Why-Texas

Congratulations to the winners!

Dear Classes,

We want to congratulate everyone who participated in the Whyville Texas Challenge, and special congratulations to our winners! Official results will be announced on Tuesday via this Blog and by email to all participating teachers.

Here is how the winner will be determined:

1. The Class awards are determined strictly by clams won per class. The class with the most clams wins first place; second place to the next class; the first fifteen reaching the Challenge level receive Vex Robotics Hexbugs, and all classes reaching the Challenge level receive a certificate from Texas Governor Rick Perry. This order determines the student awards for Why-Texas.

2. The Teacher awards are given to the teachers with the Top 2 classes. However, a teacher can only win one award per competition. If the same teacher's class won first and second (and third and so on), then we identify the next class with a different teacher, and that teacher wins 2nd place.

3. Rules 1 and 2 are applied separately to the Whyville Biotech Challenge and the Whyville PlaneWorks Challenge.

4. Challenge level for Whyville PlaneWorks is 2,000 clams per class. As previously announced in the Blog, Challenge level for Whyville Biotech is 500 clams per class.

Many thanks again to all who participated! Stay tuned for details about summer and fall competitions in Whyville ...

Regards,

WhySoul from Whyville.net

Wrapping up

Not that it's time to stop yet, but on behalf on my colleague TexasHome and the rest of us at Whyville, we want to thank everyone who participated in the Whyville Texas Challege. We are approaching 1,000 students in the competition, and over 200 classes with at least one active student. Gartner Group, a highly respected analyst firm, has said that about 80% of large organizations will be in virtual worlds by 2011. Many analysts believe the web is turning "3D". Places like Whyville mix teamwork and social interaction skills with STEM learning in ways that directly address the workforce needs of our nation. We hope that more than just "playing a game," you and your students have learned something about how virtual spaces can enhance learning.

We are planning to setup a forum for the teachers signed up for the challenge. Stay tuned for that announcement in this blog, and by email .

Thanks,

WhySoul

Kickin the Competition in the Pants

Hiya Folks,

WhySoul wanted me to pass on a few tips about scoring big in the competitions. Of course, I waited until the last few days before letting my secrets slip out!

What the students have learned in the past week or so is how to score big in PlaneWorks. First, in the Olympic Events, coordinate the group to crowd out everyone else since only six entries are allowed each race. That way, no matter how good or poor the planes, someone from the group is always winning every ten minutes. That is 50 clams for the team every 10 minutes! This game can be done in addition to WingFling. Secondly, in BioTech the students have formed up mini-teams to play Whack-a-Virus.
They've found that 3 people are optimal in playing the higher levels. I won't pass on any more about THAT! Get the students in there and you'll see what I'm talking about. Lastly, in the last few days they've discovered PlaneWorks Barons. They've coordinated themselves into supplying each other (working as vendors) and furnishing the parts for their own builders. Now I have to say that that is very clever.

Finally, I cannot take much credit for what the students are doing. I'm basically supplying them with time-on-task and acting as cheerleader and motivator. I throw out small suggestions, and watch them run with clever and innovative ways of beating the other teams. In PlaneWorks, the top scores have stayed very close which acts as a great motivator to keep up the fast pace they set early on.

That's all you're getting from me today! Good Luck....you're gonna need it!

DeChOu

Hurry!

Hey Everyone,

The competition is almost done! On the Bio side, we have 10 classes who've met the 500 clam challenge, and at least another 7 in range. For PlaneWorks, we have 33 classes who've met the 2,000 clam challenge! There are six more who aren't far off.

Watch the blog today for an entry from Dr. Jen Sun, one of the founders of Whyville. Jen will be providing some background on Whyville, and sharing some ideas for using Whyville to enhance what's happening in your classroom!

Thanks,

WhySoul

Top Three Teachers Win -- Three Different Teachers!

Hi Everyone,

A quick clarification on the rules. First, second and third place will be awarded to the top three classes; but, a teacher can only win one prize. So if one teacher is holding multiple top spots (say including first), then that teacher will win first place, but the next teacher wins second. If the competition ended today, the winners would be:

Biotech: Dennis Oubre, Wanda Brown (Jana Lemons currently in third)

PlaneWorks: Dennis Oubre, Gwen Butler (Johnebelle Line currently in third)

Dennis will be hard to catch in Bio, but he's about to start sharing his secrets in this blog, so who knows! PlaneWorks is still pretty tight at the top.

