"Build it and they will come" - The Inaugural Educamp Minecraft

Thanks +Michael Fawcett for providing this!

It started at the first Connected Taupo meeting. Steve Katene and I started to say "What if...?"

We started a Google doc and Monika Kern joined in.  It seemed like a great idea...

A few months later, we contributed to the Education Aotearoa magazine and somehow the idea got printed as an event happening in term two.  All of sudden the pressure went on to actually make it happen!

A few tweets went back and forth and finally a date was settled on in Term 3. Educamp Minecraft went onto the Educampnz wiki - http://educampnz.wikispaces.com/Educamp+Minecraft.

Kassey Downard, Monika and I put our heads together - literally - in a Google hangout and came up with a programme loosely based on the educamp format (see the wiki).  We used Twitter to invite known users and the #edchatnz crowd.  I emailed local schools and the Connected Rotorua group.  Our Home and School committee catered soup, rolls and cake and Monika and I sorted out details like chocolate fish and coffee on the Friday night before.

Saturday dawned and we were down at school sorting out all our last minute details.  And we were off!

Twenty six folk arrived from as far as Keri Keri and Wellington.  Natalie, Steve and Wendy brought students and Kassey had six of our Mokoia kids on site to both present and tutor.  The teacher experiences were fantastic.  Shaun Woods skyped in from Christchurch.  Students from Richmond and Te Kowhai Schools presented their creations; so did our kids.

After lunch, akonga had the opportunity to play in the "sandbox" in Kassey's classroom or talk to Steve and Michael with the pod of ipads Steve brought from Napier.

Here is the Google slide: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qKW4gJQCRdC24XWEQ687yAYW4WARKjzYT_PkOCHh_kc/edit#slide=id.p

Highlights for me were:

• the passion of educators who came together from all parts of the North Island to join together for a Saturday of sharing expertise and learning from peers and students
• the development of a Google community for Minecraft teachers - ttps://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/112525241209501940641
• the student voice from a range of students from different schools, age groups and backgrounds
• the detail, collaboration and problem solving implicit in the student projects
• the success of the day - it all fell into place!

Thanks to everyone involved.

Here is the Storify:

https://storify.com/mrs_hyde/educamp-minecraft-we-did-it#publicize

Other reflections:

http://teachingyoume.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/educampminecraft-its-just-game.html

http://svanschaijik.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/the-tool-for-job.html

http://mindcraftlearning.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/educamp-minecraft.html

Gallery:

Visitors from Bruce McLaren Intermediate in Auckland and Te Kowhai School in Hamilton.

Mokoia experts sharing their Hoot city collaboration.

Sandbox time.

Akonga at work.

A Mokoia student talking through the PC version with the ipad experts from Richmond school in Napier.

The teacher questioning the teen experts.

Working with Mr Katene.

Steve brought this pod of ipads with him.