When Simple Is Not Best

Employing a combination of web-casting, vlogging, virtual world simulations, and social networking, The Field Museum connected American and Fijian teens interested in environmental conservation through an after-school program entitled Conservation Connection. Participating teens learned reef biology, increased their digital literacy, and produced plans for sustainable management of reefs. A key component was a 2D coral reef simulation on Whyville.net—WhyReef. We envisioned that WhyReef would serve as an interesting and age-appropriate platform through which teens would develop a common knowledge base about coral reefs. Additionally, we believed that banners, advertisements, and virtual money incentives would motivate lurkers on WhyReef to take interest in Conservation Connection and participate via the social network. Our observations and interviews indicated that WhyReef was too simplistic to engage non-Whyvillian teens. Furthermore, WhyReef did not succeed in incentivizing lurkers to participate. We attribute this low participation to perceived exclusivity, program timing, and access to technologies.