MiniMonos+Review+(Gannon+Castner)

Planet Connect houses MiniMonos the game on their website. They are a component of Classroom Earth and a part of The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). NEEF seeks to provide “knowledge to live by”, and whose mission is to provide trusted professionals with the knowledge they need in order to spread environmental knowledge in order to solve environmental problems. Planet Connect is an online social network for students to learn about current environmental issues, funding opportunities, green colleges and environmental careers. It aims to spread environmental awareness and give students a place to share ideas about how to be the environmental change in the world. MiniMonos is a New Zealand-based organization that was founded by Melissa Clark-Reynolds, one of the first two New Zealanders to be trained by Al Gore to Present The Inconvenient Truth slideshow. ([]) MiniMonos’ mission is to teach kids the idea of sustainability and environmental awareness, on her way to spreading t he environmental movement through New Zealand and beyond. In providing an online social network for students to come together to learn about environmental issues, funding opportunities, green colleges, and environmental careers, Planet Connect aims to teach students the concept of sustainability in terms of environmetntal issues, and that long term awareness and work is the only thing that will solve environmental problems. MiniMonos teaches kids about sustainability through a game. In this game, kids create avatar monkeys and play through a virtual world. They have the chance to play through the game and learn about sustainability through real-life experiences simulated on the game. For example, if they don’t clean the lagoon, the fish don’t come back; if they do not recycle, the treehouse gets messy. The learning outcomes are to understand the real-world environmental issues but simulated through a game. The failing aspect is softened through this virtual world and students realize the gravity of their actions. Yes, I think this curriculum is appropriately designed to teach kids about sustainability and environmental issues. It allows for students to learn in a virtual world how their actions can directly affect the earth. It also promotes long term sustainability and suggests ways that students can help the environmental movement. Yes, this is the type of curriculum that EcoEd Research Group advocates. This is because it not only promotes a fun way to learn about sustainability and environmental issues but also promotes long-term sustainability as opposed to quick fixes. Additionally, MiniMonos works to reinforce the need to take real-world action by supporting extras in the game so kids can receive special benefits for the virtual world if they complete eco-projects in their real-world life. One way that this game could address more of the learning outcomes is by introducing projects within the game to allow kids the opportunity to learn more about the community organizing aspect of the environmental movement.
 * What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating?
 * What is the mission of the organization?
 * What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization?
 * What does the curriculum module aim to teach? In other words: what are the learning outcomes supposed to be?
 * Do you think the curriculum is appropriately designed to produce the intended learning outcomes?
 * Does this curriculum teach the kind of literacies the EcoEd Research Group advocates?
 * What could be layered into this curriculum so that it address more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates?