Building Our Minecraft Server

We've begun spending our prize money for the Ken Spencer Award. 10 iPad2's have been ordered and the school has piggy backed onto the exceptional discount Apple is offering to educators right now; 20 more have been ordered thanks to the home and school and teachers purchasing for their classrooms.

My husband who teaches information technology at Humber College has connected us to some of his talented students who are building a dedicated Minecraft server for our club. We will be able to have at least 30 players on at a time. Once again, thank you Ken Spencer!  As I type, they are out purchasing equipment. You can follow the build in real time on twitter @educrafting

There has been intense discussion all week from the students in the club who range from grades 3 to 7.   The discussions have been sophisticated and thoughtful.  They've weighed pros and cons of various design options and are extremely curious about how the server will be structured. They've also identified risk factors and implications of decisions that we might make as a group and have begun to hash out conduct guidelines.  A chief concern is who will have administrative rights for the server. These are extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful students and I appreciate their guidance as I am, once again, the level 2 student in the group (well, if I'm being totally honest, level 1).


(cross-posted in The Amaryllis)

Hiroshima

Yesterday at Edcampto http://www.edcampto.org/  I had my most interesting conversation about Minecraft yet.  A teacher described what happened with Minecraft in his classroom. It was a powerful story.

In his class students built a Minecraft multiplayer server and then spent the entire year building and playing in that world.  Their heart and soul went into it.  For non-Minecrafters I don't know if you can fully understand what this means, but players will get it.   For Minecrafters the world they create is as real as the world they live in.  In some ways it is more real because players have a level of power, control and creativity that they do not have in everyday life.

One student played  for the entire year but never shared with the rest of the class what he was up to. At the end of the school year they found out.  The student had spent the entire year collecting enough dynamite equivalent to the force of the bomb that fell on Hiroshima and then he used it.  He blew up their world.  It took over 7 minutes and the entire class watched as their creation was destroyed.

I am in shock just hearing it.  That day in class ... what was it like?

I am looking for some insight into this part of Minecraft and what happened. Could players comment?
Keep in mind this is an educational blog seen by students.

Grades 4 and 5 Arrive

Minecraft for grades 4 and 5 has begun. I'm just going to record what I hear.

How do I build?
Who's building? Go watch him.

Ready. I've got the TNT. Watch this. (and the pure pleasure of destroying and rebuilding)

Can you help me? I forget how to...

(and from everyone a running record describing their decision making as they play)

I just found lava.

What is that?

Hold down the mouse. Go to.... put the wood here ...

Several students suddenly get up and gather around one all chatting in excitement.

It's starting to get dark.

How do I switch between two?

You need to go to options.

You have to update the Java.

Dude you're in ... there's a brick that turns purple.
Maybe it's obsidian
No it goes purple up and down.

You're launching.

One boy gets up to help another make a portal. Everyone leaps up to observe and then try it themselves.

Constant questions, teaching, observing, learning and celebration when someone masters a new technique.

The ebb and flow of natural learning.

I've got a portal. I've got a portal! I'm going through.

I've found a duck taking a bath.
No, that's just a chicken clucking around.
(disgust) He can't even swim!

And one boy who tries computer after computer trying to get into the game. Finally a girl suggests that he's trying to load the wrong version. Success.

And so it begins ... again.

This is our first true day of Minecraft Club. We ended up splitting the club into two sessions: one for grades 6 and 7 and one for grades 4 and 5.  Most students in the club are already Minecrafters and many have their own accounts.  Several, though, are playing on the free version.  While playing almost all players are describing what is happening on their screens while they play. They verbally identify a course of action and even though many voices are speaking at once ... if an interesting plan arises, it is heard because neighbouring students will pause and watch.

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!