OLTD508 Assignment #6: Jane Jacek MinecraftEdu World: Division Farms Screencast Link: http://www.screencast.

com/t/Ty4QlSJG Division Farms locale: Momilani Farms

(1.MinecraftEdu.(n.d.).

Rubric Assessment of Games: Rubric created by Ben, Breanne and Jane J. Name: Division Farms: MinecraftEdu Rating (Out of 21): 14/21

Platform: A MinecraftEdu server is the central computer on which the MinecraftEdu server software runs. MinecraftEdu clients connect to this computer over a local area network or over the Internet. This is essentially the piece of your set up that allows students to connect to each other and experience the game together. (MinecraftEdu, 2013, August 30). Gaming Category: Simulation- 3D Environment/World Age Level: 7-12 Cost: USD $41 custom mod plus USD$335 for classroom set of 25 games licenses or USD$18 per game for less than 25 copies (2.MinecraftEdu, n.d.) Interaction Level: Single Player Multiplayer (Offline) Multiplayer (Online) Massive Multiplayer (Online) Controls Used: Keyboard activated Other Mouse Game Controller Touch Screen Voice

Learning Goals: Math Skills : Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem. Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual

learning and contribute to the learning of others. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. (MisterA.,2014) Related documents http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/sites/default/files/worlds/41/material/3.oa_.3_p 1_41.pdf http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/sites/default/files/worlds/41/material/3.oa_.3_p 2_41.pdf (MisterA.,2014) Learning Principles: Game play occurs in the Momilani Farms. Players develop/solidify their understanding of division concepts as they are put to work at the farm. The farm is broken up into several sections. Each has many chores for players to complete, such as planting flowers and milking cows. There are chests throughout with materials needed to complete the tasks. It is recommended that students play in groups of 3-4.

Categories Relevance

Level 0

Level 1 Limited educational focus, some irrelevant content.

Level 2 Learning objectives are defined, interest is created.

Level 3 Game is relevant to learners, and challenges are adequate for learning.

Little stimulus for Presents materials learning. in a way relevant to learners, their needs and their learning styles; ensures that instructional units are relevant to one another and connect to one or more PLOs.

Embedding Assesses how closely the academic content is coupled with the fantasy/story

Learning content disrupts play.

Learning is exogenous to fantasy context.

Includes intellectual challenges and problems.

Content is endogenous to fantasy and fully involves learner.

content where fantasy refers to the narrative structure, storylines, player experience, dramatic structure, fictive elements, etc. Transfer How the player can use previous knowledge in other areas and a change in behaviour is evident No levels of challenge mapped to objectives. Levels of challenge are too similar, some useful content. Easy progress through levels through active problem solving. Higher level knowledge should be transferable. Learners are encouraged to go beyond given information. Old schemas are identified and adapted to new situations. Learners are involved cognitively, physically and emotionally. Authentic real life situations and after action reviews.

Adaptation A change in behaviour as a consequence of transfer

Fails to engage in interactive, unstructured information.

Builds upon existing cognitive structures, engages in cognitive conflict.

Learning becomes an active process that integrates prior knowledge.

Immersion The player is intellectually invested in the context of the game, and is able to reach a state of

No formative feedback, little active participation.

Elements of play are not in sync with learning objectives, players do not feel fully

Favours belief creation and includes opportunities for reciprocal action.

flow.

interactive.

Little opportunity The development for mastery of habitual and of facts and spontaneous use of skills. information derived within the game that can be applied to real world problems and experiences.

Naturalization

Replay is encouraged to improve speed of processing.

Encourages synthesis of elements and judgments.

Learners become efficient content users and spontaneously use acquired knowledge.

Customization Offers complete flexibility to alter content and settings to meet student needs.

No options to adjust in game Some options available to settings to adjust meet students difficulty abilities. settings .

Options to change difficulty settings, and personalize in game environment to students preferences are available.

Users have complete flexibility in altering in game content to provide an optimal learning experience.

