSS science items.

Background. The Whyville users (WU) who responded to our survey are about a yearyounger than the students we recruited from local public schools to try Whyville (RU)(see Table 1), but both groups were in 7th grade on average. While the majority of WUgo to public school, about 20% of them go to private or religious schools. Most of theWUs (60%) attend schools they say are mostly white, but 40% report their schoolstudent bodies are mixed. The RUs public schools are mostly Hispanic with a mix ofother ethnicities.

WUs probably come from more affluent families as they have more technologicalequipment at home than most RUs. For example, virtually all the WU have computers,

internet access, and printers at home, whereas just 2/3rd to 3/4ths of RUs do. Over halfthe WUs have fax machines and scanners, whereas less than half the RUs do.

WUs reportedly do much better in school than RUs. About half the WUs say they do verywell in school, far more than the RUs (only 3-12% of them do very well). Both groups ofusers tend to like school a little rather than a lot, and the WU girls particularly seem tolike it more than the boys. Students in both groups like math about the same amount;about 30-40% like it a lot.

Both groups also like to do sports outside of school, although the WUs like it more thanthe RUs do. RU girls like reading far more than both WU and RU boys. On the otherhand, the RU girls like technology-related activities far less than everyone else does.

There were few differences between the two user groups interests in careers. Webdesign was at or near the top of the list for all students, whereas biology and astronomywere not very interesting to any of them.

The significant differences in career interests were between boys and girls, not betweenWU and RU. For example, at the top of boys lists in both groups were the same threetechnology-related careers in the same order: computer programmer, web design, andengineering, while teaching was at the bottom. For girls in both groups, web design,art/music, and law or medicine were at or near the top of the list, while engineering wasat the bottom.

Science. WUs tended to be more interested in and confident about science in general

than the RUs. About 81% of WU but only 54% of RU said they like science. Askedwhether they found science hard, 62% of WU said science was easy or very easy,compared to only 20% of RU. When asked to rate how much they like school science,again more WU than RU said they like it (26-30% say a lot vs. 10-14%). Thus itappears that students who are attracted to Whyville like science somewhat more thanthose in the more general population.

Despite the fact that WUs say they like science better and do better in science in school,they did about the same or worse than RUs on the three TIMSS science knowledge


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items on our survey. On two of the items, the RU boys outperformed the other threesubgroups (RU girls, WU girls, and WU boys).

Both WUs and RUs said they learn science primarily in school and only a little from othersources such as trying it themselves, watching TV, and reading. In both groups, girls feltslightly more encouraged by family and teachers to learn science than boys did.

When asked what one can do to become good at science, both groups most often saidstudy hard but more WUs than RUs felt this way (about 45% compared to about 25%).

Technology. Both groups were quite enthusiastic about technology, but the WU groupwas even more so, with 83% of WU and 70% of RU reporting they like computers a lot.Interestingly, boys and girls in both groups said computer science is their favorite schoolsubject, although the WUs ratings were higher than the RUs (mean ratings of 4.3compared to 3.9 on a 1-5 scale, 5 high).

The WU girls liked computers about as much as the WU and RU boys (all three in therange of 73-87%) whereas the RU girls liked computers somewhat less (59%). Morestrikingly, RU girls almost never pursue technology-related activities outside school (3%

for RU girls vs. 18-21% for all others). This result suggests, not surprisingly, that the girlswho regularly go to Whyville have much stronger interests in technology than girls in themore general population, in fact about equal to that of boys on Whyville and thepopulation at large. Their interest in technology may thus reflect self-selection and/orsome positive effect of their experiences on the web site.

Not surprisingly, WUs say they spend much more time on the internet each week thanRUs do, probably reflecting both access and interest (30-37% of WUs spend over 15 hrsa week compared to only 6-9% of RUs). The two groups shared somewhat similarpatterns in the types of web sites they visit besides Whyville, with favorites for both boysand girls including games, chat, TV/movies, and music. Girls also tend to like friendsweb sites, and boys tend to like sports sites. Despite the high amount of internet useamong WUs, most do not regularly visit other educational or science oriented web sites;

e.g. only 13% of WU girls reported visiting another science sites compared to 22% of RUgirls. Thus Whyville seems to be the primary web-based source of informal sciencelearning for many of these girls.

Both groups have used computers for 4-10 yearsand feel they are very easy to use,although recruited users were slightly less confident. Both groups say they learnedmore of what they know about computers from teaching themselves and learning fromfriends than from school or reading about computers. However, when asked what theythink is the bestway to learn about computers, they responded differently. WUs tend tofavor trying things out for themselves, whereas the RU boys said trying things foryourself and learning from others were equally good, and the RU girls favored learningfrom others.

