MCKids Academy

Momibelle from MCKids Academy reports here about the going's on at our Minecraft educational gaming camps for kids in Vancouver, BC. Check out our camp and after-school schedule at www.mckidsacademy.com

[momibelle]

Minecraft Management for Parents (updated!)

Here’s a ‘cheat sheet’ that I often give out to the parents of children who attend a camp. You might find some of it useful! Normally, we suggest no more than 90 minutes of screen time a day so it might take some careful planning on your childs part to make sure they complete their personal projects in a timely manner!

1. Be involved! Kids need parents to help them develop good judgment and critical thinking skills. Many parents ‘abdicate’ because they are too busy or may want to avoid confrontations. Being involved means making an effort to take the time to learn about the your computer and the game (Minecraft)– it is essential!

2. Learn the language. It is common now to use acronyms as shorthand, or refer to in-game commands, for example AFK or BRB: which means ‘away from keyboard’ and ‘be right back’. Read our MCKids ‘cheat sheets’ that your child may have, to help you decipher it all.

3. When it comes to gifts like laptops remind your children of their privilege of use, not ownership. You have paid for the devices and you pay for Internet service, so the use of these should not be argued.

4. Decide on a family Internet and computer use contract/agreement. This will help everyone (including adults) clearly understand what are acceptable limits/uses.

5. Be AS engaged as your child is! Ask them about what they have built, who they were playing with, and what sorts of goals they may have. But, let your child know you reserve the right to monitor their activity. Let them know that you are able to trace website visits, message content, track their timing on a game (just ask Momibelle and she can give you an idea of ONTIME on our private servers). MOST IMPORTANTLY check-up on how they are chatting with everyone. Ask them to press the ‘T’ key to view all conversations. Just letting them know that you can do this, often makes them think carefully about sticking to our Code of Conduct.

6. Restrict gaming and online activity after a certain hour at night. The easiest way to achieve this is to simply unplug your wireless router at that time. That way it applies to everyone in the household. No discrimination, and you are setting a good example yourself.

7. You can start lifting restrictions and time allowances as your child gets older and when they demonstrate that they are learning and building healthy on-line skills. 

8. Kids WILL interact with ‘strangers’ on public servers (but not on our private servers) and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, parents need to be there to help their children understand and navigate this new social playground. That’s why Momibelle does NOT recommend allowing your young child (under 10 yrs) on public servers UNLESS you are playing alongside them. This can be a fun way to learn the game, and learn more about your child!

9. If you become aware of inappropriate behaviour towards your child on a public server, take a screenshot, then log off and make a report to the server owner. If something upsetting occurs on one of our MCKids private servers take note of what, and when it happened, then contact Momibelle immediately!

10.A few other things to share with your child about gaming and their online activities:

• NEVER pay for in-game items or privileges such as ‘Ranks’ on public servers: this is against the Mojang End User License Agreement (it’s illegal!).

• Tell your child to tell you about messages in chat they may have received that make them feel uncomfortable. Don’t disregard their reaction to online situations as ‘child’s play’. Take your child seriously, and come up with a ‘game-plan’ to avoid and/or resolve conflict or misunderstandings. Do NOT toggle off their ability to reply in chat!

• Children 13+ who want to use Discord to talk with friends should use their Minecraft username as their ID. Parents should monitor conversations until they feel they can ‘trust’ their daughter/son to make the right choices while chatting with their friends.

[momibelle]

Minecraft Management for Parents (updated!)

Here’s a ‘cheat sheet’ that I often give out to the parents of children who attend a camp. You might find some of it useful! Normally, we suggest no more than 90 minutes of screen time a day so it might take some careful planning on your childs part to make sure they complete their personal projects in a timely manner!

1. Be involved! Kids need parents to help them develop good judgment and critical thinking skills. Many parents ‘abdicate’ because they are too busy or may want to avoid confrontations. Being involved means making an effort to take the time to learn about the your computer and the game (Minecraft)– it is essential!

2. Learn the language. It is common now to use acronyms as shorthand, or refer to in-game commands, for example AFK or BRB: which means ‘away from keyboard’ and ‘be right back’. Read our MCKids ‘cheat sheets’ that your child may have, to help you decipher it all.

3. When it comes to gifts like laptops remind your children of their privilege of use, not ownership. You have paid for the devices and you pay for Internet service, so the use of these should not be argued.

