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"design thinking"

Redesign That: SketchUp in Schools

by Miguel Guhlin January 9, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

“We’re going to redesign our Spot’s dog house this holiday break!”
“What do you have so far?” I asked. My colleague held out a legal pad, crude drawings marring the perfect yellow pages. If you’re going to be re-arranging a dog house or your living room to fit a Christmas tree, take a look at SketchUp Make and SketchUp Pro, available for free to K-12 public schools.

Get SketchUp

With a Google account, you can do the interior design work using the newly-released My.SketchUp.com. And if you want the full power of SketchUp Pro (a $695 value), fill out a short form through TCEA. Private schools can obtain SketchUp Pro EDU licenses for as low as $15 per seat per year.

Use SketchUp on Chromebooks, Windows, and Mac

Available for Mac and Windows computers, SketchUp Pro now comes as a web version usable on Chromebooks. What’s more, SketchUp Mobile Viewer ($13.99) allows SketchUp models to be viewed on the iPad.

As my colleague put it, “Google SketchUp is 3D modeling software that lets you create anything you can imagine. It’s powerful enough to build complex projects, yet is easy to learn and use.” Their work appears in SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse, which houses millions of models. Simple enough to use that grade 3 through adult learners rely on SketchUp for a variety of tasks. SketchUp can be integrated into different classes.

Make Creative TEKS Connections

Classes such as, art, science, history, geography, and math are just some of the perfect venues for learning with this free software. Some ideas of how you might want to use it in your classroom are available at TCEA’s SketchUp Resources. Curriculum projects can align to the Technology Applications:TEKS in Grade 6, such as defined below:

Creativity and Innovation: The student uses creative thinking and innovative processes to construct knowledge, generate new ideas, and create products. The student is expected to…
(C) explore complex systems or issues using models, simulations, and new technologies to make predictions, modify input, and review results

You can find teacher guides that provide specific models.

Explore More Features

For children with autism, Project Spectrum shares powerful examples of student creativity made possible. SketchUp Pro can also be used for 3D modeling and printing. Students can create designs in SketchUp, then save them as OBJ files. These can then be opened in your 3D printer’s software (e.g. Makerbot) and printed. Talk about authentic learning!

SketchUp Pro also supports design templates for 3D printing, making it a simple matter to create to scale. You can also export designs in 3D Warehouse to STL file format for 3D printing. Doing so helps clean up your design before beginning to print. Another neat feature involves interacting with holograms. Visualize design data and collaborate with others using SketchUp Pro with Microsoft Hololens.

Conclusion

SketchUp makes creating models for sharing, and printing. Prepare your children for the future and introduce them to it today!

Special thanks to Taylor and Brian Wright for sharing their use of SketchUp to create real structures via their blog.

January 9, 2017 0 comments

Whee – 3D Design Software for Free!

by Carrie McFarland October 4, 2016

written by Carrie McFarland

Are you preparing your students to enter the world with knowledge and skills in 3D technology? It is used in so many industries and jobs: architecture, gaming, science, medicine, entertainment, publishing, and advertising, and marketing. By adding 3D modeling software to your curriculum, you are bringing real-life tools to your students. Access to 3D software might just inspire your students to pursue STEM careers and get a headstart on a future career.

3D Software for You Now

You may be thinking that 3D design software is expensive and out of your reach. We’re happy to say that’s not true. TCEA can provide you with SketchUp Pro, a powerful 3D modeling software package, for FREE. Through our exclusive partnership with Trimble, we are able to offer every K-12 public school in Texas free licenses of the program on each school-owned computer. You do not need to be a member of TCEA to take advantage of this opportunity. Trimble and TCEA want every public school to have this resource.

Many districts have already received their licenses and are on their way to giving their students this incredible resource. Sign up here to receive your licenses.

How Are Teachers Using SketchUp Pro?

Applications for Robotics

Charlie Parker, Robotics Teacher and Coach at Wedgewood Middle School in Fort Worth ISD, is using SketchUp Pro with his robotics teams. Last year, the teams used the software to design parts for their robot and then 3D printed them to use in competition.
Chad Wilson from San Antonio ISD uses SketchUp Pro to prototype Vex and Lego robotic build designs. He says teaching his students an industry standard resource that is readily accessible is priceless.

Exposure to Real-World Tools

Thomas Alberts from Jacksonville ISD says that teaching students to use Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs such as SketchUp Pro gives them another tool they can put on their resume. He advises those new to SketchUp Pro to watch a few of the free introductory videos and then just start building.
Greg Morris, AST/Agricultural Mechanics teacher at Giddings ISD, is using SketchUp Pro for both current shop projects and those still in the planning stages.

Critical and Logical Thinking Skills

Chantelle Dallas, Math Teacher at Harmony Science Academy in Dallas, says her 6-8^th grade computer science classes are using SketchUp Pro to design a STEM project, which is helping them to think critically and logically. They are able to see how 3D images work and are better able to visualize how their projects look. She went on to say that word spread around the middle school about her class designing a 3D project, and she’s now having more students join the Gaming and Computer App Club.

How to Get Your Copy of SketchUp Pro

It’s easy. Just click here to sign up. We’ll email the licenses within 48 hours. Access installation and online help are available here.

Learn More About SketchUp Pro

TCEA offers a webinar on how to use the software in the fall and spring each year. Fall dates are still to be determined. As soon as it’s on the calendar, we’ll send you an email inviting you to the webinar. You’ll be able to watch the webinar live or receive the link and watch it at your convenience.

