This short note outlines the Secret Builders framework – from how a former teacher and a group of parents conceptualized the vision for this site to its implementation.   For specific questions about activities, content, technical issues and Internet safety please visit our tutorial and FAQ scroll in the site.

What is Secret Builders?

SecretBuilders is a virtual world for children 5 to 14 years old powered by a web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers. On SecretBuilders, children will explore virtual lands, undertake quests, play games, maintain a home, nurture a pet, and interact with their friends. Children will also be able to publish and share their writings and artwork with each other and have tons of fun doing it all!

Three unique features distinguish Secret Builders from other online children’s sites and gaming places:

Children will be the creators and not just consumers. They will help build this world with their ideas, critiques and contributions. We will directly solicit their input on building out lands, contests, activities, games and features, and in many cases, they will see an immediate implementation of their ideas and suggestions. This world, which is for them, will be created by them.

Children will be exposed to concepts in science, math and the humanities through games, quests, contests and “conversations” with the historical figures that populate this online world. They will be introduced in fun, subtle ways such that they won’t even know they’ve learned a piece of history, a famous line from literature or something about philosophy. SecretBuilders is not meant to be an educational site but through immersion in activities, quests and games their school education will be enriched.

Children will exercise the creative spirit present in each child through many art- and writing-based activities, all of which will be maintained in an online library to be visited again and again. They will be able to participate in a variety of writing contests, maintain blogs and diaries, create artwork, produce photo/video items as well as discuss and interact on works published by someone else. This ability to publish their own works as well as see and comment on that of others creates a vibrant, dynamic community that will enhance other creative classroom activities.

Who is Secret Builders for?

SecretBuilders is designed primarily for children 5 to 14 years of age. However, children of all ages are welcome on SecretBuilders.

How did the idea of Secret Builders come about?

Simply this – THERE IS NO WEBSITE THAT PARENTS WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO GO TO THAT CHILDREN ALSO WANT TO GO TO. There are either educational sites, which parents like but children don’t necessarily care for, or gaming and entertainment sites that children love but parents aren’t thrilled about. In both cases, there are discussions about computer time and from a parent’s perspective either not enough in the first case and too much in the latter.

So we set about conceiving of a website that both kids and parents would love – a site that kids want to spend time on while parents don’t need to keep an eye on the clock.

What would be the elements of such a site? For kids to love it, the site would have to be a highly interactive, dynamic, fun environment that they can share with their friends and where they are truly entertained. For parents to love it, the site would have to be one they allow their children on without hesitation or second guessing what they are being exposed to. In addition, the site would have some learning component.

The reality of our time is that we cannot shun our children from computer usage – it is everywhere and becoming even more prolific. Kids want to spend time on the computer and younger and younger children are going online to chat and play games where they are then bombarded with advertisements and often inappropriate images. In SecretBuilders we have created a place where children will want to go and where parents don’t have to constantly look over their shoulders. Additionally, children will not be manipulated as potential consumers because although the site will have sponsors it will be free of commercial advertising and marketing.

Is there a fee to join SecretBuilders?

SecretBuilders is free to join and use. All you need to join is your email address and a username. SecretBuilders does not ask for any private information for you to join the website. Although SecretBuilders will always be free to join, in the future we plan to add a paid membership option that will give members access to additional features. The paid membership will be a monthly or annual payment.

What Can You Do?

Why this particular concept of Secret Builders?

There are two realities about a child's world today that cause concern for most parents:

Pop culture overload – The proliferation of television, film and the Internet has raised pop culture volume to levels where most other humanist sounds and sights are barely-heard whispers. The fast-paced shelf space of mass media and the Internet abounds predominantly with pop icons from the entertainment and fashion industry. Even inspiring stories of athletes and other heroes are drowned out by noise of their celebrity status and market value. As a result, the main images that children are exposed to are 30 second glimpses of wealth and glamour leading to consumerism.

Limited exposure to arts and humanities – Today’s entertainment speeds and attention spans mean that children and young adults have limited or little exposure to the fine arts and humanities. The great writers, musicians, artists, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, past and present, and their creative works have been relegated to small scholastic niches in today's society. The popular entertainment industry is virtually devoid of these aspects.

