{"id":2433,"date":"2017-04-26T18:26:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T01:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/industry\/blog\/uncategorized\/omaha-virtual-school-uses-minecraft-enhance-learning\/"},"modified":"2019-10-16T02:21:47","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T02:21:47","slug":"omaha-virtual-school-uses-minecraft-enhance-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/industry\/microsoft-in-business\/customer-experience\/2017\/04\/26\/omaha-virtual-school-uses-minecraft-enhance-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"How Omaha Virtual School uses Minecraft to enhance learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\nFocus on: Engage students, Empower educators<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

What\u2019s it like to take the classroom beyond its four walls, merging the physical world with the virtual? Traditional face-to-face interaction meets virtual collaboration. It\u2019s a new way of learning and a new way of leading.<\/p>\n

For the Omaha Public School District, these concepts became an integral part of the teacher-student educational experience. The district is piloting a virtual school\u2014the first of its kind in the state of Nebraska\u2014modeled on a successful school in Kansas.<\/p>\n

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The blended environment is allowing Omaha Virtual School and its 140 students in grades K-8 to embrace unprecedented opportunities. Small groups of students work through a station rotation model, where students move as a group from subject to subject in the classroom, meeting for three hours once a week. Outside of school, students work online individually in the K12.com curriculum. The merging of traditional and virtual education models has created an innovative environment that reimagines teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

This is a real story of digital transformation.
\n A new education model emerges<\/strong><\/span>Rob Dickson, the Director of Information Technologies at Omaha Public Schools, saw an opportunity to advance teaching and learning by leveraging technology for instructional purposes. He and his team began developing a model for Omaha based on a virtual school in Kansas. Their concept would reproduce best practices around curriculum but also hold teachers, parents, and students accountable.<\/p>\n

Critical to the new model has been adopting an \u201cIt\u2019s okay to fail\u201d mindset\u2014something that doesn\u2019t come easily to classroom teachers or traditionally-educated parents, but is common to many successful start-ups. With this mindset, Omaha Virtual School gets to try new ideas, learn from what works and what doesn\u2019t, and make rapid improvements that push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible in education.<\/p>\n

Another new frontier for the team and parents of Omaha Virtual School students has been the idea of using gaming as an education tool. Knowing that learning occurs naturally through a combination of observation, trial and error, and play-based practice, the Omaha Virtual School leadership team believed that an open-learning environment like Minecraft would allow students the freedom to experiment and challenge themselves. Minecraft is an open world virtual game that promotes users to build, create, and problem-solve.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinecraft fits the mold of where our students are today,\u201d Dickson says. \u201cIt\u2019s allowed learning to happen outside of the traditional school environment. As a society we think globally, and now with Microsoft tools like Skype, we are helping students think globally, too, about their contribution to society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft technologies enable the virtual school with multiple tools for success. Surface provides the flexibility to work remotely; OneNote stores student portfolios, Study Island<\/a>, and map data; and K12.com\u2019s thorough analytics show when students and parents are logged in and for how long, telling a compelling story about each student\u2019s progress. Teams of teachers and parent groups use Microsoft Groups to share best practices. And the Minecraft platform gives students a modern way to learn traditional subjects.<\/p>\n

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These advanced tools give teachers, parents, and students the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, and their powerful analytics inform best practices not just for Omaha Virtual School, but for all virtual schools.
\n Parents become educators<\/strong><\/span>A high level of parent involvement is critical to the program, especially with younger students. That means educators have to work closely with parents to teach them about the nuances of educating children and help them understand how to embrace each child\u2019s unique learning styles and abilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cA parent may learn one way, but their four children might learn many different ways,\u201d says Omaha Virtual School Principal Wendy Loewenstein.<\/p>\n

Educators have also worked to build trust with parents so that parents are more comfortable admitting when they\u2019re not knowledgeable about certain aspects of education and technology. A pre-assessment of their tech knowledge and their understanding of the program\u2019s requirements helps educators gain a better understanding of each parent\u2019s abilities.<\/p>\n

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\n Engaging students as leaders in the classroom<\/strong><\/span>Because students have such a small window of face-to-face time, they are learning new ways to collaborate and communicate in both a virtual and traditional classroom environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting a teacher\u2019s attention in the appropriate ways during three hours of in-class time isn\u2019t something students inherently know how to do,\u201d explains Mark Dowling, a third and fourth grade teacher at Omaha Virtual School.<\/p>\n

