Borrowing an idea from the Digital Harbor Foundation, my juniors and seniors took a template and designed their own unique part of the quilt.  We then used loose-leaf rings to combine them. 

This was actually a fairly simple process.  Getting my MakerBot minis to behave was (is always) the most difficult part.  We used www.Tinkercad.com to create them, and it's really intuitive and easy to learn.

If anyone would like a few pointers about how to get started with this, don't hesitate to reach out via justin.d.eames@gmail.com

I can't wait to bring this project to my middle school students and keep the quilt growing!

When I think of about the term “Game Jam,” I don’t often think about industry giants like Ubisoft, Rovio, Sony, and Disney.  This weekend in the gorgeous offices of Learning Objects, those very same developers along with a host of educational developers and small teams came together to spend 48 straight hours, each creating an educational game.  What’s even better is that they also invited several teachers to act as mentors and guides, which is why I’m writing this blog post now.

I’ve pointed out before that the idea of leveraging games for classroom use is gaining traction, and these kinds of events go a long way to backing that claim.  The question is quickly changing from whether we should use games in the classroom to how we should use them.  During the introductory remarks, it was pointed out that studies show significant cognitive gains in students who play video games in school.  92% of young elementary school students could solve algebraic equations after spending an hour with the amazing game Dragon Box.

After a quick morning meeting, teams were sent to “jam.”  They were given suggestions in each content area and asked to keep standards in mind.  About a day after they begin to brainstorm ideas for their game, teams welcome students into the office to playtest.  A mere 24 hours later, each team is expected to have a working, playable prototype to unveil at the White House.  They will create a two-minute video about their game and have another minute to speak about their product.

It’s early yet, but the atmosphere here is electric.  Perhaps most gratifying for me personally is seeing how eager the developers are to receive guidance from the educators.  More than once, teams have pitched their idea to me, asked for suggestions, and modified their trajectory based on my input.  There is a real positivity in the room, and I think it stems from the fact that gaming as a source of entertainment, as a form of art, and now as a teaching tool is finally being taken seriously.  Most of us are here because games have had a positive impact in our lives and we recognize that we learned and grew from playing them.

For a long time, I would have been slightly embarrassed to admit I was a gamer.  Many of us, even those of us who should know better, still have that skewed mental image of a gamer.  You know the one.  The image is almost always male, adolescent, and adverse to sunlight.  Often, a basement is involved.  That stigma is gradually falling away, as young gamers become adult gamers and refuse to ditch their beloved past-time because they’ve reached a certain age.

To deliver to students the kind of rich, engaging experience that we know is possible in gaming provides the ultimate validation.  We’re still many hours and lots of energy drinks away from the end, but I can’t wait to see what comes from this jam.

Minecraft continues to grow as an essential part of my academic curriculum, as well as, after school clubs.  I continue to be amazed by how deeply the game engages young people.  I use the word "game" hesitantly, though, as it doesn't quite seem to capture the possibilities presented by Minecraft.  There really are some amazing opportunities for learning, collaboration, and creativity inside the game.  Recently, I've joined an online community of educators using Minecraft (mostly the MinecraftEDU mod), and I've seen the possibilities.  Check us out.

By far, the most impressive resource I've found is a map made by a teacher named Eric Walker.  He uses the map to teach the humanities.  The scope of the map is breathtaking.  He has recreated structures from the ancient world, fantastic fictional locales, and placed them all inside the game world.  See just a few of the sites below:

If you don't find those impressive, then you should probably just skip the rest of this post.  In case you'd like to download and use the map, you can find it here:

In several pictures you can see little columns with a blue, lower-case 'i.'  Those are information blocks that give the students information about the structures or direct them to complete various assignments.  What a wonderful way to learn about humanities.

In my last post, I spoke about my students playing more traditional games.  Specifically, they've been playing Warcraft III, an intense strategy game with beautiful graphics and sound.  I guess I wasn't really surprised when they asked to play Minecraft instead.  Well, they're getting their wish.  My plan is to begin to create an epic Minecraft map that might someday rival Mr. Walker's map.  So, I'm putting my high school students to work.  We've recently invited about ten sixth-graders into the game club.  We had to because if I hadn't given these middle school students a chance to play Minecraft, there would have been a revolt!

