literacy | Liam O'Donnell

Teacher’s Guide: Five websites to keep students reading this summer

by liam | Jun 20, 2012 | education, literacy, media

Summer vacation is just around the corner and teachers and librarians are freaking out. It has nothing to do with lost books or late report cards. It has everything to do with reading. After spending months working to get students into the habit of reading, myself and...

Multi-School Minecraft Server Mid-Point Update

by liam | May 10, 2012 | education, gamebasedlearning, gaming, literacy, media, video games, virtual worlds

We’ve been running our Minecraft Multi-School Server Project for nearly 5 months now. We’re actually way beyond the mid-point, so I thought I was overdue for giving an update on how things are going. In a word: fantastic. There have been a few frustrating...

Teacher’s Guide: Five ways Minecraft (and other video games) can boost student writing skills

by liam | Apr 16, 2012 | education, gamebasedlearning, gaming, literacy, video games, virtual worlds

With the recent surge of interest in using video games in schools, I’ve been asked a lot about what gaming looks like in my class. I thought I’d share five ways I’ve used video games, like Minecraft, to help boost student success with their writing...

Warning: Using Minecraft in class could result in spontaneous, self-directed learning

by liam | Dec 3, 2011 | education, gamebasedlearning, literacy, media, video games, virtual worlds

Last year, I had the unique chance to use Minecraft with a small group of students who came to me three days a week for literacy support. It was a messy, fun three months and the kids did a lot of writing and researching outside the game, driven by their explorations...

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....