4. Decide on a family Internet and computer use contract/agreement. This will help everyone (including adults) clearly understand what are acceptable limits/uses.

5. Be AS engaged as your child is! Ask them about what they have built, who they were playing with, and what sorts of goals they may have. But, let your child know you reserve the right to monitor their activity. Let them know that you are able to trace website visits, message content, track their timing on a game (just ask Momibelle and she can give you an idea of ONTIME on our private servers). MOST IMPORTANTLY check-up on how they are chatting with everyone. Ask them to press the ‘T’ key to view all conversations. Just letting them know that you can do this, often makes them think carefully about sticking to our Code of Conduct.

6. Restrict gaming and online activity after a certain hour at night. The easiest way to achieve this is to simply unplug your wireless router at that time. That way it applies to everyone in the household. No discrimination, and you are setting a good example yourself.

7. You can start lifting restrictions and time allowances as your child gets older and when they demonstrate that they are learning and building healthy on-line skills. 

8. Kids WILL interact with ‘strangers’ on public servers (but not on our private servers) and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, parents need to be there to help their children understand and navigate this new social playground. That’s why Momibelle does NOT recommend allowing your young child (under 10 yrs) on public servers UNLESS you are playing alongside them. This can be a fun way to learn the game, and learn more about your child!

9. If you become aware of inappropriate behaviour towards your child on a public server, take a screenshot, then log off and make a report to the server owner. If something upsetting occurs on one of our MCKids private servers take note of what, and when it happened, then contact Momibelle immediately!

10.A few other things to share with your child about gaming and their online activities:

• NEVER pay for in-game items or privileges such as ‘Ranks’ on public servers: this is against the Mojang End User License Agreement (it’s illegal!).

• Tell your child to tell you about messages in chat they may have received that make them feel uncomfortable. Don’t disregard their reaction to online situations as ‘child’s play’. Take your child seriously, and come up with a ‘game-plan’ to avoid and/or resolve conflict or misunderstandings. Do NOT toggle off their ability to reply in chat!

• Children 13+ who want to use Discord to talk with friends should use their Minecraft username as their ID. Parents should monitor conversations until they feel they can ‘trust’ their daughter/son to make the right choices while chatting with their friends.

[momibelle]

Should my child start her own server as a school-based project?

Making a server can be a complicated process that can leave your computer and indeed all of your home computers, open to attacks. Your personal information would be at risk. That said, starting a Hamachi server to run off of a home laptop might suffice and provide some security. But this would come at a cost ($) if she wants to allow more than a few of her friends to access the game remotely. Of course, you can also purchase a server (rental) from a variety of host providers, but again, this would come at a cost. Here is who we use: https://www.bisecthosting.com/

Just 'starting' a server is one thing. Building it using the appropriate plugins and understanding how to direct her friends to navigate it is another. Children also need to know that they cannot let their friends do certain things, such as light fires or blow things up. (Note: I say ‘friends’ meaning friends in real life. They should NOT under any circumstances start a server that is ‘public’).

Many children want to start their own servers, and are inspired by the 'big' public servers to do so. But it takes a GREAT deal of work, understanding ones own OS, troubleshooting, understanding how to manage others (her community of friends) and, most critically, it takes time. Lots of time. Maintaining a server is also an ongoing commitment. Things break, stuff happens, and you need to be there to fix it (in-game and on your console).

If she insists on starting a server there is a good article on the Minecraft Wiki: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Tutorials/Setting_up_a_server. There are numerous tutorials found on YouTube, and books such as https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/the-ultimate-guide/9780134077475/.

I might suggest that instead of starting a server she do a comprehensive build (like a Roman town), or create a game (within the game, using command blocks and redstone) rather than making her own server. I honestly think that her passion might best be reflected using the tools that Minecraft provides us. This could be presented to her audience by making a narrated video. I have had previous students do this in the past, and teachers and peers were quite impressed!

I will be important to keep things simple. Children can lose interest when hitting the technical roadblocks that they will have to navigate when starting their own servers. It would be great, as parents, to support them in their endeavors, but since this is a school project, we are best to keep our ‘hands-off’. And, while not impossible, this may be something best left when a child is 12+ years old and can commit the time it takes (towards the beginning of summer break?) to create a truly successful community for their friends.

[momibelle]

Is Modded Minecraft for Kids?

I want to elaborate on the concepts behind modded Minecraft gameplay. Many of our younger children ask to play using mods (modifications) that can introduce some exciting new themes and resources.

