Good Morning, Good Evening all you Miners, Crafters, and Creepers and welcome to the #MinecraftEDU Chat, a 1 hour time to talk Minecraft in Education. This week we are featuring authors @johnmillerEDU and @cscottsy of #Minecraft#STEM Labs
A0 John Miller, 7th grade teacher from California’s Central Coast. I co-wrote a just published book on Minecraft and STEM called Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids with @cscottsy. #MinecraftEDU
Evening everyone! Ben from Canada. I think everything I do in my job is STEM in one way or another. Except when we talk about feelings and stuff :) #MinecraftEDU
Q1: What sorts of activities have you seen which focus around STEM that can either be recreated in Minecraft, or taken out of Minecraft and into the real world? #MinecraftEDU
Q1: What sorts of activities have you seen which focus around STEM that can either be recreated in Minecraft, or taken out of Minecraft and into the real world? #MinecraftEDU
Q1: What sorts of activities have you seen which focus around STEM that can either be recreated in Minecraft, or taken out of Minecraft and into the real world? #MinecraftEDU
A1.1: Love the new Chemistry addition to MC:EE as well as Code Builder. Modeling geologic features is a favorite too. How many kids saw the Hawaiian volcano and made an immediate Minecraft connection recently? #MinecraftEDU
Yes! But it turns out one latex balloon can't really lift a pig and actually just really annoys the pig badly. It's actually more cruel and sad in real life. But that's the same for a lot of things :) #MinecraftEDU
A1.1: Love the new Chemistry addition to MC:EE as well as Code Builder. Modeling geologic features is a favorite too. How many kids saw the Hawaiian volcano and made an immediate Minecraft connection recently? #MinecraftEDU
A0: Hey everyone! I'm Kyle, I'm one of the educators @STEAM_Labs, and my fave #stem thing I do is #3Dprinting !! I also love laser cutting, #minecraftedu, robotics, etc. So much fun stuff!
A1: The Chemistry addition is getting a lot of action in my room as well as roller-coaster making. They get a lot of lead way and choices since I have no set curriculum. #minecraftedu
A1: My Ss love engineering the buildings/structures of years past & making science concepts come alive like contact forces w/RGM and learning about chemical reactions! #MinecraftEdu
Q2: How do we support and encourage children’s ability to bring their own ideas and innovative thinking from Minecraft into the classroom. #MinecraftEDU
Q2: How do we support and encourage children’s ability to bring their own ideas and innovative thinking from Minecraft into the classroom. #MinecraftEDU
Q2: How do we support and encourage children’s ability to bring their own ideas and innovative thinking from Minecraft into the classroom. #MinecraftEDU
A2: Would love to see Ss initiate builds based on a spark from a lesson and then share with their teacher. We must encourage our students to develop their ideas and support alternate assessments. #MinecraftEDU
A2: One of the things we do is essentially free build time. Kids have the ability to create their own projects and work on it in groups or solo. It's super awesome to see what they come up with! #minecraftedu
What age are these kids? I feel with elementary students, there need to be some constraints or parameters, otherwise they may become overwhelmed. I think Restrictions add to STEM challenges too! #MinecraftEDU
A2: I’m my classroom kids are designing and developing their own games in #minecraft. They have tons of choice in the direction they take and innovate in order to make their dreams a reality or at least a virtual reality #minecraftedu
Q2: How do we support and encourage children’s ability to bring their own ideas and innovative thinking from Minecraft into the classroom. #MinecraftEDU
I agree, do it all the time, but it amazes me when I get strange looks suggesting that to other teachers —> Ss do the work, let em at it! #MinecraftEdu
A2 - Fun Fact Rhiannon Sparkes is actually the teacher that got me to believe #Minecraft could be powerful in the classroom. It was this story that made me start using #MinecraftEDU The Secret Garden Video at bottom! https://t.co/Czvn6Y6wPU
A2: I always aim the discussion of what to do in MC at the level of interpretation — make something that we couldn’t do with other tools. Student voice comes through naturally in that conversation. #minecraftedu
A2 it works both ways, our grade 1 is exploring about spaces and structures, they are building IRL and in MC both worlds feeding each other #MinecraftEDU
Our programs generally range from around 8-12. We do often initiate challenges, for example, a recent one we used was placing them on mars. #minecraftedu
