September

Hello.

I’m back for the first time in a couple of weeks. A cold took me out of commission for a while, and although I didn’t miss class I did scale back my out of school work & life. I unfortunately chose to miss the legendary Iowa State vs. Iowa football game in order to rest. The pitfalls of adulthood. I'd forgotten how tiring the job could be, and how the combined immune systems of 1,600 people could mix so dangerously.

My video highlights what’s going well so far, hours, and a Minecraft extra credit assignment. A quick reminder about my hour count. My “true” grad school or grading hours are more numerous than what’s shown, but often fall within my hours during the day. If I'm at the office from 7 until 5, then I count it as ten teaching hours, although I may be grading after school. It'd be impossible to sort out every minute of the day into these four categories...

If you’re interested in Minecraft, or implementing it in your classroom, you can check out the following links.

http://minecraft.net

http://www.minecraftwiki.net

http://minecraftteacher.net/

I’ve also uploaded my assignment here, which contains more detail than what was mentioned in the video.

http://moodle.aeapdonline.org/file.php/185/Education/sustainableminecraft.pdf

I’ll be spending most of this week revising my film assignments, and grading 150 papers. Ninety film critiques and sixty Fahrenheit 451 analysis papers. Look for some thoughts on grading papers later this week.

Be well and rest!

Time Card & E3

Hello.

As promised, here's the time card that I'll be using for my project. It's a simple spreadsheet I'm doing through excel, but I'm looking at creating a google document for those wanting to join.

In other news it's an exciting time to be a nerd. E3, the annual electronic entertainment expo is currently being held. I can't help but feel a little excitement at Halo 4 or how painful it may be to play Minecraft using a Kinect.

This got me thinking about gaming and teaching. I've only really used video games in the classroom as a way to build relationships with students. It's a privilege of the young, I realize, so I may as well use it while I can. I've previously served as staff advisor to both Guitar Hero and Pokemon' club.

Here are two resources you may be interested in should you also be a part time gamer. 

First, this blog from Joel Levin out of New York. He uses Minecraft in his computer class to some great results. 

http://minecraftteacher.net/

I also had some time to read Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal this Spring. It's not necessarily a pedagogical text, but is a very interesting read about the power of gaming to empower oneself. Her website is located at http://realityisbroken.org/.

More and more schools are getting out this week. Welcome to summer, and take some time for yourself!