Month: August 2018

Real Estate in Minecraft

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Real Estate in Minecraft

Ok, so the first lesson we did made sure that all Learners had the same basic skills to navigate and create in Minecraft.

This lesson in Minecraft Education Edition was all about helping learners and their families realise the educational potential of Minecraft. The lesson was based in Starter Town – a lovely little world with some basic civics buildings and 30 numbered empty blocks of land – just waiting for eager builders!

Students negotiated amongst themselves on land selection, and were given two lessons to build, fit out and photograph their property.  (They won’t always need that long, but many of the students are still adjusting to the controls on Macbooks). The whole lesson was outlined in OneNote to ensure that learners stayed on track.  I’ve shared the overall lesson plan here (just look for the page called ‘Starter Town – Real Estate’.) . The Learning Intentions are shown in the image below.

Learners created such diverse houses – from castles to mansions, to mushroom cottages, to log cabins to glass houses.  Infinity pools, cinemas, fireplaces, libraries – all included.

This is where it got educational – learners had to create a sales pitch for their property, based on real estate adverts, then create and publish a tri-fold brochure.  We used the website Canva, which has a brilliant range of easy to use templates.  Just make sure that students don’t accidentally include any paid features – they can’t download their work if they do.. The completed products were very impressive, and I discovered creative flair that I hadn’t suspected lived within some of the students.  Below is one of my Learner’s brochures.  I love his use of colours, photos of unique features and range of adjectives used.

Brochures were printed double sided, and then trimmed, folded and sent home – with strict instructions to share immediately with parents. The verbal feedback that I received from parents was very positive – their children were coming home excited about their day, babbling about Minecraft, and excitedly thrusting brochures under their noses.  Students that were usually reluctant writers were incredibly keen to explain the features of their property, and to justify the hefty price tags attached!  Everyone could instantly see the educational value of Minecraft – in this instance, it was used as a prompt to inspire literacy.

A win-win-win situation if ever I saw one – happy learners, happy parents, happy me!  Next lesson will be looking at the Civics buildings that are in Starter Town.  I can’t wait!

Class Compliments

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Class Compliments

I’ll admit it – I was having a grouchy kind of morning.  You know, the kind where you haven’t slept properly, where there was no milk for your tea, rain was threatening – nothing Earth shattering – just a little black cloud over my head.

I had a Keeping Them Safe – Child Protection lesson planned. Part of the lesson involved writing down nice things about your classmates.

I’d come across the perfect little activity on Seesaw.  It’s called Classmate Compliments. Simple really – children open up Seesaw, take a selfie (with a fair amount of background room), then leave their computers open, and move around the room, writing down something nice on ten different computers.

I gave some pretty clear instructions…

  • You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but you do have to be friendly with everyone – kind words only.
  • Challenge yourself – don’t write on your best friend’s picture – you tell them how awesome they are all the time – pick people outside of your close friends.
  • Mix it up – boys, girls, different year level to you.
  • Don’t just write about looks – you’ve been in a Village with these people for at least six months – go deeper.

There was a buzz and excitement in the room that is usually reserved for Minecraft lessons. My slightly-sarcastic, little-bit-jaded, too-cool-for-school Year 4s and 5s forgot to pretend to be blasé, and got right into it. I overheard some of the kids saying, “This is fun!  I like this!” At the end of the session, they all excitedly went back to their computers.  They mouthed the words to themselves at first, then the tentative smiles turned into grins, and the grins into excited shouts.  “People think I’m smart?”  “You really are funny!”  “Someone said I’m inclusive, and that I’m a good friend!”  My little black cloud began to lighten – and I found myself smiling.

“Who’s feeling a little bit special right now?”  I asked. Every hand went up. They were all grinning from ear to ear.

In demonstrating, I had taken a selfie, and left my computer open too.  You’ll have to excuse the photo – remember, I hadn’t slept well, had almost no make-up on, and the overcast morning came with a healthy dose of bad-hair-day wind.  But, the results, well, they speak for themselves!