A1: I'm finding my Rocks & Minerals lessons at the museum go over really well when there are Minecrafters in the class b/c they've got a shared lexicon (we discuss the differences between the game and RL) and there's a connection -- seems more relevant to them. #MinecraftEDU
Q3: Playing Minecraft encourages mastery experimentation and expertise. What value does this skillset have beyond the game? How can this benefit STEM? #MinecraftEDU
Q3: Playing Minecraft encourages mastery experimentation and expertise. What value does this skillset have beyond the game? How can this benefit STEM? #MinecraftEDU
A2: Might be interesting to dedicate hour/week like @geniushour, & encourage Ss to create machines, games, puzzles, etc. within Minecraft to share w/peers!Ss would create an objective for game play & how to rate a successful experience #MinecraftEdu
A2: Might be interesting to dedicate hour/week like @geniushour, & encourage Ss to create machines, games, puzzles, etc. within Minecraft to share w/peers!Ss would create an objective for game play & how to rate a successful experience #MinecraftEdu
Q3: Playing Minecraft encourages mastery experimentation and expertise. What value does this skillset have beyond the game? How can this benefit STEM? #MinecraftEDU
A3: You cannot get to mastery without deliberate practice. Practice means mistakes and failures (like things blowing up when they shouldnt) It is through trial and error / experiementation that we discover new problems and solutions. #MinecraftEDU
A3 - #MinecraftEDU is wonderful at showing students that there is always a way to accomplish a goal. It may cost a lot of diamonds but it can be done! Just look at Dubai! In #Minecraft Trump's wall would be built!
A2: Hard for us because we generally only have s's for 90 minutes, but if we ever get a full set of computers for the Makerspace and/or get our Java maps ported to Bedrock Edition to work with our class set of ipads, do I have ideas to share with the summer camp! #MInecraftEDU
A3: iterative design that takes place when creating is a skill transferable to all areas. Of course collaboration is another and if you have your kids using #codebuilder they are learning real CS principals #minecraftedu
Q3: Playing Minecraft encourages mastery experimentation and expertise. What value does this skillset have beyond the game? How can this benefit STEM? #MinecraftEDU
A3: 3 of the activities we love to do can be good examples here. First, designing in @tinkercad and importing to #minecraftedu. Second, #3dprinting minecraft builds, and third, controlling electronics with minecraft! (still a wip)
A3: MC STEM thoughts for me typically focus on envisioning use of space and how form and function can follow each other in three or more dimensions. 😂 Ask an English teacher a Science question, and this is what you get! #minecraftedu
A3: We interviewed several highly gifted and creative Minecraft professionals for the book. All apply skillset in different ways from story-telling, to massive and intricate productions, to running #GBL companies #MinecraftEDU
A3: It encourages collaboration as well. With practice student will perfect a skill...Practice makes perfect. They will learn that it's ok to mess up...they can try again. #MinecraftEDU
A3: Creativity, passion, purpose, autonomy- free to discover unlimited designs through successes and iterations. Love when he showcased and verbally describes what and why he’s created. #Unlimited#SoftSkills#growthmindset#minecraftedu
You can turn a simple word problem into a #MinecraftEDU Problem, which involves construction or both physical and digital. This was an order of operations problem that involved a physical build as well.
A3: Imagination and the ability to make creative leaps are SO important in STEM, and those are skills easily fostered with a sandbox like #minecraftedu. But also key STEM skills like planning, troubleshooting, patience, and revising when things go wrong.
A3: I’m want Ss to be challenged, to fail, to get back off and wipe away the tears, to try, try, try again! Ok, not tears, but Minecraft teaches perseverance, asking others HOW TOs, & then to see the final beautiful build!#MinecraftEdu
A3: He often talks with neighborhood friends about his and their designs, and watches @BeckBroJack with them to brainstorm new ideas. #Collaboration#minecraftedu
A3: Creativity, passion, purpose, autonomy- free to discover unlimited designs through successes and iterations. Love when he showcased and verbally describes what and why he’s created. #Unlimited#SoftSkills#growthmindset#minecraftedu
A4: We used to have so much FUN with Attack of the B-Team! I would love to see most of those mods in MCEE. Would crack the game wide open! #minecraftedu
A4 - Basically everything that @PixelHeadsTeam makes for the marketplace. Dinosaurs, Cars & bikes, safari animals and even Dragons! #MinecraftEDU can benefit from teaming with those guys big time!
