"I'm sad that my son is so busy with homework and other stuff lately that he hasn't had time to even play Minecraft! I think it's a better use of his time than homework." That's a comment from a mom and educator in San Jose, Calif., posted under an article by educator Kevin Jarrett in Edutopia last fall: "Too much is never enough: managing a child's time playing Minecraft." Because he ran an … [Read more...] about Digital summer camp Part 2: Of managing a child’s Minecraft time
gaming
For digital summer camp, kid-source a game (or play this one!)
One year ago this month, its 3rd-through-6th grader designers launched the fifth and final iteration of Escape to Morrow, an open source digital game they designed in Minecraft for Minecraft players. The five iterations – including writing and rewriting backstories, creating maps, finding mods (Minecraft modifications out on the Web) and producing the trailer – took a year of work in summer camp, … [Read more...] about For digital summer camp, kid-source a game (or play this one!)
The videogame discourse: Default to open-mindedness!
My heart sinks when I see uncritical thinking in commentaries from Internet safety advocates about the media young people love – thinking that defaults (and contributes to a society-level default) to fear that new media's harmful and young users are either potential victims or up to no good. Take videogames, for example. We know that… "Videogame play is pervasive throughout our society," as … [Read more...] about The videogame discourse: Default to open-mindedness!
Students called heroes in this 6th-grade class
If your child is seriously into videogames – and Pew Internet research has found that 97% of US 12-to-17-year-olds are – it may help to read about New York teacher Peggy Sheehy's heroes, also known as students. The middle school humanities teacher calls them heroes because she co-created the WoW in School curriculum "A Hero's Journey" (WoW is short for the multiplayer online game World of … [Read more...] about Students called heroes in this 6th-grade class
Social media reality check from Canadian youth: Key study
Before releasing its report on online conflict, MediaSmarts presented a much broader picture of young Canadians' experiences in social media: "Life Online." This is important context for any discussion about cyberbullying and other negative aspects of digitally informed life, whether we're setting policy at the household, school or national levels. "There are a lot of assumptions out there … [Read more...] about Social media reality check from Canadian youth: Key study