Best Work

I believe that some of my best work was completed during our Minecraft Creation task when I was pushed out of my comfort zone. In preparation for this task, we were first required to immerse ourselves in the gamification culture. Second, I developed an awareness of the potential uses of Minecraft for assessment purposes, and third, I explored the incredible world of Minecraft. I played around, interacted with the environment, and I learned "the basics" necessary for living in this virtual world. Finally, I was asked to consider how this form of electronic assessment might benefit my students.

Our task was arranged as two separate screencasts. In our first screencast, we recorded our building, playing, and creativity. The Minecraft Creation task was an assessment AS learning and an assessment FOR learning. We shared our challenges as related to our personal background, and we were encouraged to share how we felt about using Minecraft for assessment purposes and in our personal classroom setting. Additionally, we were assessed on the quality of the delivery of our screencast.

During our second assessment AS/FOR learning we identified a topic in which we could assess our students using the Minecraft platform. The screencast was again assessed for delivery and the thought behind our design. Written feedback on my creation was provided after each phase. The feedback was in list form and responded to each rubric element. The Google Doc comments feature allowed for conversations with my instructors regarding areas of strength and more importantly areas of understanding where I could continue to develop.

The Minecraft Creation assessment, in partnership with the respective feedback during each phase, taught me many lessons. One of the first that stands out is the value of being critical. I recall a comment included in my feedback where my instructor encouraged me to be more critical of the affordances of Minecraft, not because he disagreed with the platform, but because he is aware of the need for a critical eye. Assessment, in traditional, as well as electronic form, is valuable when used appropriately. When making decisions about the type of assessment or feedback that is appropriate, one must be aware of their students' needs first and foremost, as well as the assessment's affordances or drawbacks. Another lesson I found within my Minecraft experience is that less can really be more. I have been known to overindulge in possibilities and thoughts during the creative process. As a Minecraft newbie, I really did not have the time or skill yet to expand on multiple ideas at once. I was limited by my building experience, and so I had to simplify. What I found was that I was quite pleased with my end result. My formative assessment was both straightforward and a challenging opportunity for student growth. Furthermore, I learned about the power of sharing out. A peer in another class of mine read my blog about the Minecraft learning experience, and she was inspired to make this her next venture. Lastly, and importantly, I learned about the necessity of incorporating more creativity into assessment design. My scope of what assessment looks like has expanded to include more non-traditional approaches, such as e-portfolios, gaming platforms, and screencasts. I'll continue to pull from this learning experience whenever I need re-energizing.