Normally, I don’t like to see a child under the age of 10 playing modified games. The reason being (in a nutshell) is that these games are made by young adults (and some youth) for play by youth and adults who have been playing Vanilla Minecraft for a quite a while, and want to experience something ‘different’.

When it comes to our MCKids modded servers, these games (called modpacks) have been thoroughly vetted and tested by me (if not custom built, like our ‘Mythopoeia’ storytelling server) for ‘balance’ and to see if they support the right kind of gameplay for our children. If I can’t change or alter config’s to, say, remove questionable elements (such as ’girlfriend’ mobs that ‘drop’ stilettos when you ‘kill’ them) or deactivate modern weaponry (there are many of these iterations within modded Minecraft) then we don’t play with them.

It can be a trying time for parents, to be continually asked by their children to play on these games. But we need to move with our intuitive selves in these instances. I always tell parents “If it doesn’t feel right, tell them to stop” and remove/delete the game and/or launcher from their computers.

Minecraft (the Vanilla version) is rated 10+ for a reason. The mods that are now available to our children are not rated at all, and are easily accessible through free, downloadable launchers.

That said, modded games are one of the ways that I can present more advanced learning opportunities for youth ages 9+ including programming (ComputerCraft), Chemistry and Advanced Genetics.

But in the meantime for the ‘younger set’ (ages 7-9), I suggest parents hold off from allowing their younger children to play. It’s a can of worms that you might not want to open up (just yet).

[momibelle]

The Big Ask: Beyond MCKids

THE BIG ASK for MCKids Academy ... pls read on.

We’ve got something brewing ...

We're looking at ways that I can extend what we do, specifically for kids engaged with gaming in the 10, 12-16 age group.

These kids need to be in spaces where there is more than computers, 3D printers and soldering guns. It’s a think-tank that’s missing. We have a project (or two) that we have had to put on hold, because of this. One involves mapping with a GIS company (who have already stepped forward with their expertise) and the other is the need to teach REAL programming (not this drag and drop visually assisted stuff that is so prevalent out there).

We’ve beat the Maker Space drum, only to have them run off with our Minecraft gaming camp concept and try to run camps of their own. They have no follow-through, and the kids’ parents have told us that they simply ‘let them play’ without the real supervision, and adjusted server/play environment that we have always had at MCKids. Sad.

So, what we are looking for is a partner that could offer up space one or two evenings a week (say, a boardroom?) with GOOD wifi access in a relaxed environment.

Some of the crazy ideas we have for projects include things like creating maps to teach teachers and parents how to play/use Minecraft. Building mods to mimic First Nations pre- settlement culture, and producing books to teach programming through the creation of mini-games in Minecraft (which one of my team have already started). Some MCKids have started on some of these things, but they lose momentum, and like the brilliant souls they are, they move on to other projects or (more violent and consuming) games.

We need to establish a space where we can make this happen, and a place for these kids to come in to.

Let me know your thoughts.

Momibelle [email protected]

[momibelle]

Adjusting Minecraft for ‘appropriate’ play: reply to a parent.

Using spawn eggs in creative, and hitting each other (which does cause damage) in survival, should not be allowed. Minecraft is SUCH an open-ended game that certain aspects of it need to be filtered in order to facilitate the right kind of environment and behaviours that are socially acceptable in all facets of online and in-game play. We don’t let our children hit each other in real life, and we shouldn’t let them hit (and kill) each other in a game. (That is also, partially, why this game is rated 10+). Kids also get very easily distracted, so there are other things that need to be adjusted within a world and the game itself to help them focus on the task at hand, be it building something epic together, or surviving a night alone.

Private and public Minecraft servers use plugins to adjust Vanilla settings and add on to the game. We use a host of plugins, some of them custom built for learning within our worlds. There are other things, too, that you will have to adjust manually, but this takes some experience and knowledge of the game. I also suggest that you have a parent attend at all times while they play, and play with them in the game, if you can. That would be the best way to learn!

Stopping fire from spreading, keeping inventory on so that when you die you don’t lose all of your items, and preventing mob-griefing are a few of the important things to adjust (called gamerules).

MinecraftEDU (which is a mod) can do this for you, too, but there is a learning curve to it.

