Reporters and reviewers write about Minecraft as if it's just like any other videogame. Even this highly readable piece about its creator (Markus Persson, aka "Notch") and its parent company (Mojang) by Harry McCracken in Time magazine doesn't cover what makes it different from other games specifically for its kid (and parent) players. But he does bring out this extraordinary differentiating … [Read more...] about Minecraft & the shared, creative safety of gaming, social media
MineCraft
Mining Minecraft, Part 3: Safety & citizenship in games (do try this at home!)
Guest post by Marianne Malmstrom I’m thrilled by the competency and resourcefulness of my young students. But I also feel an urgency to inform parents and teachers that our children need us to be present and involved online. Just as in “real world" spaces, they require supervision and guidance in virtual spaces. They don’t know to ask for permission to make accounts, connect with friends, … [Read more...] about Mining Minecraft, Part 3: Safety & citizenship in games (do try this at home!)
Mining Minecraft, Part 2: Brilliance when students drive the learning
Guest post by Marianne Malmstrom At the Elisabeth Morrow School, we have been on a journey to help our students develop the essential skills of creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and citizenship. We turned to virtual worlds and MOGs because these are the same skills many young gamers practice through immersive play. Initially, we used these spaces largely for curriculum … [Read more...] about Mining Minecraft, Part 2: Brilliance when students drive the learning
Mining Minecraft, Part 1: Little gamers’ digital play through a teacher’s eyes
Editor's note: This week, my holiday gift to you, dear readers. Below you'll find Part 1 of a three-part series of guest posts by teacher Marianne Malmstrom about what students learning in digital environments can teach all of us – parents, educators, risk prevention experts, and anybody else who works with young people. Editing this series felt like a gift to me, and it'll keep on giving, because … [Read more...] about Mining Minecraft, Part 1: Little gamers’ digital play through a teacher’s eyes
Unboxing learning
Last spring I had the privilege and fun of spending a whole class period with middle school students talking about their favorite uses of technology. Of course there were about as many preferences as there were students, so I'll just zoom in on one student whose interest I felt best illustrated how very individual and diverse digital tech use is. He loves shoes. I can't remember the brands, but … [Read more...] about Unboxing learning