#iCONNECT Tech Tips
Friday, May 1, 2015 #EHSRedDevils
Gaming in the Classroom
MineCraft in the Classroom
Most simulation games -- where players role-play life in a pretend world -- aren't so much “Choose Your Own Adventure” as “See If You Survive Ours.” In most games, players are a passenger in a hero's journey, solving riddles, advancing through levels and unlocking prizes.
That's not Minecraft. In Minecraft, they create the world. Nothing happens without their decision -- not surroundings, characters, buildings rising or holes being dug.
There isn't a right or wrong answer. There's merely what you decide and where those decisions land you. Players have one goal: To survive and prevail. They solve problems or cease to exist.
If the teacher wants to use games to learn history, using Minecraft in the classroomwon't throw students into a fully fleshed simulation of the American Revolution. It will start with a plot of land and students will write the story, cast the characters, create the entire 1776 world.
Read more about using MineCraft to support the curriculum here: http://www.teachhub.com/minecraft-classroom-teaches-reading-writing-problem-solving
MineCraft Addresses Reading Standards
MineCraft Addresses Math Standards
Wii in the Classroom
Wii Sports offers many opportunities for a more engaging Math lesson. Most of these connections are between Math and the actual sport itself, but it is easier to bring out a Wii than it is to take a class to a golf course, or bowling alley.
http://www.funlessonplans.net/nintendo-wii-resources.html