My little black cloud evaporated instantly, and I had to read the words through happy tears. I looked up to find everyone smiling at me. “You have the most words Sarah!” “Yeah, everyone was lining up to write on your photo.”

I looked at my kids and smiled, “I really do love you guys.”

PS – My son is one of my students – hence the ‘Great Mum’ comment!

PPS – I’m pretty good at flossing – the kids taught me on school camp!

Beginning with Minecraft Education Edition

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Beginning with Minecraft Education Edition

Feeling overwhelmed at the mere thought of trying to use Minecraft Education Edition with your students?  I’m guessing that this is because your students know so much more about how to play it than you do?  Never fear – just strap on a growth mindset, be prepared to learn from your students, and dive straight in!

Minecraft Education Edition is a new adventure for me.  I’m currently heading up a team at my school where we are taking part in a Catholic Ed SA project for using Minecraft Education Edition through a religious lens, with the aim of teaching sustainability. But, before we could get to a religious perspective, we had to up the Minecraft skills of our students, and get them used to the idea that this was learning, not just play!

Needless to say, they were beside themselves with excitement.  I’ve been teaching the same group of learners for a couple of years now, and they have an excellent growth mindset (particularly when it comes to digitech!) and love to be my guinea pigs.  To begin with, we got all students participating in the project (all Year 3, 4 and 5 learners – around 100 students) together and we established our agreed practices.  The teaching team felt that this was important, to separate learning from playing, right from the beginning.  Here is a copy of what we came up with.

The agreed practices has been invaluable – there has been absolutely no confusion about which worlds students need to reserve for learning, and which ones they can use during inside play (for example due to bad weather).

Side note: the Big 5 is a school-wide code of conduct, and consists of:

  • Be Christlike
  • Be Brave
  • Be Supportive
  • Be Respectful
  • Be Safe

So anyway, to keep the learners focused on the fact that we were undertaking learning tasks, I did what I do best – I created a lesson in Class OneNote and distributed it to my Year 4-5 learners.  There’s nothing like clear Learning Intentions to remind students that we are learning, not just playing!

The first hurdle I had to overcome was – how do I teach 66 learners all at once?  Turns out that I didn’t have to – I had a significant number of Minecraft Experts on my hands!  I had all of the learners self-nominate their level of expertise, and then put themselves into groups of the following;

  • 1 Minecraft Expert
  • 1-2 Minecraft Middle-Roaders
  • 1-2 Minecraft Beginners.

One of my favourite aspects of this – is that the children that were Minecraft Experts, are not necessarily the usual leaders in my Village – giving a whole new level of respect to students who don’t always get to shine.

We strongly discourage (read don’t allow) learners to download anything off the internet.  So, in order for learners to have access to the Minecraft worlds that I want them to use, I created a shared folder in OneDrive.  Only one student from each group needs to download the world, and then the other members of that group can join up.  I went through the instructions step-by-step, but also included a screenshot and instructions in OneNote so that learners could remember how it’s done.

The groups of students then worked together to build expertise and get through all of the levels.  There was a huge buzz in the room, and seeing such diverse groupings of learners encouraging and supporting each other warmed my teacher heart.

All of the worlds that I’m using come straight off the Minecraft Education Edition website – a fantastic resource for Educators like me – willing, but not necessarily brilliant at using Minecraft.  All of the work is done for you!

What did I take away from this lesson?  That my learners continually surprise me and that they have more patience and persistence than I sometimes give them credit for.  I learned that I don’t have to be an expert at a technology in order to use it with students, I just have to set clear Learning Intentions, and the learners will do the rest.

Oh, and I also learned that my students love it when I bumble around with them – they really enjoy teaching me tips and tricks!  Go on – give it a go!

St Dominic’s Day

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St Dominic’s Day

It really does take a Village to raise a child!