The two groups differ slightly in their self-reported computer skills. The RUs boys tend tosay they are the same or just slightly better than WU boys say they are at all the queriedskills, except building a web page. Boys were consistently better than girls in bothgroups, except that WU girls were as slightly better than WU boys at trouble shooting.The WU girls are much more likely than RU girls to be able to install free software, fixproblems on the computer, and make a web page. In both groups, boys are more likelythan girls to say that they know more than their families members about computers,however we do not know whether this indicates real capacity or simply greaterconfidence.


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The recruited users varied greatly in their reaction to Whyville. Some RU logged on onlyonce or twice during the trial period, while others became very engrossed in the site.Many logged on several times, tried the games, explored the site and chatted a bit, butin general the RU did not get so involved in the chatting, social life, adornment ofavatars, and playing of games as the WU. The 6th grade recruited users seemed to

enjoy the site a bit more than the 8th

graders. Some quotes from our focus groupsillustrate the RUs reactions:8

I dont go that often anymore because I cant get back on. But when I used to go it wasprobably every day like right after I got home from school. I had a very big social life. So atfirst I would go on and see my thousands of little messages and then I reply. And then I goand look for people I knew. (girl, 8

thgrade)

My [younger] brother, he liked it. He sorta played on mine for a little bit and he decided toget his own. Now hes like always on it, whenever he gets time. (boy, 8

thgrade)

I had a hard time trying to figure out how to do it at first. Then I asked my friend and hetaught me how to do it because its kind of confusing at first and my computer, its kind of

a slow computer because theres so much going on -- it like takes a long time. I like beingsocial. (boy, 6

thgrade)

[the people in our class who dont like it] say its boring and theres nothing to do after youplay all the games and stuffand they say theyre so ugly and no one ever wants to talk tothem. So they never go on. (girl, 6

thgrade)

2. What Do Young People Do and Like on Whyville, Especially Girls?

Whyville has several features that appeal to young people, particularly girls, according toour surveys and focus groups: chatting and social interaction, modifiable avatars and

other design opportunities, a simulated community with creative and entrepreneurialopportunities, and science games. These same aspects of the site were mentioned overand over regardless of how we framed the questions about what appealed to them (e.g.what interested them about Whyville; their favorite aspects of the site; what their ownweb site would be like). When asked what they typically do when logging on to Whyville,an 8th grade girls response sums up many girls interests in communicating and beingwith others, enhancing her self-image, participating in simulated aspects of real life, andplaying science games:

I go on Whyville like 3 times a week and I check my mail and I go to that little mallplace and buy parts for my face. And then I like sell parts and stuff in that little auctionto get more clams. Then I try to find the little alien and the ship [play a science game]

but they all land in weird places and I can never finish that. And oh, then I go to thatlittle slide place with the pool and I talk to different people. (girl, 8th

grade)

8

Note that all quotes in this report are recorded as spoken or written, including mistakes in spelling andgrammar, without each being marked [sic].


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Chat and other social interaction

Whyvillians love to chat! Both boys and girls who are regular users strongly enjoyed thechatting and social aspects of the site according to focus group and survey data (seeTable 2). When asked in the focus groups where they preferred to go on the site andwhy, both boys and girls often said they like to go to places where they can chat with

others (see Figure 4). Other types of social interaction are also popular, includingsending and reading Y-mail and just hanging out with others. Several users said theyposted messages to the bulletin boards, but not very often. Very little discussion seemsto take place on the boards

Figure 4. Whyvillians chatting at the pool party


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Table 2. Regular and recruited users survey responses: What they like and learn on Whyville.

Whyville Regular Users (WU) Recruited Users (RU)

Girls (n=160) Boys (n=59) Girls (n=63) Boys (n=77)What attracts usersFavorite thing about Whyville

Chatting, meeting people

Science or other learningDesign (face, house)Simulates real world

39%

8%23%8%

41%

17%7%3%

11%

21%14%3%

10%

23%5%1%

Participation in WhyvilleDonated to Grandmas (charity)Created & sold face partsPosted on discussion boardsOwn a houseWrote articles for Whyville TimesMultiple identities on site

89%4333231660

814134171041

2414650na

2317895na

Do certain activities most or everylogin

ChatY-mailScience gamesDesign face partsPetitions, polls

72%63241620

7567371215

16112286

21103158

Importance of friends on sitePlan to log in when friends do all

or some of timeUsually hang out w/ friendsImportant or ok to have

boy/girlfriend, spouse on site

59%

14

58

61

12

78

13

2

24

18

7

25


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Whyville Regular Users (WU) Recruited Users (RU

Girls (n=160) Boys (n=59) Girls (n=63) Boys (n=77)What users learn on siteExpert at science games:

Ice Skater SpinObject SpinGreat Balloon RaceSmart CarsSolstice SafariZero GravityRocket DesignHouse of IllusionsDance CreationAlien HuntSunSpot

66%28611731646214135

68492017372770374434

168232233235

2212101047121712912

Current salary (from science games) 42 clams 46 clams 19 clams 67 clams

How learned to do science gamesRead instructionsPractice tried over & overChat w/ others on how to do it

71%1310

64179

381010

26219

Where learned a lot of science:SchoolWhyvilleTV

Try by selfReadFriends, family

70%4924

252414

583344

343124

51na22

302513

64na30

233110

Has Whyville changed how you thinkabout computers or science?

