Tom Welch's Blog

As I investigate Minecraft for education,  (Minecraft is a virtual world / game with Legolike building blocks to combine and interact with in infinite ways, https://minecraft.net/) I have been asking students who "play" Minecraft how they use it.  Frequently, as I mention the possibility of adding Minecraft to our computers at school, the reaction I get is, "How is Minecraft educational?"  They are amused and skeptical.

This disconnect is all too common today.  When I see my eleven-year-old son progress into Minecraft, he works with friends to share servers, tips, and magic.  He uses Youtube videos to learn more advanced construction techniques.  He plays online collaboratively with a group of friends to explore and make decisions about the project they are navigating and creating.  Doing Minecraft involves research, collaboration, communication, problem solving, and fun.  What of this is not educational?

Is an open-ended, modifiable, world-building application educational?

How is it not educational?

Ideas, innovations, and inventions are widely shared in the educational technology community.  While most are interesting, many do not live up to their hype as far as functionality versus overall cost.  Pictured below is a tool that I think makes the cut.  This stand turns an iPad or other tablet into a document camera. 

Our fourth grade teachers attended a summer science institute sponsored by Williams College.  Their work was all about useful apps for teaching science.  As participants, each teacher was given an iPad to use in their classrooms.

The set-up pictured below shows the fourth grade projector cart and iPad stand.  Using Apple TV, the screen of any iPad in the room can be quickly projected.  Using the stand and the iPad's camera, students and teachers can demonstrate, highlight, magnify, edit, comment on, and improve written work.

The iPad stand adds another layer to the versatility of the tablet by turning it into a document camera.  Justand

     For our first Math Club meeting, a group of sixth grade students created a unique math scavenger hunt.  After gathering for snacks and instructions, students spread out in groups carrying an iPad.  Each group was given a different starting point and the hunt flowed from point to point and problem to problem as long as they found the correct answer.  The iPads were used for reading a QR Code (a matrix barcode) which was linked to the problem for that location.  Students worked together to solve the challenge and move to the next one.  The excitement and perseverance were inspiring!