Today in class, we learned about how Minecraft Challenge is a method of formative assessment. DAN TDM is a youtube platform that allows people of all ages to develop a broader understanding of Minecraft. Minecraft gives coding opportunities, that can be found through the Minecraft EDU edition with different “worlds” to view. Starting with a blank world created by scratch (a seed world), puts building on and creating individual ideas to life on the Minecraft gaming platform.
Teacher and leader Maddy James came into our classroom and explained to us the advantages of incorporating a popular computer game into our lesson plans. One of the students that came in with the tech teacher, her teacher insight to how many hours herself and her classmates play on Minecraft. Mrs. James advocated for the integration of Minecraft into classrooms in her school district, and has become successful in helping students create worlds full of physics, science, art, ecosystems, anatomy, and architecture for the last two years. Students are learning survival techniques as well, learning about how fire must be made to cook food before their avatars consume the food. In doing this, students are learning while expressing their visions.
- Turn resources into other resources
- Making items to create complex items, working as a team to make each piece
- Participate in group conversation
As she allowed us student teachers to explore our first training practice Minecraft world her students were giving us pointers and tips of how to move, swim, gesture, and jump. It was all fun and games until all of our screens froze…
What just happened?
The teacher has full control over the game. In order to keep an authoritative position over students, there are advantages that only teachers can do.
- Such as perform actions limited to just them
- Block forms of communication for specific players
- Limit specific actions of certain players
Teacher Maddy James has provided students a template and creative outline to design a creation and have competition between students and their peers. The competition is hosted based on a time limit, and a creative outline so that individuals in her classroom have expectations to meet. With a public rubric, students participating in Minecraft know what they need to make in the Minecraft world. After a specific time limit the students are expected to judge each creation and provide scores for one another based on reason. Furthermore, students do a self reflection report of their own work for self-regulation.