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 »
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
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 know all the arguments about “preparing for the future” (which is now, by the way), getting tech jobs, the value of computational thinking, digital literacy et al. And they’re all relevant and true. But here’s my take, as a former English teacher. I’ll explain why that’s relevant. No one ever questions that all students
Why every kid needs to learn coding Read More »
I can teach any of these things. What would you like to take a course in?Kodu game designMicroBitsCommand blocks introCommand blocks intermediateAgent coding in M:EEScratch game designVirtual roboticsIntro HTMLTurtle LogoRaspberry Pi and Python codingPython game design with PygameBeginner Lua Coding RobloxRetro game design with ArcadeSonic PiProcessingUNO beginner
What course would you like me to teach you? Read More »
Such a powerful command! The closest you can get to if/then in Minecraft commands. And you can do so much with it. As always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! Help the channel!
Using the Execute command in Minecraft Read More »
