Week 5 #evomc16

Week 5 #evomc16  

The last few weeks have been difficult and challenging, and then I caught the flu.  So I have really procrastinated with the final week of the Minecraft MOOC, which is going into survival mode. 

I  called upon all of my metacognitive forces to understand why I was dragging my feet, and voila, it came to me.  I don't want to die and respawn -  I am afraid of survival mode.  Creative is my preferred mode; I enjoy mining, building, flying, exploring and the power to easily fix mistakes.   I do not like the stress of knowing I am not going to survive long term, and it is just a matter of time before a zombie or something gets me.

In other words, I only went into survival mode today because I want my MOOC badge.

I began on a roof where it began raining, so I jumped through a hole and found myself in the mailroom.

I put a sign on a mailbox with my name, broke a couple of glass blocks/windows, then went outside to look around.  As it got dark, I panicked and found I could not get back into the nether portal.   I went into a small house with lights and a library, and that is where I am now
. 
Hopefully, I'll go back later and mine, craft and build, and creative mode will return soon.

I have fallen behind in everything and am planning on going into a crash survival session Saturday evening. I have...

I have fallen behind in everything and am planning on going into a crash survival session Saturday evening.  I have been reading your posts and updates and am truly impressed with the building and community.

Week 4 #evomc16

Week 4  #evomc16

Last week’s unexpected six-day winter vacation completely derailed my schedule and plans for work and study.  Who wants to work when there’s a blizzard and homemade chili in the kitchen?  Not me.  So, I was not as efficient as I could have been, but I did drink a cup of tea for three hours Monday morning, caught up on sleep and thought about homework and reports.  Most of which I got done in an exhausting 48-hour marathon on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday was an interesting day; I woke up to read that the White House had announced a $4 billion computer science initiative for K-12 students.  Computer literacy is now a basic skill.  We’ll see how it plays out.

Later in the morning, I went to Microsoft’s  #HacktheClassroom , which I feared would be a two-hour advertisement, but it was not.  There was, as usual, a lot of data, but I took away two new things that I want to use in a future classroom:  Code.org and OneNote.  Code.org has online computer science fundamentals and an “hour of code” with Minecraft https://code.org/mc.  I have always ignored OneNote on my computer, but it apparently can be extremely valuable in a classroom (with computers), and I would like to explore how to use it.

This morning, I took a tour of Thorsten Groß and his students’ Minecraft Ricarda-Huch-Schule.  Impressive but very intimidating.  However, I did learn how to jump, which I did not even know was possible because I always fly.  I want to add a basketball court to my ranch before we go into survival mode.

Later, I spent hours in survival mode alone.  My first try was ended by a zombie on the first night.  Oh well.  In my second try, I lasted for five days and five and a half nights and then was killed by a zombie.  I could not find coal for fire, only diorite, and the nights were spent huddled in a hollow with a sword.  And I didn’t eat at all because there were only rabbits which refused to be food.  They just got mad and jumped away.

On the last night, with only half a heart, I knew it was over.  A zombie was jumping up and down on the ledge in front of me, and then a second one came at me from the right.  All I had was a stone sword, and it didn’t work to my advantage this time.  I learned a lot about gathering and crafting, and realized I am at a real disadvantage without a mouse.  I am really clumsy right clicking with my touch-pad mouse while crafting, and I need to practice before going into multiplayer survivor.

Everyone has been casually mentioning or sharing fabulous sites, and I have not been able to keep up with all of...

Everyone has been casually mentioning or sharing fabulous sites, and I have not been able to keep up with all of them. Below is a simple sheet we can use to gather them into one accessible document. 
The link is below.  Please email me at kathlekrn@gmail.com if you would like to add to it.

Is there, or can we build, a google doc listing all the resources and websites that have been mentioned over the...

Is there, or can we build, a google doc listing all the resources and websites that have been mentioned over the last few weeks?  I have a short list, but I know there are many more that I've missed.

Third Week #evomc16

Third Week #evomc16

This weekend’s blizzard was fortuitous because I am feeling overwhelmed by Minecraft.  There is so much to know, and I am still figuring out basics in Creative, such as coordinates, torches and sea lanterns.  I am in awe  my fellow MOOCers’creativity; they are building castles, libraries, tree houses and zombie pits.  I flew home and tried to build a greenhouse with fountains and tropical fruits, fell out of the world after I fell into the water and had to respawn.  So my greenhouse is now a memorial to the first me.