In addition to promoting teamwork, students are encouraged to understand their roles. Although most students are tech savvy, they need to learn how to connect that ability to their learning. The Omaha Virtual School model works to build student confidence and motivate those who lack it.<\/p>\n

Minecraft\u2019s project-based, interactive model helps students develop problem-solving skills. \u201cWe are now a society that not only consumes technology, but creates it,\u201d Dickson says. Students can build their imaginations inside Minecraft. Modeling in a virtual atmosphere helps creators identify problems and solutions before creating in a physical environment.<\/p>\n

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Omaha Virtual School originally anticipated using Minecraft only for the virtual school, but Omaha is also piloting it throughout the district to find out the tool\u2019s viability at various age levels. In addition to training 50 teachers on the platform, a spattering of students in elementary, middle, and high school are using Minecraft in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinecraft\u2019s a great tool for introducing interdisciplinary activities into the classroom and for the entire STEM workflow,\u201d Dickson says.<\/p>\n

Although gaming is certainly second nature for many students, they have had to teach both Omaha Virtual School students and parents to use the system correctly. Not only is Minecraft used as a learning tool but also as a reward. Finding that balance can be tricky, so the team attended formal training for Minecraft in education. \u201cWe were able to open it up and talk about use cases and best practices,\u201d says District Tech Trainer Eileen Heller.<\/p>\n

Most of the students are already experts in the Minecraft platform, but teachers know how to connect that knowledge to the curriculum, so the model for Omaha Virtual School became students and educators teaching each other about their areas of expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like learning to use a cell phone for the first time,\u201d says Kelly Means, District Tech Trainer, and that knowledge gave students confidence. \u201cStudents stepped up and showed teachers and other students how to do things,\u201d remembers Eileen. \u201cSome students who don\u2019t typically shine were able to be a leader in the classroom. It\u2019s motivating for children to know that they can come to school and show off what they know.\u201d
\n Integrating Minecraft into classroom goals<\/strong><\/span>\u201cAlthough teachers struggled a bit with the idea of not always having a rubric,\u201d Mark admits, \u201cthey eventually started figuring out ways to integrate Minecraft into classroom goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

One example: Bar graphs can be boring for students, so teachers built a bar graph in Minecraft, using farm animals as data. The students then had to do the same, making collaborative decisions about the numbers of each animal and building bar graphs to show their thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are always students who will sit back and let things happen, so you need to constantly encourage the students to know their roles and work together,\u201d Mark adds.<\/p>\n

Mark and his team looked at how the program could possibly work its way into the grading system. \u201cWe knew that it would provide an increase in engagement but using it as a structured approach was something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

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They had a meeting with the first adopters who started training in early December. Prior to that, there was usage of Minecraft in the district, but it wasn\u2019t truly being leveraged as part of the pedagogy. A lot of teachers have taken the third quarter to increase their knowledge and usage of the program.<\/p>\n

Minecraft\u2019s design gives teachers the ability to see when students are logged in and learning, how many times they\u2019ve attempted assignments, and other vital data that helps them stay engaged when students are working alone. Its student-centered learning model offers the ability to map projects and activities directly to specific learning outcomes and curriculum standards. The goal for early adopters was to show from teachers\u2019 perspectives how it truly benefits student learning and meets course objectives.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the district level,\u201d Eileen says, \u201cthey wanted it to affect the students and teachers in how they provide instructions and learning for the students. We\u2019re hoping this helps open teachers\u2019 eyes to more non-traditional teaching methods.\u201d
\n Into the future<\/strong><\/span>The Omaha School District hopes to inform best practices for all virtual schools while ensuring the success of current Omaha Virtual School students.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversities and trade schools have dominated the online education world,\u201d Wendy says. \u201cWe\u2019re preparing children for online learning now so that they are prepared when they get to college.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As technology continues to develop, the likelihood of traditional and virtual schools merging becomes more of a reality. Although Rob Dickson and the team at Omaha Virtual School support that vision, they are careful to prioritize success over growth. \u201cOur concern will always be quality education over expansion,\u201d Rob says.<\/p>\n

Microsoft is proud to partner with Omaha Virtual School on their journey to transforming teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

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