Roblox: millions of users<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It’s kids like my students that drive Roblox\u2019s popularity and ultimate value: there are nearly 200 million monthly active users and, in 2021, the company reported just over 50% of its users as under the age of 13<\/a>. Designed for ultimate creativity, users design an avatar with unique clothing, hair, and accessories. These designs can be free; however, major companies including Nike, Disney, and Gucci have capitalized and created custom collaborations for users to purchase. Not to be left out, music artists including Lizzo and Elton John have had Roblox concerts complete with virtual merchandise, and this December Mariah Carey\u2019s Winter Wonderland<\/a> experience – created in collaboration with her 11-year-old twins – launches on the platform and will include 3-D performances and exclusive item drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All those exclusive designs cost money. In Roblox users spend Robux, which are either purchased using standard currency or earned by designing games or items sold within the platform. One Robux is worth about $0.80, and scams are proliferate<\/a>. In my own elementary tech & library classes, stories of pop-ups advertising free Robux are countlessly repeated with mounting frustration. Students are also vocal about trading scams<\/a>, when one user sends a chat to another and offers a trade that sounds too good to be true. You already know what happens; it\u2019s the children who learn the hard way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can Roblox connect to libraries and educators? Firstly, as professionals, we must be aware that there is far more to the game than first meets the eye. Roblox is an evolving social platform with a metaverse component. Second, when designing lessons or programs, Roblox can be used to teach kids how to spot scams or become more aware of advertising influence. These media literacy skills are valuable and have lasting impact while drawing patron interest. Thirdly, consider developing a Roblox club where users can come together to discuss their specific game and share tips. I know a group of young Adopt Me! players who would love that! Finally, imagine integrating Roblox into existing programming. What if \u2018live\u2019 Roblox performances could be streamed into a library? What a cool way to provide access to more users! Have other ideas on how your community uses Roblox or ideas on integrating it into your library? Please share below! <\/p>\n\n\n\n This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: I. Commitment to Client Group, II. Reference and User Services,<\/strong> III. Programming Skills, <\/strong>VII. Professionalism and Professional Development<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arika Dickens is a longtime librarian and educator with over 20 years experience in schools and libraries across the US and UK as an educator, librarian, and instructional technology co-teacher. She currently lives and works in London, where she is on an expat adventure with her family. Find her online at @arikadickens on various social platforms or at www.librarianarika.wordpress.com.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During a recent tech lesson, a first-grade student exclaimed, \u201cI play Roblox, and they can scam you!\u201d. And as I listened, she and many of her six-year-old classmates shared their experiences in the game, describing pop-ups and chat boxes, currency and avatars. It was passionate, energetic, and enlightening. As class ended, I began to wonder more about Roblox\u2019s creation and how it could integrate into a teaching and programming moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[155,141,24,81,53,48,211,416],"tags":[1500,1034,2491,2490,386],"class_list":["post-28209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-children-and-technology-committee","category-children-technology","category-digital-world","category-gaming","category-information-literacy","category-school-library","category-technology","category-tweens-2","tag-children-and-technology","tag-gaming","tag-metaverse","tag-roblox","tag-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Scams in Roblox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Roblox for librarians & educators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bibliography <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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