I am late to the hype of Minecraft, I hesitated to use Minecraft Edu previously because I assumed that it was a case of “using technology for technology sake” rather than having actual educational benefits. I attended two Minecraft PD events through Logics Academy, and I was instantly hooked. Bonus points to Minecraft for making me look “cool” in the eyes of my nephews (apparently gaming with them and bribing them with Nintendo Switch gift cards wasn’t cutting it anymore). Logics Academy has hundreds of lessons connected to Saskatchewan curriculum, model worlds, and offers technical support. The following information is going to come across like a promo, I promise it isn’t, but they should sponsor me- I loved it that much! Seriously, go check it out.
I created a Structures and Materials assessment using Minecraft for my EC&I 834 course. Check out my exemplar below and the accompanying lessons here.
The lessons that Logics Academy provides are clear and easy to follow and include assessments, which saves time throughout the school year. The next lesson I want to test out is CyberSafe- Home Sweet Hmm. If you are in Prairie South School Division and you’d like me to come introduce some Minecraft activities, please contact me!
I loved Minecraft so much that I even used it for my EC&I 834 Summary of Learning!
Thank you everyone for the wonderful semester full of learning!
I will be available to all students via Zoom from 9:00-3:30 for students to come in and ask questions. I have done this previously, and put myself and the student in the breakout room if they would rather speak privately. I also use the comment feature on Google Classroom, which sends an email automatically to alert me that a student has left a comment where I can respond. This typically takes a maximum of 5 minutes for me to be able to respond. For Grade 3, two points of communication are plenty for them to learn!
Introductory Lesson: Newspaper Building Challenge
Examples to share with learners
To engage learners into our material and build community for the unit we will be completing the classic newspaper challenge synchronously as a class. Students with low bandwidth are welcome to complete the challenge asynchronously, but are encouraged to come to class for this community building activity. Over Zoom we will complete this challenge with this routine:
10 minutes to draw plans/design
10 minutes to share design in breakout rooms and get feedback from peers
30 minutes to create newspaper tower
Whole group sharing and testing of towers (volunteers only)
The purpose of this activity is to model the design process that students will be using for their projects for this unit. Students will be using this to design a playground and a structure of their choice throughout this unit. This introduction is a low stakes opportunity to practice the process and for me to notice what skills they will need to complete this process so I can better support students throughout their design process.
The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (GRR) will help students to be familiar with the design process by the three stages: “show me” (Newspaper Towers), “help me” (Design a Playground), and “let me” (Designing a Structure).
Formative Assessment: Design a Playground- Community Project
For this midway project, I want to see students apply the design process in a familiar way. Students will be designing a playground with at least two accessible structures for playgrounds to think about the function of structures without having to create their own and enter the “help me” stage of the GRR. Students can use existing examples from in their communities and from their experiences to create their ideal playground while practicing the design process.
We will develop a modelled comment formula for the upcoming Flipgrid in class by creating feedback on the teacher example in breakout rooms (low risk), then sharing their feedback as a large group. I will document their comments by sharing the screen with them, and ask for any patterns they see in good feedback, guiding them to giving a suggestion and something they liked about it.
Students will then design their playground, record their explanation on Flipgrid and practice writing moderated comments on at least 3 other student’s videos. This will allow me to identify students struggling to give feedback to their peers and address these skills in subsequent lessons if needed. This is formative practice for their cumulative project, Designing a Structure.
A previous students example of a dog park
Summative Assessment: Designing a Structure–Cumulative Project
For this final assessment of the unit, students will be completely creating their own structure in the “let me” stage of GRR. It can have any function, structure type, and materials. Students will answer guided questions that address learning outcomes to formulate their design plan. Next, they will be planning and designing by drawing and labelling their structure.
Students will then post a Flipgrid video explaining their responses to the questions and showing their structure design. Once their Flipgrid is uploaded, their job is to watch at least 5 other videos and provide unmoderated feedback on each others structures using the same format as in Design a Playground. They have now practiced this twice, and can hopefully do this independently and unmoderated. Students will self assess their comments, but I will not assign a grade to their participation.
