I would first of all like to thank all of you who took time out of your weekends to join the session as well as all of you who posted comments and questions during the session and shared links about it through Twitter and Facebook. If you were unable to attend the session, a recording is now available via this link. If you have any questions, please ask them via this post. :)
Also, I would like to apologise due a mix up meaning the slides I used during the session were not the complete ones. I had uploaded some test slides during a technical check-in earlier in the week and used those again in the session rather than the finished version. Alas, once we had started, there was no chance to go back without losing a lot of time... Anyway, here are the slides as they should have been, which will hopefully offer some more context and examples of my students work:
- How Video Games Changed the World - Minecraft - this is the video I showed at the start of the session, which acts as a great introduction to what Minecraft is and the possibilities it presents for learning.
- Why Minecraft May Well Be One of the Best Games for Language Learning - a blog post of mine detailing how this game has impacted on my students' learning in and out of class.
- Storycraft: Using the world of Minecraft as an inspiraiton for writing - another post of mine about how Minecraft encouraged some of my reluctant writers to produce a great story.
- Minecraft and (Language) Learning - a Pinterest board I have created to collect relevant blog posts and links about Minecraft in the language classroom. Feel free to add to it!
- Minecraft and (Language) Learning - similar to the above but this time in Flipboard for those of you that prefer it. Again, please feel free to contribute more articles when you come across them!
- MinecraftEdu - a site I referred to in the talk which offers a special verison of the game for use in schools.
- The Minecraft Teacher - this is about general education rather than ELT but is still worth a read for ideas.
And finally, here are some of the examples of my students work I shared (or would have shared if I had used the right slides!):
- A Minecraft Adventure - the first ever time Minecraft came into my class in the form of a story.
- I will insert some videos here once Turkey's Youtube ban is lifted (or once I have left the country in the summer - whichever comes first!)