Learning How to Use Minecraft

Last year I carried out my own Adventure Learning project, where I built a 

chicken house as well as learnt about keeping chickens. Some people will ask

why I bothered to do this. Here are the reasons I personally chose to do it:

1. It put me in the shoes of one of my learners and took me out of my comfort zone. 

2. It enabled the children in my class to see me as a learner too. 

3. It allowed me to learn something new and forced me to make the time needed to do this. 

4. It also provided me with an opportunity to reflect on what I'm asking my students to do during Adventure Learning time and the process they're expected to work through. 

This time I've decided to learn about how to use Minecraft in the classroom. 

Below are the planning questions that are on the planning proposal that each

group in my class has to complete. I decided that it was only fair that I

answer the same questions. 

What do you plan to do and why?

For some time now I've been inspired by how other teachers are using

Minecraft in their classrooms. A couple of my students, who already knew how

to use Minecraft used it in our class last year. We'd been learning about

minibeasts and for their sharing item they created a beehive in Minecraft.

It was detailed and well thought through. One child was a very capable

student, who often became bored if he wasn't challenged and 'hooked in'. The

other child was amazing at hands on activities, but found writing and reading

challenging. Straight away I could see the potential that Minecraft could have

in the classroom. 

The problem was that I had very little knowledge about how to use it mysef or

how it could be effectively used in our classroom. We've just got five iPads for

our classroom so I've decided that now will be a good time to learn a bit more

about it. 

What do you already know about this topic?

* That you can purchase the full pocket edition of Minecraft for iPads.

* It engages students in their learning. 

* It's recommended that you use creative mode, not survival mode in the classroom. 

* Minecraft has huge potential for use in the classroom. I'm just not exactly sure what that is yet. 

* There's a lot of teachers using it in classrooms already. 

What are your 'I wonder' questions?

* How do I physically use the iPad app? How do I get started with building something? 

* How are other teachers using Minecraft in the classroom?

* How can I effectively use Minecraft in the classroom to engage students in their learning. 

I'm sure there will be a lot more questions as I work through this! These are 

just my initial questions. 

What research are you going to do? What will you spend your Adventure

Learning time doing?

* I'm going to connect with other teachers through my PLN to see how they're using it in their classrooms. 

* I will read blog posts about Minecraft in the classroom. 

* I have a much younger brother who is into Minecraft, who might be able to teach me a few tricks. 

* I know there a few kids in my class who I'm sure would love to show me what they already know about using Minecraft. Lunch with the teacher and Minecraft lessons, from the kids might be a go next week.

* Connecting with other teachers and reading what is on the VLN. I think there's a Minecraft group I may be able to join, or something similar. 

* Explore! There's nothing like just getting in and having a go. I think that's when the questions will start to arise. 

What resources will you need? What will you need help with?

* The Pocket Edition Minecraft iPad app. 
* Access to the VLN group, access to Twitter etc. 
* I will need help with learning how to use the app. 
* I will also need help with finding ideas around how to effectively use Minecraft in the classroom. 

My Own Adventure Learning Project

Last year I decided to put myself in one of my learner's shoes and have a go at completing my own Adventure Learning project. This is something I should have blogged about at the time, as it was so beneficial. 

I did this for two reasons

1. To enable myself to learn alongside my students. 

2. To help me begin to design an inquiry process (model) for children to work through when participating in Adventure Learning, or to work out whether I needed one at all. 

We live in a rural area and for some time now I have been contemplating buying a few chickens so that we could have our own free range eggs. I knew that I had very little knowledge about chickens and how to look after them, let alone how to go about building a chicken house. If you know me, you'll know that I'm the last person who is likely to pick up a skill saw or fire a nail gun. Not to mention that maths also isn't my strength. However; I'm forever telling my kids to take a risk with their learning and give something new a go so I felt it was time that I did the same. Luckily my partner is a builder so I knew I had an 'expert' available to help me out a bit. 

To start with I decided that I needed to record what I already did know about chickens. It really wasn't a lot. I knew they needed a house and run; I also knew that I didn't want a rooster squawking out like a strangled cat at 6.00 am. That was about it! My next step should have been to work out how I would build a chicken house and run. It wasn't... I jumped straight on Trade Me and started searching for chickens. It wasn't long before I was emailing a lady about a couple of cute Frizzle chickens I had come across. So now I bought chickens that would be ready to pick up in a couple of weeks, but still had no chicken house. It was one way to get motivated! I was on holiday at the time so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. 

I started pinning different concept ideas on Pinterest, spoke to my dad (who is a farmer and previously had chickens) and a friend from work who has several shaver hens. I soon worked out that I wanted a chicken run that was big enough to walk into, but still had no idea of actual measurements. This was where my partner Paul came in. He has his uses. We made it 2.4 m cubed. We also had a brand new dog kennel sitting in the garage that had never been used so decided to use that for the chicken house. We ended up putting a perch and nesting box in, but other than that didn't have to do too much. 

Next stop was ITM. For anyone overseas it's a trade shop full of building materials. It's safe to say that I felt completely out of my comfort zone. Half the time I swear they were speaking in another language. We came away with a van full of timber, some hinges and a lot of chicken wire. Over the duration of building the chicken run I learnt how to use the nail gun, skill saw, how to hang a door and ensure things were level and square. I was constantly writing down odd words e.g. flush (yeah, you can all have a laugh) with a rough definition next to the word. I was continuously reflecting and I can honestly say it was a new learning experience for me.

It gave me a genuine insight into how a learner in my class feels and the process they work through. Although each group has their own adventure and path, I still feel that there are some common stages they work through - exploring, planning, learning, creating, reflecting, sharing and digging deeper. The model continues to be a work in progress. It's something that I've played around with for the past four years, but feel that I'm getting a better understanding of what may need to be a part of it. The plan will be to simplify the ideas I currently have around the process and to make it more kid friendly.

Now to think of what my next Adventure Learning project will be.