Learning in Progress

Student A: "I'm stuck in the Nether, and can't find anyone!!" Me to Google: "Define: Nether" Google result : The Nether (also known as "the Nexus" in Notch 's blog, and previously, Hell or the Slip) is a hell-like dimension , filled with fire , lakes and rivers of lava , and dangerous and powerful mobs . (Me to myself: I should never have let those kids talk me into the Other Dimensions. What was I thinking?) Me to Google: "How do you get out of the Nether?" Me to Student A : Find a Nether Portal and go through it. (Me to Myself : Please know what I mean by Nether Portal because I sure don't) Student B : "I'm stuck in the End!!!  You have to allow monsters so I can kill the Ender Dragon and get back to where everyone else is" Me frantically to Google :  What is the End? What is the Ender Dragon? How do you get out of the end without killing Ender dragon?   Me to Student B: I'm not allo...

I am not a gamer.  I don't even usually sit still long enough to play a friendly game of cards. I've never played Angry Birds or Mario Kart or whatever that Diamond game is that people keep inviting me to play on Facebook.  Minecraft is one of those games that I had sort of observed from afar with curiosity.  It is something that many of my students have an incredible passion for, and I began to realize that if I can find a way to encourage that passion as a way to encourage students to learn or show their learning in new ways, then I might be able to help encourage kids and teachers to make connections on levels they previously never could have dreamed of. Motivated by Conferences When I attended the KySTE 2015 conference last year, I saw on the schedule that fellow librarian  @StacieLynn2000   was going to be hosting a session on MinecraftEDU and how she was using it. I had read an excellent article in Kentucky Teacher about how she was using it w...