Minecraft: Experience the Four Seasons

Session Description
During Fall 2019, four University of Hawai’i at Mānoa students pursuing their graduate degrees in Learning Design and Technology created a Minecraft lesson planned titled “Minecraft: Experience the Four Seasons”. As all four students had grown up in Hawai’i, we understood the challenges of understanding the four seasons. With this, we created a Minecraft lesson plan for Hawaiʻi middle school students, grades 6 – 8. This lesson plan would create an opportunity to learn about the four seasons using immersive and experiential learning. This has become an example of what can be accomplished when virtual tools are used with theory-based learning design. Each season showcases different facets of learning that have been intentionally orchestrated to present lessons such as virtual experiences, teamwork and collaboration, traditional educational subjects such as mathematics, project-based learning, and environmental and medical safety and awareness. All evaluations are imbedded within the virtual experiences and therefore the only perception that the students will have is that they are having fun. This project illustrates just one example of how learning design can offer applicable and valuable lessons that are now crucial in the real world.
Presenter(s)
David Kawika Gonzales, Jr.
David Kawika Gonzales, Jr., University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
Aloha Everyone! My name is Kawika Gonzales. I am a part of the LTEC online master’s cohort since Fall 2019. I am also a 6th-grade teacher on the island of Molokai and have been teaching for the past 19 years. Besides the core general education classes, I also teach robotics, computer-aided design, and computer science. More recently, I have incorporated more virtual and augmented reality into my classroom. I am the math and grade level chair for our school and a part of the leadership team. My wife and I have 3 young boys, one in 1st grade and the other 2 in preschool. I enjoy taking them fishing and hunting.
Kalei Carvalho
Kalei Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
Aloha! My name is Kalei Carvalho. I am currently in my first year of the LTEC Master’s program and anticipate graduating in May 2021. I originally started this program with only the hope of advancing in my career in the future. However, I am beyond grateful that I took this opportunity because it has been very beneficial in my current line of work. I currently work as a Student Support for the Wai’ale’ale Program, which is one of the first-year experience programs at Kaua’i Community College. I have lived on Kaua’i my entire life and use any opportunity I have to help strengthen our community. The biggest motivations in my life, however, are my husband and my children.
Judy Kakazu
Judy Kakazu, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
Judy Kakazu received her BA in Zoology after switching her major no less than 7 times. As a result she knows very little about a lot of things. Judy then decided that she would take a break from academia and learn something fun. As a result, Judy has been a paramedic with the 911 system on Oahu for 30 years. Intermittently returning to the academia that she vowed never to return to, Judy has been fortunate to study subjects such as Human Physiology at the graduate level. After a recent work injury, Judy was given the opportunity to explore Learning Design and Technology at UH Manoa. As a first year student in the online Master’s program and under the mentorship of all within this excellent department, Judy is truly grateful and hopes to continue the privilege of learning, forever. Some of her interests include the gamification of learning, endocrinology and thinking outside of the box…
Tasia Nakasone
Tasia Nakasone, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI

Session Type
LTEC Session
Audience
All Audiences

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