Positive changeNo change

50%36

5331

2932

2242


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Contrary to the typical stereotype, girls were reportedly no more involved in chatting thanthe boys who regularly use the site. About 63% of WU boys said they chat every timethey logon, whereas only 47% of girls said so. However, boys who are regular users areself-selected and seem to be more interested in chatting than typical boys are. Chattingand meeting people were cited as their favorite aspect of Whyville by about 40% of bothWU girls and boys, but by only 10% of RU girls and boys. Interestingly, focus groups of

both WU and RU seemed to hold stereotypical views that girls like to talk more thanboys, yet the survey data suggest little gender difference. The real difference is betweenregular users and the more general population, represented by recruited users.

The big difference between regular and recruited users in how often they chat and howmuch they enjoy it may be due to several factors. As mentioned, regular users are a self-selected group who were attracted to the site as it is, with a strong emphasis on chat.Also, recruited users were not on the site long enough to develop a social network tochat with comparable to that of the regular users. About 25% of WU girls and boys havea particular group of people they typically hang out with on the site compared to only 5-15% of RU. Also, the majority of WU (85%) came to the site because friends or a relativesuggested it, and most of them (76%) have friends on the site who know their loginname. Many of the WU (60%) report planning to log in at the same time as their friends

at least some of the time. Regular users who participated in our online focus groupunderscored the importance of their online friendships. The one improvement they wouldmake to the site is a search function to quickly see if their friends are on the site andwhere they are located.

Most of the chat on Whyville is not intellectually deep, but it seems to serve an importantsocial/emotional purpose. When we examined the content of a sample of chat from theregular users, the majority of it (nearly 60%) consisted of exclamations, stock phrases orslang with little substantive content (e.g. doh! LOL). (See Table 3.)About 10% of thechat were statements of greeting (How are you?), and another 10% were about socialrelationships (Do you have a girl friend?). Less than one percent of the chat related toscience or science activities on the site. Thus chatting seems to provide an opportunityto practice interacting with their peers in a safer context than school, as evidenced by

some quotes from the online focus group:

Its not that I dont know HOW to be cool. Just people at my school, they dont count me ascool, because I dont do things their ways. [my screen avatar] isnt that much different[from the real me], just better looking and more open Im quite quiet in real life. causeif anyone of you were to see me at my house, then at school, youd think I was a wholedifferent person. Because on here, if I make a mistake, it doesnt matter, I wont getteased for it the next day. (girl)

Im not cool at school and I find that every girl on Whyville practically wants to talk to meor date me. Its like you can have a double life. It gets you away from life. I am shyand this site helped me build up the confidence to ask a real girl out. Well, Id say yes, this

is a good place for an unpopular person, because they can be anyone they want to be. (boy)


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saw it as a serious problem on the site. Interestingly, we did not see significant genderdifferences in responses concerning inappropriate behavior on Whyville.

Avatars and self-image

Whyvillians obviously enjoy the avatar aspect of the site and say that its a lot more fun

than a regular chat room with just text showing on the screen. Users can change thescreen look of their cartoon avatar at will, and this function seems to appeal to the girlusers in particular. Selecting and changing face parts and accessories for their avatarsare popular activities for both sexes, but WU girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to doso every time they login (44% compared to 27%). Many users have learned to use thedesign function on the site to create their own unique parts and accessories, and somehave even begun small businesses in creating and selling them for clams (see Figure 5).

Whyvillians appreciate the opportunity to experiment with the appearance of theiridentities. Over two-thirds of users (with little difference between recruited and regularusers and no difference between girls and boys) reported they had Whyville faces thatdid not look like their real ones. The majority strive for an appearance they considerattractive, while a few adopt an unconventional appearance, such as an animal head

(boys more often than girls chose these 17% vs. 4%). Some people change theirappearance to express their feelings; others follow fashion fads. Figure 6 presents asample of quotes from our focus groups with regular and recruited users, which revealthese gender differences:


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Figure 5. Sample of user-designed accessories from Akbars Face Mall

Figure 6. Gender differences in selection of screen identities

Girls

G1: First I tried to find things that sort of matched what people would describe me in real life, andthen I started following the fads in Whyville. Like for awhile everyone was wearing hugeearrings, and so I bought some big earrings and then I didnt want those any more. And Ikeep on deciding if something looks pretty, then I get it.