It will be important to learn as much as you can. Watch videos, and if there is something that happens that instinctively you realize as a parent is NOT appropriate, then tell them to stop (for instance, trolling each other by breaking blocks underneath someone who is ‘afk’ and them pouring lava on them to kill them).

[playcraftlearn]

Why Minecraft Rewrites the Playbook for Learning

By Mimi Ito

[Originally posted on Boingboing.net. Reprinted with permission from the author.]

You know that Minecraft is massive. But, did you know it is transforming learning?

Geeky teachers have brought Minecraft to subjects ranging from history to biology to probability. The game is being rolled out to every secondary school in Northern Ireland this month. If you’re a parent, you’ve noticed Minecraft offerings spawning in your local summer camp listings. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a Minecraft camp for budding builders. Ninety-two libraries participated in the International Games Day Minecraft Hunger Games tournament, andcrowned a 13-year-old girl as its champion. And, I’ve helped launch Connected Camps’ Summer of Minecraft, a new in-game online camp.

Progressive educators have been advocating for games-based learning ever since Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail, and Reader Rabbit opened up a new market for consumer children’s software in the ‘80s. SimCity demonstrated how a building and tinkering game could be embraced by parents, kids, and educators. And, Scratch shows how kid-centered learning communities can thrive online.

Minecraft is part of this lineage of learning games, but it fundamentally rewrites the playbook. Why?

1. It’s the first massively mainstream learning game. We’ve seen other learning-ish games become big commercial successes, like SimCity or Civilization. But, Minecraft is the first title to compete with the biggest entertainment names. This means it successfully steals kid mindshare from Mario and Bejeweled. This is a historic first.

2. Kids build stuff together online. Most educational platforms and games seek to convey content, whether it is math, science, history, or another school subject. Minecraft is more like Legos or the Logo programming language. In Seymour Papert’s terms: children programming the computer rather than being programmed by it. Sure, you can put school content in a Minecraft world, but at its heart, Minecraft is about constructing and problem solving in a networked social world. The blocky indie vibe just contributes to the culture of DIY creativity in Minecraft and kids feel empowered to make it their own.

3. Endless ways to level up. Minecraft has something for everyone, regardless of age or interest. Kids as young as 4 and 5 can start with the pocket edition (altho Momibelle at MCKids Academy does not recommend this ... more on this later!), gradually moving up to the PC version and connecting via multiplayer mode. Players can battle zombies, build a circuit system, or a beautiful palace. Or, they can admire the achievements of other players and builders in the Minecraft YouTube ecosystem. This means that there is always something to be inspired by, a mentor to seek out, and a way to level up or branch out.

4. Servers are player-operated. Minecraft isn’t the first virtual world to value player creativity. Remember Second Life? But, what makes the DNA of Minecraft fundamentally different from Second Life or WoW is that [just about] any player can set up and administer their own server. This makes the Minecraft scene a breeding ground not only for digital creativity, but social innovation. Players are building their own server-based communities in Minecraft governed by the values and rules that they develop and enforce. No corporate overlord dictating the rules of property and play here. The mod world in Minecraft is teeming with social engineering tools, ranging from chat moderation add-ons to systems that assign plots and different privileges to players to minimize griefing. Lessons in digital citizenship anyone?

Together these four dimensions of Minecraft make my progressive digital educator heart go pitter patter. My career is devoted to seeking out ways to mobilize digital technology and networks for learning that empowers kids to be problem solvers, creators, and civically engaged. Minecraft is game changing in my corner of educational reform and the movement for connected learning.

So, I can’t help but join the growing ranks of educators running programs in Minecraft. After a successful pilot with 250 kids last summer, I’ve launched a new start-up with two fellow girl geek educators, Tara Tiger Brown (co-founder of LA Makerspace and KitHub), and Katie Salen (founder of Institute of Play). On July 6, we will be opening the doors to a new online summer camp in Minecraft that runs on our homegrown servers, and campers from all over the world are welcome to sign up. Our servers are tricked out with mods designed to make the environment kid and learning friendly, and will be staffed by high school and college counselors who are longtime Minecraft nerds. Our weekly challenges are open to everybody on our server or elsewhere and we’re hoping to draw even more kids to the learning potential of Minecraft.

Minecraft Resources for Educators: * Connected Camps Summer of Minecraft Educator Program * Connectedlearning.tv Minecraft webinar series * MinecraftEdu offers teacher-friendly Minecraft packages * Edutopia’s ideas for using Minecraft in the classroom

[momibelle]

Parents ask: “What do we do all day at MCKids Summer camps?” Momibelle answers ...