Be sure to take advantage of this incredible, free resource today. The time your students spend learning and using SketchUp Pro might just inspire and bridge them into their future career.

October 4, 2016 0 comments

Content Areas Good Teaching

Computational Thinking Course for Educators

by Dr. Bruce Ellis November 13, 2015

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Computational Thinking for Educators is a new, free online course designed by Google that runs through December 20th to help teachers better understand how to reinforce computational thinking in their classroom. Before you say this isn’t for you since you are not the computer science teacher, know that Google has actually designed this course for humanities, math, and science teachers, as well as computer science teachers. The only prerequisite is that you have a Google account so that you can register for the course; no programming knowledge is required.

The goal of this course is to help educators learn about computational thinking, how it differs from computer science, and how it can be integrated into a variety of subject areas. Computational thinking is a process that generalizes a solution to open-ended problems. You will learn how to design lessons to help students analyze and logically organize data. Students can then explore ways to model their data to better understand it, as well as create simulations to test out possible solutions that they’ve identified. Afterwards, students are tasked with generalizing and applying the computational thinking process to other problems for which their solutions may be helpful.

You can watch a quick introductory video to help describe the course here. Because the course is completely online and self-paced, you’ll enjoy the convenience of accessing it when it fits your schedule. Allow five to fifteen hours to go through the complete course, depending on your goals. The course consists of text lessons, supplemental videos, activities, and a hands-on final project. Complete the course prior to December 20th and you will be able to download a certificate of completion.

Find out more about this course by visiting their Google+ page. You can learn more and register for this course here.

November 13, 2015 0 comments

Innovation challenges offer real-world problem solving through blended learning in a STEAM framework.

Blended Learning STEM/STEAM

Innovation Challenges Provide Real-World Learning

by Brad Kaplan January 5, 2024

written by Brad Kaplan

In our ever-evolving world, education must adapt to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the future. One effective approach to that challenge is blended learning, a combination of traditional classroom instruction and technology-based learning. When integrated with the principles of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), it creates an enriched educational experience. Student innovation challenges provide the perfect combination for student success.

How Blended Learning Benefits Students

Blended learning offers a number of advantages over traditional classroom instruction.

It allows students to learn at their own pace.
It provides them with more opportunities for hands-on learning.
It gives them access to a wider range of resources.

STEAM education complements blended learning by helping students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. An example of the combination of STEAM education and blended learning is the “innovation challenge.”

What Are Innovation Challenges?

Student innovation challenges offer a platform for the development of holistic skills. Students gain a deeper understanding of core subjects where, often, traditional methods of instruction cannot effectively teach these skills. STEAM education encourages students to approach challenges from multiple perspectives, fostering a well-rounded skill set.

Innovation challenges enable students to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems and give them the ability to adapt and innovate in various scenarios. Student engagement often suffers in traditional classroom settings. However, adding student innovation challenges to blended learning promotes active learning.

The Region 4 Innovation Challenge

In light of this, Texas’s Region 4 Education Service Center (@R4DigiLearn) has teamed up with industry and academic entities to develop a high school innovation challenge for students in grades 9–12. Region 4 is partnering with Houston Metro and the University of Houston’s Technology and Innovation Bridge to bring a real-world challenge to students — creating the bus shelter of the future.

A blue bus shelter with trees and a park behind it.

The challenge is to develop and innovate a new type of bus shelter. Teachers will act as facilitators to help teams (2–5 students) use design and engineering principles to develop the bus shelter of the future. This real-world challenge is an opportunity for students to use design thinking and an engineering design process to solve the problem. Eight teams of students will compete to present their ideas and innovations to a board of experts at Metro.

Students will become active participants in their education, taking charge of their learning journey. The innovation challenge requires hands-on involvement, where students research, design, and create solutions. This engagement will deepen their understanding and instill a sense of ownership and excitement about their learning process.

Students brainstorming ideas for the bus shelter of the future for their blended learning innovation challenge

It also will bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This connection to a real-world challenge will cultivate a sense of purpose as students see the direct impact of their ideas and solutions. Whether they are designing sustainable energy solutions or creating innovative bus shelters, students will understand how their efforts can contribute to the betterment of society.

The Benefits of Innovation Challenges

Foster teamwork and cooperation.

Innovation challenges often require collaboration among students with diverse skill sets. This blended learning environment fosters interdisciplinary teamwork and mirrors real-world work dynamics. Students from different backgrounds give unique perspectives, leading to richer solutions. This collaborative approach not only enhances students’ ability to work in teams but also exposes them to the importance of diverse viewpoints in driving innovation.

Boost student familiarity with a variety of technology tools.

The modern world is driven by technology, and blending learning with innovation challenges prepares students for this technology-rich environment. By integrating online platforms, simulations, and tools into their learning process, students become comfortable with various technological tools. This familiarity not only aids their learning but helps them to be marketable.

Connect and span multiple domains.

Blended learning offers the flexibility to integrate creative teaching methods, empowering educators to inspire students’ imaginations. The freedom to explore ideas, experiment with solutions, and think outside the box nurtures creativity. Students learn that innovation is not limited to a specific domain but can be applied across disciplines to develop groundbreaking solutions. This challenge will allow facilitators and students to use blended learning while simultaneously helping students learn to ideate and utilize people-first, empathetic research to better understand the challenge at hand.

Leverage the flexibility of self-paced learning.

