literacy | Liam O'Donnell

Messy learning with Minecraft

by liam | May 23, 2011 | education, gaming, literacy, video games, virtual worlds

It’s barely 9:15 in the morning and already two students have fallen down a mine shaft, one burst into flames when he swam through lava and another just killed his best friend with a pork chop. It’s going to be a messy morning but one packed with learning....

Re-starting the feed – for now

by liam | May 22, 2011 | education, gaming, literacy, video games, virtual worlds

Three years ago, I stopped blogging here for many reasons. Although I didn’t know when I’d return, I did know I’d be back sometime. That time is now. And here’s why: Since 2004, I have blogged about children’s culture and technology, from...

Illdoctrine lays it down on the US economy

by liam | Sep 24, 2008 | life, literacy, media

Leave it to Jay Smooth to explain (kinda) what’s going on in the economic mess swallowing the US. If you really want to know what’s happening, then you better listen to Naomi. You might also enjoy: Soccer summer Canadian style googlebating is good Seeing...

Doctorow tells librarians to reject DRM

by liam | Jul 28, 2008 | education, life, literacy, media

Last month I read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and really liked it. Liked it so much that I wrote a review of it for the upcoming issue of Canadian Bookseller Magazine. Little Brother is a YA novel dealing with issues close to Doctorow’s heart (and mine):...

YES Mag features my video game math lessons

by liam | Jul 22, 2008 | education, gaming, literacy, virtual worlds

Last March, I wrote the post Levelling Up: two-digit math in kids’ video games, about how I used experience points and coins in kids’ mmos like Runescape and virtual worlds like Club Penguin to teach my Grade 5 students two-digit math. Writer Cora Lee and...