Information Literacy & Gamification using Minecraft

Valerie Hill, PhDLewisville ISD LibrarianAdjunct Instructor TWU

ALA Midwinter 2014@valibrarian

What is literacy?

lit·er·a·cylit-er-uh-seenoun: literacy1. the ability to read and write.

Information Literacy includes all formats: physical, virtual, and augmented.

•Digital literacy•Media literacy•Traditional literacy•Transliteracy•Audio-Visual literacy•Web literacy•Print literacy•Balanced literacy

Print, electronic, digital, virtual, 3D, augmented, mixed reality

Virtual experiences feel life-like through haptic technology. (Hecher et al, 2011)

Video games are now considered a literary genre.

In participatory digital culture, learners both consume and produce

(prosumers). Alvin Toffler

In other words…

Consume• Read• Listen• Watch a video• Play the game• Collect• Subscribe

Produce• Write• Talk or sing• Make a video • Create the game• Curate and share• Upload

Virtual Worlds & Education

OLD Model: Buy the toy- Play the game

NEW Model: Build games with embedded educational content

Gamification in education (James Paul Gee)

Virtual worlds are one of many ways to teach information literacy in digital culture.

Learners of all age groups

Adults in Virtual Worlds Children in Virtual Worlds

Banned Books Week - Discussion Virtual Anne Frank Museum

Registered Accounts in Virtual Worlds

Information Literacy has changed.

Digital Footprints?

At what age do students begin

to create

Digital Citizenship

Let’s Visit MinecraftEDU

My School Library Project Purpose

• Use gamification to embed information literacy• Allow students to lead PBL project• Continue my research on virtual worlds in

education & libraries• Get students excited about learning• Use physical library as virtual “makerspace”

• Teach students in a way they will find fun and engaging• Get your students excited about their History class, or their Social Studies

class, or virtually any other subject, by hosting the class in a virtual Minecraft World

• MinecraftEdu provides great flexibility for customizing the student experience to your subject/course material

• MinecraftEdu provides controls to prevent your students running amok and straying off course

• Many students will already be familiar with Minecraft, reducing the learning curve

• Minecraft worlds and projects created by other teachers are already available to download and use, making implementation easy and cutting down course planning time

• Setup and installation is easy, and the load on your IT resources is easily manageable

• Did we mention it’s fun and the students will love it?FROMhttp://theedublogger.com/2013/11/21/gaming-in-education-minecraft-in-schools/

Why Use MinecraftEdu?

A 3D Virtual World designed for building with cubes.

Getting Started

• Get familiar with the game• Obtain school district approval• MinecraftEDU vs Minecraft• Understand purpose (real learning

embedded in new formats)• Failure is acceptable! No fear of

embracing new frontiers

The desire to create resides in each of us. “What can we make?” asks the child.

Step by Step1. Start small (student led)2. Brainstorm purpose (digital citizenship

was our chosen theme)3. Regular meetings (after school club)4. Guidance from teacher/librarian (keep

them focused but allow creativity)5. Document progress

Listen, observe, and allow for creativity

Interesting comments from the students:

“Stop trolling me!”“Have you ever heard of griefing?”“How do you (insert question here as it

was heard repeatedly through collaboration)?”

“Will you teleport me to your house?”

The final product…

In spring 2013, we successfully created an original video game in Minecraft. Students who complete the challenge demonstrate understanding of basic digital citizenship and cyber safety.

View our machinima on Youtube “Digital Citizens in Minecraft”

Machinima on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKMYGOUyTY0&feature=share&list=UUrxwLEmZILcl74lwKx2wJSQ&index=9

Future Plans

The project continues. Fifth grade videogame creators work toward the goal of presenting to third grade “testers”.

Q & A• Remember emerging tech trends

will continue to change.• No one single application is “best”

or absolute for teaching.• Collaborative, constructivist

learning is expanding as we now live in digital participatory culture.

• 21st Century Learning Standards can be embedded in new formats.

BibliographyAmerican Library Association. 2007. Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Chicago: American Association of School

Librarians, 2007.

Creative Commons photos from http://photopin.com/ and http://www.bigfoto.com/

Gee, James Paul. 2003. What Video Games have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Harris, Albert L., and Alan Rea. 2009. Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies: A growing impact on IS education. Journal of Information Systems Education 20, (2): 137-44.

Hecher, M. M., Möstl, R. R., Eggeling, E. E., Derler, C. C., & Fellner, D. W. (2011). 'Tangible Culture' - Designing virtual exhibitions on multi-touch devices. Information Services & Use, 31(3/4), 199-208.

Hill, Valerie, and Hyuk-Jin Lee. 2009. Libraries and immersive learning environments unite in second life. Library Hi Tech 27, (3): 338-56.

Kzeroworldswide. 2013. Virtual world reports. http://www.kzero.co.uk/

Mastel, Kristen, and Dave Huston. 2009. Using video games to teach game design: A gaming collection for libraries. Computers in Libraries 29, (3) (03/01): 41-4.

Peterman, Dana and Timothy Grieg. 2007. Shifts in Library and Librarian Roles: ALA/ Tech Source Gaming. Learning and Libraries Symposium. Library Hi Tech News incorporating Online and CD Notes, (24(8), 25-29.

Webber, Sheila and Diane Nahl. 2011. Sustaining Learning for LIS through use of a Virtual World. IFLA Journal (37)(1): 5-15.