Minecraft as a model for gamification in teacher training
By Vance Stevens
Khalifa Bin Zayed Air College, Al Ain UAE
Higher Colleges of Technlogy / CERT
Presented at XVIIth CALL Research Conference
Tarragona, Spain, July 6, 2015
Minecraft as a model for gamification in teacher training
1. Minecraft as a model
for gamification
in teacher training
Vance Stevens
Khalifa Bin Zayed Air College, Al Ain UAE
Higher Colleges of Technlogy / CERT
Presented at XVIIth CALL Research Conference
Tarragona, Spain, July 6, 2015
2. All my slides are
open and online
No need to take notes, simply visit
http://slideshare.net/vances
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
3. What is this about?
This presentation presents a model for gamification of
teacher professional development. As such it …
Roots the model in the work of proponents of
connectivism
Places it as the latest in a series of connectivist projects
moderated and facilitated by the author
Shows why Minecraft is an appropriate vehicle for
understanding gamification in teacher professional
development; hence how to extend the concept to
teaching
Explains how the project was conceived and
implemented
Presents some quantitative and qualitative data
Previews how the project will be continued in 2016
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
4. Connectivism
Cormier, D. (2008). Rhizomatic education: Community as curriculum.
Innovate, 4(5). Reprinted with permission of the publisher and retrieved
from http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/06/03/rhizomatic-education-
community-as-curriculum/
Downes, S. (2012). Connectivism and connective knowledge: Essays
on meaning and learning networks. Stephen's Web: My eBook.
Retrieved from http://www.downes.ca/files/Connective_Knowledge-
19May2012.pdf
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.
Elearningspace. Retrieved from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Stevens, V. (2014). Connectivist Learning: Reaching Students through
Teacher Professional Development. in Son, J.-B. (Ed.). Computer-
assisted language learning: Learners, teachers and tools. APACALL
Book Series Volume 3. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing. pp. 150-172. Late draft available here
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
5. iPadagogy workshop at ISTE
Connectivism at work
First part of workshop
shared in Google+
Hangout on Air
http://learning2gether.net/
2015/06/30/learning2geth
er-about-ipadagogy-live-
from-iste-philadelphia/
Mary Kay Polly presented
on her using of Minecraft
with middle school as part
of this workshop.
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
6. Mary Kay Polly - Minecraft
Mary Kay Polly - students justified use of Minecraft in their class by
spelling out curriculum goals
having them explain how their use of Minecraft met those goals.
Corroborates claim that
it’s not whether it’s in
the curriculum; rather
the curriculum is in it.
http://iste2015ipadagogyabloominbetterwaytoteach.pbworks.com/w/page/92494272/
Game-based%20Learning%20and%20Minecraft%20-%20Mary%20Kay%20Polly
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
8. Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015Openness
1998 – Created and taught
Writing for Webheads
2002 – Facilitated EVO
session Webheads in Action
2003 to present –
Coordinator with Electronic
village Online
2004 to 2010 – Moderated
Multiliteracies and
MultiMOOC EVO sessions
2005, 2007, 2009 - WiAOC:
free, online, no funding
required ‘convergences’
Ongoing efforts
2010 – Started
Learning2gether
http://learning2gether.net/
2015 – Started EVO
Minecraft MOOC
Currently, Webheads in
Action, Learning2gether,
Minecraft MOOC,and EVO
involvement going strong!
Networks have long been critical to my personal learning, and they are critical
to others I interact with. Open endeavors which I have facilitated include
9. Modeling for Students
The problem is
who will guide teachers and trainees in this kind of learning?
Guides must be themselves experienced in connecting through
networks in uncontrolled and exposed spaces.
Fortunately our professional lives are tending in this direction
Websites
Webinars
Tools and apps
Concepts such as MOOCs
Spaces like Second Life
Yet another model might be Minecraft
How do you find a community?
How do you acquire experience?
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
10. The Minecraft Flip
We focused on Minecraft as a way of
Gamifying the language learning experience
Students taking charge of their learning
Students teaching teachers about what they are interested in
Improving learning enjoyment
Bolstering student self-esteem
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
http://www.tesl-
ej.org/wordpress/issues/vol
ume18/ej70/ej70int/
http://learning2gether.net/2014/06/29/hangout-with-filip-and-marijana-
smolcec-on-the-eu-llp-comenius-project-and-learning-through-minecraft/
11. Finding communities in MC
The challenge for adults interested in Minecraft
is finding a community that can help you
Most communities for Minecraft are school children
Teachers exclude people who might be predators
One solution
Start your own community
Invite educators to learn the game by being in the game
Don’t let lack of expertise deter you
Experts will emerge
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
12. EVO Minecraft MOOC
If we are going to gamify our classrooms, don’t we have to experience
that by gamifying our own professional development?
