Part one: (100 words) Discuss what the criteria are for an effective lesson in Minecraft education.
An effective lesson in Minecraft Education should include:
– group work – with clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are rotated among the members.
– pupil ownership of the project , guided by the teacher.
– use of 21st century skills including collaboration, problem solving, ICT literacy and research methodology.
– linkage between curriculum subjects, e.g Maths, History, Geography and English.
– an opportunity to open the pupils to an imaginative and creative space.
– publication of their work maybe during school assembly or open days.
Part two (100- 150 words): Discuss your schools current level of ICT. Make reference to teacher use, student use, hardware, digital content and school emphasis on integrating ICTs into teaching and learning. Is your school equipped for Minecraft education and how might you introduce it.
I work in a rural school. Fibre was just connected shortly before lockdown. Each classroom have either an interactive whiteboard or projector. We;ve just been informed that these will be upgraded to Clevertouch 75 inch interactive screens for the new school year.
Each teacher has a laptop and online resources are used during lessons e.g. Bua na Cainte, Above the Clouds and Jolly Phonics. Internet access is available for GoNoodle etc.
There are 30 refurbished laptops in the school which are shared between classes. Not all 30 of them work consistently. We are looking at trying to upgrade the equipment for the pupils.
There are some pupils that use tablets/ipads as assisstive technology. There are three ipads used in SET and the ASD classroom.
I inquired about the software package that we have in school, we do not have an A3 or A5 licence. We need an Office 365 tenant to be able to request a quote for the addition of Minecraft licences. I will follow this up when I get back to school. Due to the current Covid-19 situation my ASD class may not be able to have inclusion in mainstream class and I feel that incorporating their learning across the curriculum with Minecraft education may be highly motivating for them.