20% Project March 21

I have gotten the chance to talk to a couple people who I believe would really benefit from learning information from my project. The first person who I’ve spoken to is my old chorus teacher’s wife who is a communication teacher for children. I’ve gotten the opportunity to shadow her when she works with children. She didn’t use too much technology is her daily work with children (just computers sometimes) so maybe if I told her about my project, she’d be interested. After shadowing her, I realized just how much MinecraftEdu could really benefit young students. Kids are really easily distracted and I feel like a game like Minecraft, which is extremely addictive from what I know from personal experience, would catch their attention and hold it while teaching them tons of information. My experience shadowing her helped me get a chance to interact with kids while trying to teach them something; which I realized is a lot harder than it sounds. She helped me learn how to keep their attention and I think that I could help her with my knowledge on MinecraftEdu. The second person I talked to is a speech language pathologist. She works with children on a day to day basis and tells me that they use all sorts of games and mediums of technology to teach their kids. I think that many modern day SLPs would suggest something like games or ipad apps or something that to teach the kids and also keep them entertained. 

20% Project March 7

Because my project is about a multiplayer game, it is very easy to find information about it on social media sites. There are thousands of Minecraft servers where groups of friends can go on and play together over the internet. I am currently in a server with some friends and we have a facebook group as well to ask questions and share our creations with each other. Other social media sites like tumblr and reddit are great ways for people to discuss the game. There is a sub-reddit where people post tutorials, photos, stories, questions, videos, and more all about Minecraft. Whenever I have a question, I could write to the facebook group, write on the server, post on reddit, etc. Social media really makes Minecraft more comprehensive. I haven’t really commented on any related blogs yet, but it has helped me to ask questions on reddit and facebook so it’s probably a good idea as well. Youtube has also served as a really great tool for learning about the game. In a video medium, people are able to easily show and explain how they built their creation. Text and pictures are usual as well, but sometimes the more complicated builds could really use a video with a voice walking through it. Overall social media really has benefitted my knowledge and understanding of the game. Now, I can properly understand how teachers are using the game. I understand all the mechanics and how they built what they built. Hopefully I can use this knowledge to teach others. 

Visual Literacy: Reflection #4

Media literacy is just as crucial to education as is reading and writing. Relying heavily on the right lobe of the brain, our perception of images, sounds, spatial, and emotional dimension helps our function and thrive in everyday life. Visual literacy is important in the 21^st century because movies, television, and computer games are ubiquitous. Directors, like George Lucas, envisioned and created new intergalactic worlds to share with others. Now he envisions a new way of learning; a new language of expression. He pictured students being taught the language of sound and images in all forms. Graphics, music, and cinema are just as powerful and in some ways more deeply intertwined with students of the 21^st century.

For me, I watch a lot of movies and play a lot of video games. It’s hard to realize just how much I’ve learned from watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy with hierarchies and fantasy creatures to playing Bioshock Infinite with the multi-universe theory. My 20% project represents exactly what I hope to do in the future; incorporate the virtual world to help teach.

Here is a painting that is hung on my wall in my apartment. This is a painting of one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite movies. He is from Lord of the Rings.

Something that wasn't really mentioned in the articles was art and storytelling in the form of comic books. Captain America was a military solider from the 1940's. This is a poster of the cover of one the comic books from the 1950's that is hung on my wall in my apartment as well. This cover actually ran in the 1950's as war propaganda as you can see Captain America punching Hitler in the face. 

It is a little difficult with having to make our own visual representation, but I think it forces me to think outside the box; and I think that being creative is a very important quality as a future teacher. 

Classroom Floorplan

Well, I made my classroom in a auditorium style shape and put a smart board at the front where the teachers desk is. This setting will make it easier for students to collaborate with the teacher and write their own ideas on the smart board. I also put the desks in groups so the students could work together, but the desks are still facing the front of the room so they can collaborate with each other then collaborate with the teacher.

20% Project February 28

I think that I will benefit a lot from what I learn. I am interested in incorporating new teaching strategies into my future job, and that includes the progression of teaching through video games like Minecraft. Researching about MinecraftEdu will help me find ways to teach through one of my favorite video games which will possibly benefit me a lot in my career. The others who will benefit from this will possibly be the children that I help in the future. I believe that video games are great for keeping a child’s attention so if we can utilize it for teaching, a lot more learning will probably occur. If I want to benefit future children, it would be a good idea to convince schools and parents that this is a good idea. Playing video games in school doesn’t really sound like actual learning. I would write my blog with a new lesson every post; I would also try and think outside of the box with ideas from MinecraftEdu with my own twists. If I ever got a chance to teach a child through Minecraft, I would also post updates of his or her progress on my blog to prove that the child is learning. Since I probably won’t be teaching in a classroom setting and I’ll be working one-on-one, it’ll be a chance to focus on one individual and correctly evaluate his or her progression. I would also ask the child often how they feel about this teaching strategies to make sure they even like it.

"Is School Enough?"

20% Project February 14

When I first started looking for topics for my 20% project, I already had a broad idea of what I wanted to research. I knew that I wanted to learn about the integration of video gaming in classrooms after I read an article about it last semester. When I began searching, I read about different games like Angry Birds, World of Warcraft, and others. I knew that “Integrating video games in classrooms” would be a very broad topic so I chose one video game specifically to research about. I choose Minecraft because it is one of my favorite video games and I’ve learned a lot from just leisurely playing it over the years. I can easily see how this game could be implemented into a classroom setting.

To make it even more specific, I going to research about an organization called MinecraftEdu that was created to help get Minecraft into classrooms. Minecraft is interactive survival game where kids can explore and create whatever they can imagine. The game forces kids to think critically and creatively at all times.

To divide my project into different questions for each week, I will focus on a new lesson to be learned each week. There are so many different tools, machines, kids can build. MinecraftEdu created a modification specifically made to help teachers teach through the game. I could focus on a new lesson from that modification each week and ask questions about it. With my extensive knowledge on the game, I can ask very well informed questions also.