I’ve often mentioned in my blog posts in passing that I teach in a ‘Village’. This year, my Village consists of 66 learners and 3 Educators.  I’ve never really explained just what that actually means though.  My activity from St. Dominic’s Day this year gives me the perfect opportunity.

At Our Lady of Grace School, we teach in Villages. I teach in the Year 4/5 Village – currently the highest year level at our school.  There’s also a Village for Year 2/3 learners, and one for R/1 learners (R stands for Reception – a uniquely South Australian term for what other states call ‘prep’ or ‘foundation’.)

Working in a Village is a wonderful experience.  I get to work closely with two other Educators, and we can rely on each other when we’re having a bad day, off sick, to bounce ideas off, to have each other’s backs – basically to look out for each other.  Teaching can be an isolating job.  Between teaching and yard duties, I used to be able to go an entire day with barely a word to another adult.  There’s nothing better than being able to catch the eye of a colleague across the room and grin when something goes well!

The benefits aren’t just for the adults in the room though.  Our learners benefit too.  Educator off sick?  That’s ok – there’s still going to be two other Educators in the room that understand individuals, learning needs, social needs, friendship worries and family concerns. Haven’t really connected with one of the Educators yet?  That’s ok – there are two other different personalities in the room too.  Need a bit of extra support/ extension?  There are three adults to go around!

We maintain strong links between Villages too. Buddies, Junior Primary Fitness, Junior Primary Reading, Minecraft Club, Whole School Circle Time – all are Inter-Village events.

In honour of the Feast of St Dominic we had whole school rotations.  I teamed up with an Educator from the R/1 Village.  We began each rotation with a rendition of Bruno Mars’ “You Can Count on Me,” and then split the group in half.  Half added musical instruments to the song, and half came next door with me to add their hand to our school tree, before swapping.  I’m pretty pleased with the overall result of the tree – if I do say so myself.

It takes a Village to raise a child – and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

 

 

Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert

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Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert

 

I’m just a little bit excited.  Ok, I’ll admit it – I may have danced around in front of the computer and fist bumped the air.  Did a little flossing – maybe!  I’m super thrilled to announce that I’ve been accepted into the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert program for 2018-19!

Here’s the offical press release below.  What does this mean for me?  More growth, more development, more innovation, more community, more connection, more learning, more sharing, more facilitating, and (if possible) more passion for what I do. Let the new adventure begin!

Sarah Bau from Our Lady of Grace School Selected as Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert

Recognised as global leader in using technology to transform education

August 1st – Adelaide – Our Lady of Grace – Glengowrie

Sarah Bau was announced today as a Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert joining the more than 7,600 educators in the MIE Expert program worldwide. Each year, Microsoft selects innovative educators to share ideas, try new approaches and learn from each other as a global community dedicated to improving student outcomes through technology.

Mrs Bau, Year 4/5 Educator and Key ICT Teacher at Our Lady of Grace School, within the Catholic Education sector of South Australia, stated that she is,

“…excited and proud to have been named a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert.  I can’t wait to begin learning with my new international community of highly skilled and enthusiastic educators.  I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience both within Our Lady of Grace School, and the wider community.”

As an MIE Expert, educators build their capacity for using technology in both the classroom and curriculum to improve student learning, advise Microsoft and educational institutions on how to integrate technology in pedagogically sound ways and be an advocate at conferences, events and trainings for how Microsoft technology can improve learning.

“Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts are inspiring examples of educators applying new ways of teaching and learning in their classrooms that motivate students and empower them to achieve more,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft. “We celebrate and support the work they do every day!”

To learn more about the MIE Expert program, you can find out more here: http://aka.ms/mieexpert. If you are an educator and interested in joining the MIE program, you can begin by joining the Microsoft Educator Community, where you can learn and grow professionally, exchange ideas and learn from others, and make connections globally and earn recognition.

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