Designing Blended Learning Models to Support Computational Learning: Minecraft Edition (Abstract Only).

This workshop introduces participants to the Digital Youth Network's Minecraft City Server; a project that seeks to lower the barrier of who can lead computing-related learning opportunities for diverse youth. We present teaching techniques and advice for adapting the Minecraft platform as an educational portal based upon the research we have done with youth across Chicago. Participants will receive handouts describing mentorship techniques and curriculum models that facilitate learning interactions in a blended space. Of critical focus will be exploring the question of how to coordinate mentorship when working in two learning spaces (online and physical) simultaneously. Handouts will be supplemented with a discussion of the adult support roles that we identified as being critical to running engaging Minecraft learning experiences for youth. The workshop will also allow participants to experience the affordances of Minecraft to create an engaging blended learning environment that teaches computational concepts. Participants will receive a hands-on introduction to the basic game mechanics, designing with Redstone, the in-game equivalent to electrical circuitry, and exploring computer programming in-game with Python.