One advantage of blended learning is the ability to accommodate different learning paces. Students have the opportunity to grasp concepts at their own speed, promoting a deeper understanding. This aspect is particularly beneficial in innovation challenges, where students may require additional time to research and experiment. Self-paced learning reduces the pressure of rigid deadlines, fostering a positive learning experience.

Prepare students for the future job market.

The skills acquired through this approach align with the demands of a rapidly evolving job market. Student innovation challenges prepare students for the careers of tomorrow. Students develop adaptability, resilience, and a proactive attitude—qualities sought after by employers. Additionally, the practical experience gained from innovation challenges can be a valuable addition to their résumés, setting them apart from their peers.

Colorful infographic with a picture of a bus stop and the 5 benefits of innovation challenges from the article.

Combining blended learning with student innovation challenges in a STEAM framework offers a multitude of benefits that empower students. From holistic skill development to real-world relevance, collaboration, and technological adaptation, the advantages are undeniable. As education continues to evolve, this approach stands as a beacon of effective, engaging, and forward-looking pedagogy.

Learn More About Region 4’s Innovation Challenge

Want to learn more about how you can create your own innovation challenges for 9-12 students? Register for TCEA’s Convention & Exposition, and attend Brad Kaplan’s session, “Innovation Challenge, Real World Applications By Innovating“. Sign up by January 12 and get the advanced pricing discount!

Register Now!

January 5, 2024 0 comments

Science STEM/STEAM

Two Digital Tools to Support Inquiry Learning

by Miguel Guhlin March 15, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Did you know you can improve the success of inquiry learning efforts with digital learning environments? Researchers report that educational technology tools can enhance different phases of inquiry-based learning. These inquiry phases constitute the inquiry cycle. Let’s review the results of the research and explore some suggestions that address the use of digital tools to support inquiry cycle phases.

Note: Content in this blog entry references a paper appearing in ScienceDirect. The paper is “Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle.” Authors include Margus Pedaste, Mario Mäeots, Leo A. Siiman, Ton de Jong, Siswa A.N. van Riesen, Ellen T. Kamp, Constantinos C. Manoli, Zacharias C. Zacharia, Eleftheria Tsourlidaki. Read the CC-BY-NC-ND licensed paper online.

Why Is Inquiry Learning Effective?

If you read John Hattie, you’ll see that inquiry based teaching has an average effect size of 0.46. The Visible Learning Meta X database describes it in this way:

Inquiry-based teaching is an educational practice. Students behave as scientists or philosophers. They generate questions and seek to develop answers through the accumulation of evidence. This could include asking questions and solving problems. It often includes procedures such as small-scale investigations and practical projects.

Let’s explore how inquiry-based learning happens:

Students follow methods and practices similar to those of professional scientists. They do this to construct knowledge.
Learners formulate hypotheses and then test them.
They test hypotheses by conducting experiments and/or making observations.

This is not dissimilar to the Scientific Method, as shared in a previous TCEA blog entry, Interactive Science: Labs to Master the Scientific Method.

Problem-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, and Design Thinking Learning are variants of inquiry learning.

What Are the Five Phases of Inquiry?

The five phases of inquiry researchers identified include:

Orientation
Conceptualization, which includes questioning and hypothesis generation
Investigation, which includes exploration/experimentation leading to data interpretation
Conclusion
Discussion, which includes reflection and communication

In total, the five phases with their subphases add up to twelve possible components. You can see them articulated in the diagram shown above. Elaborating on that process, you can see this diagram from researchers below:

A more detailed infographic flow chart shows the relationship between the 5 phases of inquiry including up to 12 possible components. It also outlines examples of each phase. — Screenshot by author

Scaffolding Inquiry Learning with Technology

The authors in the study cited two amazing tools you may be unfamiliar with. Those include:

1. The Go-Lab Ecosystem

The intent of the Go-Labs is to assist teachers in finding online labs that enrich learning.

Online labs provide your students with the possibility to conduct scientific experiments. These experiments occur in an online environment. Some labs offer an opportunity to experiment with real equipment from remote locations.

Virtual labs simulate the scientific equipment. Data sets present data from already performed lab experiments. Combine labs with dedicated Apps to create Inquiry Learning Spaces (ILSs).

Go-Lab organizes the labs by age range, lab types, big ideas of science, and/or subject domains. You will find anything from astronomy to geography, math, physics, and technology. These are also available for students aged <7 years to >16 years.

At Go-Lab, per their website, you will find:

Online labs: These digital simulations often mimic laboratory situations where students can perform experiments digitally. The Go-Lab Ecosystem provides the most extensive collection of over 600 online labs, coming from resources from all over the world. You can access the labs through the main navigation on top of the page (“Labs”) and search labs using the filters on the right of the page.
Inquiry Learning Apps: These small digital tools guide students through the inquiry learning process and assist them at every step. For example, there are tools helping to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, visualize experiment data, draw conclusions, and many more. Learning analytics and collaborative learning tools are available as well. You can access the list of apps through the main navigation on the top of the page (“Apps”).
Inquiry Learning Spaces (ILSs): These digital spaces can be created with the help of the Go-Lab Ecosystem. Each ILS represents a structured learning scenario helping students discover a certain STEM topic through a process of inquiry learning. An ILS typically contains an online lab, several inquiry learning apps, and any learning content of your choice. You can find over 1,000 ready-to-use ILSs using the main navigation on top of the page (“Spaces”).