While SecretBuilders is NOT an educational service, it is an online world that that celebrates human creativity, intellect and achievement. It brings back to life the lost human spirits of the past, the anonymous creative spirits of today, and the future writers, artists and thinkers in today’s children.

SecretBuilders is a world where children will be entertained by the geniuses and intellects that gave rise to the best in human civilization rather than mass marketers. At SecretBuilders, children will not be tracked for revenue purposes or as potential consumers but rather as creative, ingenious beings that will help build a vibrant virtual world that will also impact their real world. In all, a tall order but then most of us behind SecretBuilders are parents ourselves so we are catering to two very demanding audiences – our children and ourselves!

How does SecretBuilders work?

Each user chooses an avatar (their online identity) and customizes it before exploring SecretBuilders to interact with other users and computer-generated heroic/historical artificial intelligence figures. Successfully completing quests, solving puzzles or winning mini-games, participating in writing activities and contests will earn children virtual money which they can then use to buy special powers, spells or accessories for their homes or pets. As they are doing all these activities they will be exposed to and immersed in content and characters from world civilization – from Einstein to Shakespeare, Mozart to Socrates.

How does my child get exposed to famous characters in SecretBuilders?

SecretBuilders characters (historical and fictional characters from world civilization) will be powered by artificial intelligence so that they are vibrant, living parts of SecretBuilders. These characters will chat with children vis-à-vis a monitored chat dialogue and provide guidance on places and activities in SecretBuilders. They will also interact with the children in their virtual homes through parties, open houses and special events – for example, Shakespeare may host a birthday party for himself or Einstein may host a private gathering to discuss his latest theory. The characters will also provide feedback and comments to children on their creative contributions.

Privacy & Safety

What features make SecretBuilders safe?

Internet child safety is a top-level priority at SecretBuilders. We have in place the most advanced filtering mechanisms, live moderators and a stringent privacy policy. Specifically:

Zero availability of a child’s personal information – No one will be able to access your child’s real name, address, gender, email, school, phone number, picture or any other private information simply because we ourselves won’t have it. Registration and any payments required will be done through and by the parents email address (older children who have their own email address may register directly with SecretBuilders but will have to provide parental contact information). In certain instances of school specific contests and activities, no child will be identifiable individually. In all cases, children will be encouraged to use a screen name for their avatar rather than their real names.

Privacy – SecretBuilders will employ concentric layers of privacy in all personal spaces (virtual home, online diary, etc.) from no visitors to virtual homes at all to allowing parent approved buddy list members to visit or allowing visits to only certain parts of their home. A child’s virtual home will have no information on their real name, address, gender, email, school, phone number or picture.

Moderated postings in personal spaces – SecretBuilders will have full moderation (i.e., manual checking of all comments before they are posted) – nothing will go online until it has been approved by our moderators. We will screen for language and content as well as personal information that may reveal a child’s identity.

Moderated postings in public spaces – As with personal spaces, all contributions to public spaces, whether their own submission or a comment on another’s work, will be checked before they are posted.
Public spaces include the online magazine as well as contests and activities where opportunities to comment are provided.

Restricted and free chat – In the restricted chat mode, users will be able to chat using a pre-defined menu of phrases/vocabulary. This will be the default mode for younger children (9 and under). Free chat will be available to children over 10 but will still screen out inappropriate language and speech including bullying, harassment, intimidation as well as revelation of any personal identity information. Parental control over buddy lists for children under 9 will be required to approve additions to a child's buddy list as buddies can potentially have access to free chat.

SecretBuilders is committed to providing the safest Internet experience possible for children of all ages available to date. We will collaborate and communicate continuously with parents to keep them apprised of their children’s online activity. SecretBuilders complies fully with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Safe Harbor Principles.

Feedback

SecretBuilders would love to hear feedback from parents about our site…further questions or concerns, things we are doing well, what we can improve, features you would like to see and unique stories about how you, as a parent, have used SecretBuilders with your children.

Email: info@secretbuilders.com
Phone: 650.204.9098

For more information on Renaissance 2.0 Media Inc., our mission, products and team, visit www.ren20.com.