Comments on: Club Penguin as Cultural Training Wheels

By: pinktopaz806

pinktopaz806 — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:22:12 +0000

hi i am a club penguin player and i say this website should be more safer because i see people there that can be really just on there for woman.I know this because there parents i guess wont let them on myspace so they go on CLUB PENGUIN!!a kid friendly website which to some people is NOT!!i posibly think its fun but i mostly think some people act RETARTED!! on it.

By: CaptinSnow

CaptinSnow — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 17:31:28 +0000

hi every 1 come to my club penguin site for unwanted member accounts, news , cheats, hints , videos, and mutch mutch more at http://www.freewebs.com/giggle1234/

By: Zoufi

Zoufi — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 15:45:14 +0000

Hi, I am a 10 year old kid. I love Club Penguin!
If you adults dont think your child should play it; Well you’r wrong. It’s a wonderful game. Even my parents, start liking it( MUCH). I live in Lebanon. I told all my friends about it, and now there parents even know it!! Club Penguin ROCKS!! Click here ( if you please): http://www.clubpenguin.com. Meet me at CP my penguin name is Zoufi. I go to Blizzard ( USA) thanks!

By: Andy A

Andy A — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:18:17 +0000

Club Penguin is very good at keeping your children safe. However there are a few flaws (actually many) So I have started a new project with my webteam to make A Carnival Style game (similar to club Penguin) with MANy more features for parrents such as Parrents being able to Put time restrictions. Limmit the number of hours of play. Also being able to silently monnitor there childrens conversations. Even get email notification. And also restrict words you dont want your child to say like there name. phone number and other sensitive information. We will also offer A Live Chat with a moderator at all times. We will try and run on donations at first. And offer no preimmum package Since I hate it when my niece (i have no children) buggs me to buy her stuff everyware we go. I hope to offer much more advance features. As well as canned messages And the option for parrents to add more messages to the safe chat ( if they want) I should warn you we will have a few rooms its important to sign up under the right age group. I plan on extensive stuff for teenagers (no smoking or anything like that but chat non regulated)

By: Club Penguin at School « Megan Golding

Club Penguin at School « Megan Golding — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:59:38 +0000

[…] Thanks to Will Richardson who got me thinking again about Club Penguin in an educational context. […]

By: Megan Golding

Megan Golding — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 22:04:54 +0000

One feature of Club Penguin I have a love-hate relationship with is Secret Agent role. After your penguin is 30 days old, you may opt to become an agent. My students have taken this role very seriously — as in reporting every infraction they see (and some they don’t).

The community is well-policed. As you mention, Will, the kids sometimes see inappropriate language but are savvy enough to report the offending penguin. That’s the good side.

On the bad side, I get frustrated with ten to twelve year olds who have a spat with a classmate and decide to report him/her for an imagined infraction. It’s evocative of the tattle tale stage these same kids have just outgrown.

Gotta say, though: I like a community that’s policed by its own members. The kids are learning something valuable in that.

By: Mr. Sherman's Blog

Mr. Sherman's Blog — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:01:14 +0000

Club Penguin and My Nine Year Old Daughter…

It happened today. The world of my nine year old daughter has collided with the edu-blogging……

By: Cheryl Oakes

Cheryl Oakes — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 00:19:45 +0000

Club Penguin would do parents a real service by inviting them to join their child while online. Begin a habit that can last through their teen years. Do you know the friends your child hangs out with? Do you know the virtual friends your child hangs out with? Teachable moments are priceless.
Cheryl

By: Bud Hunt

Bud Hunt — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:15:12 +0000

Thanks. I trust your judgment, Will. I’m certain that you’re not endangering your kids — was just curious about what folks actually “do” in Club Penguin. Ani and I have pretty much limited our computer interaction to Sesame Street’s website. I can’t imagine the options that we’ll be exploring when she’s reached “social networking” age . . . or even what age that is now.

By: Will Richardson

Will Richardson — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:46:37 +0000

Bud,
You’re right in terms of consumerism, but I’m not sure that is such a bad thing here. It’s not branded, there are opportunities to talk to kids about saving, instant gratification, etc. I do wish there were more meaningful ways to earn coins…i.e. helping someone build an igloo. But there are some social interactions here too. My daughter has made a “friend” at CP and they visit each other’s spaces and chat about stuff. I watch fairly carefully and constantly remind her about the “dangers.” On balance, so far, I think this is a pretty good training ground.

Craig–I understand that concern, but I think there are ways we can approach this without scaring our kids half to death. My speech to my kids goes something like “It’s unfortunate, but there are some bad people in the world who don’t always have your best interests at heart. And the fact is you can never tell who a person is online. That penguin you are playing with, no matter how long you have been “buddies” online, may at some point ask you to tell your name or address or phone number. She may even tell you stuff about herself to show that she can be trusted. It doesn’t matter. The rule is you never, ever give out any information about yourself. Ever. And if someone does ask you for that kind of information, you should report him.” Something like that at least… And then I check in periodically to see what they are up to. Bottom line is that we have to keep talking and watching, and that like I said, this environment is a pretty good place to train them.

By: Dave Sherman

Dave Sherman — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:51:50 +0000

My nine year old daughter and her friends “play” on Club Penguin and they love it. After I read your post, I asked her if she ever sees teasing or bad language on Club Penguin. She said she does once in a while, but she always reports it immediately. I was glad to hear her say that. I do not know what happens after it is reported, but I hope the owners of the site are monitoring it closely. Of course, I now need to monitor it more closely as well, because ultimately her behavior and what she sees there is my responsibility. This is the perfect vehicle for me to use to teach her how to be appropriate and responsible on the web, especially since her school has not yet taken advantage of the Read/Write Web with their students. I have a feeling I will be playing on Club Penguin a little bit myself in the next few days and weeks.

By: Craig Duplessie

Craig Duplessie — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:59:06 +0000

I teach in a k-8 school that is involved in blogging, website creation, videoconferencing, collaborative online projects, podcasting, etc. Considering this, online safety has always been really important to us.

We have had several frank discussions with our grade 5 to 8 students about the dangers of communicating in an online environment and what they should do to keep themselves safe considering these realities.

We are now challenged with the fact the several of our kindergarten to grade 4 students are engaging in online social networking through Club Penguin. We can not have the same discussions about the dangers of online predators and cyberbullies with a 5 year old that we can have with a 13 year old.

I have exchanged email correspondance with Club Penguin and they seem to be sincerely committed to making their environmnet safe for children, but it is still scary to know that our younger students are engaging in social networking before they are mature enough to fully understand the potential dangers.

By: Bud Hunt

Bud Hunt — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:11:11 +0000

Will, you’d know better than I, but in my limited exposure to Club Penguin, I’ve noticed that it’s also training wheels for consumerism. You earn coins (might not be the right word) that you can trade to get “cool stuff” for your penguin and your igloo, etc. Are the consumeristic elements of Club Penguin the juice that powers all the social interaction, or are the social elements the driving force?

Just curious, and possibly misinformed. I saw a young lady walk a group of teachers through Club Penguin, and she seemed really focused on how to get coins to get new stuff — and not so much on the friend aspect. Fill us in?