I proposed to moderate an EVO session to allow teachers to learn the
game as they would expect students to do
I created
A proposal
A syllabus
A Google+ Community
Pictured: Selfie of
Vance Stevens
and Jeff Kuhn at
TESOL 2015 Toronto
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
13. Engaging a community
We attracted others
teaching / learning
languages with MC
Two co-authors of an
article jointly written
with Filip and
Marijana Smolčec
Two whom we cited
in the article: David
Dodgson and Jeff
Kuhn
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
Jeff set us up a
Minecraft server!
Filip could have done
this otherwise
14. Gamification and Badges
Elements of gamification
Our syllabus –
pitched at teachers who would
Gravitate to a learning experience
where we would define our own outcomes
which could not be guaranteed in advance
We applied the Cormier notion of
Community as Curriculum
The collective would steer the syllabus,
as in games
We promised badges for accomplishing
specified goals
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
15. Community as Curriculum
Dave Cormier argues
that his university
students
Will be expected to
interact with peers in
open spaces; e.g.
blogs
conferences
webinars where they
Must expose
themselves to scrutiny
and challenge by
large interconnected
networks,
Should therefore
experience working
openly while they are
students.
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/06/03/rhizomatic-education-community-as-curriculum/
16. Syllabus Logistics
In our online syllabus
We put some materials
online
Linked to Mojang and
YouTube videos
Gave out the IP address
of our server
Encouraged tagging and
aggravated at Tagboard
We used scheduling
software to arrange
meetings in Minecraft
Used Skype to talk each
other through our learning
in the game space
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
17. Gamification of Learning
We proved the concept by creating a gamified learning
environment where we learned about the game by being in the
game
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
18. Jeff was Batman
Jeff, whose character is Batman, created a huge Batman
statue and set up a castle for us to explore
He created train sets for us to play on. One rendition
encircled the castle.
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
19. Teachers as makers
in Creative Mode
In creative mode
unlimited inventories
unlimited time
(non threatening -
no sudden death )
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
20. Kelly shared how
her kids taught her
about Minecraft
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
21. Educators interact socially
When professionals meet in any space for the purpose of PD
we learn from one another
Online maximizes the number of spaces we have for meeting in
Minecraft and Skype
Second Life
Webinars
Hangouts on Air
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
22. Teachers learn from kids
Filip (age 11) built a McDonald’s
Carlos from Spain (age 12) created a tower with an elevator
Ian (teenager) built us a hotel shell
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
23. Filip’s rabbits
Filip populated our spaces with herds of rabbits
He showed us how to make bows and arrows and shoot
them for food
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
Image from inside
Jeff’s castle
24. Horsing around
We rode horses
We played with lighting
We coped with rabbits
and zombies and spiders
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
26. Survival Mode
Then it all turned sinister
Jeff and Filip set the server on survival mode
Now a challenge to avoid the spiders and
zombies at night
The greatest lesson - the power of
collaboration
Jeff had created some shelters with doors
with signs outside inviting us in for the night.
These were in mountainsides, so at night we
could dig our mines and look for resources
like iron for our pickaxes.
In the daytime we would go outside and
chop trees so we could make crafting tables
and on those, other tools and weapons for
getting food from the animals with whom we
shared our world.
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
Image credit: Caleb Roenigk, https://www.flickr.com/photos/crdot/6303551977
27. End Game Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
28. Statistics
Quantitative
61 participants expressed
interest
Estimated about 20 visited
server or passed through out
spaces in some form or other
10 took active step of creating
entries in Google form
6 earned badges
Qualitative
Many joined us for various
aspects of the course, did not
persist, but contributed
significantly
E.g. one teen from UAE, built a
hotel structure
which I lightened up with lamps
zombies would gather there at
night (but they are not dangerous
in creative mode).
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
30. Next time around
We have already formed a team for the next round of EVO
sessions Jan-Feb 2016. Now that we know the concept works,
we’d like to set some more data points and see if we can
quantify or qualify how it works and why.
This is Tamas Lorincz
who will join our
moderating team
next year
Vance took the picture
at TESOL Arabia 2015
In Dubai
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
31. Additional References
Smolčec, M., Smolčec, F. and Stevens, V. (2014). Using Minecraft
for Learning English. TESL-EJ, 18(2),1-15. Retrieved from
http://www.tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej70/int.pdf.
Kuhn, J. (2015). Meaningful Play – Making Professional
Development Fun. TESL-EJ, 15(4),1-8. Retrieved from http://tesl-
ej.org/pdf/ej72/int.pdf.
This project was presented as part of a panel discussion at
TESOL 2015 Toronto http://tinyurl.com/vance2015pd
Vance Stevens CALL Research
Conference Tarragona 2015
The session was recorded and archived here
http://learning2gether.net/2015/07/06/learning2gether-
with-vance-stevens-about-minecraft-as-a-model-for-
gamification-in-teacher-professional-development/