What is it about Minecraft that is so captivating, engaging, and just plain fun? I’ve been playing and teaching Minecraft for over 10 years now, running Minecraft Clubs in my schools, coding Minecraft, working with content creators, serving as a MInecraft Global Mentor, and doing LetsPlay’s and tutorials on my YouTube channel. And I’m constantly […]
The Magic of Minecraft Read More »
OK, so…. taking a leap into the unknown here — starting a podcast in the next little while, and I’m super excited. It’s taking a while to germinate and get set up, but that’s ok. It’s not as if the world is waiting with baited breath and demanding the next episode! Backstory is this –
A funny thing happened with my last blog post. I shared some of my initial thoughts about the use of ChatGPT and what it might mean for education. And my lonely little corner of the internet blew up! Visits to my blog increased by about 1000%! I guess I unintentionally hit a hot topic. I
ChatGPT — Round Two Read More »
I know that teachers have heard all too often that technology is changing everything, and that they need to adjust to these changes. But this one is for real. The introduction of ChatGPT in the last few weeks has created a seismic shift in education. And if teachers, administrators, “thought leaders” don’t know that, well,
ChatGPT — Look out! Read More »
Forgive me for telling a personal story here. I know I should be posting thoughts with universal applicability, and this story actually has that. But you’ll have to read to the end to get that! I’m going to try something new in the next few weeks — I’m trying a LetsPlay Minecraft series on my
LetsPlay Minecraft… Incoming! Read More »
Like teachers all over the globe back in March 2020, I had to shift to emergency remote learning in a week. Unlike most teachers, my middle school computer science curriculum wasn’t based on a textbook with units, chapters, lessons, exercises, etc. So while many of my colleagues had to basically replicate their classroom workflow in
What I Learned When I Moved My Entire Curriculum to iPads in a Week Read More »
Am I in a very small minority on this one? I think so! But this isn’t click-bait. I really do love online teaching. Here’s why. I freely admit that “in-person” learning is probably the best for most people in most situations. So let’s get that out of the way right off. I’m not advocating for
Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Online Learning Read More »
It’s really not that complicated. We all learn best by doing. Here’s an example from my life. I was doing poorly in 10th grade English. I was a terrible student. I had no interest in school or what I was studying, I had not developed any study habits at all, and I wasn’t even interested
Why Project-based Learning Works — A Personal Story Read More »
You might want to read part 1 first. But I promised that I’d show you how I avoid complete chaos with this approach. And here’s how I do it. Once they submit their GDD (Game Design Document), I check it for any gotchas: too ambitious for the time and the platform, not enough details, too
Just in time learning, part 2 Read More »
I’m a big believer in using “teachable moments”. Those are the times when the concept/material aligns with the learner’s Need to Know. And the more of those teachable moments there are, the stickier the learning is. So the question is…. how do we provide as many of those teachable moments as possible in our curriculum?
Just-in-time learning, Part 1 Read More »
I have found very few lazy students in my teaching career. What I have found are disengaged students, who find no connection between their lives and the material they have to learn.That’s why I always strive for two things in my approach: immediately engaging material (say Minecraft, for instance), and a project chosen by the
Lazy students? Here’s my take Read More »
I’m so excited to be on this new adventure as CrouchingPython! Taking my “hard fun” approach from the physical classroom to the virtual space is the new challenge. I’m starting with a short 4 week course on building your own Minecraft minigame with command blocks. This is a particular favorite of mine(and students!), which I
Building out a Minecraft minigames course Read More »
It’s now officially the night before the first day of school. For me! Again. Only a year ago, I retired from full time classroom teaching. I spent the year busy as always, putting lots of effort into whatever might be next for me. A new business venture, possibilities of tutoring, remote teaching, consulting, curriculum design,
Back in the saddle again! Read More »
This was a first for me — a complete week of doing Minecraft all day, every day. How did I get so lucky? I taught a week of Minecraft in Computer Science at a CSTA PD event for the state of South Carolina, put on by the awesome folks at the STEM Center at the
A week of Minecraft mania Read More »
Or … This Is the Year I Finally Get Organized And if your sarcasm detectors are working, yes, that’s sarcastic. I’m not an organized person by nature, as anyone who has worked or lived with me will attest! Coupled with that is my eternal desire to tinker and try out new and different ways to
Digital Minimalism Read More »
Got some big changes in store for y’all! I’m going to be diversifying my content on my YouTube channel, as well as here. If you’ve followed my YT adventures, you know that I’ve mainly offered coding tutorials for my middle school students in Scratch, Python, and Minecraft command blocks. Those will stay and be upgraded
