Your Homework Tonight,

Dave Guymon

Online middle school teacher

Graduate student studying games and

simulations in education

EdTech and games blogger

@DaveGuymon

What is Minecraft?

Minecraft is . . .

an open-world sandbox exploration and building game

that lets you go where you want, build what you want,

and set your own goals.

Who will you be?

INVENTORNomad HOME MAKER

rancher

community plannerPETTY LORD artist

DWARVEN MINER

How are teachers and students using Minecraft for learning?

“I don’t let them just play the game however they want. They must follow a path I lay out for them, which allows me to carry out lesson plans.”

- Joel Levin“The Minecraft Teacher”

Guided by objectives

How do you get fromSolve real-world & mathematical problems involving area, volume, and surface area.

to

7Principles ofConstructivist

EDUCATION

Establishment of a cooperative, sociomoral atmosphere

Appeal to children’s interests

Teach in terms of the kind of knowledge involved

Choose content that challenges children

Promote children’s reasoning

Provide adequate time for investigation and engagement

Link ongoing documentation and assessment with learning

Quest-based Learning

How are curriculum-based quests made?

Identify content standards.Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details,

and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3

1 2 3

Determine objectives.SWBAT adopt a specific role in a larger online ecosystem.

SWBAT participate in developing online narrative.

SWBAT record key events from role play in journal.

SWBAT reflect on journal entries to write a story based on narrative.

1 2 3

Create quest-based activities

1 2 3

Build a house that reflects the needs and personality

of your character.

Establish a farm near a water source that grows 3 different types of plants.

Build a corral and domesticate at least one

type of animal.

Successfully trade a commodity with another

player using the chat box to communicate.

Assemble a functioning land-based transportation

system with rails and redstone.

Create a landmark (either real or imagined) with a description posted on a

sign.

Concoct a potion that produces its intended

effect.

Create a hidden entrance to a space using redstone

and a sensor.

Engage a Creeper, and survive.

MathExplore principles of area, volume, and functions by making tools and building structures.

EnglishErect a replica model of the setting from a classroom novel.

ScienceExperiment with networks and circuits by creating booby traps.

HistoryUse “mods” to generate a Minecraft version of Ancient Rome, and take a walking tour together.

Ask the Experts

“The results were far from expected.”

- Joel Levin“The Minecraft Teacher”

Individual Accounts

www.minecraft.net

Classroom Accounts

www.minecraftedu.org

MinecraftEDUhttp://www.minecraftedu.com

FoodCraft at the American Museum of Natural Historyhttp://youtu.be/eQh7_WAOOjw

Learnist http://learni.st/users/132607/boards/74425-minecraft-research-for-ncce14

Institute of Playhttp://www.instituteofplay.org/awsm/playtime-online/illustrations-of-minecraft-as-a-classroom-learning-tool/

Lessons 4 Minecrafthttp://lessons4minecraft.com/?page_id=289

Additional Resources