G2: I bought what I thought was just, like, attractive.R: In what ways? Like, who defines that attractiveness for you?G2: The boy that I met [on the site]. Well, he thought I looked nice.G3: I wear whatever I feel like that day. Like if Im sad and stuff, I make myself look like a

gothic person. If Im happy, I put myself in white. R: Do your faces look like you?G4: No, its like all the nice stuff. I got long blonde curly hair.G5: I try to wear different clothes or something that you dont see very often.G6: Its the person Ive always wanted to look like: blond hair blue eyes u know.

G7: Well, I have dirty blonde hair, brown, eyes, zits, braces, and a weirdly perprotioned body,like most teenagers! (LOL)

G8: I dont think Im that pretty as I am on whyville.

BoysB1: Mine [face] looks like a bird.

R: Why?B1: Because I love animalsB2: I just put cheap stuff on my face. I just go for the bargain basement and Grandmas (location

for free parts donated by others)B3: [It depends on ] how much money you have.

B4: I couldnt find anything I really liked.B5: I have some weird ass evil hair. Its like black with red highlights and a nose ring.B6: I try to make myself look goofy.B7: 1st of all I dont have blue hair. The Whyville face is what I want to look like but my mom

wont let me.

Given their age (most users are 10-15),the emphasis on self-image is not surprising.The importance of self-image, even when anonymous, is revealed in their responses tomany different questions we asked. When we asked one 8th grade focus group ofrecruited users, What kind of people go to Whyville? a boy mentioned intelligence first,but the girls in the group returned to the theme that appearance is very important.

B1: Girls. Kind of smart.G1: I think theyre totally different.R: In what way?G1: They always claim that, oh yeah, Im like hot if they meet a guy.G2: Its probably not true.G1: I think people go to Whyville to get acceptance.G2: I agree. I think they overexaggerate who they are to make people like them more.R: Why do you think they do that?


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G2: Appearances matter. People just dont approach you because they know yourpersonality. They approach you because youre attractive, because of your looks. Sothey dont go, I think they have a nice personality and go talk to you, they go Oh,theyre cute, nice smile.

Both boys and girls noted that Whyville gives them the opportunity to alter their

appearance so as to increase acceptance by others. But they also suggested that evenin Whyville, they run the risk of being rejected for their looks. Since about three-fourthsof the regular users have friends on the site who know their login name, it is not asanonymous or safe as one might at first think.

B1: You can be the ugliest person in the world on the outside, but when you go toWhyville, you can make yourself look like youre a different person. [other usersmurmur in agreement.]

B2: They all base you on how you look.G1: But its cool because you can be someone different online.

R: Does it bother you that its all based on how you look? B2: They dont give you a chance sometimes.

G2: I walked into the disco once and someone said, Youre such a freak.

R: What do you think of the way people look on the site?B3: Cool. Some people do, except if they look kind of weird.G3: Theres a million blondes on the site!G4: Everybody wants to be blond.

R: Do you find it hard to, like, make yourself look likeB4: I find it hard for me to actually be one of the crowd. I still havent gotten to the part

where I actually have a real face, not like a circle drawn with sunglasses.

Multiple identities. Many of the users, especially the girls (60% of girls vs. 41% ofboys), have more than one identity on the site (i.e. they registered a second time with adifferent login name). On our survey, about one-fourth of regular users said they have 3

or more identities (28% of the girls, 19% of the boys). They gave various reasons for themultiple identities including sharing them with school friends, getting on the busy site(Newbies have some priority over other users without passes), using them to earn moreclams, and just trying out different identities from day to day. Multiple identities couldalso offer greater anonymity since friends might not know all of ones logins. One regularuser we interviewed said she had been on the site about two years and had developedabout 10 identities including some that were male. She spoke about her motivation:

R: Why so many?G: I share them with my school friends, and I like to have a few backup people. Thats

what [my current identity] was. Now shes #1 In [class one day] we all went onWhyville and we talked to each other so the prof couldnt hear us.

R: Are any of them boys or all girls?G: I have a few boys [names several]R: So why all the boys?G: At first I wondered how hard it was to be a boy on here. I mean, the girls chase them

around asking for dates and stuff. It must be annoying, and I was right, and plus, it iseasier to make friends on a boy face.