Many aspects of the Inquiry Learning Spaces are available under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

A screenshot of the Go-Lab website shows a sinking-floating experiment with the options to preview it or duplicate it. — Screenshot by author

2. Ark of Inquiry

The Ark of Inquiry seeks to promote scientific interest through inquiry learning. There are ample resources on their website, along with an hour introductory video:

Their website shares this goal:

The overall aim of the Ark of Inquiry project is to create a “new science classroom.” A science classroom that provides more challenging, authentic and higher-order learning experiences. One that gives students the chance to engage in scientific practices and tasks. Students use the discourse of science and work with scientific representations and tools.

Ark of Inquiry makes some materials available as both webpages and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Materials for teachers (Get PDF)
Materials for teacher educators and researchers (Get PDF)
Materials for scientists (Get PDF)
Materials for parents (Get PDF)

Inquiry Learning

You can find several models for using inquiry learning in your classroom, but these websites (e.g., Go-Labs and Ark of Inquiry) offer two great starting points for leveraging technology to support inquiry learning.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author

March 15, 2023 0 comments

Communication Digital Literacy Good Teaching Science

One Strategy for Combatting Pseudoscience

by Miguel Guhlin February 3, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Are you a critical thinker? I am not…yet. The gap between knowing what’s possible and where I’m at spurs me to learn more. It happens whenever a close friend or family member suggests a course of action that is concerning. What should I do? How do I proceed? Making better decisions is one goal of critical thinking. Deepening one’s knowledge of critical thinking strategies and adopting a skeptical attitude can help. Doing so can also assist during encounters with pseudoscience or other “sketchy” ideas. Let’s take a look at some of my findings in exploring critical thinking. And, wow, what an amazing set of resources I have found!

“If we teach only the findings and products of science – no matter how useful and even inspiring they may be – without communicating its critical method, how can the average person possibly distinguish science from pseudoscience?”

— Carl Sagan

What’s At Stake?

Distinguishing real science from pseudoscience is a critical life skill. If we don’t model it for others and teach it to our children, we are setting them up for failure. The failure? An inability to think critically and identify pseudoscience when we encounter it. Let’s dig into that some more.

Three Essential Cognitive Styles

Believing is easier than knowing. Pseudoscience relies on beliefs that sound scientific but are not. That’s because we seek to affirm what we believe or our worldview. Why do people do that? In studying the psychology of pseudoscience, a researcher found three cognitive styles are essential for evaluating, and conspiracy theories result from a lack of one or more of these three cognitive styles.

Analytic thinking. This involves breaking complex tasks down into manageable parts to reach a working solution. Think of computational thinking or George Polya’s approach, featured in this TCEA blog entry.
Critical thinking. A mode of thinking that involves raising questions and problems, gathering relevant data, interpreting that information to reach a well-reasoned conclusion and solution, then testing that solution in an iterative process. You might enjoy TCEA’s blog entry on Design Thinking or Engineering Design Process.
Scientific reasoning. This involves observing something, developing an explanation of what is happening, and creating an experiment to test your explanation. Read TCEA’s blog entry on Interactive Science: Labs to Master the Scientific Method.

How Does Psuedoscience Spread?

Read Melanie Trecek-King’s article, **11 Characteristics of Pseudoscience**

What’s more, pseudoscience gets shared from one person to another. That sharing happens when one or more characteristics of pseudoscience are present and you…

trust the source (e.g. a family member, close friend, colleague)
are convinced by the reasons offered (e.g. you accept reasons without critically analyzing them)
are helped by these beliefs (e.g. you feel relief or better because of them)

The other poster child? Science denial. Pseudoscience is believing ideas that sound scientific but are not. Science denial is denying facts because they contradict what we want to believe.

How to Teach Critical Thinking

“Why don’t kids know critical thinking or scientific reasoning before taking my class?” That’s a question many educators have asked. Melanie Trecek-King, a professor of biology, offers a solution. Before expanding on it, she encourages teachers and students to engage in scientific skepticism. She describes it in this way, albeit with some minor edits:

Insist on evidence before accepting a claim. Then, match the strength of our belief to the strength and quality of the evidence. She describes matching the strength of your belief to evidence quality as “proportioning.”

You can listen to her explanation in a podcast recorded by Thinking Clearly. And her article, “A Life Preserver for Staying Afloat in a Sea of Misinformation,” expands on key elements of her “FLOATER” rules. Trecek-King points out that pseudoscience violates the rule of objectivity. Consider the image below as a way to help jog your memory after you learn the seven rules.

Read Melanie Trecek-King’s article, **“A Life Preserver for Staying Afloat in a Sea of Misinformation”**

Learn More about FLOATER

Wondering how to teach this to your students? Trecek-King has done a wonderful job making these heuristics easy to share. She provides an amazing website for educators, Thinking Is Power, where she offers assignments and activities such as:

To her credit, these activities are available at no cost as a part of her nonprofit organization. You can choose to offer compensation, though.

Fill out an email form to get these Critical Thinking Cards, Fallacies and Biases wall posters, and more, from School of Thought. Shared under Creative Commons.

More Resources for Your Consideration

Here are some resources to expand your thinking and add to your reserve of instructional strategies, activities, and materials.

A Field Guide to Critical Thinking
A Life Preserver for Staying Afloat in a Sea of Misinformation
Critical Thinking Activity from IES La Rosaleda Multilingual Project (Feature Image Source)
Levels of Scientific Evidence
System I and II Thinking
School of Thought Projects (a nonprofit organization focused on critical thinking)
You may also want to subscribe to podcasts relevant to Critical Thinking.

