Sustainable design using Minecraft.

Following on from my last post, Mr Alistair West also used Minecraft successfully in Year 9 Digital Technology, where the students used technology to promote sustainability and caring for the environment.  Students were given a plan of a fictitious island with certain specific geographical features, which they then built in Minecraft as a class project.

Once the island was complete, in groups they built sustainable energy-producing devices based on their location, such as wind turbines or solar farms.  This was an excellent example of using the SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition), where an existing, paper-based task can be redesigned and enhanced using technology. The collaboration amongst the students was a key highlight of this project. These are skills that are critical in the modern workplace.

Wind turbine built in Minecraft.

 

Minecraft meets te reo Māori!

During our recent Year 9 te reo Māori language acquisition unit Te Kāinga (Home), students used their Minecraft skills to design their dream house. The quality was such that some of the designs could definitely have starred in Aotearoa’s best design magazines!

In real time, students proceeded to lead a guided tour through their virtual house as designed in Minecraft, describing the features in te reo. The main focus of the task was for students to describe their virtual bedroom in detail and then answer questions asked by their classmates, all in in te reo. Students were highly engaged, and many even used signposts to help them remember key vocabulary. The visual of the virtual house enabled students who were listening to follow along with more ease. Although some students perhaps spent too long designing their house, overall, they were able to demonstrate their creativity and language skills in one. I look forward to using Minecraft again in my language classes. Rāhera Meinders – Teacher of te reo. 

From the students’ perspective:
The challenge was to describe the object itself and the colour of each household item in te reo Maori. I found using the Minecraft Education app was a helpful way of displaying and getting across what I had learnt to my fellow classmates and teacher. It was an awesome way of proving that I understood what we were learning, while making it also fun and challenging. The fun part about making this house on Minecraft was that I got to actually build my house, and choose everything that I wanted in it. Doing this made me more confident as a Minecraft user, and te reo Maori speaker. Overall I learnt how it was a fun way of being educated while enjoying what I was learning at the same time. Cameron Rakena – Year 9

I enjoyed this because it was a fun individual and interactive task. It was challenging because you could only make/build things that you know, so I had to expand on the detail given in the Quizlet tasks.
Tia Pavihi – Year 9

 

Below are some examples of work from Cameron Rakena, Kade Read and Tia Pavihi.

 

 

 

QMC Holiday Codecamp

This year QMC has been thrilled to be working with CodeCamp in providing an after-school coding club for girls interested in computer programming and S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths) projects.

The good news is that there will be a July holiday programme as well. These are targetted at Yr 7 – Yr 13 students. Below is some information provided by Ash Beaumont, who will be running the sessions.  Please make contact with her at ashlee@codecamp.co.nz if you have any questions, or proceed to the CodeCamp website if you wish to book in for the programme.

She Can Code – 2019

Queen Margaret College is again excited to be part of She Can Code, a Techweek celebration of girls and women coding in Aotearoa. The aim of She Can Code is to get as many girls and woman coding as possible and to share stories of our amazing coders using the hashtags #SheCanCode and #QMCCanCode.

The official She Can Code event runs from May 20-26, and we aim to have as many QMC girls as possible coding during this week, so as to be eligible to win prizes . However, you can start coding anytime by choosing between Scratch, HTML/CSS, or Python  (hardest) based coding projects. Find a project and level that suits you are you are away! (Be sure to create an account within the online platform to save your work).

The official She Can Code meet time is every Monday – Friday from 1pm in W3, and Mr Knuckey will be there to help get you started. All you need to bring is your laptop and a willingness to have fun while learning! Once you are up and away, you are of course welcome to code at home.

Important note:  Even if you’ve never coded before, you can take part!

I look forward to seeing you there.

Mr Knuckey

Techweek – eSports workshop

Below are three local event taking place during Techweek (May 20-26) that may appeal to QMC teachers and parents.

These are free, interactive workshops designed to show how online gaming, in a supported learning environment, can foster young people’s development, mental health and wellbeing. Hosted by Ivan Davies, co-creator of Learn With League. This is an initiative aimed at aiding High School esport clubs which can give students an environment to learn important skills & values whilst doing something they are passionate about: gaming.

Whilst QMC doesn’t have a official eSport club, we support our girls who are enthusiastic gamers and are keen to promote the positive aspects of eSports.  For more information, please contact the organiser via the relevant link below.

Lower Hutt – May 23rd
https://learn-with-league-professional-development.lilregie.com/booking/attendees/new

Wellington CBD – May 24th
https://techweek.co.nz/whats-on/2019/gaming-and-wellbeing-wellington-cbd-360/

Porirua – May 25th
https://techweek.co.nz/whats-on/2019/gaming-and-wellbeing-porirua-361/

Attention all QMC gamers…

…Tycoon Games are here!

