I know, I was skeptical at first too. Heidi James from Colquitz Middle School along with her students came in to help us discover what Minecraft in the classroom is. Turns out Minecraft can be used as an amazing learning tool, using math, science, and literacy all in one touching on cross curricular competencies. I never realized that a game like Minecraft could be used as such an important engaging learning tool. In the beginning of testing it out for ourselves it was very overwhelming, and the idea of trying to navigate my way through a world seemed near impossible. With the help of Heidi and her students I came out of our class today thinking what a great learning experience and tool to use. After leaving todays lesson I realized that there are many different games and tools to bring into a classroom that can teach a multitude of different skills. I hope to one day get a better handle on Minecraft and have the resources to bring it into my practice as a future educator.
Category: learning design
Visit to PSSI
This week I had the opportunity to visit the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry downtown Victoria. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been super excited to check out how the school was put together and what more of the specifics were! In September Jeff Hopkins, who is the Principal and Founder of PSSI, came to the department orientation and gave a brief presentation on who he is and it was very inspiring. When the class arrived Jeff gave us a quick overview of what the school was about, and then he let us wander around and interact with the students to get a feel fro the school at our own pace. I realized how groundbreaking how important what he was trying to start up was! This visit was very eye opening because it made me rethink my own education and how the possibilities are endless in what that entails now a days. I’m looking forward to more opportunities like this in the upcoming weeks.
Blog by Alyssa Lloyd 