A girl with 5 identities spoke about enjoying dressing her avatars as if they were dolls:


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I have one boy. I dont know why. I just wanted to dress him up cuz like a lot of the stuffwas for the girls and I found some cute boy stuff so I wanted a boy. He came out lookinglike a gangster. (girl, unknown age)

Design opportunities

About a quarter of the girls said the design aspects of Whyville were of greatest interest

to them (significantly more than the 7% of boys who felt this way). These findingssupport prior research by Honey et al. (1991) that design opportunities appeal to girls.Since the design aspect is one of the key features that sets Whyville apart from otherweb sites, it is not surprising that the site captures the interest of many girls. The mostcommon things to design on the site are faceparts and accessories for the avatars andhouses and their furnishings. There was little difference in how often boys and girls saidthey actually designed something.

An equal proportion (31%) of both WU boys and girls said they earn clams from sellingface parts, but more girls said they spent time designing face parts every time or mosttimes they log in (16% of girls compared to 12% of boys).In our online focus groups,several girls said it made them feel good to see other users' avatars wearing theircreations. Girls tended to mention designing realistic and attractive clothes (e.g. a little

flower clip) whereas boys tended to design somewhat wilder things (e.g. animal faces orhair with brown streaks and stuff).

Whyvillians can purchase plots of land on the site at a fixed price on a first come-firstserved basis and then build houses with bricks and other components (see Figure 7).They can also decorate the rooms with furniture, plants and art, which are moreexpensive than house designs. Currently, about 8000 house plots have been distributed,although many more users wish to buy a plot than there is space available. Housesranged in size from small (one block with a window) to large "apartments" of 8-10 units.Those users with few clams appear to have the least elaborated houses, while thosewho are wealthier are able to buy parts for the home or even create a virtual castle. Nota single house was identical to another. Even the small, less-elaborated homes weredifferentiated by color or placement on the one-inch plot of virtual grass. Similarly, the

rooms were filled with objects from as few as one plant to several items such as a bed,table, chairs, rugs and sofas. Users said they like to visit other peoples houses to getideas for their own designs.


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Figure 7. Examples of Whyville Houses

Science games

Regular users said chat was their favorite activity on Whyville, and more so than science

games, while recruited users tended to enjoy the science games more (see Table 2).This finding probably reflects the economical and social structure of the site. Clams arenecessary for participation in various site activities, and newcomers obtain clamsprimarily through playing the science games to raise their salaries, which allows them topurchase face parts, buy houses, and do other things on the site. Regular users havealready played the games a lot, and after awhile the science games are less interestingto them, because they have either mastered them or given up in frustration. Meanwhilethose who continue to come to Whyville have developed a social network there andbecome more involved in the community.

Most regular users do not spend a lot of time playing the science games on the site.Only about 10% of WU said they do so every time they log in, and only about a fifth ofthem tended to play a science game on a typical day. Girls were less likely than boys to

do science activities frequently (i.e. most or every time on the site -- 37% of boys vs.24% of girls). Among WU, girls were also less likely than boys to name science activitiesas their favorite aspect of Whyville (only 8% of girls said so vs. 17% of boys.) However,average salary, an indirect measure of science game mastery, was rather similar forboys and girls (46 clams for boys vs. 42 clams for girls.)

Both girls and boys said they enjoyed the science and seemed to appreciate the virtualhands-on nature of the science games on Whyville as illustrated in this excerpt from afocus group with 6th graders:

R: Do you like science?B: Well, it depends on what you do in science.G1: I like science on Whyville.

R: Why?G1: Because its different subjects. Its like earth science is about volcanoes and the ocean,

and on Whyville you learn about how gravity can effect blah blah blah, you can makethings spin faster.

R: What do you think?B2: You play games. Youre learning through games and it keep your attention more,

instead of turn to page 320You know, just read from a book.B1: What I like is you can actually experiment on your theory or whatever about so and

so, but at school you just read about and you never get a chance to really see, oh is thisreally true or is this a bluff?

R: What do you mean, you can experiment with your theory?B1: Well, see you can, uhm, right now you can say, oh a person can spin faster if theyre

in a line. But do you really know that? Are you positive about that? You see inWhyville you can go to the Spin Lab and you can actually try it, you know. Put themin a straight position. Oh wow, they spin really fast. Now lets put them in an openposition. Oh, okay, hes right. So you actually know what hes talking about.

G2: I think its interesting how you can have a hands-on science on a computer. Its hardto explain, but all you are is clicking a mouse, but it still allows you to experimentwith spinning as [B1] just said. You can theorize and test it.

R: Is there anybody who doesnt like science but still likes the site?G3: I dont like science, but I like science on Whyville.


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But some recruited users said they were confused by the games or frustrated that theycould not quickly master them.

G1: I used to play the games but then I stopped because it got confusing. And now I justchit chat.

R: Can you talk about your favorite game and why?G2: I like the skater game because Ive mastered it, and its really easy so it makes me feel

really good about myself, and the other games I really stink at.G3: I like the spin game because its the easiest.B1: I really like the balloon game.

