Back at It!

This summer I took a break from Minecraft, but now that the school year has started, I am back at it. Clearly, my students' return to Minecraft has been eagerly awaited; the one question that I am asked most frequently when walking down the halls of my school is, "When is Minecraft starting?" often by students that I do not even know! 54 students have signed up to date. For a club, those numbers are staggering. I think our original group was 4 and we could play in my classroom. I now may have to run 2 sessions per week to accommodate everyone. Gaming is social though and part of the process is gathering in groups, discussing, problem solving, suggesting - the conversation is as important as the playing and creating. Not everyone needs to be at the keyboard at once. This weekend I am participating in a global classroom for Minecraft. I signed up for two reasons: 1. I would like to learn more about the game 2. This represents a new model of learning: students logging in from around the world to participate in a self-selected class. I believe the event is running out of Australia, but I could be wrong. The event targets adults who wish to learn more about the virtual world in which their children create. This event once again demonstrates the power of twitter. Thank you @MissionVHQ for tweeting it; I would never have known otherwise.

I am in the Club!!!!

I don't know what is more exciting: that 3 grade 6 boys invited me to join their team to design a mod for Minecraft or that I understood what they were asking!!!

Grade 6 Girls Talk About Minecraft

Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with five grade 6 girls in our Minecraft club during Nutrition Break to discuss why they game.  I was stunned by the level of maturity in their discussion as well as their insights. I will blog in detail about what I learned, but I promised them I would post the interview today.  It lasts about 20 minutes and is well worth a full listen, particularly near the end when the girls discuss self-image. They blew me away!  

Voices of Gamers

There were over 20 students, male and female,  in the lab at Nutrition Break today playing Minecraft.  For those who think that gaming is an isolating activity, you're wrong. Gaming is intensely social. Players remain focused, on task and in constant conversation as they work to help each other achieve goals. New learning spreads rapidly and calls for help are immediately answered.  There are frequent moments of success and satisfaction as players continuously work to solve problems.

Ian Chia suggested I put a mic in our lab so everyone can hear what I am privileged to hear. I used audacity to record bits and pieces of our conversation and then uploaded the podcast to www.archive.org to get an embed code in order to post it in blogger. We are noisy, learning and having fun!  0

If You Could Hear What I Hear

I truly wish that all educators could be in our lab at Dundas Central listening to students discuss Minecraft.  It saddens me because I realize that in my 20 years of teaching, I haven't spent enough time just listening to my students.

YOU!!!!! Play Minecraft?

Still the most common reaction I get from students. Minecraft is spreading into homes. Siblings are beginning to play. We're in the cloud.

I Have Spawned Minecrafters

Today, in the lab at nutrition break there are suddenly 7 new minecrafters excited about the game. The longtime group is teaching the new group. Students working on other subjects are whispering and asking questions. Interesting. The best thing of all is that I get to observe how gamers teach each other.