I hope you’ve found these helpful and useful for teaching critical thinking to combat misinformation and pseudoscience. How will you incorporate them in your classroom?

Feature Image Source

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

February 3, 2023 2 comments

Coding/Computer Science Windows

Build Block Worlds with Minetest

by Miguel Guhlin July 5, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Want to launch virtual gaming to support critical thinking at your school but find it cost-prohibitive to go with the mainstream solution? Maybe you want to avoid paying a per student cost. If that’s the case, this blog entry is worth a read. You can now deploy a block-based crafting environment with Minetest– a solution that offers a block environment, simple circuit-switching features, and visual bots.

Benefits of Virtual Reality to Children

Virtual reality offers a way to encourage creativity in children. A few of the ways it does that are highlighted in this AR article:

Removes geographical boundaries. It’s important that children have open-ended spaces to build and explore. Virtual reality worlds make that possible.
Empowers students. Allowing children to become heroes of a story they create with others is powerful. The immersive environment of virtual reality worlds engages children and hones their storytelling skills.
Supports visualization. Visualization makes it easier to understand complex concepts. If you can build it, you can better understand it.
Stimulates critical thinking. Games that allow for creative production foster players’ abilities for creative expression.

For many schools, playing, crafting, and learning have been limited to one solution that costs money, even if it offers extra benefits. But what if you could find an alternate creative space as a free, open-source solution? A solution that would be available at no cost to anyone who wanted it? That’s where Minetest comes in.

That means you can create and adapt it for your use in schools, and give it away for free to your students to take home. Isn’t that amazing? Don’t take my word for it. Michelle Wendt, in SmartBrief, writes (amended slightly for readability) the following about these virtual environments:

This collaborative sandbox game works well with open-ended projects where students construct their understanding and create their own adventures. For example, a middle-school teacher assigned students a pre-history project, asking them to learn about that period’s culture, lifestyle, and historical limitations and assets. The students next had to build an entire pre-history village using only the materials that would have been available during that time.
…Students…demonstrate creativity and showcase evidence of learning through self-created resources.
[Students discuss] the authenticity of their creations with their team, defending their choices as they construct this world together.
The teacher facilitates a rich debate on the types of building blocks, smelting techniques and sustainable materials in their designs.

Did You Know?

Sign up now for TCEA’s Virtual World Builder course and learn more about game-based learning (GBL), design thinking, and more. See how evidence-based instructional strategies, the ISTE Standards for Students and GBL align. Learn more now.

As Michelle Wendt further points out:

“Virtual reality can be incorporated into classroom lessons in so many ways now…I can use any number of tech tools to ignite my students’ curiosity, inspire them to work together and frame their learning in a way that turns them into subject-matter experts.”

Isn’t that what we are all working for?

Did You Know?

Minetest is 100% free, open source. There’s no licensing fee, allows for scripting through the Lua API. What’s more, there are no limits to customization you can do if you want to.

Note the video above is an excellent comparison of the free, open source Minetest and Microsoft’s Minecraft in Spanish. Want something in English? Here are also two tutorial videos (Part 1 and Part 2).

Introducing Minetest

Based on a free software game engine, voxel, Minetest offers access to a cube world. The cubes, like in another popular virtual world-building game, are the building blocks of the world. You can navigate the world, collect items, and make or craft items.

Minetest offers built-in modding capability.

These mods enhance the power of Minetest and what you can do in it. In the video below (credit to u/iketsj), you can see how Mesecons mod can be used to create a decoder. For those who are familiar with Minecraft’s redstone, mesecons are similar.

If you’re looking for visual programming opportunities, Minetest also has Visual Bots (or vbots for short). These are single, block, “turtle” style bots. You can program them, as you can see in the screenshot below. The interface shown works on Android.

You can find a list of a few mods worth starting with towards the end of this blog entry.

Nifty Features for Players and Developers

Minetest also enjoys features for both players and developers. Here’s a short list:

Features for Players

Many games to choose from. There are many games to choose from. You could survive in a harsh environment, build creatively, or fight other players.
Huge maps. With 62,000 × 62,000 × 62,000 blocks, there’s no running out of space. You can mine 31,000 blocks down, or build 31,000 blocks up.
Map generators. There is a wide variety of options to generate maps. The maps generated are stunning and can be shared. There are ways to convert existing Minecraft maps to Minetest, although it will require GNU/Linux access.
Multiplayer support. Play by yourself, locally with your friends, or online with dozens of players on a server.
Texture packs. There is a huge collection of textures for your maps.
Add sensors, lamps, and circuits. Use Mesecons to add all kinds of sensors, switches, solar panels, detectors, pistons, lamps, and sound blocks to advanced digital circuitry like logic gates and programmable blocks.

Features for Developers

Game coding. Create your own voxel game using the Lua API. Write scripts to add items and control game play.
Design content. Publish your creations to an online gallery.
Over 1100 mods available. You can use, adapt, or learn from mods others have created and they are all free, open source.

Get Minetest for Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux, and Android. It’s available in a portable format, making it a great addition to your USB flash drive. (I can see technology directors rolling their eyes at that. Imagine students walking in with their USB flash drive version of Minetest. They are ready to plug in on a school machine and begin worldbuilding).

Creative Mode: Be a World-builder

Minetest enjoys a Creative Mode, which allows for the creation of new worlds you can use. You can add a wide variety of themes and mods to a new world, as well as access seeds from others that can give birth to a new world.