R: Thats a really hard game.B1: I know. Im still on level 3. I ran out of fuel.

R: [to a girl] Whats your favorite?G4: I dont have a favorite. I suck at all of them.B2: The balloon game. Its challenging...

R: Have you mastered a game? Do you still play it?B3: Because Im trying to beat it over and over again. Its easy now you know how to do

it. Kinda like beating your own record.B4: It challenges you.

R: [to girl] You keep playing the skater game.G5: Thats because when I try to play the other games it gets me really depressed and

frustrated so when I go back to the other game its sort of an encouragement, like I cando this.

Some of the recruited and regular users we interviewed said they thought that boysmight prefer video style games with more adventure and speed, and less thinking, asthis quote suggests:

Well, I tried to get my brother on and he thought it was like a kiddie thing and there waslike no action into it. And hes like, its for smart people because you have to play gamesthat take actual thinking to do. So I think theres like not a lot of boys. (girl, 8th grade)

Simulated community

Beyond chatting, designing, and playing games, users can participate more deeply in thesimulated Whyville community through activities such as the bulletin boards, theWhyville Times, house building and sharing, and signing petitions or participating inpolls. One user compared Whyville to the popular simulation software game The SIMS.The vast majority of regular users earn their clams through a salary obtained fromplaying science games, but about a third earn additional currency from designing andselling face parts. About a fourth obtain clams as gifts or charity from others(clamgrams). The users we recruited tended to rely almost exclusively on salary to

obtain clams, perhaps since most were not on the site long enough to develop theirdesign skills or a social network to obtain gifts from more affluent friends.

The various community-related activities range in degree of engagement and skillrequired to participate. The simplest community activity is to donate unwanted face partsto Grandmas. Most of the users in this study had done this recently. Building a house orwriting for the newspaper are more demanding activities.

Houses and rooms designed in Whyville are central to participants' representations inthis virtual community. Some users appear to have furnishings that are more prestigious


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to own than others. Items are sometimes stacked on a shelf, on the floor or hanging onthe walls of a persons room. Whether it is a tennis racket, a Christmas tree or iceskates, possession and display of such items is clearly a way of demonstrating that theuser has wealth, status, and long participation in Whyville. There was a substantialdifference between longtime players from the online survey and the short-term playersfrom the focus group who had been part of Whyville for only two months. About half

(52%) of the regular users spent time every login at the pool or at houses compared toonly 12% of recruited users in the focus group. As a newcomer to the site, recruitedusers did not know many others and thus did not have access to houses. Houses androoms are not only important because they are a representation of long-termengagement within this community but also because they offer private places in whichusers can 'whisper' chat privately with each other.

Only a few of the regular users have written for the paper to date (16% of girls and 10%of boys), but almost half of the users said they intended to write something (47% of bothboys and girls). Some are prodigious writers. One who participated in the online chatsaid she has written 37 articles for the newsletter. This suggests a significantinvolvement in the community, because the Times could be considered the voice of thecommunity. Only 14% of the recruited users said they planned to write for the Times.

Relatively new users say they are less aware of the options and less comfortable tryingthem at first. This may account for their lower level of involvement in and commitment tothe community than those who have participated longer and/or were drawn to the site forthis type of interest.

3. What Opportunities to Learn Science Do Whyvillians Have?

Overview of science and math content

Games provide the primary context for learning about science and math in Whyville. Tengames that were on the site at the time of this study address important areas of sciencelearning that are called for by the National Science Education Standards (1996). (Since

data was collected for this study, two additional science-based games have beenadded.) The games expose users to three key subject matter areas from the standards:physical science, life science, and Earth and space science. To varying degrees, thegames also engage users in different aspects of understanding and doing scientificinquiry. Additionally, many of the games expose users to the use of mathematical toolsfor working with scientific problems by providing graphic and/or quantitativerepresentations of game-relevant data.

Typically, the interactive games engage an individual user in observing and/ormanipulating a simulation to achieve a particular objective or to answer a question thathas been posed. Figure 8 shows an example from the Great Balloon Race. (Of thescience games discussed in this study, only the Solstice Safari game provides a

collaborative game-playing environment.) In most cases, a game provides the user withfeedback about his/her success at reaching the desired objective. Repeated gameparticipation at successive levels of difficulty results in earning more clams (the Whyvillecurrency). Table 4 provides a brief summary of each games objectives and theunderlying science and math content.


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Figure 8. The great balloon race science game.

Table 4: Science and math content in Whyville games

Topic: Physical Science - Motion and Forces

Game(s): Spin Lab Ice Skater Spin and Object Spin

Game Objectives:

Manipulate the position of an ice skaters arms

and legs to make the skater spin as fast as

possible, or manipulate the position and center

of rotation for a variety of objects to make each

spin as fast as possible.