Remember that any class Meeting the Challenge (2,000 clams in PlaneWorks, 500 in Bio) will get a certificate from the Governor, and the first fifteen win HexBugs from Vex Robotics!

BTW, your students will be taken care of! Classes will be recognized for the place they finish in, regardless of the above guideline for teacher prizes.

Thanks,

WhySoul

Thanks....

Hiya WhySoul,

Thanks for allowing me to post to your blog.  My classes are doing extremely well, and now it looks like Tennyson has at least one class right on our tails.  I was hoping for some good competition to keep my classes from becoming too complacent.  Every day they check the Why-Texas site for the previous days results and begin working like the dickens to make sure they stay on top of the game.  They are really becoming fierce!!  I'm really looking forward to the last week of the competition because the groups are becoming very good at collaborating for a common goal.  It should prove to be interesting...

To the other groups....move your boat a little closer....so we can SWAMP you!!

DeChOu

Need some help? "Getting Started" and "Earning Clams" Friday in Whyville

You're all invited to the following two session tomorrow in the Whyville Greek Theatre.

At 5 pm Central, Whyville's City Manager and other Community Managers will host "Getting Started with Why-Texas." This is for you if your class is signed up, but has not gotten started with the competition. We'll help you get started!

Then at 6 pm, Whyville staff, also "Whyville Wonder Boy" Mr. Dennis Oubre from Waco ISD will host "Clam City - Earning Lots of Clams for Why-Texas." We may have some students along, and conduct some tours of the space.

Need info in these two areas? Then join us! Sign into Whyville, and select Greek Theatre from the Bus menu.

Regards,

WhySoul

Biotech -- Now just 500 clams to "Meet the Challenge"

Hi Everyone,

We've watched and learned . and so we're reducing the requirement to meet the Whyville Biotech Challenge to 500 clams per class. The requirement for the Whyville PlaneWorks Challenge remains at 2,000 clams. This change to the Biotech competition means that several classes have met the Challenge, and many others are in range. In fact, anyone who starts even now has a great chance of meeting the challenge. Classes that meet the Challenge get a certificate from Texas Governor Rick Perry and get the prizes as listed at http://why-texas.com/challenge.php. Keep earning clams!

Governor's Office to Award Certificates!

Guess what? The Texas Governor's Office has agreed to award Certificates of Accomplishment to all the classes that meet the Whyville Texas Challenge! That means that every class that wins at least 2,000 clams will get a Certificate of Accomplishment from Governor Rick Perry. We already have about 20 classes who have qualified, and many more are in range. Stay tuned for opportunities to learn how to earn those clams .

Yet More Biotech Clam Tips

Hi Everyone,

Here are some tips to success in Whyville Biotech, including clam tips:

Tips:

* If you're having trouble seeing whether or not an antibody matches a virus, rotate it to make sure, there are a lot that look similar.

* Don't get too anxious. The more viruses you kill, the quicker new ones show up, take your time early on.

* Some viruses don't go straight toward the cells, make sure you focus on the one's that are the most dangerous.

* Remember that you can drop the antibodies you don't need on the board, it helps to clear out the queue when there is one virus you need to kill, but your queue is full.

Clam Tips:

Level 1 is good for practice, but level 2 is where the big money lays, bring a friend or two. Have one person sit in the chair and make only the antibodies you need to save the cell and have another friend as the macrophage to clear off the board as soon as possible. When things get fast near the end you'll be able to hold out longer when working together like this.

SALARY CLAMS: To earn salary clams in Whyville Biotech, make vaccines. When you make vaccines, your clam salary goes up, and you earn it every day you log in.

SALES CLAMS: Huh? Yes, you can earn clams selling vaccines. This is real Bio entrepreneurship. If you make vaccines that other Whyvillians decide to buy to keep them from getting viruses, you will earn clams. This is not easy, but it's THE WAY to get rich in Whyville.