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A “normal” Minecraft Camp Day

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here is an overview of the normal “Minecraft Camp” day. The morning consists of a tutorial session, to make sure everyone has a strong grasp of the basics and we can all enjoy the game together. There is a big focus on teamwork in this time and that sets the groups up for a great day ahead.

After a mid-morning break, we then move onto an Economy Survival world, where the goal is to build a village together. This session combines real-world concepts into the game world. Lessons are peppered throughout this session, starting off with privacy and protecting your hard earned gear, as well as cyber safety. We discuss what makes a successful community, and teamwork and cohesion is a strong focus here. Once the village is thriving, we introduce the marketplace. Here we discuss basic buying and selling, demand and supply and other economic concepts. Being able to reflect these concepts in an engaging manner really gives weight to the potential this game has in teaching real world concepts!

The post lunch session is in a creative world, where we do a build challenge. The afternoon is about self-expression and building something cool to show everyone else. I like to think of the morning as the ‘smart’ part and the afternoon as the ‘creative’.

Finally after a short afternoon break we have some free time, and a final debrief. Kids can show their parents what they’ve learnt and built, and then it’s home time. They can access the servers from home too so the learning continues…

What these camps break down to is an engaging educational experience in a fun and stimulating environment, with a strong focus on social learning and collaboration via the awesome digital medium of Minecraft.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4511″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”4508″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”4505″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Perth teacher gets young minds buzzing with video game Minecraft

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]January 10th, 2018, 03:30PM              NEWS

SEAN Firth never expected to be using a video game to teach skills to kids, but these days he does exactly that.

Mr Firth, a teacher and former principal, was introduced to popular sandbox block-building game Minecraft five years ago and said he could not believe the impact it had on kids.

“The game changed the way they behaved with each other,” he said.

“Instantly, I was like ‘wow’.

“I’d never seen a teaching tool with such power, the power to break down barriers, and I’m not even a gamer.

“I’m a professional educator and I see the impact of the game.”

Mr Firth now runs holiday camps across Perth after founding Mind Buzz, where the game is used as a tool to improve collaboration and communications skills and where there is a strong focus on caring for other players.

The days are structured, starting with a tutorial where everyone is brought up to speed in groups of four before progressing to the proper game.

Here players can interact with people who have previously gone to the camps via a server.

After lunch is all about creativity.

“I notice – and the parents notice – at the start of the day it’s quite frenetic,” Mr Firth said.

“By the end of the day the whole group is in a bit of a flow state.

Read the rest on the Melville Times Community Newspaper site: https://www.communitynews.com.au/melville-times/news/teacher-gets-minds-buzzing-with-video-game-minecraft/

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Whats a Smart Creative?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Smart creatives are people with an entrepreneurial mindset who meet the needs of others by creating things. In the world there are two types of people, creators and consumers. Creators make the money, consumers spend the money! We want our kids to be creators and the best way to do that is by starting them young in simulated environments. We use Minecraft in our camps and on our safe, moderated server to simulate the real world.

We seek out natural leaders in each Minecraft Workshop and explicitly instruct them how to help and lead the beginner players. This teaches them how to be leaders and gives them a tremendous sense of contribution and boosts self esteem. From there they can progress through various levels of leadership gaining more skills and confidence as they go. If you have ever heard them talking about being a moderator or an admin then this is what we are talking about.  We now have kids aspiring to be Minecraft Camp Leaders which is fantastic. It is possible to do something you are passionate about and love all while making a good living.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”5062″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]