How my Minecraft classes work
pocketfullofkryptonite asked:
You mentioned in the Pyramid Project post that you paused for a discussion about respecting cultures and preserving history. During these parts of the lessons, do you “freeze” your students’ computer screens or otherwise limit their ability to play, or are they generally attentive to you?
Based on a lot of the comments I’ve been reading, there are some misconceptions about what I’m actually doing with the kids. (Which is totally understandable because I haven’t explained it in detail yet!) I will answer this question and go into greater detail about how my lessons actually play out. Here is a typical Minecraft class.
The classroom teacher brings her students to the computer room. She will usually stay in the room for the whole period, but not always. The kids know not to go directly to their computers. Instead they sit down on a carpet at the front of the room. They face my desk and a SmartBoard (which is basically a giant touchscreen and projector attached to my computer).
I often start the class with a fun and quick Minecraft video I’ve found online, or other such tidbit to get their imaginations flowing. Then I begin the actual lesson by telling them about our goals for the day. Sometimes the goal is to learn a new set of crafting recipes. Other times it is a team-based building project. But most often they are exploring a little pre-built “fishbowl world” that I have created for them. As with the “Pyramid World”, I construct a setting that they can recognize, with tasks to carry out or puzzles to solve.
Here is a screenshot from another such world I’ve been tinkering with. The Summer Camp World!
For this age group (6 - 7 years old) it is vitally important to model everything that I expect them to do. So with myself logged in to the game, I slowly and carefully demonstrate on the Smartboard whatever I expect them to be able to do. I will also go over any handouts that I might have prepared. Then I explicitly assign each student their task for the day.
This introductory period usually lasts less than 10 minutes. Then the class stands up and heads for their assigned computers. I always have to remind them not to run. ;)
In case I haven’t made it clear before, the kids are always playing on a multiplayer server in my classes. I make sure that the computers are already logged in so that they don’t have access to the passwords for our school’s 15 shared accounts.
In general, the kids will know what they need to do during class. I spend most of my time hopping from kid to kid solving mini-crises. Kids will get stuck in a hole, get lost, forget a command, or have trouble completing their assigned task. That kind of thing.
The 40 minute period goes by incredibly fast. If practical, I always try to bring them back to the rug for a few minutes before they are dismissed. We talk about what was accomplished and share personal successes and mistakes. Then, once again on the Smartboard, I usually take a quick tour around the server, showcasing student work. If something is particularly interesting, I will have the student responsible explain what they did.
So to answer the original question, I rarely “freeze” the class. I’ll do it if I a kid breaks a rule or there is some sort of territorial dispute. There have been a number of fascinating disciplinary issues that have arisen. Several of the classroom teachers have told me that watching their students play Minecraft really lays bare their personalities. Behavioral issues they see every day in class often get mirrored by their actions in-game. This has been one of the incredibly interesting aspects of the whole project and it deserves its own blog post, which I’ll write soon.
So as you can tell, I am not simply teaching them to play Minecraft. Each lesson has a purpose and a goal that is rarely about the game itself. Minecraft is a means to an end… but one that’s darn fun!