We are going into Survival mode next week, and I have to practice how to build shelter and fend off mobs.  Learning Minecraft is more difficult than I thought it would be, and I would be completely lost without experts to help me with the basics.  The YouTube videos are invaluable, but Minecraft can be disorienting, and it’s wonderful to have someone there to answer questions or help with emergencies.

To use Minecraft in a classroom, students would have to spend several hours learning the basics, and then work in small groups with at least one expert to work and accomplish tasks.  Our meeting with Bron Stuckey today was a fascinating introduction to project-based learning with Minecraft, and I hope to use some of the examples and ideas from the meeting in the near future. 

Remember, I'm a noob. I left my farm-in-progress yesterday to fly around, did not note my coordinates or even the...

Remember, I'm a noob.  I left my farm-in-progress yesterday to fly around, did not note my coordinates or even the direction I took off from.  Is there a satellite view of this world that I could locate my homestead?

Just to make sure no one misses this:

Just to make sure no one misses this:

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/microsoft-expands-its-minecraft-empire-to-your-kids-school/
http://www.wired.com/2016/01/microsoft-expands-its-minecraft-empire-to-your-kids-school/

Second Week #evomc16

Second Week #evomc16

Today was the first day of the second week.  I attended an online forum about the possibilities for using Minecraft in education.  One of the points made in the presentation is that students are working at home with sophisticated Internet technology to create and build, and, in comparison, school textbooks, worksheets, group work and classroom videos are dull.  I think about the second-grade ELL who told me all he knew about volcanos, lava and obsidian but would not write about his personal scientific interests.  My reaction at the time was all about BICS and CALP, but after this morning's presentation I wonder if he was just bored and wanted to go home to Minecraft.  I hope that this MOOC  will help me to better comprehend such moments  and find a way to connect Minecraft with paper and pencil work.

I think I am spending too much time trying to figure out the basics and that I am doing something wrong.  My understanding was that in creative mode you can build anything your imagination conjures, but I can only punch holes and chop down trees.  If I go for a walk, I collect things I don't even want, like rotten flesh, apples and oak saplings.  They just show up in my inventory.  I tried to give a horse the apple, and I think I killed it.   I can't figure out how build.  And I get really anxious in the MOOC server because all I can do is fly and punch holes.

Actually, I can do more than fly and punch holes; I can walk forward, backward, left and right.  I can change perspective so that I am looking at my person from the front or back.  Today, he got caught in a hailstorm and looked miserable.  I was truly upset that I could not build him shelter.  I didn't even think of flying back to the MOOC-built structures.  So this week is figuring out how to build in my solitary creative world and then transferring those skills to the MOOC.

I was there briefly last night and was impressed by the castle and what looked like a lava fountain a short distance...

I was there briefly last night and was impressed by the castle and what looked like a lava fountain a short distance away.  I think I may have carved a whole in the ground outside the castle when I logged out.  If it is still there, I'll try to fix it today.

Hi everyone!  Is there a Google doc for missions accomplished or is that Week 2?

Week 1 #evomc16

Week 1 #evomc16  


I have a name, and I am lurking in Minecraft.  So far, I am alone, in the creative mode, with two worlds.  In the first world, I dug myself into a cave, and I cannot figure out how to get out.  There is a tiny light in the ceiling where I must have gotten in.  This world is on hold until I learn more about the game.  In my second world, I am in a flat green terrain, with no trees in sight, but there are a lot of hopping green rectangles.  The whole thing freaked me out, and I logged out.  I'll return later when I have more time to mess around.

The articles we read this week were fascinating.  I enjoyed reading about Filip Smolcec learned English through the game and YouTube.  I am obsessed by a paragraph in Jeff Kuhn's article on  Minecraft Meaningful Play – Making Professional Development Fun:

"Video games have become a staple of popular culture for a large segment of the population but for kids in particular they are becoming the preferred source of entertainment. With this new entertainment comes new literacy skills as well. Kids will assume those around them have a knowledge about games and how they function in the same way older generations assume a literacy regarding books, movies and music. In the near future claiming you do not understand games will evoke a response similar to claiming you ‘don’t get music’."

This has happened several times when my ELL students opened up to me in enthusiastic, detailed English about Minecraft, and I didn't understand what they were saying.

Hi everyone - I am an ELL teacher at an elementary school in Washington, DC.

Hi everyone - I am an ELL teacher at an elementary school in Washington, DC. This is my first year teaching ESL to children, and I am also working on a masters in literacy and language education. Quite a few of the ELLs I work with have trouble following along in class and completing assignments, but they are on task and thrilled to talk about Minecraft, about which I know almost nothing. I am really looking forward to this class.