So, we're going to be working together--some of the oldest students at SEED and the youngest.  We are just getting started, but we're going to be tracking our progress with a wiki.

Currently, we're working to decide which seed to use.  Seeds are like world templates.  As we begin to add to the seed we choose, we will keep updating the wiki so feel free to stop by and see how we're doing!

This is just a silly little video I made expressing some basic thoughts on the direction of education in today's world.  I used a great tool called GoAnimate.  This animation creator is great for teachers to deliver content and even better for students making their own.

Yesterday was a great day for our club.  It was 4:10, and I looked around.  My small computer lab was simply buzzing.  When I started the club earlier this year, I attracted a small (but extremely dedicated) group of students.  They are, for all intent and purposes, the school geeks.  They hang out together, play video games, buck the trends of popular music and T.V., and they were ecstatic to get into the computer lab after school.

We began the year with Lego Robotics, as I've demonstrated in a previous post.  They took to this right away, quickly shirking the directions and coming up with their own amazing creations.

Before too long, we had switched to the Lego Mindstorm kit, and we were doing some really cool stuff.

But then, I made the wonderful mistake of introducing the guys to Minecraft.  And from that point forward, it's been very hard to pull them away.  They arrive in the lab and are working until I basically cut the power to their computers.  Currently, they are helping me with my "Epic Minecraft Map" project.  They are learning the ins and outs of building large and impressive structures inside the game world.  I sometimes have a hard time getting them to update our wiki, but you can follow along here.

But while they have been occupied with Minecraft, a wonderful thing has happened.  Other students have started coming by.  Indeed, the sixth grade boys who don't normally have clubs right after school (study hall instead) began to beg to come and join the club.  After some negotiations with the administration, that became a reality.  My only problem with these guys is all of their friends come by and want to join, as well.  I simply can't accommodate so many students in a 17-computer lab.

Then, when I wasn't looking, a few girls began to poke their heads in the lab during club time.  At first, they weren't willing to sit down and get to work on something.  I mean, girls don't join computer/technology clubs, do they?  After a couple of days, though, one of them had the guts to pick up some Lego robotics.  Then, a couple more joined in.  Now, they're happily working away, chatting about the possibility of an all-girls robotics team.

So, it's 4:10 yesterday, and I have 7 10th grade boys toiling away on our Epic Minecraft Map.  There are 10 6th grade boys eagerly helping each other with a Minecraft survival map.  And, to top it all off, there are three girls sitting at the center table working on robotics.

And I realize that at some point, this turned into a real club.  In the coming weeks, the girls are very excited to crack open the Vex robotics kit that the boys have all but forgotten.  That's fine with me.  After all, this isn't "school," and I'm not here to tell you what you should be interested in.  I'm just providing a fun and safe place to explore your interests.

I think as technology teacher, it's important to step back from time-to-time, and kick it old school.  People often assume that, since EdTech is so important to me, I believe it to be the best and only way to teach this generation of youngsters.  Of course, that is not true.  Technology provides wonderful tools that can enhance instruction in meaningful ways.  It's also essential that we prepare our students for a life that will most definitely be filled with technological innovations.

That being said, there are plenty of lessons to be learned for which technology is not necessary.  I had a wonderful opportunity to accompany some SEED 9th graders on a 5-day sea kayaking expedition with Outward Bound.  For those of you unfamiliar with Outward Bound, it is a wonderful organization that seeks to expose students to outdoor adventures in order to teach them important life lessons.  We had the honor of being the very first sea kayaking expedition to run out of the Baltimore office of OB.

