Day 1 - Introduction to The Machine and Redstone: What exactly is a Rube Goldberg machine? After we learn about the objectives and functions of a Rube Goldberg machine, we’ll explore in what ways Redstone circuitry can aid us in the creation of the machine.

Day 2 - Redstone Circuits and Iteration Cycles: As we dive deeper into more Redstone builds, students will prototype their work and use iteration cycles. While working on our personal machines, we’ll design, test, reflect, and debug versions of the machine before we implement it into the final design. 

Day 3 - Simple Machines: How can we get our builds to interact with simple machines? In Minecraft, these simple machines include minecarts and we’ll incorporate these into our designs to keep the build running from one area to the next. 

Day 4 - Minecraft Physics and Projectiles: It’s time to finally incorporate flying objects and other “physics enabled items” into our builds like Falling Blocks, Arrows, and Anvils! By applying real-world knowledge of gravity and projectile motion, we can predict the trajectory of airborne objects and apply it to our Rube Goldberg machine.

Day 5 - Final Presentations: This is the demonstration day! We’ll finally get to see what each person in the class has designed for their machine! It is likely that each machine may come with some trials and errors and that is completely fine. We’ll go over how one can improve upon these hiccups through prototypes and iterations to get them to work next time.

Connected Camps is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2015 with the mission to build a global online community where kids build, code, play, and learn alongside one another. Our programs are designed based on extensive research in the learning sciences. The founders and leaders of Connected Camps, Mimi Ito and Katie Salen, are professors at the University of California, Irvine, who specialize in the design of online learning experiences that are fun, social, and directly tied to academic outcomes. Learn more about the research behind Connected Camps at the Connected Learning Alliance resource site: https://clalliance.org/ 

One thing that makes our programs unique is our near-peer mentorship model. Our programs are led by young adults and college students, often with the help of high school volunteers. We hire counselors and coaches from top universities in computer science, game development, economics, social studies, and the arts, and train them on how to facilitate project-based learning with younger kids. Our young instructors have the same passion for technology, games, and digital making as our learners, and take on the role of instructors, as well as fellow enthusiasts and relatable role models.

The curriculum for this program was designed by a team of counselors pursuing degrees relevant to the material at hand. The learning experiences in this class are driven by these counselors’ academic expertise in the field, along with their desire to share their passion for the subject with a group of excited learners. All of Connected Camps’ curricula are vetted by the organization’s Product Manager, Matthew, who possesses a Masters in Secondary Education and a deep belief in the power of collaborative virtual learning.

宿題が提供されます
This class does not require any out-of-class work. We do offer optional challenges that students can work on as an extension of what is taught in class. We provide guidance and instructions for students who are inspired to delve deeper into the topic. The purpose of these challenges is to give students the opportunity to supplement their learning with additional material that aligns with their passions and goals. Students may then integrate their learnings into their project and showcase their accomplishments to their classmates.

With this approach, students can explore the subject on their own. We give students the opportunity to share what they’ve explored independently with the class.
評価が提供されます
At Connected Camps, we assess each student’s progress by engaging them in reflection of their own work and the work of their classmates. By building in Minecraft and applying concepts taught in class, our students are able to solidify their learnings through hands-on application. Our counselors’ focus is to provide qualitative feedback to further each students’ individual goals and interests, and we do not use letter or number grades.

In addition to our in-class reflections, our counselors also provide post-session recaps that offer a summary of what is accomplished each day. Through these summary reflections, students are able to review the material and share with their parents what they did in class. We find this approach allows kids of different interests and abilities to engage with our teachings in a way that is particularly relevant to them.
成績が提供されます