Their next task is to review their comments and make any changes they want to make to their structure before completing a self-assessment and submitting their final project. I have done this assignment in person before, so I thought I’d leave you all with the most unexpected project I’ve had turned in.
The Party Boat 2000 from a previous student of mine
However, it fell flat for a serious gaming experience. As Bates wrote, there are 4 essential game elements:
Learning
Storytelling
Gameplay
User experience
I feel like Gizmos is lacking quality that improves user experience, and would disengage learners. It is missing several aspects of effective game design such as realism, feedback, and surprises. I feel like game-based learning is still missing the quality and realism that makes games fun. As Bates mentioned there is some debate about game-based learning and the impact on learning outcomes, and it is mostly studied to improve the affective domain. The Gizmos lessons I explored did nothing to engage me. I am a recreational gamer, and I think the biggest limitation is that these lessons are in isolation without a backstory and do not have high production.
Another factor is the alignment of Saskatchewan curriculum. Gizmos, like most educational sites, are aligned to United States curriculum. It can be hard to align these concepts by grade level and topic. If there was an option to select and deselect sections in Gizmos, it would be easier to align to the curriculum, but as it exists, it doesn’t match curricular outcomes. You can watch my walk through below and hear my disappointment as I continue exploring.
Gizmos Walk Through
I think there are better options available, and that this hasn’t been engaging enough for me to try it out in my classroom. I could see using it as a quick demo for my students for us to manipulate and discuss as a class, but I do not see the added value of elementary students manipulating these ‘serious games’. If anyone loves Gizmos, please change my mind!
Grade 3 Structures and Materials Virtual Experience
One of the major disappointments for myself and students when we were switched to online learning was the removal of courses that were not considered “core subject areas”. This included Science, Art, Health, Physical Education, and Social Studies. I have previously mentioned how I believe that skills are the essence of learning and using technology responsively. Science in particular focuses on inquiry, scientific methods, and resiliency.
For my Course Profile, I wanted to challenge the view of virtual learning as “supplementary” and “passive”. I want to show that active learning happens in all settings if a teacher is creating activities beyond the screen and having student be engaged citizens in their communities. The same (modified) strategies are essential for student success. Community building and relationships, scaffolding, and inquiry learning are all vital to student engagement and success.
The one hour Zoom time is not to be used for lectures, but to build classroom community, get active, activate background knowledge, and engage students! I love to start my classes (and allow students to trickle in) with the “Chase Series” from Coach Corey Martin. Try one for yourself below.
When we did this as a class, I may have dressed as Mario, but I will not be providing evidence of this.
These activities improve student learning by getting students moving, and build relationships by allowing time to be silly! Another popular with students relationship building activity was one I dubbed, “emoji faces”. All we did was make a shared slideshow of emojis and we tried to mimic them. Of course my dog, Mia, had to participate.
Activating background knowledge can be done using break out rooms, Quizziz, Google Jamboard, word webs, Zoom chat, and anything else you’d use in the classroom. I find it best to keep my direct instruction time to 10 minutes, complete some guided practice as a group, reflect, and then bring them back for another movement activity to ease them into their asynchronous work time.
Below I’ve outlined my ambitious plan for the Grade 3 Science Unit: Structures and Materials. I can’t wait to begin creating!
Course Profile
Student Profile
There are sixteen remote students learning across Prairie South School Division in Grade 3. Two students are accessing content on their farm, and have occasional connection issues. All students have access to a tablet or laptop through the division, and have been given student emails to log into their devices and LMS. I have three students reading well-below grade level and require additional support in reading and writing. There are 4 students who do not have access to additional supplies for projects in their home. All students are required to have an adult at home while in the Prairie South Virtual School.
Course Format
All learning will be online with a blend of synchronous lessons and a choice of synchronous or asynchronous project work time. Students will be attending synchronous lessons on Zoom from 9:00-10:00 AM and from 1:00-2:00 PM daily. These science lessons will take place from 1:00-2:00 PM daily and will be recorded and posted for asynchronous student access. Students will be using Google Classroom to access asynchronous assignments, where Google Slides assignments will be posted. Assignments will offer a quick (<5 minute) introductory video including a walkthrough of assignment instructions and examples.