A3: Want Ss to be challenged, to fail, to get back up & wipe away the tears, to try, try, try again! Ok, not tears! Minecraft teaches perseverance, having Ss ask others HOW TOs, then to see the final beautiful build! #MinecraftEdu
And I love seeing my Ss speak with confidence while playing - that doesn’t happen often enough outside the game. They second guess themselves. #MinecraftEdu
A4: We're using a storytelling adventure map to teach about rocks & minerals and responsible mining. World Guard, World Edit, Citizens2, and Minecraft Tools are my best friends right now. Using G Suite as a platform to launch the out-of-game activities. #MinecraftEDU
Also tutorials by people like @GrianMC, @PearlescentMoon, @xisumavoid, @ThatMumboJumbo, and others, which helped create an immersive world responsive to the s's actions. Though s's aren't using these tools directly, they're integral parts of the experience. #MinecraftEDU
In reply to
@GrianMC, @PearlescentMoon, @xisumavoid, @ThatMumboJumbo
Q3: Playing Minecraft encourages mastery experimentation and expertise. What value does this skillset have beyond the game? How can this benefit STEM? #MinecraftEDU
A4: @Tinkercad, mcreator, robotics things like @arduino can be cool, and any sort of #3dprinter! Also one thing that is still in minecraft is @Jigarbov's map on redstone mechanics is a fantastic intro to redstone! #minecraftedu
They still think I know everything and look at me with big eyes when I say I don't know let's search how to do that or ask if someone else in the room knows how. #MinecraftEDU
And I love seeing my Ss speak with confidence while playing - that doesn’t happen often enough outside the game. They second guess themselves. #MinecraftEdu
And I love seeing my Ss speak with confidence while playing - that doesn’t happen often enough outside the game. They second guess themselves. #MinecraftEdu
Quick plug for the inaugural #EsportsEDU chat coming this Thursday at 7:30 pm ET. 30 minute weekly chat. Let’s build the #Esports community and bring #Esports to middle and high school! #minecraftedu
A5: great question. The good news is everyone loves #minecraft it transcends race, gender, and perceived ability that limits kids in other areas #minecraftedu
Minecraft is a low cost game, played by males and females alike. With a low barrier or entry, but can go very deep in terms of game design, development and play. Not to mention modding, digital arts and storytelling. #minecraftedu
A5: I've mentioned this in previous chats, but #minecraftedu is a perfect stepping stone. It's something that the Ss understand diferently, and often better in some ways then the teachers. There really aren't many barriers as Ss are interacting behind a screen name and skin.
MOST amazing thing I’ve seen by Ss using Minecraft is how my SDC/Resource/ELL Ss can express hidden intelligences others haven’t seen before because they’re FREE from restraints like disabilities, language, etc that may be holding them back from core subjects! #minecraftedu
Q2: How do we support and encourage children’s ability to bring their own ideas and innovative thinking from Minecraft into the classroom. #MinecraftEDU
Outro: Thank You for joining the conversation. Please reiterate your: Name, Role, Location, and share your most significant learning or favorite tweet of the #MinecraftEDU Chat.
Outro: Thank You for joining the conversation. Please reiterate your: Name, Role, Location, and share your most significant learning or favorite tweet of the #MinecraftEDU Chat.
Outro: Thank You for joining the conversation. Please reiterate your: Name, Role, Location, and share your most significant learning or favorite tweet of the #MinecraftEDU Chat.
A5: Part of another tweet going out shortly, but here's one example from the teacher at a northern Ontario school whose class was piloting the new program last week. #minecraftedu
A5: It’s interesting that we might be more capable of using a digital learning environment to engage with each other across all the “barriers” that give some people trouble when face to face. How do we transfer it back to when offline? #MinecraftEdu
Outro: Thank You for joining the conversation. Please reiterate your: Name, Role, Location, and share your most significant learning or favorite tweet of the #MinecraftEDU Chat.