Check out some pictures:

So, let's get the bad news out of the way.  We weren't able to complete the full five-day expedition.  The winds were relentless, to the point that the Coast Guard issued a small craft advisory.  That basically meant it was unsafe to travel by small craft.  Also, it was flipping cold.  Seriously, the second night, the temperature dipped to 29 .  Did I mention we were staying in tents?  29 might not sound that cold, but trust me, it was brutal.  I was wearing seven layers of thermal clothing, and I was snug inside a thermal sleeping bag.  Still, I was freezing.

So, that's the bad news.  But, the good news is that our students had an amazing time.  The adversity they faced only served to make them grittier and determined.

Let me give you an example.  One of the first things we had to do was a "wet exit" test.  Basically, the instructors need to know that if the kayak tips over, you can escape and not get trapped.  So, how do we test that?  Well, you swim out into the Chesapeake Bay, get into your kayak (no easy task), and the instructor flips you upside down in the water to make sure you can escape.  Also, the water is 44 degrees.  If you didn't shiver just now, then you don't comprehend what being dunked into water of that temperature would feel like.  Not one of my students hesitated or made a fuss over this.  Believe me, it wasn't easy.

Although our trip was cut short, it was a tremendous experience for our students.  I know they grew in ways that are hard to measure.  It just goes to show that not all learning can (or should) take place in a classroom.  As an ardent supporter of technology in the classroom, sometimes the best possible thing is to leave it all behind and head into nature.  Just ask these guys!

I think my initial thought when I toured the Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore was "I'm doing it wrong."  I instantly felt a pang of jealousy that enterprising people were coming to work every day in such a fun, laid-back environment.  I've always been a stickler for classroom design.  I simply don't understand how a teacher could come to work each day and not completely redesign their spaces (starting with those straight-from-the-devil flourescent lights).  My classroom is full of warm lighting, fun posters, and even the starship Enterprise dangling from the ceiling.  The ETC, though, seemed like such a fun place to work; it reminded me of all those stories I've heard about working at Google.  Around any corner, I expected to find the beer fridge and ping-pong table.

Well, I was similarly pleased this weekend when I attended a class at Betamore.  The space itself is just beautiful, with lots of great design choices.  I was struck immediately by the beautiful view that I would get all day.

The class I was attending was Typography 101, which for those of you who don't know, means I signed up for seven hours of fonts (although I quickly learned that we mostly use that word incorrectly).  This is subject matter I suspect either sounds really interesting or really mundane, depending upon the individual surveyed.  Going in, I only know that there is a a lot to know about fonts, which really just meant I was aware of a large gap in my own knowledge.  Given that the importance of design continues to increase, I knew I needed to learn some more so I could pass that knowledge along to my students.

I'm pleased to report that I had a great time.  While I'm not ready to hurl insults at anyone using Comic Sans (seriously check out the internet on this), I think the primer I got was enough to ensure I will be thoughtful in my typeface and layout choices in the future.

I was very happy to have attended the class, and at $60 for all day, I'd call it a bargain.  The instructor, Mr. Andy Mangold, did a great job and presented complicated concepts in a very understandable way.  Needless to say, I'm sure I'll be back at Betamore for more classes.  Now, if I could just dream up that million dollar startup idea, I could spend all my time there!

Check out their schedule here.

Greek mythology tells us about Sisyphus who was doomed to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down just before it reaches the summit.  It also speaks of Tantalus who, parched with thirst, is unable to drink from the stream in which he is eternally standing.  Well, for me, these terrible fates rank just above the idea of taking an entire class called simply "typing."  Nonetheless, I was tasked this year with teaching just such a class this year.

Seriously, for 70 minutes a day, my students are supposed to practice their keyboarding skills.  Well, that wasn't going to work for me.

A common (and valid) complaint among the teaching staff here at SEED is that students lack some basic computer skills.  For most teachers, this means that students don't understand the basics of word processing.  It's a terrible cliche that anyone under the age of 18 has an inherent and impressive knowledge of computers.  My students could use their phone to friend on you on Facebook in 11 seconds flat, but ask them to center and underline some text in a document, and you'll be met with a blank stare.

