Week 4: Assignments 1-3

Assignment 1: Using Minecraft in the classroom.

 

• Text: Students must be able to use the text that comes up to communicate with fellow players when playing in shared mode. Students can and will be encouraged to write a plan of action outside of the actual game, however. Students will be able to describe what they are going to do as a project and they will have the opportunity to gather ideas in order to create a finalized version of what they build.
• Visual-graphic elements: Minecraft is very graphic. There are many options and the game is absolutely open to allow students to not only visualize what they do, but also create things that are absolutely viewable by the creators, but also to those who visit the site where the creating is located.
• Audio elements: There are audio elements to Minecraft, although they are not really that sophisticated. These include sounds made by various creatures and sounds that come with various actions. However, players can speak to each other and record sounds that can be added to the game features and to the way they communicate with each other.

2. Minecraft is almost like a virtual Lego world. There are infinite possibilities of things that students are capable of doing. Minecraft is what's known as a "sandbox" game, or one that lets players pretty much have their own run of the game's world, without specific objectives.

3. Minecraft's does not have a plot. Instead, the game lets users free-build whatever they want to with blocks of material they mine from the ground. The only thing that players must be aware is that at night, there are monsters (known as mobs) who are out to get the player, and occasionally, destroy the work they have done.

4. The scenario for the class must be completely fabricated and structured by the teacher who is assigning the work with this particular platform. The idea is to allow students to choose a historical monument or building which they are currently aware of from their current Social Studies Class. 

Assignment 2: ELA lesson plan

·      -Grade 6th

·      -Common core standards and learning outcomes: 

Speaking Listening

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1	Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade specific topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4	Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. Writing
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8	Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.B	Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

·               -Instructional activities: The game Minecraft is a virtual Lego world where pretty much anything can be done, built, incorporated and formulated. The game serves as a platform for students to perform a number of premeditated tasks. While there is some reading on and communication that must take place in order for a player to understand and master the game, an educator using this platform can benefit from the game by adding readings and research to prepare students for various tasks that they can perform in the game.

The idea that I have is to have students create a historical monument / building relative to their unit of Study in Social Studies class. Students will not only have prior knowledge but they will benefit in both areas by “playing a game” which is very attractive and fun to them, with the added benefit of doing research further into the subject. Students would also have to present their work, and would have to interact with other students to be able to complete their creation successfully. Students would be expected, as well, to create a written report of their project and their experience (as an assessment piece).

·               -Assessment: Students will be assessed through a number of questions that will help them reflect on the their game performance and the strategies used. Since students will have prior knowledge of material, they will be assessed by the written report and their accuracy with the work created and their description of it. Students will also be assessed by their oral presentation of the entire experience.

Debriefing

·      -What cognitive skills do this game help to cultivate? Students will have to do some research, and then they will have work on replicating a monument/building. Student will have to be able to learn to use various online tools to overcome challenges. Students will also have to be bale to collaborate with other students to be able to complete their work. Moreover, students will have to think about their steps, their mistakes, their successful strategies, and will have to write down this thoughts as part of their work. Students therefore will be expected to develop their metacognitive skills by learning to apply this process, not only in gaming but in real world situations.

·       -What new literacies skills do this game help to cultivate? Students will learn to use the Minecraft platform in order to create their project. They will have to research, an experience through trial and error in order to be able to manipulate content that is stored online. Students will learn to use various keys and controls, but they will also have to communicate through online tools. Most importantly, students will have learn to solve problems by applying various skills and strategies that they develop while playing.

Assignment 3

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