Underlying Science/Math Principles:

Angular and linear momentum of moving

objects

Conservation of momentum

The relationship between angular

momentum, rotational velocity, and

moment of inertia

Game: Zero Gravity

Game Objectives:

In an environment that simulates zero gravity

(no friction), propel ones avatar to hit an objecton a wall by launching (throwing) a projectile in

the opposite direction. Use angles (degrees) to

identify the direction in which the projectile

should be launched. The user must use

his/her clams to purchase projectiles to use in

this game.


Newtons third law: every action has an

equal and opposite reaction Measurement of angles in degrees


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Game: Rocket Design

Game Objectives:

The user manipulates several variables on a

rocket (fuel volume, mass of cargo load, nozzle

size, and type of rocket) to meet different

objectives of distance and speed.


Change in an objects position, direction,

and speed when acted upon by a force

Describing motion in terms of altitude,

velocity and acceleration, each of which

can be represented on a graph

Topic: Physical Science - Motion and Forces & Properties of Matter

Game: Great Balloon Race

Game Objectives:

The user navigates a hot air balloon to reach a

particular target within a time limit, and with a

safe landing speed. The factors that the user

controls are a burner to heat air in the balloon

and a valve to release hot air from the balloon.

The factors that the user cannot control are

different wind directions and speeds at different

altitudes.


The relationship between temperature and

density of a gas

Effect of directional forces (e.g. wind) on an

object

Representing an objects position and

position change on a coordinate graph

Topic: Physical Science Transfer of Energy

Game: Smart Cars

Game Objectives:

Place lights on a racetrack in order to design a

path for a light-sensitive car to navigate from a

starting point to a finish line. Manipulate factors

to control the relation between intensity of light

source and car speed, as well as direction of

movement toward or away from the light

source. Users can also challenge others to a

smart car race.


Energy as a property of many substances,

associated with both light and mechanical

motion

Transfer of energy

Use of a graph to represent the relationship

between energy source intensity and

responsiveness of object using the energy

Use of positive and negative values to

represent forward and backward directions

of motion

Topic: Earth and Space Science Earth in the Solar System

Game(s): Sun Spot Alien Rescue and Solstice Safari

Game Objectives:

Alien Rescue - Identify a particular city (and its

latitude and longitude) when given some

combination of clues about an aliens

whereabouts including date, time of sunrise

and sunset or number of daylight hours, and

geographic information. Use simulation tool(the sun tracker tool) to test the solution by

visually representing the path of the sun during

daylight, relative to the horizon, for the chosen

location and date.

Solstice Safari Users collaborate to collect

sunrise and sunset times at given locations and

then post and graph data on the Whyville web

site.


The regular and predictable motion of

objects in the solar system

Relations between the position of Earth (its

tilt) and its rotation around the sun and

explanations for phenomena of days,

years, seasons, global temperature, andchanges in number of daylight hours

Identifying a location on Earth by latitude

and longitude


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Topic: Life Science Structure and Function

Game: House of Illusion

Game Objectives:

Observe a collection of optical illusions that fall

into three different categories of visual

perception: impossible figures, ambiguousfigures, and those for which context information

in the drawing distracts perception. Each

illusion poses a question for the observer;

however, the game does not provide a means

for responding with an answer.


Relationships between different organs that

function together, e.g. the brain processing

visual information from the eyes to createvisual perception

Understanding the properties of different

geometric shapes that can be applied to

analyzing an optical illusion

Topic: Mathematics Graphing Skills

Game: Dance Creation

Game Objectives:

User creates a dance by specifying the

movements as a set of graph coordinates for

each step. The user must use his/her clams topurchase any dance lessons.


Represent movement and direction using a

series of points (x and y coordinates) on a

graph

Note. The science topic headings in this table are taken directly from the subject matter categories in the

National Science Education Standards.

Opportunities for deeper scientific understanding

Each game has a set of underlying scientific principles from physical science, lifescience, or Earth and space science; however, a users experience with a game may ormay not lead to any awareness or understanding of those principles. Simply completinga simulation task in a game often demands only a superficial level of interaction. It ispossible for a user to complete the steps of a game and advance without engaging in

complex thinking such as the following: a) providing a rationale for particular strategiesor solutions; b) proposing or revising an explanation based on evidence from the gameor other experiences; c) using scientific principles to explain phenomena or solutions; ord) being exposed to scientists use of scientific principles to explain phenomena.