So my solution is to teach the basics of word processing using game based learning.  If you've been following along with my blog posts, you probably know what I'm going to say next.  Yep, we're heading to Minecraft.

So, here's what I've done.

1. Found a beautiful MC seed (blank map)
   
   

Then, I record some tutorial videos that demonstrate to students how to survive in the MC world.  As they do, they create a "survival guide" that catalogs their adventures and shares the information they learn.  Here's the template I've been using to demonstrate.

Also, here's one of my tutorial videos:

And one more:

So far, so good.  Students are really into it.  And I've got a great reason to incorporate MC in class.  As we move forward, I will updating this site with information.  Thanks for tuning in!

If you're like me, when you think of "educational gaming," you think of the much beloved, sometimes reviled classic Oregon Trail.  Every week in elementary school, we would trudge the computer lab, where our computer teacher would give us 5 1/4" floppy disks.  What career do you want to choose? Well, banker, of course.  Then, we were off.  Uh oh, Nicole has dysentery.  To this day, I still don't know what typhoid actually is, but I know that it's terrible and to be avoided at all costs.

Well, we certainly have some a long way in terms of gaming.  Pac-Man has given way to Call of Duty, Halo, and John Madden Football.  These games cost dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars to produce.  On it's release day a few weeks ago, Call of Duty: Black Ops II made over 300 million dollars.  With the next generation of games on the horizon, the line between cinema and gaming graphics blurs even further.  These games often have symphonic scores.

One thing hasn't changed, though.  Educational games are lame.  Seriously, they're no fun.

So, do we even need them?  I'm starting to think no.  There's plenty to be learned from "real" games.  The students in my gaming club have been having playing Warcraft III, an older game that stresses tactics and strategy.  While my students work in teams to battle one another, they are forced to juggle several factors.  They have to manage inventory, make value-based decisions about how to spend their resources, communicate with their teammate(s) about how and when to launch attacks. The whole time they're making these decisions, they keep a mental image of the massive map in their heads.  It gets very complicated very quickly.

I'll give another example.  Remember history class?  I do.  I remember it involved a lot of reading from a textbook.  Don't get me wrong,  I think that learning from written text is an extremely important skill.  However, we can certainly supplement the old-school with the new.  

Let me be very clear, you can explore every nook and cranny of Rome.  You climb all the walls, explore the Colosseum, and splash in the fountains.  It's a truly incredible experience.

Of course, this particular game is also full of simulated violence.  The point, though, is that the technology exists for us to create truly immersive experiences for our students.  Take out the "assassin" part of "Assassin's Creed," and you have one of the most powerful educational tools I can think of.

I have to confess that I was never a big Lego kid.  I don't know if I just didn't have the patience or my parents just never thought to get those for holidays, birthdays, etc., but I never gave them much thought.  I'm starting to wish I had, though, because the possibilities are endless!  Through the generosity of several people on Donorschoose.org, I was able to procure six Lego Education sets.  These collections are great.

They come with hundreds of specialized lego pieces, as well as, a motor which adds movement to the mix.  I dove in right away during a planning period and created a windmill.

It's a little difficult to see from my camera phone, but the weight in the back lowers, which powers several gears to spin the windmill blades. Needless to say, I was hooked.

My plan has been to introduce students to robotics by using these kits.  I was originally worried that students would find them to be too "young," but that hasn't been the case.  There has been a lot of interest in the projects.  By far, the most popular has been this crane.

My students also just completed this amazing pendulum clock:

These projects have been a wonderful start to our robotics club.  Currently, students are creating these simple machines using instructions provided in the kits (think IKEA meets Lego).  The next step is to have students design their own machines using the sets.  From there, it's a short jump up to using Lego NXT Mindstorms (, which requires computer programming.  Once they are comfortable with that relatively simple system, we'll take the real plunge and crack open our brand new Vex set.

I can't wait to show off what we make next.

FYI: A student looking over my shoulder has just informed me that you never add an "s" to the end of the word "Lego."  Apparently, I'm going to have to do a push-up every time I say the word "Legos."