In the morning, we teach/lecture for 30-45 minutes (news, updates, who has done what in-game, what the plan is for the day), then we take a break and go for a 15 minute walk in the community where we talk about biomes, habitat, construction projects, the community gardens, and how our environment is similar, or dissimilar to the game. Laptops do not come out until 10:45. Then we work through all of the in-game commands that children must know in order to navigate our worlds and we talk about our Code of Conduct. We have a package of 'cheat sheets' that the children get, and they have to memorize the commands and remember how to behave in the game.

We break by 12:15 to eat lunch, and then we head out to Habitat Island. This is what the kids love! We play two games, Capture the Flag, and Hide and Seek. At out camps on the North Shore, children will learn to play FloorBall. We are outside for about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Then we head back at about 2PM for another session of in-game play.

As a result, our days are quite busy together! We are on our computers for 90 minutes in the AM, and 90 minutes in the afternoon (I do not let the kids play for longer). But, we do much more than simply play the game! Each camp week (Beg/Int) we introduce several learning opportunities that the children will 'play out' within our worlds. Some of these activities relate to historic builds, some are fictional. Over Spring Break for instance, we learned about an unusual archeological find in Costa Rica: granite spheres. We built a town called Orbia and excavated spheres, mused about how these rather perfect sculptures could have been manufactured by an ancient civilization, and learned about the current state of affairs in Costa Rica. Sometimes we can even incorporate language learning. Much of what we do is driven by the children. If they are showing an interest in something, or there is an event such as an election, or a holiday, we do further learning around it by 'playing', building, exploring within the game.

Once you child has attended a camp, they then become a part of our community. They are permitted to continue playing on our servers, as long as they stick to our Code of Conduct. If a rule is broken twice, they are excused from play. Because of this, we have created a safe, fun and accountable learning and play environment for our children. We also hold MMMs (Massive Minecampkid Meet-ups) in real life so that children who have made friends in the game, can meet in REAL life.

[momibelle]

Why Minecraft Factions Servers are Not Child's Play

Here I respond to one parents inquiry about Minecraft factions servers.

Under no circumstances should a child or youth play on a public or private factions server. These servers are built for young adults and adults, and support violent, war simulation -like activities. You are right to restrict his play in this environment. The children know, when they attend an MCKids camp, that we do not condone such 'play', nor do we allow the children to hit each-other within our worlds and use destructive devices/items such as TNT and fire or lava. I worry tremendously about children playing in these environments. Limiting (turning off) your child's ability to chat to others, does not make things easier, but worse. Imagine allowing your child onto a playground where children had weapons, and could attack one another, but could not speak? 

There are no kid-friendly or family-friendly factions servers, because the whole concept of factions is not making friends, but building armies and attacking others. We do not condone play on ANY public server because there is always a PvP element (kids can hit each-other) and lately, many ask for money to purchase in-game items that are already a part of the game. This is against the Mojang EULA, and they are effectively breaking the law. I had hoped that Microsoft would address this, but nothing has happened (yet). 

When children join public servers, adults may even 'stalk' (troll) children by first pretending to be their friends then adding them to a Skype call while recording, they turn around and upset them in order to make them cry. They post these videos to YouTube, and receive many thousands of hits, making (for some) a tidy income. Again, trolling is against the Mojang EULA. Even Notch has come out to tell people to stop doing this.

As parents we must be diligent and remember that just because a child can do something virtually, doesn't mean that that is OK. I often tell the children, "Who we are in real life, is who we are in the game". This is a 21st C Learning opportunity... and we need to catch-up quickly if we want to steer our children in the right direction. Public servers are a precarious place to be/play. Our child's identity can be compromised, and learned behaviours can be hard to erase.  

[momibelle]

Is a six year-old too young to play Minecraft?

Just had to explain to a mom about why a 6 1/2 year -old may not be ready for the full version PC of Minecraft. It's a difficult call for us to make ... but well, read on ...

Play on the PE version is very different from play on the full PC version and in a multi-player setting. Children must read and reply to the messages and player conversations that appear on their console while we play. Children should also be able to work with both mouse and keyboard and be ready learn and readily input the commands (coding) that are a part of server (and single-player) play. That is where it gets very tricky for us. He may find it overwhelming. I worry that this may just be a little too soon for him?

