minecraft | Liam O'Donnell

Why I cannot wait to bring my Kano to school

by liam | Oct 4, 2014 | education, gamebasedlearning, gaming, media, Teacher's Guide, video games

Around the world, young computer makers are rejoicing. Kano has arrived. While I am definitely not young, I am right there geeking out with the kids. My own Kano kit arrived last week and I’ve been having a blast making music, designing new versions of Pong and...

Descent into Overworld gets a cover!

by liam | Sep 28, 2014 | media, writing news

Much happenings on the Battle for Minecraft front! First, I’ve just finished edits on book 1 in the series, Descent into Overworld. That means it’s off to the editor to squash bugs and fix errors. Before all that, though, there’s a cover to reveal...

Minecraft, the paper clip and me

by liam | Sep 21, 2014 | education, gamebasedlearning, gaming, literacy

This was meant to be a post about using Minecraft Pocket Edition with Grade 1 students. But given the giant paper clip in the room, that post will have to wait.

Instead, I’m going to write about what the recent Microsoft purchase of Minecraft could mean for educators, students and myself. [Click the post title to read more . . . ]

Why I was sad & scared on CBC’s Metro Morning

by liam | Sep 14, 2014 | appearances, gamebasedlearning, literacy

Last Friday morning, I took a detour on my way to school to the CBC building downtown.

I wasn’t lost. I had been invited to chat with Matt Galloway on Metro Morning to discuss, you guessed it, Minecraft.

Battle for Minecraft Book 1 off to Beta Readers!

by liam | Aug 17, 2014 | Blog, gaming, works in progress, writing news

I’m having a blast writing Battle for Minecraft, my new series of Minecraft novels for kids. Book 1, Descent into Overworld, is finished and in the hands of my beta readers. I’m always looking for more feedback, so if you want to read the ebook for free...