— Day 1 - Set Up and Mine-imator and Keyframes: Our primary goal for this day is to assist students in setting up Mine-imator and to familiarize kids with our camp’s objectives. As an introduction, we’ll show students how keyframes and timelines work before they get to apply animation cycles to their Minecraft models. 

— Day 2 - Refining Animation: Students will learn how to use more complex and refined animations instead of simple ones. We’ll also introduce kids to Minecraft models with multiple pieces that can be animated.

— Day 3 - Throwing: Each student in class will choose a sport to animate and apply two animation cycles onto the character model. They will then learn how to render the animation file into a video. 

— Day 4 - Props: In this session, students will get to explore the Mine-imator forum and import props online for their animation. Students will also learn how to combine items together on a model.

— Day 5 - Sharing The Project: By combining props and their animated models, students will be able to complete a short animated video clip. We’ll all then share our creations with the class as a final presentation!

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.