Till this point, I've only heard about Minecraft. While Shane was an instructor for our CRDG Summer Programs for a couple of summers, I didn't get to find out what that class was actually about. My schedule is always so busy, I don't have time to explore. LTEC 652D has truly been beneficial for literally forcing me to carve out time to work with Second Life, OpenSim, and with this week's introduction of Minecraft, being able to scratch the surface of what it is all about. At next week's class, Shane will be a guest speaker. I'm looking forward to that talk and seeing what he will demonstrate for us.
Part of the learning experience is breaking down barriers. I'm one of the odd IT folks who hasn't been a life long gamer. I think that'll be one of the things I'll blame my parents for. I think that gaming as a part of informal learning puts you at a good advantage. Minecraft was off to a rough start for me without some of the continued understanding of gaming.
Part of the learning experience is breaking down barriers. I'm one of the odd IT folks who hasn't been a life long gamer. I think that'll be one of the things I'll blame my parents for. I think that gaming as a part of informal learning puts you at a good advantage. Minecraft was off to a rough start for me without some of the continued understanding of gaming.
Below is a picture of us in survival mode, where creatures were spawned, and we were to use our swords to fend for ourselves. It's an interesting dynamic that can be turned on and off in Minecraft. It's almost like if the Hunger Games had and on off switch, but more like an 8-bit version. The dynamic of being able to creatively build and yet learn about survival through building, mindfully foraging for food, and finding ways to fend for yourself are all good virtual experiences to have. Being able to have students apply that to the real world are also important. Having the right conversation about what happens in a virtual world an in real life are important so that students understand the differences and similarities.