"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.

#educamptt How to Spend a Saturday Learning - Here, There, Anywhere!

While I didn't drive up to Educamp Tai Tokerau, I WAS there!

It was a fantastic experience sharing and contributing to the smackdown, and facilitating two workshops with the amazing Monika Kern (@BeLchick).

Spur of the moment stuff: I sat amongst the washing at home (well, almost) and talked about Coding and Minecraft with groups of teachers. Had a momentary panic about not having prepared resources but in the end, went with the flow. Being a talking head was enough.

What an amazing experience! No special outfit, no travelling for hours to Northland from here, no accommodation costs. And I managed to do some chores in between.(Well, the bed got made.)

But here I still am...storifying and blogging.  Sometimes you just have days like that!

We're Going on a Road Trip - and Another Saturday of Learning

I love learning and I love meeting face to face with those educators who are now my friends.

Marnel Van der Spuy (@1MvdS), Alex Le Long (ariaporo22) and myself (@mrs_hyde) rose very early and faced the Saturday morning darkness, fog and traffic to head north to Educamp Auckland.  This year it was hosted by Western Heights Primary in Henderson.

What a full room greeted us! All the usual shrieks and hugs of course, as tweeps from Nelson (@allanahk), Hamilton (@barbs1, @teachernz, @annagerrit), Napier (@Juliet_Revell, @maloneynz) and my lovely Auckland friends - @CaroBush, @digitallearnin, @helenoftroy, @MeganCroll1) I've left out so many but you know who you are!) - got together.  We've met on Twitter, and as we share similar ideas and passions about learning, we get on incredibly well!

Finally set eyes on @ReidHns1, @missesartech - lots of new friends to make too.

The smackdown is always a great sharing of ideas, and @FionaGrant was very efficient with the buzzer.  I shared a number of slides too:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ykIWA6yayFzeT6JkEuIqJWhTk8rRq2fvHbCl8HyP4nk/edit#slide=id.g34d141707_044

Next off to the breakouts.  These are planned from post -it notes. participants choose what they would like to know more about and a timetable is created. 

First stop: Coding. The group decided to create a coding club for teachers in which to share progress on code.org as we upskill ourselves. This was chosen as a great site to start for teachers from all sectors. This Google+ community will also allow us to share other learnings, musings and resources about coding. Thanks to Lesley (@Lasampsonater)and Tanya (@tanya) for getting us going!

Next: Minecraft. Thanks to Mark McLay for allowing us to play on his networked app on the ipads. Had a lot of fun with the other participants! I'm going to get back to him about how he has set up Minecraft at his school.

The last breakout was with Fiona and Amy (@AmyMMcCauley) to discuss applying for the Google teacher academy. The deadline was on Thursday ...maybe next year?

A final giggle at the airport as we saw the Napier tweeps off, and it was back on the road, where ideas and pedagogy are well thrashed by the time we reach Rotorua later in the evening!