Course Objectives
These lessons will cover the Physical Science outcome strand in Grade 3 Science. The outcomes are:
*SM3.1 Investigate properties of materials and methods of joinery used in structures.
*SM3.2 Assess the function and characteristics of strong, stable, and balanced natural and human-built structures.
I will also be focusing on Science Foundation 3: Scientific and Technological Skills and Processes through assessment of inquiry projects throughout this unit.
Choice Structure Research- Brochure RubricNewspaper Challenge-Plan and Test Self EvaluationDesign a Playground-RubricPlan and Label a Unique Structure- Rubric and Self-Assessment
Teacher Materials/Tools
iPad for drawing/virtual whiteboard
Student materials printed by request
My School Sask for attendance/grade input
Google Classroom Rubrics
Sample work creations
Considerations/Planning for Student Success
Students reading below grade level (and all students) will have access to Google Read and Write to assist with speech-to-text and text-to-speech.
Students with low bandwidth (and all students) will have access to lessons asynchronously if they cannot commit to Zoom times.
Access to the Zoom room for help will be provided from 9:00-3:30 daily.
Audio/video files on each slide will assist with reading and vocabulary.
Google Chat and/or comments on assignments can be used to contact me at anytime throughout the day and I will respond in the order I receive them.
Students without materials can request a material package for the unit, which I will mail out or deliver.
Weekly schedule sent out to all parents with assignment names.
Removal of additional practice for students with IIP goals.
All assignments have one week to complete an assignment, with the possibility of extensions when required.
If you stuck around through this long post, please leave any suggestions and comments below!
Taking the time today to reflect on my virtual teaching journey and how thankful I am to explore my passion of creating meaningful learning opportunities utilizing technology! #thankful#virtuallearningpic.twitter.com/YBOZNO0buW
My venture into online learning was sudden, as any teacher in 2020 can attest to. In March of 2020 all teachers and students in Saskatchewan were moved to an online model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those first months went by rather uneventfully. Learning opportunities were limited to English Language Arts and Math for elementary learners, and were considered optional. I began with 13 students participating in online learning, then by May I was down to 2 students. This model was unsustainable, and ineffective.
Fast forward to September 2020. Teachers and students were eager to return to school. The day I finished setting up my classroom was the day I was offered a position in our Prairie South Virtual School, and I took down my classroom while my position was advertised.
With one week to meet my new grade 3 students, I quickly scrambled to determine how to simply begin. As Bates references, most teaching methods can be done online and in-person while designing for the context differently. I began the way I do in person. Community building with my students. I can honestly say this paved the way to a successful year. These students formed friendships, even learning how to play outside via Zoom. I sent weekly emails to parents with our learning outcomes, carefully scaffolded to build student’s capacity. The responses I got from parents was overwhelmingly positive. I discovered parents that were experts in areas I was not, and could easily access their expertise. Parents sat and learned with their children. Children learned from everywhere, even while checking cows. It transformed my view of building community in schools. It was a dream job, offering flexibility, empathy for families, and a strong community.
With the flexibility comes the importance of boundaries. At one point during the year I was hospitalized for a week. My classroom remained at my fingertips, so I continued to teach from the hospital bed. I emailed parents and explained the situation, but that learning would continue. All of my parents emailed back that they would spend time as a family learning but to not worry about posting work or coming to class. Instead I had visiting time when students would come to chat and visit with me. My students also had times of tragedy, where I got to return the kindness they had shown me. Every student had a reason for choosing online learning, and I was so proud of each of them for the successes they had.
Our at home plant life cycle experiments
The things that made me a successful in person teacher are also what made me a successful virtual teacher. I would say I mostly followed an agile design model, similar to responsive teaching in person. We constantly tried new technology and explored together. The opportunity to provide such quantity and quality of feedback allowed me to plan what learning opportunities students needed. It was the year we stayed home, stayed safe, and stayed connected!