Minetest for Education

“It would be great for a classroom environment to play and teach with as well!” says Clayton Errington. He goes on to say:

“I always like the FOSS programs and saw Minetest was free and thought to give it a try. Much impressed with similarities and ease of use.”

If you’re thinking, “How might this work in the classroom?” You are not alone. While Microsoft’s Minecraft: Education Edition offers a lot of lesson ideas, look again. Minetest has its own education servers as well if you’re not running it in your computer lab. It wouldn’t be difficult to set Minetest up to run as a server in a school district environment. This would enable students to access a school Minetest server from home.

FraMinetest.org offers one vision of an education gaming learning experience. Based in France, they describe themselves in this way:

Framinetest Edu is a sandbox game world Minetest (world of blocks to edit) dedicated to education, pedagogical activities and the serious gaming. (source)

They even offer a guide for server installation (GNU/Linux) you can follow.

CERN offers Craft the Web. This describes an event that took place in November 2019. The goal was to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the World Wide Web. CERN members and the Minetest community co-designed “Craft the Web.” This was an open-source gaming experience. It let players re-enact the invention of the Web. The game was played in a classroom setting. An instructor guided students on their journey. You can see a press release online.

Escape the Castle at the Inside the Box server

At Inside the Box, you can solve and create puzzles. If you are into digital breakouts, then this is your Minetest server to explore. It comes with extensive tutorials and information.

Of course, you can always set Minetest up for use in your own computer lab, or district server.

Preventing Online Server Access

Want to prevent access to online servers in Minetest? Edit the minetest.conf file in the Minetest folder. Add this line without a hashtag (#) in front of it. The folks at Minetest suggest you set the IP address for serverlist_url to empty. This will prevent access to external servers:

serverlist_url=

You may need to put a # in front of the line that says “address = ctf.rubenwardy.com”

Classroom Tools

One of the big add-ons that captured people’s attention with Minecraft was the Classroom Mode component. This allowed the teacher to view a map of student locations, limit player damage and use of TNT (explosives), cycle day and night, and the game’s difficulty settings. Minetest offers a similar tool.

Minetest’s Classroom mod offers teachers the ability to…

…move players, grant/revoke privs, and more. A list of built-in actions can be found in the readme, but you can add more actions using the API for this mod.

Actions available include:

Bring Teleports users to your position
Look Rotates the users to look at the teacher
Mute/Unmute Grants or revokes the ability to use chat
Fly/No fly Grants or revokes the ability to fly (key: K)
Kick Remove from the server
Ban Permanently exclude from the server
Audience Move to the crosshair location, spread out and facing you

You can get the Minetest Classroom mod and learn more about it.

Minetest Mods To Get

Stuck in a cave without a torch?

Wondering what are some mods worth getting and adding to Minetest? Here are a few I’ve tele-gathered after a bit of searching (fortunately, not in a cave without a torch). To be honest, there are MANY fantastic mods you can add once you open the game. It’s mind-boggling. My exploration only took me 27 screens in of the over 300 available.

Advanced Trains: build elaborate railways. You will need to get Basic trains, Moretrains, and dlxtrains mods as well.
Awards: This mod adds achievements to Minetest. Use the inventory tab or /awards to see your awards.
Basic Machines: in-game automation.
Basic Robot: programmable in-game robots.
Classroom: An easy way to manage students in-game, with support for bulk actions and macros.
Digilines: Allows in-game programmable controllers to talk to each other.
Farming_Redo: Comes with many new crops. New foods need only be planted on tilled soil, so no seeds are required.
GlowTest: This mod adds a glowing forest biome and decorative crystals to Minetest.
Mapfix: Fix some map errors (light and flow problems) simply by typing “/mapfix <radius>”.
Mesecons: Electronics mod, create electronic circuits.
Mobs_Redo: Mob API for mods to add monsters, animals, and more.
Unified_Inventory: An extensible inventory mod that allows searching crafting and browsing for recipes in the same dialogue.
WorldEdit: An in-game world editor. Use it to repair griefing, or just create awesome buildings in seconds. X-Decor: It adds a bunch of cute cubes, various mechanisms, and stuff for cutting, enchanting, cooking, etc.

Want to learn more about modding? You may want to read the Minetest Modding Book:

Here’s a quick overview of what is covered in the book:

In Minetest, a game is a collection of modules which work together. They provide the content and behaviour of a game. A module, known as a mod, is a collection of scripts and resources. It’s possible to make a game using only one mod, but this is rarely done. The reason why is that it reduces the ease by which parts of the game are adjusted and replaced independent of others. This book will cover the main parts of the Minetest API, and is applicable for both game developers and modders.

The Modding Book explains about Lua scripts that can be used to create mods:

Minetest uses Lua scripts to provide modding support. This book aims to teach you how to create your own mods, starting from the basics. Each chapter focuses on a particular part of the API, and will soon get you making your own mods.

Want to learn more about programming with Lua? Check out this video for beginners. Tutorials for creating Lua scripts for Minetest are also available.

Need Help? Read the Wiki and Follow the Hashtags

You can find quite a bit of information in Minetest’s wiki. Minetest also has an active presence on social media networks. You can find a wealth of educators and others discussing #MineTestEdu and #MineTest.

This image and others below are courtesy of Olm-e.

