MINECRAFT IN A HUMANITIES CLASSROOM
Global Religions Course Each religion was taught over a one month period and included the following: Early History, Geography, Spread of religion, Branches, Key People, Key Events, Branches and Modern History, Core Beliefs, Symbols, Rituals, Holidays, and Festivals. Students selected one Eastern and one Western religion to compare and worked in collaborative groups to research a sacred site. Students wrote essays on the topics listed above, as well as on their sacred site. Students replicated their sacred sites in MInecraft Edu and designed a game in which their two religions were taught and compared and in which the players' knowledge and learning was tested. Students presented their work to younger peers first, took feedback and made changes. Students presented their final work in an evening event to their families.
MinecraftEdu
iTeach with iPads | Innovating learning and literacy with iPads in kindergarten
Ideas for Using Minecraft in the Classroom
As is the nature of sandbox games, players can roam free, choosing objectives as they go. Because Minecraft has such open possibilities and potential, the teacher can choose how he or she wants to use it. Just as the student has the ability to be creative, the teacher has the same. That can be overwhelming, but luckily, there is a tool for using Minecraft created by teachers for teachers. MinecraftEdu provides a custom mod, basically a customized modification of the game, that helps facilitate organization and focus for teachers to use Minecraft effectively. For those noobs out there that need a push in the right direction, here are some introductory project or lesson ideas. 1) Explore Real Life Buildings There are many already-created structures that you can import into the game and have students explore. 2) Practice Ratio and Proportion 3) Learn About Survival 4) Visualization and Reading Comprehension
8 Examples of Transforming Lessons Through the SAMR Cycle
The SAMR Model for integrating technology into teaching, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, has gained a good deal of exposure in recent years. “SAMR” is an acronym that stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. We recently discussed the SAMR model during an Academic Technology Work Group meeting at The College of Westchester. Following are 8 examples of the SAMR process, each taking an example of a typical classroom exercise that does not use technology and walking it through each phase of SAMR. The goal of this exercise was to help me (and readers) better understand the SAMR model, and to really see how lessons and assessments can be transformed while considering the benefits of evolving them through these stages. Lesson: Writing a Short Paper Taken from: Original Assignment: A hand written paper. Lesson: Geography & Travel Lesson: Understanding Shakespeare
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How Game-Based Learning Can Help Students of All Ages Learn
In school, kids play during recess and work during class. But some of the biggest names in psychology, including Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, believe that play is a child’s work. The best way to teach kids, they say, is through hands-on, active learning. But with state benchmarks and performance-based teacher evaluations hanging above our heads, it’s hard for educators to imagine spending precious academic time playing games with kids. That’s where game-based learning (often confused with gamification, which isn’t quite the same thing) comes in. Bruner’s Discovery Learning Theory According to Bruner, students who engage in hands-on learning and play-based activities experience the following benefits: increased motivationbuoyed creativityenhanced problem-solving skillsa greater sense of personal responsibilitythe joy of autonomy and independence What teacher doesn’t want her students to be motivated, creative, smart, responsible, and filled with joy? Quest to Learn: A School of Games Tips
The Heist | Adventure Map (for 1.8.7 & 1.8.8) v1.4b Minecraft Project
LEGAL PERMISSIONS: You are allowed to record The Heist, however please have the decency to link to the map link. You will be doing your audience a favor as well as the creators of this map. You have to realize that what took you 3-4 hours to play took us 350 hours to make. So please don't be a douche and share the love. MINECRAFT VERSION: This map has been created and tested for 1.8.7 & 1.8.8 without mods. Running this map in ANY other version of Minecraft is not recommended. LANGUAGE SUPPORT: (Change you ingame language in Minecraft setting and the translations happen automatically) DESCRIPTION: In the Heist the player tries to avoid security systems such as cameras, guard robots, lasers, sonar etc in order to steal valuable prototypes from a high security underground research facility. The Heist is a very unique game that relies on over 6000 command blocks in order to work and is one of the most advanced maps released to date.
