Yesterday I spent a bunch of time hanging out on Skype with Liam (aka Praxismaxis aka GamingEdus) O'Donnell. All of this was in preparation for getting Donview students onto the GamingEdus multi-school MineCraft server. I first met Liam at ECOO at the MineCraft meetup social event one evening, but this was the first time I had really had a good conversation with him.
It was really exciting to listen to someone who is really passionate about how this particular piece of technology can impact students, and it was neat to hear what he is doing in his classroom and how he is collaborating online with colleagues. He was also excited to hear about the work I am looking to do around MineCraft and 3D printing.
He was very patient and helpful (which I am tremendously grateful for), and as someone who is more or less still classified as a noob, I learned a lot! I was able to learn about the white list, and how to use the PvP arena! One thing I discovered is that I still have a lot to learn about things like scripting, and plugins on the server. I also learned that the server is set out very similar to the teacher server. This was important information since I've gained some familiarity with that world so I was able to transfer my knowledge from those experiences.
The server has Creative and Survival modes, it has a super flat land, and it even has a TNT section. The entry spawn point is in Creative mode (like in the teacher server), and that's where all the portal's are for all the different schools that are sharing the server. These portals link to parts of the world spread out all over the map.
I watched and learned as Liam showed me how to move about using coordinates. We found a spot that was "black" uncharted territory on the map. It had a village in a valley below a hill, a temple off in the distance, and three different biomes close by: a savannah, a desert, and a tropical forest. Liam built the portal on the top of the hill, using our school colours blue and gold. It was pretty neat to see a clean landscape - ready to be built.
With the Donview section all set-up we're ready to roll. I'm hoping to test it out first thing tomorrow morning with some HSP students. I'm excited to see what my students and I can come up with. Stay tuned for more.
Showing posts with label ecoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ecoo. Show all posts
Monday, 9 February 2015
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Outside the... Balks? Huh?
So everyone is curious about my title.
Well as a lifelong learner (and product of the TDSB's gifted program) I've always been challenged to think creatively and try to do just what the title says.
I've been pondering this whole blogging idea since Royan Lee's "Spicy Learning" blog was introduced to me over a year ago before going to ECOO11. Up to that point I had assumed a personal brand was all about you know, buying DavidHann.com or whatever. Surprisingly this isn't actually taken, even though I'm a Minnesota politician (born April 16, 1952) and a member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 42, who actually ran for governor too. [#WrongDigitalFootprint?]
Anyways, at ECOO11 we talked a lot about a lot of things, including digital footprint (thanks MzMollyTL!) and being a role model for students online and so on. After drinking from that fire hose I've begun to implement a lot of the things I learned or was exposed to there - but it's taken me a while. The one thing I really didn't want to rush into was my brand. So I waited on it until the inspiration hit, and two weeks ago it did.
For the last few years, when I'm assigning a particular project, I like to challenge my gifted students (because life has come full circle that way). I like to say to them "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX... B - A - L - K - S". They kind of stare at me and go "HUH?" But it makes them think!
Going back even further in time, I can't claim the credit for the saying. It comes from one of my favourite "Silly" Albums - The BnL "Snack Time" album and the song "Crazy ABC's written by Steven Page and Ed Robertson. Here's the first few lines from the lyrics (if you are an english teacher - you could probably work this concept into a really neat assignment):
A is for aisle
B is for bdellium
C is for czar
And if you see him, would you mind telling him-
The whole song goes on like this and is uproariously funny. If you haven't heard it, and you're a teacher, and you like funny things, give it a listen!
So they go back and forth, and at the end they have this little jokesy conversation that goes something like this...
Okay, when you say zed,
For the benefit of our American friends
You really mean Zee, right?
No I mean Zed, like, like Zed Zed Top.
Zed Zed Top?
Yeah, you know the guys with the big long beards,
well, except the guy whose name is Beard,
he has a moustache
I always thought that was interesting
You done with the alphabet?
No extra letters I haven't heard of?
I think so.
Well this was a great help, I think, you know,
the contribution you made to world literacy
Well, I'm just saying, kids
I'm just saying
Think outside the box a little bit
Box with an "r"
Yeah, well, no, box with a b-a-l-k-s, like a pitcher.
Ahh, as opposed to b-a-c-h-s,
Right, think outside the "balks"
And hopefully THAT will help you understand my blog title! :) Thanks for reading!
Well as a lifelong learner (and product of the TDSB's gifted program) I've always been challenged to think creatively and try to do just what the title says.
I've been pondering this whole blogging idea since Royan Lee's "Spicy Learning" blog was introduced to me over a year ago before going to ECOO11. Up to that point I had assumed a personal brand was all about you know, buying DavidHann.com or whatever. Surprisingly this isn't actually taken, even though I'm a Minnesota politician (born April 16, 1952) and a member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 42, who actually ran for governor too. [#WrongDigitalFootprint?]
Anyways, at ECOO11 we talked a lot about a lot of things, including digital footprint (thanks MzMollyTL!) and being a role model for students online and so on. After drinking from that fire hose I've begun to implement a lot of the things I learned or was exposed to there - but it's taken me a while. The one thing I really didn't want to rush into was my brand. So I waited on it until the inspiration hit, and two weeks ago it did.
For the last few years, when I'm assigning a particular project, I like to challenge my gifted students (because life has come full circle that way). I like to say to them "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX... B - A - L - K - S". They kind of stare at me and go "HUH?" But it makes them think!
Going back even further in time, I can't claim the credit for the saying. It comes from one of my favourite "Silly" Albums - The BnL "Snack Time" album and the song "Crazy ABC's written by Steven Page and Ed Robertson. Here's the first few lines from the lyrics (if you are an english teacher - you could probably work this concept into a really neat assignment):
A is for aisle
B is for bdellium
C is for czar
And if you see him, would you mind telling him-
The whole song goes on like this and is uproariously funny. If you haven't heard it, and you're a teacher, and you like funny things, give it a listen!
So they go back and forth, and at the end they have this little jokesy conversation that goes something like this...
Okay, when you say zed,
For the benefit of our American friends
You really mean Zee, right?
No I mean Zed, like, like Zed Zed Top.
Zed Zed Top?
Yeah, you know the guys with the big long beards,
well, except the guy whose name is Beard,
he has a moustache
I always thought that was interesting
You done with the alphabet?
No extra letters I haven't heard of?
I think so.
Well this was a great help, I think, you know,
the contribution you made to world literacy
Well, I'm just saying, kids
I'm just saying
Think outside the box a little bit
Box with an "r"
Yeah, well, no, box with a b-a-l-k-s, like a pitcher.
Ahh, as opposed to b-a-c-h-s,
Right, think outside the "balks"
And hopefully THAT will help you understand my blog title! :) Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)