I would suggest that you continue to work with him on your home computer, so that he becomes familiar with typing and moves away from using a touch-screen (any typing program would do). Wait to purchase the full version of the game until he is at-least 7 (the game is rated 10+) and then monitor his play to ensure that he does not try to access public servers.

I know that this is a tough time for parents. Kids are so excited at the prospect of joining their friends on worlds to play and build together. They can be quite insistent and persuasive in their arguments for play! Stampylonghead and others like Paul Soares Jr. are great YouTubers to watch. But again, we have to monitor this the same way we monitor how our kids watch TV. Watch with him if you can. Then when the time comes, purchase two accounts, and play alongside him in the game.

[momibelle]

TerraFirmaCraft Rocks! (Literally).

So many good things to say about Minecraft in the news lately, isn't there? Microsoft's purchase has certainly put the game on the radar of more alternative educators, and that is a really, really good thing. Not a day goes by when I find myself wondering how far we can take these learning ops ... and how and what we can do to 'level-up' the game for kids that have already been playing since, oh, 1.2 (like my daughter and I)?

After much consideration, and playing and poking and prodding on so many launchers with so many games, including our own custom modpacks, we ran into TerraFirmaCraft (TFC) by Bioxx (out of Boston) and Dunkleosteus (out of Toronto). A complete game-changer, TFC takes everything that is Minecraft and turns it (and us) on our heads. You can't punch trees, you'll think twice about crossing terrain that looks like it might be unstable ('cause it likely is) and you're more likely to have to contend with a territorial bear fight (using your Stone-Age javelin knapped out of igneous extrusive rock) than the walking dead.

So, while this is not a mod for the faint of heart, or for those that want the quick gratification of a mini-game or Ender dragon battle ... what we have is an amazing opportunity to teach stuff like advanced geology, (pre) history and geography. (The Equator in TFC is a pretty hot place, and not much grows there).

So TerraFirmaCraft truly rocks. And we're excited (again) when we can celebrate our achievements in-game. Moving through The Ages, and through the game together we learn how to tan hides, salt meat and search for fresh water sources. TFC has given me (a player since, well, circa the beginning of Minecraft) a new angle on the 'game' and new insight as to the awesome potential that Minecraft offers as a learning tool for kids of all ages, including myself.

momibelle

[momibelle]

Epic Ancient Builds Underway!

What a week! On Monday we talked Egypt, but landed in Nubia, and with fly mode at the ready, discovered a small desert biome that was perfect for recreating the tall, but small pyramids of Ancient Sudan. 

Tuesday was equally ambitious, with an Ancient Greek build we started. The kids found an almost perfect setting, that just required a few tweaks with WorldEdit to set the stage for the Parthenon in Ancient Athens. 

Today, the kids watched a clip from Ben Hur to really get into a Roman mood, and in short order we found 6 hills and a river running through it ... we can make the seventh hill at a later date ... and as I talked the kids through the history of Rome, the legends and stories of Gods and Goddesses, of she-wolfs and twin brothers, they built up the beginnings of our Roma: wee temples at the tops of the hills; a fortification; and a secret build high in the sky that will represent Zeus and his fellow Gods in Mount Olympus.

Picts coming!

[momibelle]

A New Blog is Spawned | Tues afterschool update

While foraging for good blogs to follow, I finally resolved myself to building a tumblr account. There is too much good stuff happening out there, and at our camps to not report to the world !

Here's the latest, from our Tuesday after-school gathering ...

While the MCKids Main server was not available for us to work on, we did return to the Snapshot server where we began our search for 'bugs' within the latest dev release. Being an 'experimental' build, Mojang is keen to get feedback from the community, and I take this as our cue and an opportunity to learn more about how the game works.

While some of us were busy bug-hunting, others were searching for some of the new blocks, like granite and diorite. Phaoryx created a 'trampoline' with the new slime blocks, and then went about measuring the distances we bounced! He turned the entire experiment into a set of mathematical equations, calculating our decrease in 'bounce' height in percentages. xBagoo accommodated the kids by creating command blocks that transported the kids to the platform above our trampoline, so that they could test it for themselves. 

Momibelle is insisting on this one endeavour. I want ALL of our kids to be able to determine what is a design or programming flaw within our game(s). This ties in neatly with our desire for our children to become more active critical thinkers. With access to the dev game, we all have the opportunity to do this ... while having tons of fun.