Reflection: With game play being a part of most students lives I can see Division Farm being an engaging way to develop/solidify students understanding of division concepts. One of the goals of the game is to develop communication and collaboration, which can occur in the multiplayer mode when 3-4 players participate/play at the same time or as I found out when one has a person, who has previously played the game, assist you in game play. There was only one time when neither myself nor my daughter, who has previously played Minecraft, could solve the dilemma I was in. I ended up in a locale that I could not get out of. Even when I closed the game and came back I was still in the same location. Frustrating to say the least. Luckily when I returned, on a different day, I had been repositioned and away I went. For those new to playing Minecraft I would highly recommend partaking in a tutorial prior to immersing oneself in to a MinecraftEdu world. As a teacher I would direct students either to the Minecraft Edu tutorial world, have a knowledgeable classmate work with a newbie or present a direct lesson, another option is looking to view game play in an online video. I used the tutorial as a teaching tool and created a screencast of my participation. http://www.screencast.com/t/eC3L5m6HP.

Key Differences to Minecraft and MinecraftEDU:

Custom versions of the game designed specifically for teachers and students with many extra features that support classroom use. Easy-to-use server software that simplifies the task of getting multiplayer up and running. World-building tools that make it simple to incorporate your own curricular content. A free library of worlds / levels / activities that you can use with our software to teach a variety of subjects.

MinecraftEdu was created by teachers, for teachers. It works right on top of the original Minecraft game and is designed for classroom use. We've lowered the barriers so that ANY teacher can benefit from this amazing game. (MinecraftEdu, 2013, January 16) Chad Sansing stated, "Since it's targeted at classrooms, teachers may be tempted to ignore Minecraft and head straight for MinecraftEdu -- but not so fast! Both Minecraft and MinecraftEdu can serve as great learning tools. So which version is right for you and your classroom? (Sansing, 2013) Below, is a comparison made of the two by Sansing - as he points out, both have their uses and both can be great learning tools for students. (Lewis, Greg, n.d.) Minecraft
http://www.graphite.org/game/minecraft

MinecraftEdu
http://www.graphite.org/game/minecraftedu

Pros:

Pros: Preserves a sense of open-ended play and exploration. Teachers and students play as peers. Feels less like school and more like play. Student-directed. Gameplay possibilities grow directly with players' abilities. Kids can easily open games for multi-player group work over local area networks. Open to any available mod, character skin, or texture pack. Opens the door to programming.

Excellent tutorial for first time players. Classroom management tools make wrangling students and setting up lessons much easier. Assignments (and entire maps) can be easily created, assigned, and monitored. MinecraftEdu purchase bundles classroom licenses and mods making it an all-in-one purchase, and allowing student and teacher work to be archived and preserved. All players in a MinecraftEdu game play the same version of the game with the same mods, reducing compatibility issues in multiplayer games.

Cons:

Cons: Each installation can be different depending on how players modify it, so not every game will work with others. Students will likely be doing vastly different things with the game depending on what they've learned to do with it and to it. Students are largely responsible for guarding the safety of their worlds and determining who can and can't play with them or see and assess their work.

Heavily teacher controlled world means some sense of wonder and exploration are lost. Some mods can't be used by students, closing off some creative possibilities and valuable skills gains. Students, especially those familiar with the game, may feel a bit handcuffed.

Great for:

Great for:

Students who already have Minecraft accounts. Individual and small group projects. Clubs Self-starting and goal-driven students

Delivering specific pieces of learning content. Whole-class lessons and projects. Students without existing access to Minecraft. Teachers, schools, and divisions looking to dip a toe into participatory or game-based learning.

References: Lewis, Greg.(n.d.). MinecraftEdu. OLTD 508 Weebly. Retrieved April 12, 2014 from (http://oltd508lewis.weebly.com/minecraftedu.html 1.MinecraftEdu.(n.d.). Division Farms. MinecraftEdu World Library. Retrieved from http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/ 2.MinecraftEdu.(n.d.) Bring Minecraft to the Classroom. Purchase Minecraft. MinecraftEdu.com. Retrieved from http://minecraftedu.com/page/purchase MinecraftEdu.(2013, January 16). What is Minecraft? MinecraftEdu Wiki Retrieved from http://minecraftedu.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_is_Minecraft%3F

MinecraftEdu.(2013, August 30). Server. Minecraft Edu Wiki. Retrieved from http://minecraftedu.com/wiki/index.php?title=Server MisterA. (2014, January 20). Division Farms. MincecraftEdu World Library. Retrieved from (http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/node/41 Sansing, C. (2013, September 24). Minecraft or MinecraftEdu at School? Pros, Cons, and What it's Great For. graphite. Retrieved from http://www.graphite.org/blog/minecraft-or-minecraftedu-at-school-pros-cons-andwhat-its-great-for