Skip to main content

 Mineclass


In this unit, we learned about argument and went to visit several different Chicago aldermen. We talked about policy, elections, and making strong arguments. In this paper, I am proposing a class about city planning and history using the sandbox game, Minecraft.


Oftentimes, we stick with conventional forms of learning. We sit down in class, listen to a teacher and take notes, but we don’t often use the information we receive in a hands on way. Students often feel disconnected from what is actually being taught in school. Minecraft would allow students to apply their learning and build their own examples so that they can interact more with the material being taught. 


It is important for engaged members of society to learn about urban planning and political systems. The way Minecraft is designed allows for an in depth experience with trial and error surrounding a functional town with a class playing in the same virtual space. Teaching with Minecraft opens eyes to a different way of learning. The reason we go to school every day is to learn and to prepare to become competent members of society. In Minecraft multiplayer servers, players often find themselves forming alliances and naturally forming governments. Many servers that I'm in create automated systems and support for those who don't have the same resources as those who have played for a long time. Players have to plan in a very organic way. This can replicate how societies are formed.


As a student, I have the desire and the need to learn about the real world. After all, that is what we are supposed to be prepared for. Minecraft may not be real, but the socialization and systems involved are. Minecraft is an environment where one has to try to figure things out and how to make new productive systems. Oftentimes, there are servers filled with people who form groups and trade with others. Currencies tend to form naturally after a bit and this creates an organized social system.


How can we form an online environment with an organized system using Minecraft to learn? A short lesson about urban planning and policy would be taught at the beginning of class. Students will be expected to use that information to shape what they are doing in the class. They would write a paragraph at the end of class on how they used the lesson to change what they were doing and how the world reflects it. Students would decide where they want the world to be and will have to take in account safety, resources, and convenience.


Goals for Each Week

Week 1: Everyone having a shelter to stay in - students experience the importance of housing and having a place safe from environment

Week 2: Agriculture system - students learn about food resources and importance of accessible resources

Week 3: A trading system - students create basic economies

Week 4: Jobs - students learn about labor and its value

Week 5: Currency is formed  - students practice saving and sharing

Week 6: Elections and government officials - students create a government


Learning environments generally cater to a less interactive style of learning, but experiencing these subjects using Minecraft would allow for learning with a different set of applicable real world skills. Minecraft worlds could utilize city planning jobs that we learned about in this unit in a way that imitates city planning without the real life consequences. This would allow for trial and error without fear. 


In the late 19th Century, there was an industrial revolution. There became all sorts of automated systems and urban areas became much more structured. If used correctly, Minecraft can follow this too. There was a large shift from people mostly being farmers to working in other jobs. In minecraft, at the beginning almost everyone needs a farm to have a steady supply of food. As the world becomes more developed, people need to farm less and less. Eventually there are automated systems that do it for you.


The goals for the end of class

Form a lay out for a city/town in Minecraft


Set up a political system, taking in to account those who don't have the resources others may have


Form automated systems that provide food and supplies. 


Students have an understanding of the material being taught


Resources that would be used:

Minecraft and city planning

https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2017/apr/05/public-appetite-for-new-tech-is-shaking-up-governments


Minecraft to teach programming

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.381.4045&rep=rep1&type=pdf


Minecraft used to develop public spaces

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/03/minecraft-designed-public-space-more-than-25-developing-countries-un-habitat-block-by-block/


City building in Minecraft

https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Tutorials/Building_a_metropolis


Urban planning in chicago

https://chicago.curbed.com/chicago-urban-planning


Les Pollock urban planner lpollock@camiros.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making a Space

Making a Space For this AP we focused on making our space usable for school and a place we would want to learn in. We discussed what defines a classroom. We took a field experience to Millenium Park to investigate what defines a classroom. As a school, we asked what it means to be a successful student and teacher at GCE. We discussed what we expect from ourselves and our teachers. The student body brainstormed the traits of a successful student and came up with a social contract for both the students and the teachers.   Social contract for students: We will work in a timely fashion. We will be curious. We will pay attention to the work, fellow students, and teachers. We will be encouraging. We will participate. We won't distract.   Social contract for teachers: We will accept feedback. We will be accommodating and flexible. We will be patient. We will have one on one time. We will be excited to teach! We will be understanding.   Both the student body and the teachers agre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Making a Future

 In this unit we learned about interest. For me looking into the future always felt unrealistic but this AP crunched it down to the numbers. This made it a lot easier for me to understand and to feel more comfortable with what I want and don't want. We talked to a bank and learned a lot about personal finance. We learned about what is realistic and different life goals. I am very grateful for this AP making me feel confident about my future. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Economical space travel: Billionaires in space

In this term we looked at space and space exploration. We started by looking back at the antient astronomers that paved the way for what we know today. We learned about Aristotle, Pytholmy, Copernicus, Isaac Newton, and Kepler. We discussed how the ideas around our universe changed and how religion shaped science. We also learned about Kepler's laws and the math of ellipses. For our action project we looked forward. We asked ourselves what challenges are facing the future of space exploration. We read articles from NASA and frontiers to get an understanding of the grand challenges and each of us picked one. I picked economical space travel. The economy of space has always been very interesting to me so this was a wonderful opportunity to learn more. I learned about how capitalism impacts space travel and those who are trying to make space travel accessible for those who can afford it.  Citations:  Image from: Wattles, Jackie. “Jeff Bezos Is Going to Space for 11 Minutes. Here'...
Post a Comment
Read more