Our 3D Printing is finally done and looks great! Students were proud of their work and glad to be able to take home their monument souvenirs. Today students are going to finish their own evaluations of their learning during the course and write a letter to our district administrators explaining what they think are the valuable things about Minecraft that we could use in our classroom instruction during the school year. I think MC is a valuable learning tool that any student could benefit from using if it is employed correctly. It's like pencils, projectors, iPads, or paper--all of them are valuable tools in a student's education if they are employed doing what they are good at. End of Summer School Minecraft Survey One of the fun things about Minecraft is that there are so many creative things that have sprung up around it. One of them is Papercraft. You can go to a store and purchase a commercial Minecraft Papercraft set, or you can visit http://pixelpapercraft.com/ and print out blocks, mobs, and even your own custom skin if you have a regular Minecraft username registered.
I think most of the kids would say that it is easier to build with virtual blocks than to use paper, scissors, tape and glue, so it was some good real-world, hands-on work getting done today! We have not played Minecraft in survival mode at all during the class, so today we talked over the community rules for MC in our group setting and we let students play. Our high school sociology class did something like this in the spring--one difference is that we did not have PVP enabled, because we are focusing on the community and building aspects of MC. We tell students that PVP in MC is not allowed, just like it is not allowed in school between real people. Now, defending yourself from creepers or zombies, or catching and eating a fish is a different story. Kids started with nothing and had to hit wood to get going. It was amazing to see the different strategies that players have. Some dug holes in the ground to survive impending night, and some had stone and iron tools before five minutes had passed. Many worked together and welcomed others into their homes when night came. We did try to take care of our players, though. They found that one thing that happens in a large multiplayer world is that food resources become scarce quickly, unless you have killed spiders and gotten some string for a fishing pole. Our helpers added commands to ensure that players got food sent to them special delivery, and that if their player died that they would respawn with all of their possessions Today, we're touring finished statues and monuments that they built last week, and also beginning to print out their 3D souvenir models of their projects. I wish I knew how to get a 3D printer to go as fast as some of these kids can build--maybe there is a super speed potion for 3D printers... Take a quick photo tour of some of the monuments in our world. Each one has a teleport station set up so that when you jump to it you are in the prime viewing location to see the monument. There are also information blocks and signs that students created to tell you about the monuments and statues as you go, so that you can learn the history of the crafters who lived in this world. Let me pause today to talk about how invaluable the summer school helpers I work with have been to this class. They have been a tireless crew of workers, and have created worlds for the kids to play in, helped out innumerable times, and taught students crafting elements that they did not know previously. Our class would be a fraction of what it is without their help. As I said earlier, I am not the sage on the stage in this course. I create the framework and make sure the group is moving forward, but I do not have a knowledge base like our helpers do. The collective knowledge of the helpers is 10-15 years of MC playing and I don't know how many thousand hours. This image shows most of them--some were not available for the shot. Today students went through a final checklist for their monuments, which included signs, teleportation stations for visitors, inside and outside construction, and any landscaping they wanted to create. Our summer school high school volunteer helpers were critical in getting the final pieces in place. In Minecraft.edu, students can place things like teleport blocks, information signs, and information blocks, but they cannot destroy them if they are misplaced or they want to move them. Our helpers were the quality assurance team that made sure teleport stations were properly placed and named for easy access by our class when we tour monuments next week. In this changing education landscape where teachers can be students and vice-versa, our high school students have been great examples for me and the younger kids in class. Today is all about git-R-done. Students are working hard building general structures (like hot air balloons shaped like Creepers), statues of animals and other creatures, giant pyramids, and even giant cakes. One student went home yesterday and figured out exactly what MInecraft cake looked like--down to the pixel--and drew it out in a notebook so her sculpture would look more realistic. Another student went home and built a version of their sculpture on his iPhone. Examples like this are why I am teaching this class. Student motivation is a huge part of working hard in here. Today students took what they learned about existing monuments and statues and applied it to these two questions: 1. What is the most important thing about Minecraft? 2. What is your favorite thing about Minecraft? They took their answers and worked alone or in groups of 2-4 to create new ideas for Minecraft monuments. They designed them on paper, pitched their concepts to me, and then went to work in MC when they were fully approved. It's great to be able to defy reality and build monuments that are in the sky, underground, or underwater. We started our 3D printing project today. Students began by taking a Google Earth tour of different monuments, statues, and structures all over the world and then worked to find more in-depth information about one in small groups. Their goal is to find out who made them, but more importantly why they were built, what the structure inside looks like, and where they were placed on the landscape. Students will be using this information to make intelligent decisions when they design and build their own things in a new Minecraft world starting on Tuesday. (Image snipped from Google Earth's 3D modeling mode--really great for virtual tours) When I was in elementary school, we made books. I remember folding construction paper and three-hole punching the pages, and then tying yarn through the holes to keep the whole thing together. I drew the pictures with colored pencil and marker, and then typed all of the text on a typewriter and cut the sections out and glued them onto the pages. That is not what our kids will be doing. We found some great online tools and I have been in conversation with the staff of a company that can print our books for us. Next week they should go to the presses! Our kids worked really hard to make the deadline, so we finished up today with a classic Minecraft blockbreaking mini-game . The summer school helpers designed a state-of-the-art three-layered arena for our kids to play in. If you ever played the game Don't Break the Ice, think about it like that, except there are three layers of ice, 20+ simultaneous players, and no one has to take turns. It was an absolute blast! |
AuthorI am an elementary library media specialist and lifelong learner who enjoys helping to improve teaching and learning for our students and staff here at Valley View by integrating information and technology resources into instruction. Archives
August 2015
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