Learning2gether Episode 281

Download mp3 https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/2015july6vance_tarragona-64k.mp3?

On Monday 6 July there was a Learning2gether session with Vance Stevens giving a presentation at the XVII CALL Research Conference about Minecraft as a model for gamification in teacher professional development

My talk at the conference was entitled Minecraft as a model for gamification in teacher training

There is a short paper about what I will talk about here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12VSxikJLFiMlXGYZpnl-v6vRuzfkt8YK8AevWwAREJI/edit?usp=sharing

And the slides:
http://www.slideshare.net/vances/minecraft-as-a-model-for-gamification-in-teacher-training

In a nutshell, the presentation is about the gamification of professional development, how learning the game of Minecraft (ultimately while trying to stay alive in Minecraft) can inform educators on how professional development can be structured in a more meaningful sense than that which many of us often encounter.

The problem is that the experience is ineffable, which makes it difficult to explain to others who might be amenable to such an approach or who might be appealed to to provide resources to support it. Such drawbacks are overcome in EVO sessions where the small number of participants who choose to join us are predisposed to this kind of learning. However, if I were to suggest to my colleagues at work that we hold future meetings, or even  just one meeting, in Minecraft … well the suggestion of meeting in any kind of virtual space goes against the grain of those who like to hear themselves talk in meetings (on the other hand, we used to have great success with departmental retreats at the U of Hawaii, which all were required to attend, leading to similar outcomes but in a more tangible environment).

So I’d like to see if I can pin down some of the affordances or components of such an approach with a mind to making recommendations on how they might be replicated in other contexts

My talk was scheduled in the conference preliminary program for Monday 6 July 17:15 to 17:45 in Tarragona
http://wwwa.fundacio.urv.cat/congressos/public/usr_docs/preliminary_programme_call_2015-1-1.pdf

I webcast it via Bb Collaborate / Elluminate, since that is the least problematic way to webcast from a podium. The Blackboard Collaborate (Elluminate) room is at
http://webheads.learningtimesevents.org/

Thanks to an ongoing grant from http://www.learningtimes.com/

Bb Collaborate Recording

https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/nativeplayback.jnlp?sid=75&psid=2015-07-06.0852.M.7AE801FFB697DA460D4BF25AA8C21B.vcr

Announcements

• http://taedtech.ning.com/events/learning2gether-with-vance-stevens-about-minecraft-as-a-model-for
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/evonline2002_webheads/conversations/messages/31807
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/learningwithcomputers/conversations/messages/7045
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/multilit/conversations/messages/2083
• As well as numerous FB groups and Google+ communities