Minecraft: Education Edition

Today I took part in a tool kit about Minecraft Education Edition led by Otako Kaufusi from Microsoft and Morgan McKeen from Noel Leeming.

Otako spoke about his 'why' for working within the tech industry. He talked about the fact that Maori and Pacifica people make up 25% of the population but make up only 2% of those working within the tech industry. 

Minecraft is a platform to engage ALL students in their learning and encourage more to enter the tech world.

Minecraft: Education Edition is available at no cost to all state and integrated schools under the Microsoft 365 A3 licensing. At this time, it is supported on the newest operating systems for PC, iPad and Mac and is now available on Chromebooks!

A focus of this session is on the unique world of Nga Motu and how it can be used in the classroom to explore te reo Māori, te ao Māori and tikanga whilst at the same time showcasing the educational features of the game such as the in game camera and portfolio to document learning. This is a video shown during the presentation to outline how Nga Motu can be used in the classroom.

You don't have to be an expert in Minecraft to use this in your class. Students will be engaged from the onset and as a teacher your role is being open to offering this platform for learning to your students.

Google World and Microsoft World can work together.

Reflection

I have students who are already very engaged in gaming, especially Minecraft. I have looked into using Minecraft in the past in my classroom but have always found it too hard to do as I felt like I was not an expert and could not validate the learning that is taking place.

As I have become more experienced in using technology to 'turbo charge' my students learning. I know that Minecraft would engage my students but now I understand how  Minecraft can be a learning tool for my students too.