However, the Whyville games do provide rich opportunities for developing deeper levelsof scientific understanding and explanations when the user makes use of game-relevantsupplemental resources designed to support and expand learning opportunities. Thesesame supplemental resources also provide the primary means of engaging Whyvilleusers in authentic scientific inquiry processes (as recommended by the National ScienceEducation Standards). It is important to note, however, that game players can choose toread and engage in the suggested activities of the supplemental resources for a given

game, but this is not necessary for successful game completion, and the user earns noadditional clams for doing so. Whyvilles supplemental resources, which have beenprovided for some but not all of the Whyville games, take several different forms:

Whyville Times columns by Dr. Leila. Dr. Leilas columns in the Whyville Times(reprinted from a set of articles in the Los Angeles Times) provide the most extensive setof supplementary resources for encouraging deeper engagement and understanding ofthe underlying science in the games. At this time, Whyville provides a series of Dr. Leilacolumns for the two Spin Lab games (Ice Skater Spin and Object Spin), and for the SunSpot games (Alien Rescue and Solstice Safari). In each series of columns, Dr. Leila


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starts with a focus question generated by a student, such as, How do ice skaters getspinning so fast? Then, she uses it as a context to guide the user through a series ofinvestigations. In the process, users have opportunities to observe and collect data,generate explanations, revise explanations based on new data, consider alternativeexplanations from other students and scientists, and learn about the underlying scientificprinciples associated with the driving question.

Lab manual. In some cases a game has a lab manual that prompts the user withadditional questions and/or activity suggestions to encourage exploration of patterns andrelationships based on game observations and other data.

Geek Speak Notes. The Geek Speak Lounge in the Whyville location of a given gamemight also provide some documentation about scientists explanations for particulargame-related science phenomena.

We compared the opportunities for science understanding provided by game play and bysupplemental resources, using the following scheme:

Game play (GP): User demonstrates howThe game itself demands that the user manipulate variables or features of asystem to reach a desired objective. In this way, the user is demonstrating astrategy forhowto produce a particular outcome related to a scientificphenomenon in a game.

Supplemental resources (SR): User explains whySuggested activities in the supplemental resources (typically Dr. Leilas column)lead a user to collect and use evidence to construct an explanation about whyparticular strategies result in particular outcomes related to scientific phenomena.

Supplemental resources (SR): Documentation explains whyThe supplemental resources include explanations about whyparticular strategies

result in particular outcomes, with reference to scientific principles.

The comparison in Table 5 reveals that the four games for which there is anaccompanying newspaper series by Dr. Leila provide the most potential for users in twoareas. In them, users have the opportunity to build a deeper understanding of scientificphenomena and to construct explanations based on evidence (provided a user elects toparticipate in the suggested activities). Explanation construction is one of severalimportant scientific inquiry practices that students should understand and develop duringtheir middle and high school years. In the next section of this analysis of sciencecontent, we take a closer look at the kind of inquiry practices that are fostered by thelearning activities and prompts in Dr. Leilas columns.


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Table 5: Supplemental resources and opportunities for science understanding

Availability of supplementalresources that promote deeper

science understandingOpportunities for constructing

science understanding

GamesDr.

LeilasSeries

LabManual

Geek

SpeakNotes

GP: Userdemos

how

SR: User

explainswhy

SR: Doc.

explainswhy

Skater Spin Object Spin Alien Rescue SolsticeSafari

Zero Gravity RocketDesign

GreatBalloon Race

Smart Cars DanceCreation

House ofIllusion

Note. The games have been listed in order from more to less complete opportunities for building science

understanding, based on entries in the last three columns.

Opportunities for engaging in the scientific inquiry process

The National Science Education Standards have placed a strong emphasis on engaging

learners in activities that promote scientific inquiry, which is characterized by thefollowing types of practices:

Posing, investigating, and analyzing researchable science questions Planning and conducting investigations over extended periods of time Using evidence and strategies for developing explanations Reflecting on evidence and the investigation process to refine explanations Applying the results of experiments to scientific arguments and explanations Communicating science explanations and publicly communicating student

ideas and work to peers

In the context of science games in Whyville, users are exposed to each of theseimportant inquiry practices when they read and participate in activities suggested by theDr. Leila series in the Whyville Times. The following descriptions of Dr. Leilas two

series provide some examples of each of the inquiry practices listed above. The firstseries (six different articles originally posted over a six-week period) poses the drivingquestion, How do ice skaters get spinning so fast? Suggested investigations includethe Whyville ice skater game and object spin game, as well as other off-lineinvestigations to collect relevant evidence for answering the driving question. Dr. Leilasuggests different experiments and contexts for making observations (e.g. observing iceskaters, or observing what happens when you spin on a chair or when air is releasedfrom a balloon), and also invites the user to think of other experiments that he/she mightdo. As different sources of evidence are explored, Dr. Leila introduces scientific


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concepts of angular and linear momentum, conservation of momentum, inertia, androtational velocity that users can apply to their explanations for observed phenomena.Dr. Leila shares evidence and explanations that have been y-mailed to her by memberso

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