Gaming/Virtual Reality: WoogiWorld
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: child, security, safety | Themes: Software
- 1. Kid Tested, Tom’s Guide Approved
- 2. Browsers: KidZui
- 3. Browsers: KidRocket
- 4. Browsers: Glubble
- 5. Browsers: TUKI Browser for Kids
- 6. Streaming Content and Activities: ZuiTube
- 7. Streaming Content and Activities: ActivityTV
- 8. Gaming/Virtual Reality: Club Penguin
- 9. Gaming/Virtual Reality: WoogiWorld
- 10. Content Blocker: Livia Web Protection
- 11. E-mail: Zoobah
- 12. More on this topic
9. Gaming/Virtual Reality: WoogiWorld
Cost: Free for limited access, $6.95 per month for Honors program
From the WoogiWorld Website, “Woogi World, a unique venue within the virtual social network, was created to teach a generation of elementary-age children to safely and effectively use the Internet to 1) enhance their academic skills, 2) build positive character traits, and 3) inspire them to work together to create a better world community.”
Similar to sites like Club Penguin (mentioned above), WoogiWorld challenges kids to go beyond their ordinary activities to enrich those around them. Designed for elementary-aged kids and younger, it is entirely Web-based and compatible with every browser. Kids can sign up for an account and play for the first 48 hours while waiting for a parent to activate the account via email. At that time, the child will have full access and will receive 500 Watts (the unit of currency in the virtual world.)
The WoogiWorld experience seems different right away. Before kids can use the chat function, they must view a small interactive tutorial and complete a mission to prove that they have what it takes to chat respectfully and safely. In this exercise, for example, kids are instructed to never share their real name, what school they go to, and information about family members. They then play a “Decision” game in which they view chat messages and determine if they are okay or should go into the trash. Only after kids have successfully mastered safe chatting can they access the chat portal in WoogiWorld.
This is just one of the many ways that the Website encourages growth and education. Other topics covered in the online world include health, the arts, and politics. Last November during the U.S. presidential elections, for example, kids were encouraged to participate in a mock election.
The parental controls are impressive, with the ability to restrict access by day of the week, time, or a specific number of minutes per day. Kids’ access can be turned off completely for a time, for when parents want to discipline their children. Another interesting feature is the “Adult Chat” tab, which shows a list of adults that have access to WoogiWorld (like other parents) and may have had chat contact with your child. You can ban them from contacting your child, if you desire.
Other unexpected features include a full transcript chat log by date and time and a “banned” list (which details the specific reason for why your child was banned, including giving out personal information, flirting, or using swear words. To access even more features, like the exclusive giveaways and civic lessons and awards, kids can upgrade to the premium membership level (entitled Honors Program.)
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Nicely written-- I like seeing Tom's branch out into a variety of interest areas, even if they arent thrilling.
What i miss in this topic is, how does the Microsoft Parenting control stand out to these programs.
I hope the 12 year olds read this after they get back from school.
What i miss in this topic is, how does the Microsoft Parenting control stand out to these programs.
Thanks for the question mkrijt. Linsey Knerl offers these comments about Windows and other OS parent control tools: "While they had some good features, (like site blocking, permissions requests, time-limits, etc.) it was hard to integrate over several different computers. It also didn't lock down the browser so kids couldn't escape and mess up your desktop folders.
One major complaint to the operating-system based tools that Apple and Microsoft offer, is that they want to tie everything back into your Windows Live or Apple accounts. (So if my 3-year-old wants to have a special collection of websites that he can access on our computer, I'd have to set him up for a Windows account that the computer can access and associate with his preferences.) I'm not a huge fan of having to have my kids set up as "accounts", which is why I like the independently-developed tools. They usually just need me to assign a name and password for my kid, and it isn't stored in my PC.
Another disadvantage to the OS based options is that they aren't practical for multiple environments. Let's say little Johnny has security settings at home all set up, but then wants to go to Grandma's to play games. I'd have to go to Grandma's and find out how her operating system works, and if it isn't the same as what we have, I'd have to reset all the settings on her system. (A lot of work.) With independent browsers, we just download on Grandma's PC, and the web-based settings automatically take effect.
Basically, there's no easy way to use the OS based browsers between machines that are not using the same OS."
Wonderful article. very objective and informative. Thanks for writing it. Good articles like this give me hope for Toms... it's almost funny to me that before I knew who wrote this I assumed it wasn't Marcus Yam because it was actually helpful and intelligent. Linsey Knerl FTW
If children at the age of 3 know those words already then they need more help than what software can do.
But anyways it's not like young kids enjoy watching porn or anything like that. Most kids don't go on very many sites, and site blockers are probably the worst thing ever created. At school we can't even use google images on school projects.
Wouldn't OpenDNS be better for blocking sites? It does so at the "source" rather than having to install a program on everyone's machines. I block all DNS queries and then explicitly allow OpenDNS servers with filtering set to moderate. Works like a charm, no adult content for anyone using anything on my internet connection. And it's FREE for home users!!!
The internet is a place for adults. Do you leave your child in a room with an adult you do not know?
DON'T leave the child alone on the net.
Nice article, it would be a nice thing to do for every OS in the market to adopt the tendency of adding one of these browsers as option for the little ones.
Most parents are not really aware of what internet means, just because they don't care about the non-4child content, or because they doesn't realize about how dangerous for a growing mind that content could be.
Many of us surfers of the web we actually don't pay attention to the stupid propaganda, sex adds and all that crap, because most of us know that those links will probably end up in some weird site asking for personal data, etc.. etc.. etc.. KIDS CAN NOT TELL IF IT'S GOOD OR BAD! THEY JUST CLICK ON IT.