These conversations are taking place on two popular social media networks. Find links below to see what others are crafting:

The Fediverse (a.k.a. Mastodon)

#MineTest – For the latest on Minetest information.
@Minetest – Follow this account to get regular updates.
@nathansalapat – Check this account to see video tutorials.
@illunaminetest – See details on the world-building project.

Twitter

Minetest WorldBuilding

Can’t afford Minecraft EDU for your school or lab? Check Minetest as an alternative. You can add Mineclone to Minetest via mods, and get a Minecraft-like experience. What’s more, you can take advantage of some powerful project ideas shared in the past. And, while you are unable to use Minecraft world seeds in Minetest, you can adapt some of the lesson and project ideas on Minecraft’s education site.

Feature Image Source

Image credit: https://mastodon.uy/@jorge/108153430975562511

July 5, 2022 0 comments

Educational Research Leadership

Three Simple Steps to Innovative Learning

by Miguel Guhlin June 24, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

“The largest and easiest gains in knowledge work come from redefining the task. They involve eliminating what need not be done,” says Peter Drucker. Didn’t get the results you want? Prune the unnecessary. Stop doing anything and everything that fails to move you towards those results. Are you a principal focused on achieving innovative learning? How you get there varies.

Getting to Innovation

Some leaders hope to accomplish innovation with technology. They want to achieve it through various strategies. Expensive options can include:

Increased access
More professional development
Grabbing attention with media-catching projects

Today, leaders task themselves with a question to answer. That question is simple but tough to achieve. It is “How can you make meaningful growth happen with digital technology?” Here are a few ways to do that.

1. Close The Learning Gap

Close the learning gap, one implemented strategy at a time. You do it through the juxtaposition of technology and evidence-based, instructional strategies. Some focus on technical changes, but instead, they should focus on culture changes. Without culture change, instructional strategies and digital tools both fail.

Tina Peji (@TinaPeji_21) does a great job sharing instructional strategies that work in this video:

Given years of pandemic teaching and learning, we know this type of first-order change doesn’t work well. It leaves learners behind and decimates the ranks of educators. Both teachers and students get stuck. The mud at their feet? The jumble of best practices and digital tools dumped on them all at once.

A better approach to closing the learning gap? Transform the culture. Leverage social-emotional learning (SEL) activities. Embed those SEL practices in the context of a school culture that varies from campus to campus. Make changes consistent and incremental at the building level.

This requires relationship-savvy leaders. To begin, combine context-sensitive culture change with coaching. Include technology as an amplifier for teachers and learners. The preferred approach is the one that impacts attitudes and beliefs. This is a second-order change that can close the learning gap in the long run.

Using technology to measure student progress might be a first-order change. Second-order changes focus on attitudes and beliefs. Second-order goes to the heart of cultural norms and people’s shared values. It’s time to move beyond first-order issues to second-order. The smart leaders have done so. It’s the only way to close the learning gap and to build a bridge from where students and staff are now to where they need to be.

2. Enhance Cultural Competence.

To enhance cultural competence in schools, a way of valuing diversity among students and staff, take advantage of students’ cultures and abilities. Focus on amplifying positive experiences students have in school.

Juxtapose real-life events with technologies that amplify positive experiences. Use technology to create a rich platform for celebrating and sharing student success. Adopt the #TxEdTuesday approach of Tell It, Tag It, Share It. Not familiar with that approach or how to get started?

Explore specific strategies on how to showcase your school’s success online:

The National Education Agency (NEA) recommends valuing diversity. To achieve this, highlight the advantages of students’ culture and abilities. The resources above can assist you in celebrating diverse backgrounds that support instructional practices.

3. Embrace Scaffolded Inquiry-Based Learning with Evidence-Based Strategies.

Build up student stamina for learning with evidence-based instructional strategies. These strategies are research-based. They rely on how current science shows the brain works. Strategies like The Jigsaw Method, Vocabulary Programs, Note Taking, Outlining and Summarizing, Classroom Discussion, and Retrieval Practice support foundational learning experiences. Get students to build foundational knowledge, filling in missing knowledge. With that, students can then start applying knowledge to new situations. Juxtapose real-world problems with digital solution-making. Use design thinking approaches (source) to perceive the world in new ways.

Here are specific steps aligned to evidence-based strategies via Mike Bell’s Evidence-Based Teachers Network (EBTN):

Go digital with collaborative, inquiry-based projects. Real-world learning works for students. It empowers learners to be hands-on, social problem-solvers as media-makers. Digital media, team-building, real-world problem solving work well. Team-building in small groups can lead to scaffolds that support instruction. This explicit, focused instruction aligns to student needs (source). Another approach relies on digital tools. Use technology to drive teamwork. Rely on one-on-one connections via culturally responsive teaching to support a student’s learning.

“Stop Doing” List

As Drucker says, redefining tasks and eliminating the unnecessary can yield the greatest gains. What this means in the classroom is simple. It can be fraught with angst and anxiety. We must identify what we do in the classroom. Then, with kindness, examine and discard only what fails to align with research. A great compendium of research to look at is Mike Bells’ six steps. Get a primer here.

June 24, 2022 0 comments

Coding/Computer Science Content Areas STEM/STEAM

How App Development Empowers Students

by Enyi Rosa Gomez, Guest Author June 28, 2021

written by Enyi Rosa Gomez, Guest Author

Math is not everyone’s favorite subject. My group of fifth graders, who are the creators, designers, and builders of a math app prototype, will say that math used to be one of their least-liked subjects. With concepts of design thinking in mind, they were presented with a community education problem: help other fifth-grade students review and recall math concepts. My students decided that the best way to support their fellow students was through app development that provided student-created resources such as examples, steps, and videos.