For all QMC gamers, Tycoon Games is a competition is part of the the 2019 Tech week and something that you do not want to miss out on. The prize pool is epic! The winners get to intern for a day, which includes the opportunity to assist JBA in the creation of the next Tycoon Game in the series. Plus if QMC ends up the overall school winner we receive three Microsoft Surface Go Devices.

The cut-off date for registration is Friday 17th May.

The competition kicks off at 9am Monday 20th May and runs to Friday 24th May 5pm. Don’t miss out!

Register now at: https://tycoongames.org/tycoon/events/1/leaderboard. Details on the games are below:

Click to register!

RoboCup 2019

Date: 11 May 2019

Venue: Victoria University of Wellington

Website: All info for this fun event can be found here. Note that entries are not yet open, but stay tuned!

If you are interested in entering RoboCup this year, contact Mr Knuckey (richard.knuckey@qmc.school.nz) for details of the event to get some training lunchtime.

Video from previous years:

Internet Safety – Update

Dear Parents

You may be aware of a new online game called the Momo Challenge. The game comprises of a video of an animated female character who pops up on sites such as YouTube, and reportedly gives anti-social advice and encourages the viewer to engage in violent and self harming ‘challenges’. Imitation versions of the game have also been reported.

As of Feburary 28, 2019, Netsafe, New Zealand’s independent online safety organisation, have not received any reports of young people in New Zealand taking part in the ‘challenge’. However they are aware that some young people have seen content relating to Momo and have been very upset by the content and imagery.

Under the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA), it is illegal to incite or encourage a person to harm themselves or commit suicide. Accordingly, if your daughter encounters messages of this nature, you are encouraged to report the incident to Netsafe or the New Zealand Police.

It is obviously difficult to know exactly what younger family members are doing online at all times. However there are tell-tale signs the might suggest that they are engaging in inappropriate or potentially harmful content. These include:

• Become very secretive, especially about what they are doing online
• Are spending a lot of time on the internet and social media
• Are switching screens on their device when approached
• Are upset, withdrawn or angry after using the internet or sending text messages
• Have lots of new phone numbers or email addresses on their devices

If you suspect that your daughter has encountered Momo or similarly upsetting online content, Netsafe have provided advice for parents:

• Have a conversation with your child about what to do if they do come across upsetting content online. This involves:
  • telling a parent or teacher
  • reporting the content to the website provider
  • blocking the content,
  • in the case of a crime being committed under the HDCA, report it to Netsafe or the Police
• Let your child know that they can come to you when they find something upsetting and they won’t get in trouble
• Stay calm if they do come to you – don’t assign blame, reassure them that it’s not their fault and don’t punish them for seeking help
• Normalise their feelings – let them know that it is normal to feel scared, confused or upset
• Don’t over-react by taking away the technology – this may make them less likely to talk to you if something else happens
• For young children in particular, consider using parental controls to block out specific keywords like “Momo”. Advice on this can be found here
• If you or your child comes across this type of content report it to the platform that it’s on, such as the YouTube report inappropriate content page
• If you know that your daughter has been engaging in the Momo challenge itself, report it to the Police and Netsafe, and consider contacting a mental health service for support

Further information and useful links relating to safe and ethical digital citizenship for QMC students can be found here.

After School Codecamp at QMC!

This year QMC is pleased to be working with CodeCamp in providing an after school coding club for girls interested in computer programming and S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths) projects. Below is some information on the codecamp from Ash Beaumont, who will be running the sessions. Please make contact with her if you have any questions, or proceed to the booking page on the CodeCamp website if you wish to book in for the classes.

Hey there,

CodeCamp classes are starting at Queen Margaret College! CodeCamp is an after school & holiday programme designed to help kids between ages of 7 and 18 learn how to code, build literacy and have fun engaging with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design & Mathematics in an agile environment.

My personal mission is to get as many young women interested in STEAM as possible. This is why we are starting Girl’s Only Classes at Queen Margaret College. We see that there is not only a large pay discrepancy between women and men, but also the number of women vs. men in STEAM areas. In 2018 we saw a wage gap of 9.2% meaning there aren’t enough women in high paying positions such as science, tech and development roles. On top of this, Summer in Tech reports that just 28% of employed candidates this summer were women. This isn’t due to a lack of ability in these areas, it’s due to the lack of women shown these avenues. Our classes will be held on Thursday afternoon from 3:30pm – 5pm starting on the 7th of March. To sign your daughter up, please visit our website:

http://codecamp.co.nz/queen-margaret-college/.

We will also be offering private tuition. For this option, please contact me directly via email. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via the details below.

I look forward to meeting you and you daughter(s).

Kind Regards,

Ash Beaumont
CodeCamp Operations Manager
ashlee@codecamp.co.nz
0211519591

 

Holiday Codecamp

CodeCamp is an after school & holiday programme designed to help kids between ages of 7 and 17 learn how to code, build literacy and have fun engaging with STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design & Mathematics.  See the flyer below or visit http://codecamp.co.nz/ for the Wellington summer programme.