Cyberworlds for Education

Sheryl Waxberg and young alumni of the SciFair program at Lincoln Orens Middle School share their projects with teachers from Chelsea High School in Manhattan.

Over the past six years, the Cornell Theory Center has developed SciFair, a program that leverages the appeal of online, multi-user virtual worlds to engage youth and educators in standards-based learning and mastery of new digital skills.

We have pioneered the SciFair Model, a process model for introducing the medium and supporting teams of teachers and students as they design and build their own exhibits and games live online. SciFair teams are mentored by Cornell undergraduate and graduate students working with them in the collaborative environment as a service learning experience.

While we began with a focus on addressing science and mathematics standards in out-of-school programs, our community has expanded our horizons to cover ISTE NETs, 21st Century Skills, and CSTA/ACM Computing Standards. We have even begun CyberCiv for 6th Grade Social Studies! Today, we have a universe of worlds as diverse as the community we serve.

CTC held a very special event sponsored by Microsoft that was focused on generating new partnerships-a showcase of worlds created by and for students and educators. The event took place on Thursday evening, December 14 from 5 to 7 PM at Microsoft's briefing facility in Manhattan. More than 60 people came to learn about opportunities to participate in opening up the medium of virtual worlds to the realm of K-12 education.