Ideate and Prototype

The students brainstormed and ideated the best ways to reach the needs of their audience by conducting surveys and organizing data. Their findings and personal experience led them to focus on four key topics: multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals. They started by organizing the layout of their app on notecards; each card represented a page on their app, essentially mapping out the architecture.

They considered things such as accessibility, user-friendliness, appearance, and style. Students’ primary resource for the content included in their app prototype was their math journal. Next, they reviewed their notes, examples, and practice problems to create the content that would help other fifth grade students through their app.

Most students decided to include videos, examples, pictures, and written steps, and some even included quizzes to ensure that their message was received. Students used the Develop in Swift app design workbook as a guide to building their prototype.

App Development with an iPad

The primary tool for creating their app prototype was an iPad. The Keynote app has all the necessary features to bring their ideas to life and make a presentation work precisely as an app would.

The best part about it is that they can collaborate on the same Keynote document in real time. They can insert videos, pictures, and other documents into their presentation. They use the mark-up tool and screen-record feature within the iPad to share examples and step-by-step explanations to solve sample math problems.

Additionally, iMovie is a very user-friendly app that students can use to edit their videos and make them more engaging by adding titles, images, and sound effects. Simon Pile’s book, Why Use Keynote in the Classroom (2019), supports these ideas by providing many valuable ways that the Keynote app can be used to augment and redefine learning.

The Learning Experience

Currently, students are still in the development process of their fifth-grade math app prototype. It has been a long process that they are fully invested in. We knew this would not be an easy task from the start, but the more time they spend building out each feature of their app, the more excited they are about the entire project.

Students are working in groups of three to four members; the level of collaboration that has progressed throughout each session has been tremendous. In the beginning, no one wanted to take the lead, no one wanted to voice their ideas, and no one wanted to oppose anyone’s decisions. As time progressed, that has changed entirely; the groups are in sync, they share thoughts and build on each others’ ideas. There is a sense of belonging that has become evident as time progresses. It is incredible to see.

The interactions with me as the facilitator have also progressed. In the beginning, they wanted approval for every decision they made. Now, they are confident in their choices as a team, they have a clear vision for what their audience needs from their app, and they are not afraid to go for it.

Lastly, each student’s confidence in practicing math concepts has grown immensely. By reviewing concepts to create videos, examples, and quizzes about the topics they struggled with, students have become masters in these areas. They have gained so much confidence and are now sharing new ways to solve problems. It has also enhanced their critical thinking skills.

App Showcase

The last step in their app prototype development will be their app showcase. Students will present their app prototype pitches to an audience of all fifth-grade students and teachers on our campus. This will be a way to engage students’ communication skills and provide them an opportunity to test out their app with the community for which it was intended.

Have you developed apps with your students? Share your ideas in the comments!

June 28, 2021 0 comments

Podcasts Professional Learning

Top 10 Episodes of TCEA’s Ed Tech Club Podcast

by Andrew Roush March 23, 2021

written by Andrew Roush

The Ed Tech Club is TCEA’s weekly podcast all about the intersection of education and technology. And we’re not just discussing the nuts and bolts of tech tools, we’re going even deeper to uncover strategies, methods, and more.

Each week, we’re joined by educators and experts to talk about everything from big ideas to useful tips for your most-used ed tech resources. Along the way, we’ll introduce you to some of the most exciting trends in ed tech.

Looking for some learning-centric listening to relax with during your spring break? Check out our top 10 most popular episodes below. And don’t forget to subscribe to get the latest episodes each week.

Gerry Brooks on Comedy and Community | Ep. 24

In this episode, we chat with viral sensation Gerry Brooks, a TCEA 2020 Featured Presenter, on his path to national recognition and using comedy to connect.

Michael Cohen on Empathy and Design Thinking | Ep. 25

The “Tech Rabbi” joins us to explore how to ignite innovating thinking.

Elementary Ed Tech with Jenallee | Ep. 39

The education duo known as Jenallee takes us on a journey to make tech work in the elementary classroom.

Fake News and Digital Literacy with Jennifer LaGarde | Ep. 27

The Library Girl herself, Jennifer LaGarde, takes us through the challenges of building digital literacy.

Art and Student Empowerment During Remote Learning | Ep. 33

Art teacher Galen McQuillen discusses teaching art remotely, responding to the changing education environment, and how to build student agency no matter what.

Leading at Every Level with Principal Baruti Kafele | Ep. 34

School leadership expert Principal Baruti Kafele reveals the power of communication and rediscovering your “why.”

Amazing Educational Resources with Nick Hoover | Ep. 59

In this episode, we talk about Nick’s website, Amazing Educational Resources, and how remote and hybrid teaching might affect teaching and learning in the long term.

Millennials, Gen Z, and Lifelong Education | Ep. 21

Andrew Savikis of getAbstract stops by to delve into the results of the company’s 2020 survey and what it can tell us about generational attitudes toward learning.

Establishing Remote Learning Norms w/ Diana Benner | Ep. 52

TCEA’s own Diana Benner takes us through ways to set up expectations while teaching and learning remotely.

Fliphunts for Remote Learning | Ep. 47

Our professional development team returns, this time with Dr. Bruce Ellis exploring creative ways to use fliphunts.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

March 23, 2021 0 comments

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