Kirby's Education Journey

new to teaching but old to the love of learning

Category: Gaming

Coding Class

November 25, 2019 / / 2 Comments

Today Rich McCue came in to give us a beginning lesson for how to integrate and teach coding in our classrooms. He began the lesson by asking us why we think we should teach coding in elementary classrooms, some answers the class came up with was we teach coding to spark interest in this area as a potential career opportunity and that since coding and gaming is so popular for children they will be willing to learn more and be engaged in the material. We had the opportunity to visit a few of the coding sites Rich had found beneficial for elementary classrooms, the programs found were Scratch, Grasshopper, Hour of Code, Designing with algorithms using Tinkercad, and Code BC. Since my experience in coding is virtually nonexistent since my grade 7 robotics day it was sedimental going back and trying to figure out what little 13-year-old me back in the day. Since Scratch was said to be the simplest formatting for coding I decided to attempt it and use the “Scratch-Getting-Started-Guide-Basic” PDF that Rich provided us. My little scratch cat ended up only being able to move in a circle and saying “Aye there mate” however once I threw in a dinosaur friend my cat seemed to be a lot happier.

I also attempted how to code using the Grasshopper gaming system, this game was more realistic for a student because it showed code using a real coding looking formula. Below is a video of me successfully producing a flag.

Mine of the craft

November 4, 2019 / / 2 Comments

Today we had a creative workshop all about Mindcraft. We had a couple of little Minecraft geniuses from Colquitz Middle School come with their teacher to teach us the basics of the computer game. We learned the different ways teachers use Minecraft as a cross-curriculum platform to teach. They use the creative modes to allow children to express their artistic vision and help children show their creativity in architecture, pictures, and designs. The teachers also use the game as a resource for science, physics, and social studies, using the environmental aspects and resourcefulness mindset of the game. Kids can learn about the ecosystem, conservation, what humans need to have and access to survive and overall can work on their teamwork skills with their classmates.

This was my first hands-on experience with Minecraft. On my Wednesday visits, I have watched my class in their schools MAClab using Minecraft as a fun educational tool where they all share one Minecraft world and create their own spaces. In our Minecraft workshop, we were allowed to experiment with the variety of different modes Minecraft has including the creative world and the survival world. I had no idea what I was doing the whole time so I required the help of the middle school children and Teya to maneuver me around the world of pixellated land.

 

Below are some screenshots of what I saw and experienced while gaming on Minecraft:

 

This is the first photo of me in Minecraft, my name is kirbabyteytey (hence the combination of Teya and I’s name)

This is my first super cool house made out of pink wool, the inspiration for my house was to be built around trees and also have a beautiful skylight (not purposeful since I didn’t know how to make a roof). The image on the left you can tell is filled with hundreds of animals, this was not my creative choice, however, it made my home feel more comforting and loving.

The highlight of my gaming today was when Teya made and showed me what “The Nether” is. It is a magical blue glowing portal that takes you into a firey, lava-filled world.

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