"Digital Schools : How Technology Can Transform Education" by Darrell M. West: Speed Read

"Digital Schools : How Technology Can Transform Education" by Darrell M. West I called these posts "speed reads" because I really zipped through the book, skimming and scanning and synthesizing my own understandings into the statements below. I trust that readers will use the comment block below to correct me if I have erred in [...]

Posted by milesmac on March 21st, 2013 | No Comments Posted in Speed Reads

EdCamps: Best. Professional. Development. Ever.

EdCampMSP I made the 8 hour drive from Winnipeg to be part of this amazing event. Since the last camp this past June, many of us maintained contact on Twitter, so returning felt like coming home to dear friends. EdCamps differ from traditional professional development in that the agenda and the content is set by [...]

Posted by milesmac on November 12th, 2012 | 1 Comment Posted in Pedagogy

Minecraft 03: Another Step Forward

We have our laptops ready to run Minecraft offline now - had to do some java updates on a few, but 16 of the 20 laptops are now able to run in single player mode. We put the Minecraft app on a few memory sticks and added the app to each computer's desktop. Once the [...]

Posted by milesmac on December 20th, 2011 | No Comments Posted in Gamification

Minecraft: 01 Initial Thoughts

I feel a little like I'm looking and leaping at the same time. Minecraft has been popping up in my reading, my young nephew  is an active player, YouTube videos of Minecraft scenes appear in my searches, and I've seen the reddit images of blocky halloween costumes.. Two days ago I purchased a copy and my eight-year-old [...]

Posted by milesmac on December 14th, 2011 | 3 Comments Posted in Gamification

Minecraft: 02 Organized Chaos

What a wild day. First I want to share how awesome this chaotic day was - student engagement from beginning to end by every single student. Every one of them! It started like this: We need to make this space work for our classroom network. We need to get the classroom network working. We need [...]

Posted by milesmac on December 14th, 2011 | 3 Comments Posted in Gamification